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

Off the line: Fun cars and social responsibility Autoweek op-ed stands the test of time

It's been almost 21 years to the day that Autoweek printed Matt DeLorenzo's column “Off the Line: There's room for fast, fun cars in diet of social responsibility.” And in those two decades plus, not much has changed except the vehicles themselves. For example, sports cars like the Bugatti Veyron and Pagani Huayra have astronomically high performance and safety levels; similarly, sport-utility vehicles that haul entire families (and most of their earthly possessions) achieve fuel economy similar to that of 1970s midsize sedans. To read all of DeLorenzo's thoughts and his case for automobiles, click the links to download the article.

Audi A1 – the tease begins + video

Audi have started the tease for the A1 We’ve known the Audi A1 has been coming for years. For goodness sakes, we’ve seen two concepts for it and had the head of Audi’s production plant in Belgium saying (wrongly, as it turned out) that production of the Audi A1 would start in October 2009. But that’s not going to stop Audi playing at ‘Tease’, so with production of the A1 now scheduled to start in early 2010 they’ve started to tease the new MINI-competing Audi.

Dodge Dart (2012) - first pictures of the American Alfa

Dodge is reviving a badge from the 1960s for its new Dart compact car - and it's based on Alfa Romeo underpinnings. The new 2012 Dodge Dart borrows the Alfa Romeo Giulietta architecture, available within the group now that Chrysler is part of the Fiat group. Dodge dubs its the new Compact US Wide (CUSW) platform, and we'll see this rolled out across the group.