Sparco Conquest Auto Racing Suit | Size 56 Large | Sfi/fia on 2040-parts.com

Driven: Cadillac CTS

If you know Detroit, you might recognize the location of our photoshoot for this feature. Midtown is the home of Shinola's flagship store, one of the big success stories of the resurgence of ‘craft' in Detroit, and the States in general. "Why not accept that manufacturing is gone from this country?

European new car sales in record LOW

European new car registrations have plunged to their LOWEST level on record after slow August sales reversed an upturn in July. Registrations of 7,841,596 new cars between January-August 2013 marked a new low for the European new car market of 27 countries – so few cars have never previously been recorded since records began in 1990. 2013 UK new car sales forecast revised upwards European new car sales continue to struggle The UK new car market is the sole exception: so far this year, new car registrations have risen 10.4%, compared to the European decline of 5.2% in the same time period.

No sign of global auto meltdown at Tokyo Auto Salon

With more than 600 cars on display and a record number of exhibitors, nothing at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Salon tuner show hinted at the global economic downturn. As always, there was a great mix of styles, from hard-core, 1,000-hp, supertuned machinery to weird customized scooter tricycles. Auto manufacturers tried hard to capture the minds--if not the wallets--of the younger-than-30 crowd with customized versions of production cars, while tuners were busy persuading power junkies to choose them for their next engine modification.