Kawasaki 41047-0001 Shoe-assy-brake on 2040-parts.com

Concorso Italiano car show at Monterey Historics week 2013: in pictures

Every year as part of the Monterey Historics week there’s an Italian car gathering that’s grown to the point where it’s an international – unmissable – event. For 2013 the venue was the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch, just next to the race circuit – and what an incredible line up of cars there was. Alongside the predictable was the completely unpredictable.

Petrolhead spiders cause Mazda recall

Mazda has had to recall 42,000 vehicles in the US after it emerged that a species of spider had been weaving webs in fuel vent hoses, increasing the risk of fuel leaks and fires. The yellow sac spider’s curious domestic activities cause a build-up of pressure in the evaporative fuel vent that – in theory at least – could result in a cracked fuel tank and therefore an increased risk of fire. This isn’t the first time that the Mazda 6 has received the unwanted advances of a gas-guzzling arachnid, either – three years ago Mazda had to recall over 50,000 cars for precisely the same reason.

2014 Chevrolet Reaper bumps Silverado to 550 hp

It was only a matter of time before a Chevy Silverado decided to give the Ford Raptor a run for its money, in this case via noted tuner John Lingenfelter. The company announced its new Chevrolet Reaper project at the National Automotive Dealers Association last Friday. The 2014 Reaper is the result of a conversion kit that takes an average Silverado -- already a good truck -- and puts it on steroids, so to speak.