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

Hyundai drops out of shrinking Tokyo auto show

The incredibly shrinking Tokyo auto show just got even smaller. Hyundai Motor Co., the last major foreign automaker which was scheduled to participate in next month's show, has decided to pull out with just weeks to go, organizers say. “Hyundai called last week and orally confirmed their intent to cancel,” said Toyokazu Ishida, who administers the international exhibition for the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.

Concept Car of the Week: Nissan NX-21 (1983)

In the early 1980s, with the new millennium still seemingly an age away, Nissan Design America was tasked with imagining the family car of the future, while giving potential buyers a preview of the forthcoming N13 NX and EXA models. The resulting concept would be shown at the Tokyo motor show in 1983. Given confidence by the increasing success and expanding global presence of Japanese cars, including the previous generation N12 NX, Nissan's designers, led by Tom Semple, decided that the NX-21 (for 21st century) was the answer.

Lotus Evora does special duty for Italian Carabinieri

In a tip of the hat to Britain, the Italian Arma dei Carabinieri, a division of the army charged with civilian police duties, accepted two new Lotus Evora S models for special duty. The headquarters of the Carabinieri in Rome hosted a ceremony culminating in the Evora twins being turned over by Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar. “Everyone knows that Italy has more than its fair share of high-profile sports-car manufacturers, so it’s a real honor for a relatively small British brand to be in this position,” Bahar said.