Honda N600 Primary Oil Chain Nozzle on 2040-parts.com

Birth of an Icon

The first thing you notice when you step into Icon's sprawling, 120,000-square-foot shop in Chatsworth, Calif. -- past the fenced-in yard of Broncos of every size and Land Cruisers of every generation, past the 1952 Chrysler Town & Country station wagon with the DeSoto front end and a massaged patina of greens, browns, and ochres resembling a Cezanne painting -- is the smell. It smells old in here.

Mercedes-Benz introduces nine-speed automatic gearbox

Mercedes-Benz has quietly slipped a new nine-speed automatic into its lineup as standard equipment on the European market E350 BlueTec. The new in-house produced unit, known internally under the name 9G-Tronic, has long been slated for selected Mercedes-Benz models. However, its existence was officially denied until the weekend, when Mercedes-Benz's German language website configurator went live with various updates for the E-class lineup -- including an entry signaling the 9G-Tronic is now available on the standard rear-wheel drive E350 BlueTec in place of the older seven-speed.

Pirelli World Challenge star Andy Pilgrim makes teens, parents better drivers

Here's another addend in the complex driver-training equation: Many parents influence their kids to become both a greater danger when driving and more susceptible to the actions of other poor drivers. This influence begins long before kids are licensed to drive. Consider: -- “More than 75 percent of new drivers exhibit the same distracted driving behavior as their parents.” -- “Most parents are unaware they are teaching their kids things that will make them more dangerous to others and more vulnerable to others.” -- “Most parents want to protect their children and will make changes once they understand the realities of behavior transfer.” These are the words of Andy Pilgrim, the same championship-winning sports-car driver who helped road-test editor Jonathan Wong thrash Porsche's 911 GT3 and Chevrolet's Camaro Z/28.