Solder-it Inc. Es640k Multi Function Torch/soldering Iron Kit on 2040-parts.com

Mazda design chief Ikuo Maeda brings new meaning to zoom-zoom

Ikuo Maeda, the new design chief at Mazda Motor Corp., earned the nickname "Speedy" for his lead-footed driving on the race course and off. He may be the only standing auto executive to have had his license revoked--twice. It's only natural then that Maeda, who took the design reins last April, views himself as the rightful guardian of Mazda's zoom-zoom brand heritage.

BAC Mono finally hits the U.S. (video)

Sector 111 – US importers of the epic BAC Mono – have finally revealed the first US Mono at Cars and Coffee in Irvine, California. It’s more than a year since we reported that Sector 111 would be offering the BAC Mono in the US and now, having completely sold their 2012 allocation of just 12 Monos, the first US built (well, bolted together from a CKD kit by Sector 111) has been revealed to petrolheads at the Cars and Coffee meet in Irvine, California. And the Cars & Coffee meeting is a great place for Sector 111 to show off their first Mono as its attended by a bunch of knowledgeable and wealthy Californians, just the sort of potential buyer Sector 111 are looking for.

Mark Vaughn: We’ll always have Vegas

There were a few bare spots on the floor of the Consumer Electronics Show this year, spots that in previous years had been jammed sardine-like with myriad Taiwanese makers of Hello Kitty knockoff cell phone cozies and electronic barking dogs, but the show this year was nonetheless pretty well attended. Besides, for those working their way upstream through the aisles like so many digitally trained trout, the empty spots left by exhibitors that pulled out were like refreshing mountain meadows or little piazzas in crowded Italian cities. Show management stocked the open spots with cushy couches, too, on which many a jet-lagged showgoer snoozed.