Yellow/red S O'neal Racing Element Acid Jersey 2014 Model on 2040-parts.com

Lotus, Toyota celebrate engine deal

Lotus CEO Dany Bahar presented Toyota president Akio Toyoda with a Lotus Elise this week at the British Embassy in Tokyo, celebrating the companies' long partnership. The Elise was equipped with Toyota's last 2ZZ-GE VVTL-i engine, the same engine found in older versions of the Lotus Elise and Exige. “The presentation of Toyota's last 2ZZ engine in the Elise is a symbolic gesture of our continued respect and deep appreciation for our partner not only acknowledging our past, but also looking forward to our future together,” Bahar said in a statement.

Mazda refines lineup with SkyActiv technology

It turns out Mazda isn't simply shooting for the sky. Rather, the protagonists of Zoom-Zoom driving dynamics are taking an active approach to the brand's DNA: Put it all together: it's called “SkyActiv,” and Mazda is billing the suite of technologies as the pillars of its way forward. Much of these features--which enhance future products in nearly all areas, including engine, transmission and chassis--have already been revealed.

Driven: Kia Picanto

The first-generation Kia Picanto was one of the cars that helped promote Kia from the lower half of the second-division to somewhere near the playoff places. Its combination of great value, five-door practicality and vaguely cutesy - if thoroughly unremarkable - design found it many a home on the driveway of those looking for an A-segment hatchback. The second-generation model is playing a rather tougher ballgame.