Upper Oil Pan 078103603m Audi A4 A6 Cabriolet 95-98 12v 2.8l Afc 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.

Channel 4′s 4Car to close

Car website 4Car is to close at the end of the year. Despite the British love of cars, there really aren’t a huge number of car web sites that make an impact. And certainly not car websites that aren’t linked to either classified ads or existing car magazines.

Lexus readies hybrid LS with V12 grunt, V6 economy

By Phil McNamara Motor Industry 03 June 2007 02:34 Lexus claims its new LS600h hybrid will return 29.7mpg – despite having 444bhp on tap. The company has announced new details of its flagship hybrid, which gets a European premiere at September's Paris motor show. Lexus claims that the petrol/electric hybrid drivetrain offers the performance of a V12, but with V6 fuel economy and emissions.