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

BMW 730Ld takes ‘Top Chauffeur Car’ title from Jaguar XJ

BMW 730Ld Chauffeur and Professional Driver Car of the Year 2011 Last year was very much the year of the Jaguar XJ, with awards and praise oozing from every publication. But a year is a long time in the car world, and the XJ – winner of the Chauffeur Car of the Year in 2010-  has been beaten in to third place in this year’s Chauffeur Car of the Year by the BMW 730Ld. Professional Driver Magazine awards annual gongs for the best ‘working’ cars, judged by an invited panel of chauffeurs, motoring journalists and private hire operators who drive and judge the contenders during a one-day judging event.

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.

2014 Mazda 3 photos leak before official reveal

Pictures of the 2014 Mazda 3 leaked online Wednesday on a Czech auto forum. Along with them was the ordering guide that reveals the selection of engines in the new hot hatch. The Mazda 3 is scheduled for an official reveal later today.