Nitrous Express 15939 Heavy Duty Nitrous Bottle Heater on 2040-parts.com

Why the Honda Ridgeline pickup is driving off into the sunset

The Honda Ridgeline is a good example of what happens when an automaker abandons a model. After much fanfare with its introduction in 2005, little was done to upgrade the mid-sized pickup. Ridgeline's plummeting sales are no surprise considering the lack of sheet metal changes and significant engineering improvements over the seven-year period.

Driven: BMW i8

When BMW unveiled the Vision EfficientDynamics concept at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show, we wrote: "for our money, it's the first time a major carmaker has really attempted to communicate ‘green' technology in an aesthetic sense." Fast-forward five years and we've swapped the show halls of the IAA for a beauty spot on the north-west coast of Scotland. And, while the car's name has changed to i8, our sentiment towards this genre- and era-defining car remains. Admittedly the production car's design execution hasn't received the universal praise of its concept forebears, but, on a remote outpost of the British Isles, a Protonic Blue i8 couldn't look more exotic.

Volkswagen Scirocco unveiled

By Mark Nichol First Official Pictures 03 March 2008 20:00 VW has finally taken the wraps off the new Scirocco, 15 years after killing off the last generation coupe. Due to be officially unveiled at Geneva 2008, the Golf-based Scirocco has a pleasingly similar exterior to the Iroc concept shown at the 2006 Paris Motor Show, although the concept’s space-age interior has, predictably, undergone the full production watering-down. How cynical.