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

Pioneer App Radio officially unveiled

Pioneer has officially unveiled the App Radio that AutoWeek told you about earlier this month. Now that it's willing to talk, Pioneer claims that the radio and audio system is "the first in-vehicle product designed to utilize the processing power, storage capacity, network connectivity and apps of the iPhone and iPod Touch as the primary source for its information and entertainment capabilities." That does sound a lot like what Mini Connected and, in a more platform-agnostic sense, Ford Sync are doing. Pioneer said it couldn't speak to the similarity of those systems, but Ted Cardenas, director of marketing for Pioneer's car-electronics division, briefed us on installation of the device and what Pioneer is doing to minimize driver distraction.

Spy photos: BMW i8 hits Swedish test track

Spy photographers caught the new BMW i8 testing on a secret track wearing the company’s familiar psychedelic camouflage. The test car pictured is a preproduction model rather than a concept BMW i8, similar to what should appear in 2013. As reported earlier, we’re expecting BMW’s 2014 i8 hybrid coupe to get a 1.5-liter, three-cylinder direct-injection gasoline engine--essentially the same unit earmarked to head into the next-generation Mini and the front-wheel-drive BMW 1-series due out in 2014.

Volvo C30 Electric: A severe cold-weather bashing

Voilvo has been cold weather testing the electric C30 at temperatures as low as -20C We do have more than a degree of scepticism when it comes to electric cars. Actually, it’s not the electric cars that cause us to be sceptical, more so the claims – or a lack of transparency - by car makers, which gets right up our nose. There’s an implication that the electric car is a replacement for the ICE car.