17" Fuel Maverick Black Milled D538 Rims & Toyo 265-70-17 Open Country At Tires on 2040-parts.com

Guns blazing, dealer fights Hummer slump

For Hummer dealer Jim Lynch, shrinking sales of gas-guzzling SUVs triggered an idea. He decided to add new accessories to the product arsenal at his Chesterfield, Mo., store: guns and ammo. With payments on his $7.5 million mortgage looming, Lynch turned most of his Hummer showroom into a high-end armory, with 200 pistols, rifles and shotguns worth $250,000.

NHTSA safety consultant dies at 64

Miami trauma surgeon and preeminent car-crash researcher Jeffrey Augenstein would often tell the story of the time he was talking to a crash victim who collapsed and died from hidden injuries in the middle of the conversation. The experience led Augenstein to research and then call attention to the unexpected injuries that could occur when drivers interacted with airbags. It's but one example of the achievements of Augenstein, who died recently at age 64.

Autoweek's 2014 Best of the Best Finalists -- sneak peek

Every year, as hundreds of new cars and trucks pass through our fleet for evaluation, we are always on the lookout for those dazzling few deserving more careful scrutiny for our top honors, the Autoweek Best of the Best. It's down to three cars and three trucks that our regular readers quickly will recognize in the video above, designed to whet your appetite as we get further along in the judging. We'll be bringing you full details on our Best of the Best/Car and Best of the Best/Truck finalists in the coming days, along with updates as we get closer to announcing our winners in the December 23 issue of Autoweek.