11 Durango Dr Handle, Exterior 538987 on 2040-parts.com

One Lap of the Web: The Weird World of Wheels

-- Introducing the greatest television show you've never heard of: "Operation: Mystery!" Imagine if the "X-Files" took place in 1960s Japan, and had its own cool custom car the heroes rolled around in: the Tortoise, a pudgy little thing that resembled the unholy combination of an Opel GT and a Dustbuster. It was bulletproof (not really), had gullwing doors (really) and was based on a Subaru 360 (really!). Sadly, its whereabouts are unknown, and it might have disappeared into the ether along with the UFOs its heroes probably investigated.

Ferrari 400 Superamerica sells for £2.3 million

The 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Cabriolet Pininfarina SWB - record price The world’s in the depths of the worst recession in a generation (or three). Banks aren’t lending to anyone who needs it – just to those who don’t. The Greeks are up in arms at the prospect of actually paying any tax and the Euro is on the edge of collapse (actually, the Euro was always an accident waiting to happen).

The heartbreak of Jaguar love finally requited

As a young boy in the early 1960s, I would trek solo to our local auto show in Minneapolis, Minnesota. While other boys and their dads would make a beeline to the latest Corvettes and later American muscle cars, I would always head first for the Jaguar stand. I found the combination of different styling, luxurious wood and leather interiors and promise of fast travel through landscapes that were foreign to me to be intoxicating.