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

European car sales down 5.2%

EUROPEAN UNION car sales are still sagging despite the return of modest economic growth. For the first eight months of the year, passenger car sales were down 5.2% to 7.84 million compared with the same period last year, the European Auto Manufacturers' Association said - the lowest January-August figure since the group started keeping records in 1990. New car registrations in August fell five per cent from a year ago to 653,872.

Detroit auto show: Autoweek editors' picks

The press conferences are over (our feet are killing us), our staff has stopped wrestling, and the ballots are counted. The 2014 Detroit auto show had dozens of never-before-seen cars and trucks gleaming under the Cobo Center lights. Here are the four we, the Autoweek staff, think stood out the most.

Tesla has room to grow with the Model S sedan, Calif. factory

We got a brief ride in a prototype of the Tesla Model S all-electric sedan, and as far as we could tell from the passenger seat, it seemed like a luxury performance bargain for just $57,400. Of course, being just a passenger means any evaluation is more or less just a guess. We should get to drive one of them sometime before the fully finished models go on sale next summer and then we will have a more definitive take on the car.