There are a number of simple, reliable truths in the world. The Earth is round. A compass points north. Nobody but the Chinese buy Buicks and Lexus is the best-selling luxury brand in the United States. Well, hold on to your horses. Lowly old Buick, long seen as the doorstop of the luxury segment, has outsold Lexus two months straight and shows no signs of slowing down. @funkmasterflex
2012 Volkswagen Golf R
Just looking at the Golf R makes us giddy. It isn’t any longer or wider than a standard GTI, but its revised suspension setup puts it 15 millimeters lower to the ground. Up front, the revised front fascia boasts hefty air intakes with small LED running lamps flanking both sides, rounded off with new 18-inch “Talladega” alloy wheels at all four corners. There’s a center-mounted dual-exhaust out back, too – a signature styling element that drives home the point that this car is, effectively, the successor to the MkV Golf R32 from 2008. @funkmasterflex
Toyota recalling 22,000 trucks over tire pressure monitors
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced the recall of 22,000 Toyota trucks and SUVs over improperly calibrated tire pressure monitoring systems. According to NHTSA, certain 2008-2011 Toyota FJ Cruiser, Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Tacoma and Tundra models may have been equipped with TPMS units that weren’t properly calibrated. As a result, the dash warning light may fail to illuminate in the event of a deflated tire. NHTSA is concerned that this defect may potentially lead to an accident. @funkmasterflex
(Video) Car and Driver presents the Rental-Car Olympics
Car and Driver technical writer and Autoblog Podcast veteran Mike Austin and his friends took the reigns of four rental cars to see which can win the Rental-Car Olympics. The four participating vehicles are the Mustang Convertible, an all-wheel-drive Cadillac CTS, a 2010 Lincoln Town Car and the hapless Jeep Compass. And don’t expect 0-60 times or hot laps; Austin and company instead opted to judge the four vehicles on attributes like “Sumo Wrestling,” and “Parking Brake Assisted Parallel Parking.” Hit the jump to see the video. @funkmasterflex
Fiat 500 Sport
Fiat’s plan to produce 200 dedicated Fiat-brand dealerships in a relatively short period of time always struck us as an overly ambitious plan. And with the Fiat 500 headed for full-scale Mexican production in the next couple weeks, we’ve been wondering how that plan has been progressing. Maybe not as quickly as the Italian automaker hoped. @funkmasterflex
(Video) 2012 BMW M5 teaser
The F10 BMW M5 is nigh upon us, and to make sure we’re excited, BMW has released a tantalizingly short and non-descript video of the M car in action. As with most BMW M teaser videos, there’s not much to see, other than some headlights at high-speed, so the vocals are probably the most important thing. @funkmasterflex
