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

Honda tears up its old product plan

Honda Motor Co. is reviewing its entire lineup with the aim of building less expensive and more fuel-efficient vehicles, Honda CEO Takanobu Ito says. In the case of some next-generation products--including the crucial Civic platform used on a variety of vehicles worldwide--that means making major changes to vehicles already well along in the development process.

Maybach from Jay-Z and Kanye West video up for auction

Just because Daimler shut down Maybach in November doesn't mean that the marque won't still fetch top dollar on the open market. But, if buyers want something with a little more flair and a little less Grey Poupon, they can head to the Phillips de Pury & Co. auction in New York to pick one up that was used in the Jay-Z and Kanye West video for the song “Otis.” The Maybach 57 with a pedigree is expected to go for about $125,000, a third of what one costs new.

Hyundai makes Kia’s Peter Schreyer Hyundai design guru too

The newly appointed Kia President, Peter Schreyer, has now been made Hyundai President in charge of design too. Peter Schreyer’s success in making Kia a real design force led to him being appointed a Kia President at the end of 2012, handsome reward for the changes he’s wrought at Kia since leaving VW, turning Kia’s range of cars from stodgy to convincing in a few short years. But Kia is the junior partner in the Hyundai-Kia business, so Hyundai are obviously not totally thrilled that Kia managed to snaffle a designer who’s eye manages to so convincingly hit the Zeitgeist firmly on the head.