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

Carlos Ghosn's automaker mantra: Go big or you'll go away

Size matters in auto company survival, Renault and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told an audience in Detroit on Tuesday. To cope with the escalating costs and scope of a global industry, successful automakers must complete a trifecta--be able to compete in every technology, every market and every segment, Ghosn said during a luncheon speech at the Detroit Economic Club “No 3 million-unit carmaker can make it,” Ghosn said, explaining why his Renault-Nissan alliance forged an alliance with Germany's Daimler AG. Competency in one or two of the three skills is not enough, and only very large companies can afford all three, he said.

Art Center Summit 2009

The Art Center Summit, now in its third year, has finally seen the rest of the world catch up with its preoccupations. Initially conceived in 2006-07 to bring government, academic, and business leaders to Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, to discuss issues related to mobility and sustainability, the summit has benefited from the financial turmoil that has recently gripped the world. Previously, the event was highly speculative and appealed mainly to designers working in the advanced mobility community; this year, the summit occurred against a backdrop of meltdown in the US auto industry, chaos in the global financial sector, and a growing realization - supported by the incoming Obama administration - that energy and transportation policy will form a key part of a Green future.

Kia Provo upsets Northern Ireland

The Kia Provo Concept for a funky urban car has run in to trouble in Northern Ireland as its name evokes the Troubles. Looking like a Kia take on the Juke – although we think Kia see it more as a take on the MINi Countryman / MINI Paceman – it looks like a perfect direction for Kia to take with a ready market for butch little cars for blatting round town growing all the time. But you can’t please all the people all the time, and Kia has run in to trouble with the Provo already, as Unionist MPs in Northern Ireland have taken exception to the name.