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

Nissan GT-R to be revised for Europe

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 01 May 2008 18:14 Nissan is fettling its GT-R before it goes on sale in the UK in April 2009. It might have just announced a new lap record at the Nurburgring – chief test driver Tochio Suzuki shaved nine seconds off the GT-R's previous record of 7min 38 – but Nissan's engineers are already working on upgrades to the everyman's supercar.Chief vehicle engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno told CAR Online that the GT-R models bound for the American market would benefit from a range of small tweaks, including three harder engine mounts and a stiffer transaxle mount to stop the mechancial parts from moving under extreme cornering. It's detail like this that enabled the new 7min 29sec...Nissan GT-R: detail changes'The new mounts make the car feel more together in extreme circumstances,' he said.

Ownership costs of traditional versus alternative fuel vehicles

As gas prices remain high, and an increasing number of automakers roll out plug-in hybrid cars and full-electric vehicles, it's becoming easier to be tantalized with the idea of driving right past the gas station and simply "plugging in." The debate ensues when it comes to cost: These alternative fuel vehicles mean a larger outlay of cash at the onset, but the long-term fuel savings could make the purchase worthwhile. To help straighten out this numbers game, we use the Department of Energy's Vehicle Cost Calculator to compare alternative fuel vehicles with their gasoline-only counterparts. For each scenario, we assumed that our hypothetical owner was able to get the full $7,500 federal tax credit and a $2,500 state tax credit, such as is available in California.

How Lexus execs rescued the GS sedan

Eighteen months ago, Toyota had all but scrapped its plans for the redesigned Lexus GS 350 sedan that was unveiled in Monterey, Calif., last week. At the time, the company was pouring engineering resources into resolving its unintended acceleration crisis and was busy changing quality and safety procedures. Plus, the GS' underwhelming sales in the United States and Europe made for a weak business case against the Mercedes E-class and BMW 5-series.