– It wasn’t just trees, flowers, and other pollinating plants that were in bloom in May. Auto sales blossomed too. They’re on pace to reach 17.7 million U.S. sales this year, and if June goes just as well, it will be the first time the industry maintains this momentum in 11 years. All told, May’s 1.63 million vehicle sales were up 12 percent from April and two percent from a
-Quirky. Offbeat. Funky. It seems wherever Nissan’s Juke goes, those three adjectives seem to follow. And we get it: A subcompact crossover, the Juke wears its high wheel arches and an even higher beltline as badges of nonconformist honor, their effect only amplified by the slivers of side glass, ambiguous rear doors, bulbous tailgate, and twisted front and rear lamp lenses that rise, blisterlike, from the body surface. But to
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– If you abide by the idea that the Pope is really just a normal dude who gets to wear a robe everyday, then the news that he has augmented his predecessor’s special Mercedes parade car with a Hyundai is, well, not really news. But c’mon, people, this is the Pope, the leader of the Catholic church, globally recognized public figure, and all-around guy you wouldn’t expect to make risk-fraught public
– Hoping to make drunk driving a literal impossibility, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rolled out a prototype drunkenness-detection system for cars that would disallow vehicle operation if the driver is above the legal limit. Working with auto-industry members, NHTSA has been working on DADSS—Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety—and presented its ideas for stopping drunk-driving accidents before they happen before Congress and Mothers Against Drunk Driving. – – Drunk driving
– Stroll any thriving downtown metro area a few years ago, and you’d invariably spy with-it twentysomethings shod with Toms. They’re the sort of product that you’d like to feel good about—the company donates a pair of shoes to folks in need for every pair you, the benevolent first-worlder, purchases—but they have the unfortunate side effect of branding the wearer as the well-meaning, wholly insufferable type. Fundamentally, they’re the foot-borne
– Audi is launching an ultra-limited special edition of its cool and powerful S3, one that’s specific for the U.S. market. First reported by our pals at the Audi enthusiast website Fourtitude, Audi of America has created an Exclusive Edition package that includes colorful paint and interior trim—at a whopping $57,250 or $59,900, depending on the color choice. This pricing will likely keep a lid on demand, which is okay
-RM Sotheby’s auction house is bringing one of the most expensive and eclectic car collections ever to Pebble Beach this August, the contents of which could make for some tough choices among the paddle-wavers in attendance. – The famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, which takes place every year in Monterey, California, is a car lover’s delight. There, one sees some of the world’s cleanest examples of classic and exotic cars, and
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– Are the sports car gods in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen listening to our prayers? For years, Porsche has attempted to coax us into giving up manual shifters and accepting the advent of the automatic. Not a profane slushbox, mind you: They have given us the Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe, an ultra-quick, ZF-sourced dual-clutch gearbox that, we are told, is a much faster, better, and a more appropriate arbiter of gears than you. – – But
