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

Volkswagen has plans for yet another Beetle

The Volkswagen Beetle is on its way back, and this time around, it will be focused more on driving dynamics than on efforts to resurrect the past. Expected to appear in concept form at the Los Angeles auto show late this year, the second-generation version of the modern-day Beetle goes on sale in the United States in May 2011. A convertible with a fabric top will follow about a year later.

One Lap of the Web: Saucy spouses and salty roads

-- Not every race car driver was James Hunt. Legendary drag racer Don Garlits couldn't have been legendary without his wife Patricia, who recently passed at the age of 71; in a few more weeks, they would have celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary. She supported Don when he didn't think his racing would amount to anything, and she was instrumental in persuading Don to switch to rear-engined dragsters -- Don's eventual acceptance ended up changing the face of drag racing forever.

Driven: BMW i8

When BMW unveiled the Vision EfficientDynamics concept at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show, we wrote: "for our money, it's the first time a major carmaker has really attempted to communicate ‘green' technology in an aesthetic sense." Fast-forward five years and we've swapped the show halls of the IAA for a beauty spot on the north-west coast of Scotland. And, while the car's name has changed to i8, our sentiment towards this genre- and era-defining car remains. Admittedly the production car's design execution hasn't received the universal praise of its concept forebears, but, on a remote outpost of the British Isles, a Protonic Blue i8 couldn't look more exotic.