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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.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage N420 launches

The Aston Martin V8 Vantage N420 hits the roads next month The only surprise about the new Aston Martin V8 Vantage N420 is that Aston Martin has chosen to reveal it today rather than this last weekend at Goodwood. But at least  it gives us some supercar news even though Goodwood is over for another year. If you remember the last stripped down, lightened and ‘Superleggera-fied’ Aston Martin Vantage – the V8 Vantage N400 – you’re not going to be struggling too much to work out what’s on offer with the Aston Martin V8 Vantage N420.

Nissan recruits Champions League football stars

NISSAN has gone football mad ahead of the new European season, recruiting as brand ambassadors two of the finest talents to grace the 2014-15 Champions League. The Japanese firm is sponsoring the competition this year, and has secured the services of Brazil's captain of Paris Saint-Germain Thiago Silva and the Barcelona and Spain midfielder Andrés Iniesta, who himself has won three Champions League titles. Dubbed Nissan's new 'Engineers of Excitement', the firm says in a press release that the players “will help the Japanese car manufacturer in its campaign to introduce new innovations to enhance the football fan experience.” They will feature in a series of TV adverts focusing on how innovation is key, both on and off the field, to creating excitement for football fans and drivers.