Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

American Picked

Toney Thomas knows his junk. Ask him about any of the thousands of items--from antique BB guns to ancient boat motors, from old service-station signage to historic military gear--in his 30-foot-by-60-foot storage barn in rural Michigan, and he'll most likely have a story to tell. Thomas's penchant for collecting led to his appearance on a fall episode of the History Channel's American Pickers with celebrity junk hunters Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz.

Better Place Electric Car visitor centre opens

Better Place have opened a visitor centre in Israel to demonstrate their battery swap technology for electric cars Last October we wrote about a start-up company in Israel – Better Place – that had a new way forward for electric cars by taking the purchase of battery packs out of the equation, and was developing a system for ‘Battery Swap’ stations where electric car owners could drive in and swap their battery pack for a fully-charged one in a few minutes. That story first brought to our attention our favourite quote of last year – by Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn – who said “A hybrid is like a mermaid: if you want a fish, you get a woman; if you want a woman, you get a fish.” Which probably explained why Nissan – and its partner Renault – got involved with Better Place. Better Place aims to address the main concerns of electric car drivers by making the battery packs in electric cars ‘swappable’.

Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni: It’s official

The Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni has been released in honour of Lamborghini Test Driver Valentino Balboni Our report on Monday on the leaked pictures of the latest Lamborghini – The Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 – was right in pretty much every way, but what we didn’t know was that Lamborghini had bestowed the ultimate accolade on their Veteran Test Driver by naming the new car in his honour. So this is officially the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni. So now the world, not just Lamborghini aficionados, know exactly who Valentino Balboni is.