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

Volvo Group plans wirelessly charged bus line

There's one bit of futuristic transportation technology that seems to get trotted out almost as often as autonomous cars, electric cars and flying cars: Inductive, or wireless, charging for city buses. It's not as sexy or as memorable as the perpetually out-of-reach commuter-grade Harrier jet, but it uses proven technology (GM's EV-1 uses inductive charging, as do electric toothbrushes) to save or eliminate fuel and to reduce emissions. And unlike the flying car, induction-charged buses are hardly fantasy: They've been used in European cities for over a decade, South Korea started testing a fleet last year and Utah got in on the act recently.

A look at Toyota future products

Toyota has slipped behind competitors in drivetrain technology and now must play catch-up against the likes of Ford, Hyundai and Mazda. Much of Toyota's lag stems from engineering resources being diverted by the unintended acceleration crisis and other quality miscues in the past two years. Now expect Toyota to focus more on turbocharging and direct injection, and it may even bring a couple of diesels to the United States as part of midcycle changes.

Skoda Rapid SpaceBack arrives ahead of a Frankfurt debut

The Skoda Rapid Spaceback (pictured) is a new Rapid Hatch You’d expect something called SpaceBack to be a more commodious version of a standard car. But in the case of the new Skoda Rapid Spaceback, it’s not. In fact, the SpaceBack is a more conventional hatchback version of the Rapid Saloon Skoda revealed last year which wasn’t actually a saloon at all but a ‘liftback’.