1999 Oldsmobile Cutlass Owner's Manual on 2040-parts.com

GM, Ford and Chrysler sales advance on crossover, small-car demand

General Motors, Ford and Chrysler posted higher July sales, helped by demand for crossovers as well as small, fuel-efficient vehicles. GM said today its sales rose 8 percent last month from a year ago, with passenger car demand rising 8 percent and crossover sales increasing 20 percent. At Ford, sales rose 6 percent, with car demand advancing 3 percent and light truck sales up 12 percent.

Visionary tech

Ignore the marketers: There's nothing new under the technological sun. Cost and reliability concerns may have hindered the early adoption of these auto-tech breakthroughs, though you'd never know it based on their present-day ubiquity. 1941: Crossovers The combination of a fully enclosed, carlike body and all-wheel-drive underpinnings got its start with the Volkswagen Type 87 Kommandeurwagen.

VIDEO: Andrea Zagato and his 1957 Alfa Romeo 1900 SSZ

Our friends over at Petrolicious have gone and produced another beautiful video, this time focusing their lens on Andrea Zagato and one of his father’s creations, the 1957 Alfa Romeo 1900 SSZ. Shot both in Zagato’s Milanese facility and also on the road, Essential Beauty is a visually stunning and also insightful film into the philosophy of a company that, even though now in the hands of the third generation of family ownership, is unwavering in its ideology. If your Italian’s not quite up to scratch, head to YouTube and turn on the English subtitles.