Porsche 914 Gas Tank Strap Assembly. on 2040-parts.com

Porsche uses phone-formatted bar codes to connect with customers

Porsche is harnessing the power of smartphones, using Microsoft Tag bar codes to provide dealership customers with unique information about the cars they're looking at. Buyers can scan the square stickers with a properly equipped phone, and the application will take them to dedicated microsites where they can see stats, videos and pictures of the car, along with audio clips of a flat-six engine revving up. Through the microsite, buyers can provide contact info for a follow-up call from Porsche salespeople.

Honda introduces GEAR concept in Montreal

We already know that Europe often gets better cars than we do in the United States, but now Canada is getting in on the action, too. At the press days of the Montreal International Auto Show, the Japanese company introduced the Honda GEAR Concept. The car is reportedly inspired by fixed-gear bicycles -- gag me with a spoon -- and Honda says it's simple, utilitarian, but also customizable.

Pagani Zonda Cinque – Hammond’s Drive +Video

Richard Hammond gets to play with the Pagani Zonda Cinque Whilst we were busy wandering round the interweb today to make sure we’d got our facts right for the ‘Top Gear builds an Electric Car‘ piece, we came across a video of Richard Hammond out playing with the ultimate road-going Zonda – the Pagani Zonda Cinque. As all of you who watch Top Gear already know, Hammond would marry a Zonda tomorrow if he could. So you won’t be entirely amazed to discover that the video is an homage to the Zonda, and not exactly objective.