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

Refreshed 2015 Dodge Challenger gets a 485-hp 6.4-liter V8, Scat Pack trims

Chrysler has pulled the covers off the 2015 Dodge Challenger at the New York auto show, and though the styling is more or less unchanged, the big news is a big, new V8 option. No, it's not the rumored supercharged “Hellcat” mill, but the 6.4-liter Hemi V8 under the hood of the Challenger 6.4-liter Scat Pack variant should be good for 485 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque. Plus, you'll have something to talk about with the guys rolling around in 2014 Ram Power Wagons, which also get that bigger motor in the new model year.

Algae-derived biodiesel blend hits San Francisco-area gas stations

Environmentally conscious drivers may have a new way of fueling up: a diesel fuel blend that consists of 20 percent algae-derived biofuel and 80 percent regular diesel arrived at four gas stations in the San Francisco Bay area earlier this week. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the fuel retails for $4.25 per gallon—the same cost as conventional diesel in the region. B20 is billed as compatible with any diesel-powered vehicle.

Mark Vaughn: We’ll always have Vegas

There were a few bare spots on the floor of the Consumer Electronics Show this year, spots that in previous years had been jammed sardine-like with myriad Taiwanese makers of Hello Kitty knockoff cell phone cozies and electronic barking dogs, but the show this year was nonetheless pretty well attended. Besides, for those working their way upstream through the aisles like so many digitally trained trout, the empty spots left by exhibitors that pulled out were like refreshing mountain meadows or little piazzas in crowded Italian cities. Show management stocked the open spots with cushy couches, too, on which many a jet-lagged showgoer snoozed.