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

November a strong month for car sales

U.S. auto sales--led by BMW, American Honda and Volkswagen Group--rose 15 percent to 1.14 million in November, exceeding analysts' forecasts and setting the stage for the industry to finish 2012 on a high note heading into the new year. The annualized industry sales rate, adjusted for seasonal trends, accelerated to 15.56 million--the highest rate since 15.59 million in January 2008.

Parking ticket issued every four seconds

UK traffic wardens issued a parking ticket every four seconds last year, dishing out a total of 7.8 million in fines and raking in a whopping £255 million from motorists. The figures, obtained through a series of freedom of information requests by Churchill Insurance, found that Westminster City Council issued the equivalent of more than four Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) per resident in 2013, generating an income of £24 million for 455,000 fines. Parking wardens given ‘illegal’ bonus targets How to appeal a parking ticket Outside London, Cardiff issued the most fines at 57,000 – while North Somerset Council generated the most revenue at £2.25 million.

Art Center BMW/Exa project

There's a new sponsored project that is just getting under way at Art Center College of Design, the likes of which hasn't been seen in a very long time - if at all. The school's Transportation Design department has helped bring together BMW with Exa Corporation, a Boston-based virtual aerodynamic simulation company, and has tasked the students to re-design the current BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle with the hope of dramatically increasing its aerodynamic efficiency while still retaining the BMW flagship SAV design language. This brief is quite timely in the context of the industry's ongoing focus with sustainability and strikes at the core of the BMW Group's long term energy strategy known as the concept of Efficient Dynamics.