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

GM's historic Willow Run plant closes

After 68 years of arming the nation and putting America on wheels, the Willow Run manufacturing plant in southeast Michigan closed on Thursday. The 5-million-square-foot powertrain plant, owned by Motors Liquidation Corp., the remnants of the former General Motors Corp., has fallen victim to GM's 2009 bankruptcy and subsequent restructuring. About 300 workers left at the plant will either “retire, transfer to another campus or go on layoff,” said Chris Lee, a spokesman for the reorganized General Motors Co.

Porsche big up the Panamera S E-Hybrid (video)

The Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid (pictured) is a performance Porsche too We’ve long seen hybrids, and plug-in hybrids, as the perfect performance weapon for high-end cars, where the addition of an electric motor offers an unbeatable combination of power and economy. That’s the line that Porsche are taking with the new Panamera S E-Hybrid, and they demonstrated that recently by revealing that the new E-Hybrid managed to average 62mpg in the hands of a bunch of motoring journalists on a test day. Which is an impressive number for any car in the hands of a group of people with lead-lined right feet and clearly demonstrates that the Panamera Hybrid really can do silly mpg even in the real world.

Spy Shots: Chevy SS caught testing, rendered

Way back in June, Autoweek published a speculative rendering of the forthcoming Chevrolet SS. The Zeta-platform, rear-wheel-drive, V8-powered follow-up to the late Pontiac G8 was recently spotted testing by the spy photographers at Chris Doane Automotive. Doane was so inspired by General Motors' nascent performance sedan that he commissioned his own Chevy SS rendering.