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

Fuel protests halt Spanish car production

By Dimitri Pesin Motoring Issues 16 June 2008 10:25 Fuel protests in Europe triggered by the soaring cost of fuel have drastically reduced car production in Spain this month.  Last week's truck blockades and fuel depot pickets in Madrid caused car plants around the country to cut production. Seat, Citroen Peugeot, Ford, Nissan, Renault and Mercedes-Benz all have factories in Spain and most said they were affected.Seat production slashed by 40 percentSeat said its main Martorell plant was operating at 40 percent capacity, with production of the Leon and Altea models severely affected. However, the protests won’t delay sales of the new Ibiza, a spokesman promised, and assembly of cars in the factory is expected to return to normal this week.

IndyCar Hot Wheels race into stores

IndyCar-themed Hot Wheels will be hitting stores this month. The Indy Racing League and Mattel Inc., the maker of Hot Wheels, have agreed on a four-year deal that will produce a lineup of toy cars featuring teams and drivers. A 1:64-scale Hot Wheel is $4.99, with a 1:24 version that costs $24.99.

Alfa Romeo 4C hits the track (video)

The Alfa Romeo 4C (pictured) out on track – on video The Alfa Romeo 4C has been on its way for longer than it should have been. But Alfa Romeo finally got round to revealing the 4C in prodiction spec at the Geneva Motor Show in March, and visitors to this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed later this month will get to see the 4C strutting its stuff up the hillclimb. But ahead of that dynamic debut, Alfa has released new video of the 4C out playing on the Balocco Racetrack in Italy, with a few wailing exhausts notes but far to much dramatic music as a soundtrack.