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

Bonneville broadcast will add pepper to the salt

If you've ever been to Bonneville during Speed Week, you know what a thrilling corner of the motorsports world the place occupies: standing out on the endless, blazing-white expanse of salt, hearing the cars before you see them, seeing first the roostertail of salt rocketed into the air, then the tallest part of the rear fin, then the car itself, blasting over the curvature of the Earth, followed by engine cutoff, popping chutes, deceleration and the giddy celebration of driver and crew as yet another record falls. But most people -- those with jobs, kids, responsibilities (where are your priorities, people???) -- will never get a chance to go. So this year, the Southern California Timing Association has made a deal to broadcast audio of the entire Speed Week live, as it happens, direct from the salt, on the fabulous internet.

Mercedes GLA Concept leaks ahead of Shanghai Motor Show debut

But ahead of a debut of the production ready GLA at Frankfurt, Mercedes are taking a GLA Concept – which is pretty much what the production version will be – to the Shanghai Motor Show this month. But it’s arrived early. Thanks to a German website publishing the pictures ahead of time (which they’ve subsequently removed) we get our first look at Mercedes latest addition to the A Class family – and it does look quite convincing.

September sales hint at improvement

A 10 percent increase in new-vehicle sales in September is sparking optimism that the year will have a strong finish. And analysts say that deals might get better over the next few months as Toyota and Honda finally recover from shortages caused by the earthquake that hit Japan in March. Those brands might increase spending on incentives to woo buyers back into their showrooms.