1967 14" Chevy Impala Caprice Hubcap #3009 on 2040-parts.com

Toyota Auris Touring Sports: Paris 2012

Toyota has revealed the first estate version of the Auris – the 2013 Toyota Auris Touring Sports – at the Paris Motor Show. It’s a sensible move by Toyota to add an estate version to a car that competes in a segment where 25 per cent of all cars sold are estates, and the Auris Estate looks a decent offering. The Auris Touring Sports sits on the same 2600mm wheelbase as the Auris hatch, but it gets and extra 285mm longer thanks to the new shed on the back, a shed that offers what looks like a decent carrying capacity )although Toyota aren’t actually telling us how much ‘stuff’ the Auris estate can carry).

One Lap of the Web: We invented the Miata!

-- Sochi or bust! Is there anything more Russian than driving a Lada Niva to the Winter Olympics? (Flagrant corruption, perhaps.) Documentary producer Vlad Ketkovich calls the venerable Niva "the closest thing to an automotive version of the Russian soul," and we'd wager that the Niva belongs in quintessential Russian-ness next to the Bolshoi Ballet and the movie "Russian Ark." (Or "Ninth Company," if your attention span has been blown to bits.) -- A gorgeous Alfa Romeo ventures into the woods by itself.

New car sales up for 28th consecutive month

THE STEADY ADVANCE of new car sales shows no sign of slowing down. There were 228,291 new registrations in June, a 6.2% rise on the total for June 2013, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. Last month was the 28th consecutive month of growth and means that sales for the year so far have reached more than 1.28 million - a 10.6% rise on the first six months of last year.