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

Akio Toyoda waves family flag, heir makes crisis personal challenge

The reclusive Akio Toyoda is taking the rare step of waving the family flag, as the scion to Toyota Motor Corp.’s founding dynasty tries to steer the world’s largest car company out of a spiraling safety crisis. In testimony prepared for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, President Toyoda pursues a rare personal tack on the emergency, saying “my name is on every car.” “As you well know, I am the grandson of the founder, and all the Toyota vehicles bear my name,” Toyoda says in prepared comments circulated ahead of Wednesday’s committee hearing in Washington. “For me, when the cars are damaged, it is as though I am as well.” The intimate reflection is a departure for Toyoda, who has spent most of his career sidestepping public discussion of his lineage.

Fifth Gear Tonight: Porsche Boxster S, Ford Focus ST & the new Audi S8 (video)

A new series of Fifth Gear starts tonight with Vicki B-H racing a French Jet in a new Porsche Boxster S, Jason Plato testing the new Audi S8 & Jonny in the Ford Focus ST. Those nice people at Fifth Gear have been in touch asking if we’d like to run trailer information for the new Fifth Gear Series, just as we do for Top Gear. Why not, we thought?

Hot Wheels cars inventor Elliot Handler dies

Elliot Handler,the inventor of Hot Wheels die-cast toy cars, died July 21 at his home in Southern California. He was 95 years old. Handler and his wife, Ruth, and family friend Matt Matson founded the Mattel toy company in 1945.