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Kia, Chrysler, VW set pace as December sales advance 9 percent

Kia, Chrysler and Volkswagen posted some of the strongest sales gains for December as the industry closed out 2011 on a high note. Automotive News estimates December volume was up 9 percent to 1.24 million from a year earlier--in line with analysts' forecasts. Total industry sales were projected at 12.78 million for the year, up from 2010's total of 11.6 million and the 27-year low of 10.4 million in 2009.

Skoda drives along Popular memory lane

A EUROPEAN car enthusiast is recreating a remarkable British journey first completed 90 years ago by a famous Czech writer, and is driving a 77-year-old Skoda Popular. The milestone car, Skoda's first to sell in big numbers across Europe, is well into a three-week journey around the UK in the hands of car nut Zdeněk Vacek, starting and finishing at the Czech Embassy in London and visiting many of the cities featured in famous Czech writer Karel Čapek's 1924 tome Letters from England. The Popular itself can celebrate its 80th birthday at the same time, having first appeared to widespread acclaim in 1934.

One Lap of the Web: Remembering Ayrton Senna

-- Hard to believe it's been 20 years since the passing of Formula One legend Ayrton Senna, but one Jalopnik reader remembers the bloody weekend in San Marino vividly. A dream vacation in Europe cumulating in the ill-fated Grand Prix: Alan Dahl saw Senna's wrecked car coming into the pits, but like the rest of the crowd, he wouldn't find out Senna's fate until he left the track. "For years afterwards I felt guilty that, not knowing that the tragedy had happened," he said, "that I had fun at the race." -- The excellent 8W, a site of racing driver stories, recounts the last 96 hours of Senna's life.