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

Ford at CES: Charge your car with science and wash your dishes while you sleep

Ford's C-Max Solar Energy Concept is a "plugless plugin," said Donna Bell, which initially sounds silly -- as if the carefully structured chaos and noise of CES may have finally gotten to her. But as someone who has been managing Ford's electric vehicle infrastructure for the past 20 years, she isn't being facetious. Solar panels on the roof of a car aren't anything new -- the Fisker Karma used them to power the radio and other in-car accessories, to cite a soon-obscure example.

BMW set to go front-wheel drive

BMW chairman Norbert Reithofer has confirmed that the German carmaker will introduce a new front-wheel-drive entry-level model positioned and priced below the existing 1-series as part of plans to help increase part sharing and to bolster the potential for production savings between the BMW and Mini brands, thus bringing an end to the era of rear- and four-wheel-drive-only BMW models. Speaking to AutoWeek at the Geneva motor show, Reithofer said internal BMW studies revealed that despite the downturn in the world's economy, there was continued demand for what he described as "premium vehicles" in the small-car class, before officially acknowledging plans that will see BMW produce a rival to the recently unveiled Audi A1 and a new Smart Forfour presently under development at Mercedes-Benz. "We will be extending the BMW and Mini brands into the small-car segment with new models and variants," he said.

Monterey Historics renamed; Dan Gurney to be honored at first event

Iconic racer Dan Gurney will be the first featured guest at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion in August, an event formerly known as the Monterey Historic Automobile Races. Gurney will be honored with displays of Eagle race cars spanning his career, including Formula One, Indy cars, Trans-Am, Can-Am and IMSA GTP prototypes. He'll also have a public interview and autograph session.