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

Autoweek in review: What you may have missed

It was a slower week in the newsroom as 2012 winded down. On Monday, we learned how motorcycles were coming back and got some ideas for last-minute holiday gifts. In the racing world, the Trans Am Series announced that it’s expanding the 2013 race schedule.

Is the car industry heading toward the past?

Is the future of cars decidedly old school? An NPR blogger certainly thinks so. NPR Business Desk reporter Sonari Glinton recently likened the 2014 Detroit auto show to an era 40 years ago, reflecting the possibility that the renewed zeitgeist of an entire convention indicates a "retro" kind of thinking.

Top 5 most important cars at the 2013 Frankfurt motor show

The five most important memorable cars in attendance at the world’s biggest motor show Nothing is as controversial as irritating your core enthusiasts, and the Audi Sport Quattro concept risks doing just that. Its name and styling riff off one of the most iconic cars in Audi’s back catalogue – and in WRC history – yet the new yellow version unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt motor show has abandoned the five-cylinder engine, manual gearbox, and respectable kerbweight of the 2010 Quattro concept. In its place, we’ve an RS7-based coupe with the power of a Lamborghini Aventador (691bhp), twice the claimed economy of a Golf GTD (113mpg), but only because of a twin-turbo V8 mated to a hefty hybrid powertrain, and that means this new Sport Quattro weighs as much as a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport (1845kg).