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2014 Maserati Ghibli order guide leaked online

The 2014 Maserati Ghibli order guide leaked online at ghibliforum.com over the weekend. From it we get a good view of the trims, engines and accessories for the Italian brand's new 5-series fighter. We already knew two engines -- twin-turbo V6s -- would be offered.

Auto-safety history gets its place in the Smithsonian

Smithsonian museum officials say their new collection of auto-safety objects dating to the 1930s is about America's love affair with its cars. But really it's about our passion for, well, staying alive. While some enthusiasts might question whether their cars should be braking for them, it's hard to quarrel with most of this technology.

Watch the sad, final moments of a crusher-bound heap

Automotive wrecking yards are good places to reflect on the real-world values of heavily depreciated vehicles versus global current scrap-metal prices, and to see which cars have suddenly had the fix-it-versus-total-it line moved by insurance companies (the early-21st-century Subaru Legacy Outback, for example, appeared in large numbers in high-turnover wrecking yards just during the last year, as fairly minor collision damage on these cars is no longer worth fixing). You'll see the things that a car's last owner does in a desperate attempt to sell (or at least live with) an increasingly decrepit heap (as we learned in "Repo Man," you really will find a Little Tree in every car). During a recent trip to a San Jose, Calif., yard, I encountered this sad yet strangely compelling scene.