Standard Motor Products Jh180 Distributor Cap on 2040-parts.com

Driven: Mini Clubman

The Mini Clubman is one of the most interesting - but polarizing - car designs on the market today. The first generation 'new' Mini was a big success for BMW, despite having been such a huge leap from the original Mini design in so many ways. With the second generation Mini following the first very closely, it now falls to the new Clubman variant to push further what a 'Mini' can be.

2015 Smart ForTwo and Smart ForFour teased in new video

The new Smart ForTwo and Smart ForFour (pictured) teased The new Renault Twingo has already been revealed, but the new Smart, which shares the majority of components, isn’t due to debut until the Paris Motor Show in October. But October isn’t that far away now, so Smart had released a teaser video for both the new Smart ForTwo and For Four as they build interest for the debut. The video was shot in Sweden where Smart are running camouflaged prototypes on test ahead of the launch, and the video allows the first look of the new Smarts on the move.

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.