Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

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.

The craziest cars from the Frankfurt Motor Show

Frankfurt 2013 offered an automotive smorgasbord of technology, from out-there concepts like Vauxhall’s ‘condor-winged’ Monza to down to Earth next-gen production vehicles like Volkswagen’s e-Up! and e-Golf all-electric hatchback pairing. In the middle stood our next 10 cars.

Private Toyota Friend social network lets owners talk to their cars and each other

Toyota is launching a social-networking service that will enable owners to engage in verbal dialogue with their Toyota cars. They can share the exchanges in the network and broadcast them via Facebook and Twitter. According to the Associated Press, Toyota is teaming up with U.S.