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.

2012 Canadian Grand Prix Qualifying: Vettel takes pole

Sebastian Vettel has taken Red Bull’s second pole position in a row with a stunning qualifying at the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix. Red Bull may have seemed a bit out of sorts so far in the 2012 F1 season, but Vettel’s pole at the Canadian Grand Prix on top of Mark Webber’s win at Monaco last time out may be an ominous sign for the rest of the grid. Vettel took his Red Bull round Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve a full three tenths of a second ahead of second place Lewis Hamilton and moves Vettel up to fifth place in the all-time pole listings alongside Nigel Mansell – and his career still has a long way to go to overhaul Schumacher, Senna, Clark and Prost.

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.