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.

2012 Audi A6 Avant arrives

The new Audi A6 Avant arrives It’s a strange thing, but we find the Avant version of the Audi A6 somehow more appealing than the regular saloon. It shouldn’t be so; surely the Estate is the utilitarian option? But there’s something hugely appealing about a load lugger that can offer real saloon car levels of comfort and handling (and even barking mad performance in the RS6 Avant).

William Clay Ford Sr.'s death: Leaders and sports world react

William Clay Ford Sr., who died on Sunday at the age of 88, served in numerous positions at the Ford Motor Company, including 32 years as chairman of the Design Committee, and became chairman of the Executive Committee in 1978. Comments on the death of Ford, the last surviving grandchild of automotive pioneer Henry Ford and owner of the NFL's Detroit Lions: "The Fords are among Michigan's iconic, founding families, and he was an innovator in the family tradition as well as a strong leader. Like his grandfather, he was passionate about automobiles and the auto industry, the city of Detroit and his family.