1971 1972 1973 Ford Mustang Cougar Motor Mounts on 2040-parts.com

Plenty of contenders for Pebble Beach honors

The one we saw first was Sam Mann's 1930 Duesenberg J Graber Cabriolet. It was entered in the Tour, a 60-mile pre-Pebble cruise around Monterey, down to Big Sur and back, which gives cars entered in the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance a chance to show that they are more than just pretty things. Mann's Duesey had all the looks of a winner, with its long front hood, flowing fenders and two seats way in the back.

Fiat-Chrysler: A match made for enthusiasts

The Fiat-Chrysler marriage means big love for auto enthusiasts in the United States. Here's a quick rundown on some of the Fiat hardware we got a chance to sample during a recent visit to the company's headquarters and test track in Italy. Fiat 500: With styling that makes it look like the spawn of a Volkswagen Beetle and a BMW Mini Cooper, the 500 does an Italian job on both competitors: It's cuter than a Beetle, and likely less expensive than a comparable Mini.

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.