Yamaha 660 Raptor Starter Gears 05 R1 on 2040-parts.com

Readers chat it up live with AW associate editor Jon Wong

For those who have ever stared longingly at a Mazda RX-8, or who love the symphony of a Honda four-cylinder engine turning at 200 rpm short of the redline and the tactile joy of the shifter sliding flawlessly from gear to gear, you have a friend in AutoWeek associate editor Jon Wong. On Friday, readers took the opportunity for a virtual mind meld, as Jon fielded questions in an online chat at 3:30 p.m. Eastern.

Hyundai increases its European Market share by 10%

Despite a weak car sales market across Europe, Hyundai has managed to increase its market share in January 2013 by almost 10 per cent. As we reported just the other day, the European car market is in a bit of a mess with sales down by 9.6% in January 2013 and even the mighty sales of the VW Golf – Europe’s best-selling car – dropping by 17.8 per cent. But despite the European car market falling back, Hyundai has managed to increase its market share in Europe by almost 10 per cent, from 3.3 per cent in January 2012 to 3.6 per cent in January 2013.

Autoweek's Best of the Best winners announced

Today, Autoweek announced the winners of our yearly Best of the Best competition with the Porsche Boxster S and Mercedes-Benz GL taking top honors. Presenting the awards, editor Wes Raynal said, “It was a tough call to make this year with so many incredible cars and trucks that debuted. After a year of evaluating everything on the market, the Porsche Boxster S and Mercedes-Benz GL rose to the top, really earning these two awards.” For Best of the Best awards, the Autoweek editors considered publicly available, all-new or substantially new 2013 model cars and trucks.