Timken 3820 on 2040-parts.com

The Best (and worst!) of France and Italy

Call this the gathering of cars you're amazed even started. Yet, there were over 300 of them by 11:00 a.m., spread all over the lawn and under the trees in Woodley Park in Van Nuys, Calif. for the annual Best of France and Italy car show.

Mazda MX-5 Miata

For only the fourth time since the first was introduced 25 years ago - when it reignited the small sports car market - there's a new Mazda MX-5 Miata. Mazda's aim this time was to strip away much of the bulk that had accumulated over the years, recapturing the essence of a compact, light and affordable roadster. The subtext is that the MX-5 Miata has become a car more often bought by women in their 60s, rather than the young males it was originally intended for.

Volvo to launch large-scale autonomous driving project

It's going to happen sooner than we though -- the machines are going to take over. No need to jump in your car and drive to your uncle's fallout shelter where he's been stockpiling expired cans of tomato soup, though, at least not just yet. The machines in question are Volvos (pretty benign, right?), and the place they'll be taking over is Volvo's home town of Gothenburg, Sweden.