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

German Parts Pillagers Roam the American Southwest, Sending Treasures Home For Future Car Museum

Quite a few older European cars are purchased in rust-free parts of the United States and then shipped back to the home continent, and this process tends to intensify when the Euro gets stronger versus the dollar. While that's going on, crews of European gearheads also roam the wrecking yards of the Southwest, filling shipping containers with parts to ship back home; I know of a trio of Swedes who come to Colorado every year and ship home tons of parts, but they've got nothing on this pair of Germans. These gentlemen fly to the United States four times each year, spending two or three weeks each trip, and send home cars and shipping containers packed with parts, all as part of a scheme to open up a car collection showcasing "cars from the road." They were kind enough to send me a bunch of photos of their most recent trip, so let's see what their enviable lifestyle looks like.

Future products: Ownership change may revive 2 small Porsches

Now that it's owned by Volkswagen, Porsche reportedly is planning two small vehicles that the German sports car maker's previous management had nixed. Porsche is expected to increase the size of its Boxster roadster, leaving room at the bottom of the range for a smaller midengine car engineered jointly with Volkswagen. A small SUV also is likely to be added.

Honda CR-Z Mugen RR – it’s the Japanese version

Honda CR-Z Mugen RR - no power details forthcoming We’ve reported quite a bit on Mugen UK’s efforts to sprinkle fairy dust on the Honda CR-Z Hybrid to turn it in to the sort of hybrid that would appeal to a keen driver. And now it’s the turn of Mugen in Japan who have also built a supposedly one-off CR-Z – the Honda CR-Z Mugen RR. The Euro Mugen CR-Z – which was on show at Goodwood last month – was eventually fettled to deliver 197bhp by bolting on a supercharger.