1985 Subaru Brat Gl 4x4 on 2040-parts.com

New car sales see record growth period

ANOTHER rise last month has taken UK car sales to their longest-ever period of growth. A total of 194,032 new cars were registered in May – a 7.7% rise on the May 2013 figure, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. The increase last month was the 27th consecutive monthly rise – beating the previous record of 26 months of growth between May 1987 and June 1989.

McLaren P1 basks in Bahrain photo shoot

Following its Middle East debut in Bahrain in January, McLaren brought the P1 back to the desert for some glamour shots before the car's arrival on the market. The land is full of oil, sand, sheiks, princes, sultans and an amazing amount of car enthusiasts. Every supercar maker stops there with something new, knowing a few sales are guaranteed.

Birth of an Icon

The first thing you notice when you step into Icon's sprawling, 120,000-square-foot shop in Chatsworth, Calif. -- past the fenced-in yard of Broncos of every size and Land Cruisers of every generation, past the 1952 Chrysler Town & Country station wagon with the DeSoto front end and a massaged patina of greens, browns, and ochres resembling a Cezanne painting -- is the smell. It smells old in here.