Mazda

Reporter Dan Carney takes this Mazda2 for a ride. He says that the car's performance on the racetrack was "genuinely exciting."

Remember Herbie, the Love Bug?  It (he?) was an old Volkswagen Beetle, which everyone knew back its day was as slow as a rebate check.  But he could miraculously outrace Jaguars, Porsches and Ferraris.

To get a feel for economy car fender-banging, I was dispatched to participate first-hand in the new Total Showcase series and report back.  It might sound preposterous to contemplate racing a Ford Fiesta, Fiat 500, Honda Fit, Kia Rio, Mazda2 or Mini Cooper around a big racetrack like Homestead Speedway near Miami, but that’s just what we did.  Do you know what?  It was just like real racing!

The question is: Will consumers be impressed?  “We cannot draw a direct line from motorsports to sales,” conceded Mike Ofiara, supervisor for motorsports communication for Kia Motor America.  “But we like to think that the old phrase, ‘Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday’ still persists.”

Whether that is or ever has been true has long been a topic of debate, and the answer seems to be, “It depends.”  The answer is particularly pertinent with regard to the emerging class of subcompact cars in the U.S. and the youthful buyers they are targeting.  That’s because people tend to associate affordability and fuel economy with little hatchbacks, while racing is normally the domain of the powerful and prestigious.

And what about the buyers?  Do gadget-addled 20-somethings pay attention to racing, beyond their latest round of Mario Kart?  If they do, will it influence their purchase decisions?

The idea is that by joining together to tout their minicars as fun, and even as potential racers, carmakers can shift consumers’ perceptions of the subcompact category as a whole, explained Mickey Matus, marketing communications manager for Ford Racing.

“It is important that the cars do take on a driving dynamic message,” he said.  “It does everybody good if the [subcompact segment] does that.”  And that message is better carried en masse, Matus continued.  “If you’ve got four-five cars promoting the attributes, it is better than one guy out there trying to wave the flag.”

Can carmakers make a category cool just through marketing? After all, that’s what SUV haters have charged happened with those vehicles.  Probably not as much as critics charge, or carmakers would like, but marketing must sell some cars or they wouldn’t do it.

It's a tall order, because we are talking about little hatchbacks here, mostly the five-door variety, though the Mini and Fiat are only available as three-door models.  These are the cars that get no respect.  But they can be a lot of fun to drive, with responsive handling and surprisingly zippy engines.

But zippy enough to not feel like absurd jokes on a real race-track?  Yes, they really are zippy enough to race for real.  Each car has a package of racing-grade springs and shocks absorbers, plus a few other features depending on the car, and they have real, racing-grade roll cages and other safety equipment.  Along with the Continental racing slicks, these parts transform these flimsy flivvers into flyweight contenders as surely as six months of training and a pair of Everlast boxing gloves can transform the school runt into a winning fighter.

The key in both cases is to only fight within your weight class, so the hatchbacks only race amongst themselves.  I only raced the Mazda2, but I can say that the car’s performance in the race was genuinely exciting.  That impression was intensified by the heavy rain that fell during the season-opening event at Homestead, during which time the Mazda2 was impressively sure-footed on its Continental rain tires.

Though I didn’t drive the other cars in racing trim, I can confirm that efforts to equalize the cars’ performance for truly equal racing seem to have worked, as no car appeared to hold an advantage either in cornering or in acceleration.

That means for a total bill of about twice the typical $13,000 purchase price of a new example of one of these cars, you, I, or anybody else could have our own fully prepped race-car and compete with it in legitimate professional events hosted by NASCAR’s road-racing division, called Grand-Am, or by the Sports Car Club of America’s World Challenge pro series.

I slogged through the rain in the middle of the pack to finish fourth of the eight cars in the inauguaral Grand-Am race, but couldn’t wipe the smile off my face for hours afterward despite the relentless tropical south Florida spring deluge.

Maybe enough fun that some potential minicar buyers will want to come out and wave the flag for their own car.  “Not everybody can afford a Mustang GT,” noted Matus.  “It is nice to have something the young person can buy and take pride in for a win at the track.”

Mazda motorsports director John Doonan spearheaded the development of the racing series and recruited the other companies to compete.  “My division’s mission is, ‘Lets identify the next generation of customer,’” he explained.  “Not only the Mazda customers at the dealership, but also the next generation racing customer.”

But does Generation Playstation really care about racing?  They have been playing a lot of racing simulations on their game consoles, Doonan pointed out.   “There are kids who could get off the couch, who’ve been playing a video game and for pretty reasonable be able to buy this kit and go racing for about $25,000.”

Sure, that’s more expensive than Herbie the Love Bug cost back in the 1968, but today we have a lot more mandatory safety equipment.  Here’s some unfortunate irony for you: Volkswagen, a brand that was once synonymous with small cars in the U.S. can’t participate in this series because it doesn’t sell any cars here that are small enough.

But maybe if the expected 40-car fields materialize later this season and that helps take some of the stigma off subcompact hatchbacks among mainstream American car buyers, then maybe VW will import one of its smaller models and join in the fun.

Meanwhile, Millennials, drop your game controllers and come out with your wallets open!  Carmakers have something to show you.

The Detroit Bureau

The recall is limited to Wranglers equipped with automatic transmissions built during the 2010 model-year.

The risk of fire is forcing Jeep to recall nearly 87,000 Wranglers in the U.S., Canada and other parts of the world.  About 68,000 of those were sold in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The government has received reports of 14 fires – though no claims of injuries or fatalities connected to the problem.

Are German Makers Heading for Crippling Strike?

The issue appears to be centered around a skid plate that makes it possible for debris to collect and press up against the SUV’s catalytic converter.  Because of the high heat that can lead to a fire.

The recall is limited to Wranglers equipped with automatic transmissions built during the 2010 model-year.  Owners of vehicles produced before July 14, 2010 will receive a notification in the coming weeks and will be advised when they can schedule a free repair with a nearby dealer.

2013 Ushers in Massive Wave of Product Launches

According to the maker, owners can check the data of production on the driver’s door jamb.

In many parts of the country, a million bucks will buy you a mansion. In New York City, you can get a 12-foot by 23-foot slab of concrete. Yes, Manhattan's first $1 million parking space is scheduled to go on the market this fall.

This seven-figure private garage is in an eight-story, prewar loft building in the city's Greenwich Village neighborhood. It previously had been converted into a parking garage and is now being turned into half a dozen new luxury condominiums, according to the New York Post.

The parking space, dubbed "the city’s gaudiest garage" by the Post, will have a separate deed and sales contract. Based on an average 6 percent commission, this means a real estate agent could earn $60,000 — roughly $10,000 more than the median household income in the U.S. — for selling this parking spot.

The largest unit in the building will be an 8,000-square-foot penthouse with a 3,000-square-foot terrace that will be listed for just under $39 million, the newspaper reported. Only buyers of that penthouse or another 8,000-square-foot unit in the building will have the chance to buy the parking space. In addition to the seven-figure price tag, the owner will be charged maintenance fees on the parking spot.

So what does the owner get for a million bucks plus maintenance fees? Direct street access thanks to a curb cut in front of the garage door, along with 15-foot ceilings. The ceilings are high enough that the spot can be "duplexed;" that is, an elevator can be added so the owner can stack two cars in the space. 

This two-for-one capability might make $1 million seem like a little bit more of a bargain, but the owner would still have to get a $115 parking ticket every single day for 24 years straight to equal the cost of the spot, the Post calculated. 

If the numbers in a preliminary federal study hold true, U.S. highway deaths continued to plunge last year – when measured in terms of fatalities per 100 million miles driven - to the lowest level since the government began keeping records in 1921. 

A number of factors have contributed to the decline, which has seen traffic deaths dip 25 percent just since 2005. These include better roads and signage and a crackdown on drunk drivers.  But another significant factor is the continuing improvement in the safety of the vehicles we drive.

By using the latest in computer-aided design technology, manufacturers have learned how to shield motorists and passengers from the deadly forces of even the most serious crashes.  Equally significant are the various high-tech safety devices that are finding their way into the industry’s newest models and which can help motorists avoid accidents in the first place. 

“Our research shows that some of the newest forward collision avoidance systems, such as Volvo’s City Safety, are reducing collisions by as much as 20 percent to 30 percent,” said David Zuby, chief research officer for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The 2013 model year will see some of the most sophisticated systems yet developed – and in many cases technologies once limited to only the most expensive models are migrating down to even entry-level vehicles.

It’s been more than 40 years since federal regulations began mandating improvements in automotive safety, with the seat belt being one of the first devices written into law.  In 2011, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration added electronic stability control – which is designed to keep a car under control on slick surfaces or when it makes an overly aggressive maneuver – to the list. And the NHTSA may soon add rear back-up cameras to the list.

Credit ever faster microprocessors, along with the overall drop in the price of electronic hardware, for making it possible to mandate such technology.  But where industry planners routinely resisted new federal regulations in decades past, these days manufacturers are likely to introduce new features – often as standard equipment – without pressure from the government.

“There’s an expectation on the part of customers for more and more safety equipment,” explained General Motors designer Bob Boniface.

The challenge these days, he said is to find a place to put all the various controls and sensors. The front ends of some of GM’s most advanced models. are “covered” with radar and laser sensors, he said, with many new models also introducing advanced video cameras as well.

The latest safety technology roughly divides into two separate categories: active and passive systems.  Passive systems are those designed to reduce injuries if an accident occurs. An air bag is such a system.  Expect to see some models, such as the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, offer as many as 10 air bags.  The new two-seat Scion iQ microcar is offering the first air bag designed to protect a passenger in the event the vehicle is struck from the rear.

Ford’s is expanding the use of its new inflatable rear seat belts, now found in several models, including the recently redesigned Explorer.  According to just-retired Ford safety chief Sue Cischke, the devices are particularly well-suited for use by the very young and the very old because they can suffer internal injuries from the forces acting on standard seat belts in severe collisions.

The 2013 model year will also see a number of new applications of the most advanced active safety systems, which are designed to prevent accidents.  A wide range of new mainstream products will add forward collision avoidance, blind-spot monitoring and active lane-keeping.  The 2013 Ford Fusion will not only warn drivers that they are drifting out of their lanes but will also help steer the car back into the lane. If the system detects that the driver might also be drowsy, it will sound an alert warning the driver to pull over and rest.

Significantly, many of the most advanced technologies are migrating down-market.  Cross-traffic alert was introduced only a few years ago on the redesigned BMW-7 Series. The system, which uses radar to monitor oncoming traffic as a driver backs out of a parking spot, will now be offered on a wide range of midline models, such as the 2013 Nissan Altima.

The redesigned midsized sedan also features blind-spot monitoring, lane departure warning and other systems as part of an optional technology package.  The trick, explained Nissan product manager John Curl. was to use a single wide-angle rear camera instead of an assortment of much more expensive radar and sonar sensors. 

Subaru will take a similar approach in 2013 with its new EyeSight system, technology it has been tweaking for almost a decade.  The system uses a pair of stereoscopic cameras mounted on either side of the rear-view mirror to look out onto the road ahead.  It’s a lower-cost alternative, the maker claimed, compared to the radar-based safety systems currently in use by luxury makers such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

According to IIHS research, the new technologies are paying off.  The basic Mercedes forward collision warning system has reduced accident rates by approximately 6 percent. And the maker has introduced a more advanced version of what it calls Distronic, which can apply the brakes if it senses the driver is not reacting in time to a potential collision.

Cadillac is now working on a prototype system that could also steer a vehicle around an obstacle without a motorist’s involvement.  And a number of makers – as well as tech giant Google – are working on fully autonomous vehicles that some proponents believe could be ready for sale before decade’s end.

The good news is that even the features now on the road are saving lives, but IIHS research chief Zuby stressed that because the typical American car remains in use for a decade or longer, it will be close to 2020 before most vehicles in the U.S. fleet have advanced technologies such as electronic stability control, let alone collision warning and blind spot detection.

On the other hand, he added, “As older vehicles retire and these technologies come into a broader segment of the fleet, we can expect to see the death rate continue to decline.”

Ford

The 2013 Escape will offer only four-cylinder engines. Can such engines really match customers' power expectations? Yes.

We’ve seen this movie before: Stagnant economy. Soaring gas prices. Government-mandated increases in fuel economy that doom the big vehicles Americans prefer.

In the 1970s, automakers responded to those conditions with that they called “downsizing.” Cars became cheaply made, cramped and slow. For some reason, consumers weren’t thrilled with these new models. The quick-and-dirty solution was to bolt a turbocharger onto their wheezing, underperforming four-cylinder engines with the promise of hot performance and good fuel economy.  Sailors have made more reliable promises to girls in foreign ports.

The technology was immature and the result was unreliable: short-lived engines with poor dynamic driving qualities. Ford was one of the culprits, with turbocharged four-cylinder engines offered in models like the Mustang and Thunderbird, which were traditionally powered by V8s.

But that was a long time ago.  In response to pricey gas and more stringent federal fuel economy standards, Ford is rolling out a family of smaller turbocharged engines to replace bigger, thirstier ones.  And this time, Ford got it right.

While the V6 engine option was popular in the outgoing Escape compact SUV, the 2013 Escape will offer only four-cylinder engines.  Can such engines really match customers’ power expectations? Yes they can. Especially when they are the turbocharged EcoBoost engines that Ford offers as an upgrade from the base engine.

The base engine is an update of 168-horsepower, 2.5-liter four-cylinder seen in the outgoing model and it is a good one for budget-conscious drivers, with 22 mpg city and 31 mpg highway.  But things start to get more interesting with the next step in the lineup, with a 178-hp turbocharger EcoBoost 1.6-liter four-cylinder.

That's an incredibly small engine to expect to move a 3,500-plus pound SUV, but thanks to modern turbocharger technology it makes both the peak power and the low-speed torque to move the Escape with good hustle.  It has marginally better horsepower, torque and fuel economy than the base engine, a combination that makes it an appealing upgrade.  The EcoBoost 1.6 offers the maximum fuel economy among the Escape’s engines, with 23 mpg city and 33 mpg highway.

A lot of buyers liked their V6 engines, though. What are they to do? The 240-hp 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder is the answer for them. Ford did extra homework on this engine, giving drivers more power than the old model’s V6 with fuel economy nearly equal to that of the base engine, at 23 mpg city and 30 mpg highway.

But just as importantly, Ford engineers sweated the detailed needed to make the EcoBoost 2.0 smooth and quiet enough to serve as a legitimate substitute for a V6. This is the area where carmakers will see the most resistance from customers, because V6 and V8 engines are smooth and quiet, with a refined exhaust note.  Four-cylinders are inherently raucous, challenging engineers to find ways to tame their obnoxious nature if upmarket customers are to accept them.

Ford has achieved that with the 2.0 EcoBoost.  The 1.6 EcoBoost targets a customer with a sportier mindset who might want to hear the engine a little bit, so it is louder, but the 2.0-liter is thoroughly muffled.

That quietness is indicative of the 2013 Escape’s overall refinement. Like the Ford Focus compact car on which it is based, the Escape is a notch above its competitors, providing a rich feeling driving experience. Unlike the Focus, the Escape enjoys a proper automatic transmission, with six gears and slick shifts, so the Escape won’t chase away potential buyers with an irritating, rough-driving automated manual transmission posing as an automatic.

The Escape’s cabin is opulently detailed, and even the entry-level models have pleasant soft-touch surfaces. The thick-rimmed steering wheel connects to excellent steering that provides superb feedback. The Mazda CX-5 is the Escape’s only equal dynamically, and the Escape has less road and wind noise inside for a more placid passenger space.

Like other new Fords, the Escape boasts an improved version of the annoying-to-use Sync voice command system and MyFord Touch touch-screen infotainment systems. The latest iteration is less of a pain in the, er, neck to use but still falls short of the simplicity and convenience of properly designed knobs and switches. At this point MyFord Touch remains an exercise in technology for technology’s sake, so we look forward to the next upgrade. We’d still opt for the conventional radio and climate controls.

But here’s a tiny electronic detail they got right: the turn signal. Seems simple enough, but in recent years Ford and other carmakers have decided that it would be better for the control stalk to return to center, even when you’ve activated the turn signal. For the Escape they’ve gone back to having the stalk remain in the raised or lowered position if the turn signal is on, letting you know it is still on and making turning it off simple. When the stalk is already in the middle, how do you cancel a turn signal?

Other electronic gimmicks: a tailgate that opens and closes remotely by kicking your foot under the rear in the manner of an old straight-ahead field goal kicker (props to Redskins kicker Mark Mosley, 1982 NFL MVP, the last straight-ahead kicker and the only kicker ever named MVP!).  And electronic grille shutters that block airflow to the radiator at highway speeds to trim aerodynamic drag and boost fuel economy.

The “U” in SUV does stand for “Utility” and Ford added that in the Escape by stretching the vehicle’s wheelbase and adding most of that newfound space to the rear seat for more passenger legroom. The cargo area is also larger for that ubiquitous “stuff” people cite when explaining their need for an SUV rather than a sedan.

The Escape marks our third consecutive compact SUV review, as this hotly contested segment turns over this year. That’s because compact SUVs are second only to sedans in popularity, and the two groups account for 60 percent of new car sales.

With impressive innovations like EcoBoost providing an excellent combination of power and frugality, it is easy to see why these vehicles are attracting a large following.

2013 Ford Escape

• Base price: $23,295 (including $825 delivery)
• Price as tested: $26,875 (including $825 delivery)
• EPA fuel economy: 23 city, 33 highway
• Pros: Slippery styling, zippy handling, bank-vault solidity
• Cons: MyFord Touch infotainment hassles, and, um, that’s about it
• Verdict: The best compact SUV in the mainstream segment, with the handling of the Mazda CX-5 and the quietness of premium-segment models.
• Standard equipment: 2.5-liter 168-hp four-cylinder engine, six-speed automatic transmission, power steering, AM/FM/CD six-speaker stereo, battery saver feature
• Major options: 1.6-liter 178-hp EcoBoost engine, Sync voice control, Sirius satellite radio, fog lamps, SecuriCode keyless entry
• Safety equipment: electronic stability control , antilock brakes, brake assist, dual-stage front airbags, side airbags, driver’s knee airbag, tire pressure monitoring

The Detroit Bureau

That's a Fiat 500, not the VW Up! in front of the German maker's Swedish HQ.

Automakers normally take their marketing efforts quite seriously, not surprising when you consider the billions of dollars at stake.  But every so often, a little humor creeps in – such as the Tweets Ford has been sending out about General Motors’ decision to stop advertising on Facebook.

Fiat, it seems, took a more creative approach to “punking” its rival Volkswagen AG.

Fisker Delaying Atlantic Plug-in Launch By Full Year

Search for the German maker’s Swedish headquarters using Google Street View and parked right in front of the main door and you’ll find a little Fiat 500.

Exactly how the stunt was pulled off isn’t clear.  The two makers have their offices fairly close to one another but the challenge is knowing when the Google camera car rolls by.  Apparently, once the Fiat folks figured that out they quickly got into position and posed.

E15 Fuel Could Wreck Engines, Study Warns

The folks at Tecca.com first spotted the gag and noticed that the red Fiat 500 tagged along for a while, positioning itself in several other street scenes.

For those not familiar with the service, Google Street View provides a panoramic look at urban, suburban and even many rural roads around the world.  The images are recorded from a fleet of specially-equipped vehicles.  Where roads are inaccessible the company will even use Google Trikes and snowmobiles.  And portable units have been added to offer panoramic views of places such as the White House.

The Detroit Bureau

The Fiat 500 pulls out and gets ready to pose for several other Google Street View images.

Spend enough time searching through the extensive database and you’ll find a number of other pranks from those who spotted the Google camera car in time to offer a “moon” or some other suggestive pose. 

Those Underinflated Tires Could Kill You

In fact, Google itself got into the game earlier this year, briefly switching from the normally hi-res images to an 8-bit version for April Fools Day that had the resolution of an early Atari videogame. 

More from msnbc.com business:

• We're overspending, and we're in denial about it
• Rising wealth in China fails to buy more happiness
• The condo that's home to 'Fifty Shades of Grey'
• Video: California prepares for Facebook millionaires

Follow msnbc.com business on Twitter and Facebook

Honda's Acura brand is recalling 56,881 TL sedans from model years 2007 and 2008 in North America to replace a power steering hose that could leak over time and potentially cause a fire.

The recall affects 52,615 TL sedans in the U.S. and another 4,266 in Canada, the Japanese automaker said.

Acura said the hose may deteriorate and leak over time. Leaking fluid could lead to a loss of power steering assistance or could cause smoke and fire, the Japanese automaker said.

Acura said no crashes, injuries or fires have been reported related to the issue.

The company said owners will be notified of the recall by mail, beginning in mid-June. Customers also can see whether their car is affected by the recall at http://www.recalls.acura.com/ or www.acura.ca/recalls.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Photo courtesy of BMW

BMW gave U.S. buyers a first taste of the X1 at April's New York Auto Show, but only last week revealed the crossover-utility vehicle's $31,545 base price.

Sometimes you have to think small to grow bigger. Hoping to lock down its position as the U.S. luxury market leader, BMW is getting ready to introduce some of the smallest products it has ever sold here, including a new version of its little 1-Series and the all-new BMW Vehicle.

The Bavarian maker isn’t alone. The compact and even subcompact luxury classes, which barely existed just a few years ago, are suddenly being flooded with new product and may be critical in an increasingly competitive market where a new generation of buyers is proving unexpectedly resistant to the siren call of luxury automobiles.

“You can no longer assume Gen-Y buyers necessarily want a luxury vehicle anymore,” cautions Rebecca Lindland, senior analyst with IHS Automotive, “and even if they do aspire to luxury, they may not have the money.”

But even older buyers are rethinking their options in the wake of both a deep recession and rising fuel prices, industry observers say.

BMW gave U.S. buyers a first taste of the X1 at April’s New York Auto Show, but only last week revealed the crossover-utility vehicle’s $31,545 base price.  The compact crossover was offered in a number of countries in its earlier form, undergoing some extensive updates before the maker felt it could launch in the U.S. 

The market has changed significantly since the X1’s global introduction in 2008. Fuel prices have repeatedly surged to record or near-record levels.  Younger buyers have shown a growing preference for downsized offerings, matching trends in other parts of the world.  Of course, that may also reflect the realities of a generation that, according to the pundits, could be the first to see their standard of living dip below that of their parents.

Whatever the reason, BMW won’t be alone.  Mercedes-Benz is also downsizing, with a totally redesigned A-Class coming to the U.S.  In fact, company officials hint they may offer as many as four different versions of their smallest-ever model in the U.S.  And the German maker will share the underlying platform developed for the A-Class with its Japanese alliance partner, Nissan using it for the planned Etherea model now under development.

The global downsizing trend has swept through the luxury side of the industry.  Even Aston Martin has responded with the Cygnet, a two-seat microcar based on a Toyota platform that recently appeared in the U.S. as the Scion iQ.  Loaded with leather and other high-end details, Aston currently has no plans to bring the Cygnet to the U.S., but that strategy could shift.

Analyst Jim Hall, of 2953 Analytics, remains skeptical about just how much demand there will be for the smallest of new luxury models, but agrees makers are likely to give it a try – if for no other reason than “as a CAFE play.”  Facing a Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard that will nearly double by 2025 BMW, for one, will have to offset low-mileage models like the big 7-Series and the X5 Sport-Activity Vehicle with models like the 1-Series and X1.

The luxury market as a whole is expected to be a bit smaller than many had once anticipated, contends Lindland. While luxury demand has been recovering along with the rest of the U.S. new car market, IHS now forecasts that high-line models will account for, at most, 13 percent of overall sales by decade’s end, compared with the 14 percent or more the consulting firm projected prior to the start of the 2008 recession.

And considering that the firm anticipates the overall auto market will fall short of earlier expectations that could mean a real dogfight in the luxury end.

In recent years, it has been a three-way battle for supremacy, pitting last year’s winner, Mercedes-Benz, against BMW and Lexus, which had been the U.S. luxury leader for more than a decade. 

Whether the new small cars, such as the BMW 1-Series, Audi A3 and Mercedes A-Class will make a significant difference remains to be seen. So far, the few entries in the segment have generated relatively modest sales. But the smaller among the brands’ more traditional offerings, such as the Audi A4 and Mercedes C-Class, have continued gaining traction.  The 3-Series has long been the dominant model in BMW’s line-up.

But just making a model small won’t necessarily be enough, cautions Jack Hollis, a vice president with Lexus parent Toyota, especially in appealing to Gen-Y.

“Young buyers don’t look at needing a car as much today to have a social life. Their world of community is so much larger and (they) don’t need a car to take them there,” he contends, arguing that it will also require exciting products that also incorporate the sort of connected technologies that have become an essential part of Millennial life.

The brand that can find the right balance between size, style, performance and connectivity should win the shoot-out.

Mark Duncan / AP

A new government study warns that as many as one in 20 crashes could be linked to tire-related problems, with underinflated tires posing an especially high risk of causing a problem.

Today’s tires are engineering marvels, improving both performance and fuel economy, even if they tend to largely be ignored by motorists. But that’s a problem that also could turn a tire into a killer.

A new government study warns that as many as one in 20 crashes could be linked to tire-related problems, with underinflated tires posing an especially high risk of causing a problem.

“Tire problems are inherently hazardous to vehicle safety,” said the report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which based its study on crash data covering a three-year period from 2005 to 2007.

The report found that underinflation was the biggest problem, with a tire 25 percent below its rated pressure three times more likely to be involved in a crash.

Nissan Altima Takes Guesswork out of Tire Inflation

Part of the problem is that a low tire reduces the vehicle’s stability even under ideal conditions, but it also makes it significantly more difficult for a driver to maintain control in bad weather or during emergency maneuvers, such as swerving to avoid an obstacle in the road.

Problems also can result from worn tires, especially those that have gone bald or have damage to the tire that could lead to a catastrophic blow-out.

Subaru Shifting Focus Away From China

The study noted that tire problems, in general, were more likely to lead to accidents in bad weather.

Industry officials say the study underscores the need to properly maintain tires, repairing or replacing those that are damaged while always keeping tires at the proper inflation.

That message should now weigh doubly on the minds of consumers.  Properly inflated tires also deliver significantly better fuel economy.  A low tire can reduce mileage by as much as 5 to 10 percent, by various estimates.

Carroll Shelby Dead at 89

Regulators and industry officials alike have been paying more attention to tire safety since the recall of 13 million tires used on the Ford Explorer a decade ago.  Problems with the tires – compounded by improper inflation – were linked to 280 deaths.

Congress subsequently passed a law mandating all vehicles be equipped with tire-pressure monitoring systems, or TPMS.  But the more basic version of the technology is prone to false alerts and doesn’t necessarily show which tire is low, with some studies suggesting consumers often ignore the warnings.

That has led many manufacturers to adopt more advanced TPMS technology – such as will become available in the 2013 Nissan Altima – that provides specific inflation information on each individual tire.

Chris Hondros / Getty Images

Carroll Shelby poses with the 2007 Ford Shelby Mustang GT-H in 2006.

Carroll Shelby, the legendary car designer and champion auto racer who built the fabled Shelby Cobra sports car and injected testosterone into Ford's Mustang and Chrysler's Viper, has died. He was 89.

Shelby was one of the nation's longest-living heart transplant recipients, having received a heart on June 7, 1990, from a 34-year-old man who died of an aneurism. Shelby also received a kidney transplant in 1996 from his son, Michael.

The 1992 inductee into the Automobile Hall of Fame had homes in Los Angeles and his native east Texas.

The one-time chicken farmer had more than a half-dozen successful careers during his long life. Among them: champion race car driver, racing team owner, automobile manufacturer, automotive consultant, safari tour operator, raconteur, chili entrepreneur and philanthropist.

"He's an icon in the medical world and an icon in the automotive world," his longtime friend, Dick Messer, executive director of Los Angeles' Petersen Automotive Museum, once said of Shelby.

"His legacy is the diversity of his life," Messer said. "He's incredibly innovative. His life has always been the reinvention of Carroll Shelby."

Shelby first made his name behind the wheel of a car, winning France's grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race with teammate Ray Salvadori in 1959. He already was suffering serious heart problems and ran the race "with nitroglycerin pills under his tongue," Messer once noted.

He had turned to the race-car circuit in the 1950s after his chicken ranch failed. He won dozens of races in various classes throughout the 1950s and was twice named Sports Illustrated's Driver of the Year.

Soon after his win at Le Mans, he gave up racing and turned his attention to designing high-powered "muscle cars" that eventually became the Shelby Cobra and the Mustang Shelby GT500.

The Cobra, which used Ford engines and a British sport car chassis, was the fastest production model ever made when it was displayed at the New York Auto Show in 1962.

AP

Carroll Shelby sits in his race car in 1964.

A year later, Cobras were winning races over Corvettes, and in 1964 the Rip Chords had a Top 5 hit on the Billboard pop chart with "Hey, Little Cobra." ("Spring, little Cobra, getting ready to strike, spring, little Cobra, with all of your might. Hey, little Cobra, don't you know you're gonna shut 'em down?")

In 2007, an 800-horsepower model of the Cobra made in 1966, once Shelby's personal car, sold for $5.5 million at auction, a record for an American car.

"It's a special car. It would do just over three seconds to 60 (mph), 40 years ago," Shelby told the crowd before the sale, held in Scottsdale, Ariz.

It was Lee Iacocca, then head of Ford Motor Co., who had assigned Shelby the task of designing a fastback model of Ford's Mustang that could compete against the Corvette for young male buyers.

Turning a vehicle he had once dismissed as "a secretary car" into a rumbling, high-performance model was "the hardest thing I've done in my life," Shelby recalled in a 2000 interview with The Associated Press.

AP

Carroll Shelby, after winning the 200-mile International Grand Prix at the Riverside Raceways, in California in 1960.

That car and the Shelby Cobra made his name a household word in the 1960s.

When the energy crisis of the 1970s limited the market for gas-guzzling high-performance cars, Shelby weathered the downturn by heading to Africa, where he operated a safari company for a dozen years.

By the time he had returned to the United States, Iacocca was running Chrysler Motors and he hired him to design the supercharged Viper sports car.

In the meantime, Shelby had also inaugurated the World Chili Cookoff competition and he began marketing Carroll Shelby Original Texas Chili.

In recent years, Shelby worked as a technical adviser on the Ford GT project and designed the Shelby Series 1 two-seat muscle car, a 21st century clone of his 1965 Cobra.

AP

The Mustang GT 350, is shown in this March 1965 file photo. The sleek fastback built by Carroll Shelby attracted high interest among sports car enthusiasts.

"I just wanted to see if I could do it one more time after a heart transplant and a kidney transplant," he once told the AP.

In 1990 he had marketed the Can-Am Spec Racer, an affordable racing car for entry-level drivers.

He created the Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation in 1991 to provide assistance for children and young people needing acute coronary and kidney care. According to its website, the foundation has helped numerous children receive needed surgery, as well as provided money for research.

Carroll Hall Shelby was born Jan. 11, 1923, in Leesburg, Texas.

During World War II he was an Army Air Corps flight instructor who corresponded with his fiancee by dropping love letters stuck into his flying boots onto her farm.

After leaving the military in 1945, he started a dump truck business, then decided to raise chickens. The poultry business initially flourished, with Shelby earning a $5,000 profit on the first batch of broilers he delivered. He went broke, however, when his second flock died of disease.

A friend then invited him to become an amateur racer and his success led to his joining the Aston-Martin team and competing in races all over the world.

Shelby is survived by his three children, Patrick, Michael and Sharon; his sister Anne Shelby Ellison; and his wife, Cleo. 

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Courtesy of Kia Motors America

Sales of the Kia Rio, which comes in both subcompact and hatchback models, declined 18 percent between 2010 and 2011.

April car sales data were not a cause for celebration. Though sales were up 2 percent overall from last April, they cooled somewhat since the February and March run. There were a few winners, however, including Toyota, Chrysler and several European auto makers, some of which were up over 20 percent. Meanwhile, General Motors and Ford were down.

While a few brands are doing incredibly well, dealers cannot even give away some models. “Days to turn,” or “days on the lot,” reflects the average number of days a vehicle is in dealer inventory before it is sold. All of the car models on our list spent more than 90 days on the lot, considerably longer than the 52-day average. Working with Edmunds.com, 24/7 Wall St. identified 10 cars that Americans are not buying.

Not surprisingly, time on the lot appears to be an excellent proxy for how vehicles are selling. The average car sold in America sold 35,593 units in 2011, according to Edmunds. Eight of the cars on this list sold less than that. Five sold less than 15,000 units last year.

24/7 Wall St.: Cars so hot they are out of stock

In addition to having poor sales last year, overall sales of seven of the 10 dropped between 2009 and 2011. Total sales of five cars plummeted more than 30 percent. Two of the cars on this list, the DTS and the Honda Element, have been discontinued, and several more may be in jeopardy.

It is not always clear what makes a car unpopular. The cars on the list are all different types, from pickup trucks to compacts. They are also made by a number of different manufacturers, although six are made in Japan.

Fuel efficiency, on the other hand, appears to be a major factor for these cars’ poor sales. As the price of gas climbs to $4 per gallon, Americans appear to be making more fuel-efficient choices for their family vehicle. Six of the vehicles on the list have combined gas mileage -- city and highway -- of 25 mpg or less. According to the EPA, the Nissan Titan, which has among the longest days on lot, gets just 15 combined mpg.

Even when these cars belong to categories that generally get poor gas mileage, such as SUVs and pickups, they are still among the worst in their class. The Cadillac DTS, for example, gets a combined 18 mpg. By comparison, the Honda Accord, another full-size sedan, averages 27 combined mpg.

Based on car reviews, poor quality appears to hurting the sales of the cars on the list as well. JD Power reviewed eight of the 10 models on our list. Only one car scored better than a 3 out of 5 in both “overall quality and design” and “initial quality” -- considered only passable scores. Three models on this list only scored a 2 out of 5 in initial quality.

24/7 Wall St.: America's most miserable states

24/7 Wall St. obtained days-to-turn data for the full year 2011 provided by auto industry analytics organization Edmunds. To avoid inconsistencies that can arise from small data sets, we only looked at vehicles that sold at least 10,000 units in 2011. We also looked at the list prices of these vehicles as provided by the dealer, fuel efficiency data from the U.S. EPA, and quality ratings provided by JD Power & Associates and Consumer Reports. Edmunds also provided sales figures going back to 2006. All unit sales listed are U.S. only.

These are the cars Americans will not buy.

1. Volkswagen Routan

• 2011 Days to Turn: 107
• Price: $27,020
• Configuration: 6 Cyl, 4 Door
• Mpg: 17 City, 25 Hwy

In 2005, Volkswagen entered into a partnership with Chrysler to develop its own minivan, using the American automaker’s Town & Country as the base model. The Routan, when it was introduced in 2008, became the first minivan made by the German company in North America. Sales, however, have been poor from the start. In 2009, the first full year of sales, just 14,600 units were sold. In 2010, sales were up slightly, to 15,900, but fell more than 20 percent to 12,470 in 2011. The car spent, according to Edmunds, an average of 107 days on the lot -- more than double the U.S. average.

24/7 Wall St.: America's most peaceful states

2. Nissan Titan

• Days to Turn: 106
• Price: $28,520
• Configuration: 8 Cyl, 2 Door
• Mpg: 13 City, 18 Hwy

The Nissan Titan was introduced in 2004 as the company’s full-size pickup. The Titan sold well in its early years. In 2007, Nissan sold 65,700 units of the truck in just one year. However, by 2008, sales had declined nearly 50 percent to 34,000. In 2011, the truck sold just fewer than 22,000 in total. Rising gas prices may be a factor in this. The truck’s current generation has an abysmal estimated mileage of 18 mpg on the highway and just 13 mpg in the city.

3. Kia Rio

• Days to Turn: 101
• Price: $13,400
• Configuration: 4 Cyl, 4 Door/4 Cyl, 5 Door
• Mpg: 30 City, 40 Hwy

According to Edmunds, “As far as small economy cars go, there are better choices than the 2011 Kia Rio.” The average Kia Rio spent 101 days on the dealer lot in 2011, just shy of twice the length the average vehicle spent on the lot. Sales of the Rio, which comes in both subcompact and hatchback models, declined  18.3 percent, between 2010 and 2011, from 24,600 to 20,100.

Click here to see the rest of the cars Americans will not buy.