Wheels: Why My Heart Aches When Worthless Cars Go to the Crusher

Benjamin Preston A V-8-equipped 1965 Rambler Classic is taken to the crusher at a scrap yard outside Denver.

Expanding upon my previous rumination about today’s worthless cars becoming tomorrow’s relatively pricey classics, I had another experience involving a car that isn’t worth a whole lot that was dumped, whole, into a line of cars to be crushed at a scrap yard on the outskirts of Denver.

I was getting a set of used tires placed on the rear wheels of my brand-spanking-old 1980 Chevrolet pickup when a flatbed trailer arrived with a slightly sad-looking, but remarkably intact, 1965 Rambler Classic sedan. Naturally, I went over to investigate. It didn’t run. Part of the driver’s side upholstery was tattered. It had two flat tires, and the rear window was broken. But it wasn’t rusty. The interior was in great shape (although it needed a good scrubbing), and it was one of the rarer V-8 models.

Before getting any deeper into this, I must explain that at heart, I am one of those guys who, should it be feasible, would have a row of ratty they-could-be-nice-someday beaters parked beneath a stand of overgrown trees behind my house. That I live in an apartment building in Brooklyn is irrelevant. I come from Virginia. (You can take a man out of Virginia, but you can’t … well, you get the idea.)

Anxiety and regret gnawed my insides as I watched this perfectly good piece of machinery loaded onto a forklift and placed amid a pile of decrepit Caprice Classics, Ford vans and rusted-out Toyota trucks. I asked why, why for God’s sake they were casting it away. Apparently, the car’s owner had lost the title and lacked the energy to deal with the paper trail associated with getting a new one. Without really thinking about what I was saying, I heard myself offering $200 for the car. The forklift operator looked at the guy who was draining the fluids from the engine.

“Cuanto? Quinientos?”

“Five hundred’s too much,” I replied, saying over and over what a shame it was to let such a little gem go to waste. I briefly considered offering up $400 for a car that didn’t run and had no title. Someday, I reasoned, this relatively worthless car would be worth something. But first I’d have to put tires on it. And tow it back east. And get it running. And park it somewhere in Brooklyn where it wouldn’t get smashed, stolen or towed. And …

In the end, I realized the stupidity of such a purchase and watched helplessly as a piece of history succumbed to the ravages of reason and practicality. Years from now, when someone is selling a car like this for $50,000, I’ll be kicking myself for passing up such an opportunity. Think I’m kidding? In 1940, how many people thought a brand new Ford woodie station wagon, which sold for $950 (just under $16,000 in today’s dollars) then, would sell at an auction for almost $200,000 today? My guess would be not many. Even fewer 20 years later when surfers and Beatniks could pick them up for next to nothing.

It all comes down to who has the space, time and patience to hang onto cars through that long period of low value and little interest. Looking at it long-term, a car like that could be a good investment. But in day-to-day life, keeping one (or more) around borders on madness, and you run the risk of becoming, in your later years, one of those old guys who dies with dozens of decrepit wrecks hoarded in a weed-choked mess behind the garage.

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Wheels: Maserati to Recall 7,400 Cars for Suspension Problem

C.J. Gunther Maserati will be issuing the recall for rust-prone tie rod ends that could lead to component failure and increased crash risk.

Maserati will recall about 7,400 vehicles because a rear suspension failure can cause the driver to lose control, the automaker has informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in a report posted over the weekend on the agency’s Web site.

The models affected by the recall are the 2005-8 Maserati Quattroporte and GranTurismo and the 2008 Alfa Romeo 8C. Maserati said the threaded ends of the rear tie rods might rust and fail due to “insufficiently applied zinc-nickel anti-corrosion compound material.” Such a failure could result “in loss of vehicle control and increase the risk of a crash.”

Maserati said it learned of the problem through the warranty claims process, although the report did not say when. The automaker also said it was not aware of any accidents related to the defect. Maserati says it will replace the left and right rear tie-rod assemblies.

The automaker described the recall as voluntary, but once a manufacturer is aware of a safety problem it is required to inform N.H.T.S.A. within five business days or face civil fines.

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Wheels: Argentines Win the 2013 Mille Miglia

Jerry Garrett Juan Tonconogy and his co-driver, Guillermo Berisso, streaked toward a Mille Miglia victory Saturday in a 1927 Bugatti T40.

BRESCIA, Italy — A sky-blue 1927 Bugatti T40, driven by Juan Tonconogy of Argentina, on Saturday won the 2013 edition of the Mille Miglia Storica. Mr. Tonconogy, and his co-driver, Guillermo Berisso, arrived at the finish line shortly after 10 p.m. in the re-enactment of the famed Italian road rally. They had left the start line here at 7 p.m. on Thursday, embarking along with 415 competitors on a 1,000-mile odyssey to Rome and back, through 196 cities on the Italian peninsula.

The cars, all selected from among vehicles that either did race or could have raced in the 24 editions of the Mille Miglia held from 1927 to 1957, had to perform dozens of time, speed and distance trials along the way. Mr. Tonconogy tallied 35,417 points, 576 more than the runners-up, Giordano Mozzi and Mark Gessler, in a 1933 Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 Gran Sport. That same Alfa had won the rally a year earlier, in the hands of a different team of Argentine drivers.

A 1933 Aston Martin Le Mans, driven by Giovanni Moceri and Tiberio Cavalleri, was third. Something of a surprise in fourth place was a 1933 Ford Model B roadster. One of just a handful of American cars entered, it was driven by Gianmario Fontanella of Italy, who finished just nine points ahead of the 1927 Bugatti T37 of Bruno and Carlo Ferrari.

Jerry Garrett The Bugattis of Giulio Felloni (21) and Bruno Ferrari (23) battled for dominance on a highway through Emilia-Romagna. The No. 23 Bugatti ultimately took a fifth-place finish.

It is the fifth attempt by Mr. Tonconogy, 34, to win the rally, and he is now the youngest winner in the 31 years that the tribute rally version of the event has been staged. He is the developer of a winery, resort and spa in the Mendoza region of Argentina; he is also involved in his family’s business interests in Miami, according to published reports.

“I raced with the best co-pilot in the world,” Mr. Tonconogy said of Mr. Berisso on the victory podium. “We are extremely satisfied with the outcome reached, especially since this edition was packed with talented drivers and extremely competitive vehicles.”

The race has grown in recent years from something of a nostalgic, parochial remembrance for a bygone era of dubious street races to an international celebration of a golden era in automotive history.

Jerry Garrett Although rare in the Mille Miglia, a handful of American cars were entered this year. This 1933 Ford Model B roadster, driven by the Italian Gianmario Fontanella, finished fourth.

Automakers supported the event — emptying out their museums in some instances — to help teams field cars. Among the manufacturer-backed participants were those driving entries from Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, BMW, Bentley, Bugatti, Ferrari, Fiat, Jaguar, Lancia, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.

None of the race’s many celebrity participants — pro golfers, Olympic athletes, actors and actresses, auto executives and assorted executives — figured among the top finishers; most seemed to be, quite literally, just along for the ride. Scoring reasonably well among that group was the racer Andy Wallace in 137th place, the fashion model David Gandy in 169th and the businessman-racer Roger Penske in 202nd.

The race, organized this year by 1000 Miglia S.r.l., was plagued by almost constant rain, although no major incidents were reported. Worker and student demonstrations in Bologna — not rare occurrences — did little to disrupt the rally. It toured some areas in Emilia-Romagna that were particularly hard hit by a major earthquake that struck in the final hours of the 2012 event.

Of the record entry number, 340 were classified as finishers, even though more than a few had to be pushed across the finish line. The last stragglers did not arrive until the predawn hours on Sunday.

Jerry Garrett This 1933 Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 won the Mille Miglia last year in the hands of different drivers. On Saturday, the car clinched a second-place finish for Giordano Mozzi and his co-driver, Mark Gessler.

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Wheels Blog: Franchitti and Castroneves Pause in New York Before Indianapolis 500

Richard Drew/Associated Press Scotland’s Dario Franchitti, left, and Brazil’s Helio Castroneves were interviewed in New York on Monday.

On Monday, IndyCar sent the drivers for this Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 on a press tour to cities around North America. New York can rest easy in its title as the media capital of the world: it got the only pair of three-time Indy winners in the lineup, Dario Franchitti of Scotland and Helio Castroneves of Brazil.

Franchitti, the defending champion who also won in 2007 and 2010, is stuck in midpack, in the middle of the sixth row, after a weak performance by most of the Honda-powered teams in qualifying. His Ganassi Racing teammate, Scott Dixon of New Zealand, is next to him, in 16th starting position. Castroneves, in a Chevrolet-powered Penske car, starts eighth, in the middle of Row 3.

“I am worried,” Franchitti said of the apparent disparity between the Honda and Chevy engines, although most teams will be switching to fresh engines for the race itself, giving Honda a chance to perform some tweaks.

“Last year, we had an even bigger deficit,” Franchitti said. Obviously, that didn’t hurt him on race day. “The Honda guys brought in a new engine and made a big step forward in fuel consumption and horsepower. Hopefully, they can bring something similar this time.”

Castroneves offered some hope for Franchitti. “It doesn’t matter if you have the fastest car,” said Castroneves, who won the race in 2001, 2002 and 2009. “You need everything going right for you.”

Both drivers said they were impressed by the depth of driving talent and quality of the teams in this 500. “There’s probably 20-something cars that can win that race,” Franchitti said. “There’s a drop-off in some of the cars, but it’s only maybe three, four guys.”

Like the Kentucky Derby in horse racing, the Indy 500 is an event that draws many viewers who do not regularly follow the sport. Asked for viewing tips for newcomers, Franchitti pointed to “the subtleties of what’s going on.”

“You’re not going to see big slides or big steering movements,” he said. Instead, the in-car cameras, Franchitti said, can be telltales: any driver using anything but the smoothest, slightest steering input is having a handling problem.

He also suggested that viewers call up indycar.com to follow the race timing and scoring. “You can see if someone is moving up from the back of the pack,” he said.

“If you see a car really close behind another car, you know that person has a very good car,” Castroneves suggested, referring to the difficulty most teams have in getting a car to handle well once it is in the turbulent air coming off a car ahead.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway has received approval from the State of Indiana for millions of dollars in loans for improvements. One planned project would light the track for night racing. But Franchitti would not want to see the Indy 500 run under lights. “I don’t think you mess with 100 years of tradition,” he said.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images Helio Castroneves, driver of the No. 3 Shell V-Power/Pennzoil Ultra Team Penske Chevrolet, after qualifying for the 2013 Indianapolis 500.

Franchitti can appreciate tradition, being a serious student of racing history. “I read anything I can get,” he said. “I collect memorabilia. I talk to drivers who have gone before. No matter how long these guys have been out of the car, they still get it.”

(A little more from the history department: Castroneves and Franchitti are tied with Bobby Unser, Johnny Rutherford, Mauri Rose, Wilbur Shaw and Louis Meyer for the second-highest number of Indy 500 victories.)

He is the second Scot to win Indy, the other being Jim Clark, in 1965. Franchitti had a dream experience not long ago when he had the chance to drive Clark’s Indy-winning Lotus 38-Ford at the speedway. “It was something I never thought would happen, ” he said. “I saw it at the Henry Ford Museum. They let me walk behind the rope and touch it. I thought that was as close as I’d ever get to it. It was one of the greatest days of my life.”

A fellow Scot, Derrick Walker, will take over as the president of operations and competition for the IndyCar series after Sunday’s race (during which he will be the team manager for the pole-sitter, Ed Carpenter). Franchitti and Castroneves said they were happy to see Walker get the job.

“I think it’s a great hire for the series,” Franchitti said. “I pushed for it years ago. The only facet of experience he doesn’t have is as a driver.”

Walker owned his own team for many years and before that ran the Penske IndyCar team.

“There’s nothing like putting a person in that position who’s had to struggle to balance the books each year,” said Franchitti. Either he or Castroneves would be tied with A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears and Al Unser Sr. for the most Indy 500 victories with a win on Sunday.

And that would mean another trip to New York.

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Safety: 2014 Forester Gets Top Rating in Offset Crash Test

The 2014 Subaru Forester was the only one of 13 compact crossovers and S.U.V.’s to earn the highest rating in a new, more severe front crash test by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The new Forester was rated Good, and the 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport received the next-highest rating, Acceptable.

The insurance institute, which is financed by the insurance industry, began conducting the new test, called the small overlap test, in 2012. The results are rated on a scale of Good, Acceptable, Marginal and Poor. Vehicles are rated separately for their structure, for how well the driver dummy is restrained and for potential injuries to the dummy. Those are combined into the overall rating.

Moreover, the redesigned Forester was the first vehicle of 47 tested to date to receive perfect scores in all of those categories.

“It’s what we envisioned when we were first developing this test,” said Joe Nolan, the institute’s vice president for vehicle research. “They addressed the issues of structure. They addressed the issues of keeping the occupant engaged with the frontal air bag; keeping the steering wheel in front of the driver; deploying the side curtain air bag. All of those things, when they work together, they work very well.”

Receiving an overall rating of Marginal were the BMW X1, Honda CR-V, two-door Jeep Wrangler, Mazda CX-5, Nissan Rogue and Volkswagen Tiguan.

Receiving the lowest rating, Poor, were the Buick Encore, Ford Escape, Hyundai Tucson, Jeep Patriot and Kia Sportage.

Conspicuously absent from the latest tested group was the Toyota RAV4, which will not be tested until later this year. In a press release, the institute noted that Toyota had “asked for the delay” so it could make changes “to improve” the RAV4’s test performance.

The new small overlap test is intended to replicate what happens when the front corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle, or with an object like a tree or utility pole. In the test, 25 percent of the car’s front end on the driver’s side strikes a rigid barrier at 40 miles per hour.

Because the impact is to the car’s outer edge, it misses the main crush-zone structures that reduce crash forces to the passenger compartment, increasing the risk of severe damage to the structure that surrounds the occupants.

In these impacts, vehicles tend to rotate and slide sideways. This movement can fling the dummy toward the windshield and front door pillar. And it can push the steering wheel, which contains an air bag, so far to the right that the dummy can fall into a gap between the steering wheel air bag and the side-curtain air bag that is meant to protect the head.

In the Jeep Patriot, for example, the steering wheel moved up eight inches and to the right almost six inches, causing the dummy’s head to slide off the front air bag. And the side curtain air bag did not deploy.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: May 21, 2013

An earlier version of this article referred imprecisely to the overall vehicle ratings in crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. While the Subaru Forester was the first of 47 tested vehicles to get a perfect score, it was not the first to receive a Good rating in all tests. The Volvo XC60 was also rated Good in all categories, though it received a demerit because its side-curtain air bag did not provide enough forward coverage.

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Wheels Blog: Consumer Advocacy Group Calls for a Recall of 5 Million Jeep Grand Cherokees

Chrysler The Center for Auto Safety wants Chrysler to recall five million Jeep Grand Cherokees made from 1993 to 2004 for a potential fire hazard from their gas tanks.

The Center for Auto Safety is asking top officials at the Chrysler Group and its parent company, Fiat, to recall about five million vehicles. The nonprofit consumer advocacy group said, “Children are dying in Jeeps in rear-impact fires.”

In a letter to John Elkann on Wednesday, Fiat’s chairman, the center cited the deaths of three children since 2006 in fires that occurred when the Jeeps in which they were riding were struck from the rear.

The Center for Auto Safety has also been urging, since 2009, a recall of 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees, saying the vehicles have two problems. The first is a gas tank behind the rear axle and somewhat below the bumper, in an area that safety engineers call a crush zone. Chrysler moved the tank in front of the rear axle when it redesigned the vehicle for the 2005 model year, but a company spokesman said the move was not related to concern about fires.

The second problem is a fuel filler pipe positioned so that it can rip away from the tank in a rear impact, allowing gasoline to escape from the tank, the center said. Chrysler has repeatedly denied that the Grand Cherokee posed a fire risk, noting that the vehicles met federal safety standards.

On Wednesday, the automaker issued a statement reconfirming its own analysis of the Grand Cherokee models called into question by the center, saying the S.U.V.’s “are neither defective, nor do their fuel systems pose an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety in rear impact collisions.” However, almost a year ago, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said its investigation of the center’s allegations were reason enough for the agency to upgrade its investigation to an engineering analysis.

In what appeared to be a direct rebuttal of Chrysler’s continuing claims, the traffic safety administration said its study found that “rear-impact-related tank failures and vehicle fires are more prevalent in the J.G.C. (Jeep Grand Cherokee) than in non-Jeep peer vehicles.” At that time the safety agency said it was expanding the investigation to include 1993-2001 Jeep Cherokees, as well as 2002-7 Jeep Libertys.

In 2011 the center released the results of crash tests it commissioned, showing that other S.U.V.’s of the same vintage fared far better in rear-impact crashes than did the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The center says it has reports of 157 deaths in which Grand Cherokee crashes resulted in a fire. That tally includes rear impacts as well as rollovers in which the filler hose might have ripped loose, Clarence Ditlow, the center’s executive director, said in an interview. The safety agency listed 15 fire deaths, but Mr. Ditlow said it was strictly looking at rear-impact crashes.

One of the child deaths mentioned in the center’s letter was that of Cassidy Jarmon, a 4-year-old who was riding in her family’s 1993 Grand Cherokee in February 2006 in Cleburne, Tex. Her mother was stopped on a two-lane highway, trying to make a left turn, when her Jeep was hit from behind by a 2001 Chevrolet Lumina, according to the police report. Cassidy, who was in a child restraint, survived the impact but couldn’t be easily freed from the seat because the fire happened so quickly, said Detective Kelly Summey, who arrived at the crash while the rescue was under way. She died two days later from burns and smoke inhalation.

Detective Summey said her investigation concluded that the gas tank had been punctured by the Jeep’s trailer hitch. The deaths of the two other children occurred in 2011 and 2012. The safety agency’s investigation is still under way.

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Wheels: Monday Motorsports: Ed Carpenter Qualifies for Indy 500 Pole Position

Geoff Miller/Reuters The 2013 Indianapolis 500’s first row: (left to right) Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter (pole) and Carlos Munoz.

Ed Carpenter, whose family owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, qualified for the pole position for the Indianapolis 500 on May 26. The top qualifying position was worth a $100,000 prize, but Carpenter says the boost for his team, which he owns, was worth more.

“This is awesome, and it’s bigger than our wins, and it’s huge for the team,” said Carpenter, after posting his four-lap average speed of 228.762 miles per hour on Saturday. “It’s definitely a landmark day.”

He is the first team owner/driver to win the coveted No. 1 starting position since 1975. The rookie Carlos Munoz qualified second at 228.342 m.p.h. His teammate, Marco Andretti, earned the other starting spot on the outside of the front row in the 11-row lineup with an average speed of 228.261 m.p.h.

E.J. Viso, A.J. Allmendinger and Will Power will be in the second row, the reigning IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, the three-time Indy winner Helio Castroneves and James Hinchcliffe will be in the third. Michel Jourdain Jr. was the only entrant in the race who did not make the lineup.

In other motorsports news from a busy week:

• Jimmie Johnson won the All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night and collected the $1 million prize that went with it.

Johnson, who has won the event a record four times, was the leader on the track for the last 10 laps, after starting the event in 18th place. Johnson had a comfortable margin over Joey Logano, the runner-up. Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five; the Busch brothers won four of the five segments in the unique All-Star format, but Johnson won the final one, which was the segment that mattered most.

Despite its sizable payout, the All-Star event, which is limited to 22 starters and does not pay points toward the Nascar Sprint Cup title, is considered something of a tune-up for the regular 600-mile series event at the track on May 26.

• Shawn Langdon beat Tony Schumacher in a razor-close duel that decided the Top Fuel category in Sunday’s Kansas Nationals drag races in Topeka. Langdon made his run in 3.75 seconds, while Schumacher was clocked at 3.78. Schumacher actually hit a higher top speed, 327.27 m.p.h., than Langdon, who turned in 324.20 m.p.h., but Langdon won the race with a quicker reaction time off the starting line.

As close as that race was, the Pro Stock final was even closer. Jeg Coughlin took his first final round victory in two years, beating his teammate Allen Johnson by 0.018 of a second.

Johnny Gray won the Funny Car final when his rival Robert Hight lost traction at the starting light.

• Dani Pedrosa, riding a Honda, won the French Grand Prix Moto GP event on Sunday, defying a rain-soaked Le Mans racecourse to beat Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow. Pedrosa also took over the top spot in the world championship MotoGP standings with his victory. He leads his teammate Marc Marquez, who finished third, by six points.

Pedrosa has 83 points through the fourth leg of the 18-race championship. Jorge Lorenza, who finished seventh, is in third with 66 points.

• Jamie Whincup won three of the four 100-kilometer sprint races in the Austin 400 for Australian V8 Supercars over the weekend at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas. He finished ahead of Fabian Coulthard, a second cousin of the former F1 driver David Coulthard. Fabian Coulthard was the winner of the one event in which Whincup failed to take the checkered flag.

Whincup, the series points leader, drove a Holden Commodore, a product of the Australian subsidiary of General Motors.

The weekend’s program also included a round of the Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car series, which was won by Brett Sandberg, in a Honda Civic Si.

• At just shy of 58 years old, Ken Schrader won the ARCA stock car series event Sunday in Toledo, Ohio, becoming the oldest driver to win in the series.

He broke a record set in 1974 by the legendary Iggy Katona, who was 57 when he won an event at Daytona International Speedway. Katona, who died in 2003 at age 87, is remembered as for racing into his 70s.

Thomas Frey/European Pressphoto Agency The Black Falcon Mercedes SLS in action during the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring circuit on Monday.

• Black Falcon Racing’s Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 entry, driven by the team of Bernd Schneider, Sean Edwards, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Niki Thiim, won the epic 41st running of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in Germany. Their margin over the second-place car was two minutes and 39 seconds.

The race started Saturday and didn’t end until Monday afternoon – it had been scheduled to end Sunday evening – after an all-night delay for torrential rains and fog on the Eifel Mountain course. The annual race attracts a huge and varied entry – more than 200 cars and some 700 drivers – and a huge crowd.

The weather was abominable for a good portion of the race, but by Sunday afternoon it became diabolical. Officials decided to red flag the race and, ultimately, restart it at 8 a.m. on Monday.

A footnote in the event was that among the entries still running at the end was an Aston Martin Hydrogen Hybrid Rapide S. The company said it was the first time a zero-emissions, hydrogen-powered car had competed in an international motor race.

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Ford Plans to Shut Its 2 Plants in Australia

The U.S. automaker’s Australian unit will close its engine plant in Geelong and its vehicle assembly plant in Broadmeadows, both in the state of Victoria, with the loss of 1,200 jobs, Bob Graziano, chief executive of Ford Australia, said Thursday.

Ford, which built 37,000 vehicles in Australia last year, has been in the country since 1925 and employs more than 3,000 people. But it has been battling sliding sales, high costs and an Australian dollar trading above the U.S. currency.

“Our costs are double that of Europe and nearly four times Ford in Asia,” Mr. Graziano said. “The business case simply did not stack up. Manufacturing is not viable for Ford in Australia.”

Ford’s decision to end its local production highlights the challenges the country faces as a near decade-long mining boom begins to fade. Policy makers hope other sectors of the economy like manufacturing, construction and retail will start to pick up the slack, but evidence has been scant so far.

The Australian dollar has traded above parity with the U.S. dollar for most of the past two years — it fell to about 97 cents only this week — making it more difficult for local manufacturers to compete globally.

Mr. Graziano said Ford had lost 600 million Australian dollars, or $581 million, in the past five years in Australia, and 141 million dollars in the last financial year, as customers turned to smaller imported vehicles built by Mazda of Japan and Hyundai of South Korea.

The country’s performance of manufacturing index fell to a four-year low in April, indicating continuing contraction in the sector despite record low interest rates of 2.75 percent.

“Australia’s manufacturing sector continues to underperform other parts of the globe,” Savanth Sebastian, a CommSec economist, said in a research note this month.

“The main difference is the strength of the Aussie dollar, which clearly is causing businesses to markedly reassess the viability of ongoing operations as well as strategic direction,” Mr. Sebastian said.

General Motors Holden, the local unit of G.M., said last month that it was cutting 500 jobs, or 18 percent of its work force. It also cited the damage to its competitiveness from the strength of the Australian dollar.

Ford’s decision is likely to lead to a dispute over state assistance to the auto industry ahead of elections in September.

Opinion polls suggest that the minority Labor government is heading for a bruising defeat, largely because of its perceived mismanagement of the economy.

Labor has earmarked about 5.4 billion dollars for car industry assistance until 2020, pointing to the sector’s importance in maintaining heavy-industry skills and employment.

The Australian automotive industry employs about 55,000 people and supports 200,000 other manufacturing jobs. Ford’s closure is likely to affect the economies of scale at other local builders, G.M. and Toyota Motor.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the government’s immediate priority would be to support workers affected by the closures, who are likely to include employees of parts makers already hurt by Mitsubishi Motors’ closure of its Australian plants in 2008.

“The economy that we have today has many sources of strength, but the high Australian dollar is putting a lot of pressure on some industries, particularly manufacturing,” Ms. Gillard said.

Australia’s Reserve Bank expects the 1.5 trillion dollar economy to grow slightly below trend at 2.5 percent this year, returning to average or trend rates in 2014. Unemployment is expected to rise slightly to 5.75 percent.

Australia has annual sales of approximately 1.1 million new vehicles, and deliveries were up 7.6 percent, to 85,117, in April. But annual sales of locally manufactured vehicles have fallen to about 221,000 in recent years, from almost 389,000 in 2005.

At home in North America, Ford is faring better and announced Wednesday that it was adding a week of production at most of its factories to build an extra 40,000 vehicles.

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Behind the Wheel | 2014 Subaru Forester: Subaru Forester: A Crossover Jostling to Fit in Showrooms Already Full

Not that Subaru is doing badly. Sales in the United States have increased in each of the last four years, setting records. But the Forester — last reworked in 2008 — has not been part of that growth, with sales shrinking some 10 percent in 2011 and stalling at that level last year.

The Forester has, in part, been a casualty of the brawl in the compact sport utility market in recent years, with automakers landing blow and counterblow by improving fuel economy while adding luxury, performance and safety features previously unseen in this class. Chasing market leaders like the Honda CR-V and Ford Escape, the major automakers are updating or introducing new models very quickly, said Tom Libby, senior forecasting analyst at Polk, the automotive data firm.

Now Subaru joins that melee with a Forester that offers more room, new features and better fuel economy, all based on the underpinnings of the redesigned Impreza introduced in 2011. Subaru’s two-pronged market strategy continues: there’s the standard Forester 2.5i and then the 2.0XT, a sportier turbocharged model.

Prices start at $22,820 for a 2.5i with a 6-speed manual transmission; a continuously variable automatic is $1,000 extra. The least expensive sport model is the 2.0XT Premium, priced at $28,820.

But picking the fancier 2.0XT Touring version and adding a package of high-tech features that includes lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control, high-intensity-discharge low-beam headlights and precollision braking can push the price past $36,000. That figure suggests high hubris, given that Foresters have never been considered prestige models, but a richly optioned Escape can also reach that level.

I tested both a 2.5i Premium, which had a sticker price of $26,320, and a 2.0XT Touring ($36,220).

The 2014 Forester is 1.4 inches longer and gets a new look — lauded by company officials — that drew little attention in two weeks of driving around northern New Hampshire, a prime habitat of Subaru enthusiasts. But settle inside and the all-around visibility is good; a huge panoramic sunroof, standard on many models, furthers the sense of openness.

Core Subaru values like practicality have not been forsaken. The basic controls for heating, cooling and ventilation rely on an increasingly forgotten and simple pleasure: large, easy-to-use knobs. However, an optional touch screen for functions like the stereo is frustrating, with tiny boxes best suited to dainty little fingers.

An important change is the addition of 3.7 inches more legroom in the rear, which Subaru justifiably felt was needed to attract families with children. That increase means the Forester now has more rear legroom than major competitors like the CR-V, Escape and Toyota RAV4. Behind the second row there’s a competitive 34.4 cubic feet of space (31.5 when equipped with a sunroof).

There are also important mechanical upgrades. The quaint 4-speed automatic that hobbled the previous generation’s acceleration and fuel economy is gone. It has been replaced with an utterly agreeable C.V.T. that offers a strong and instant response to the accelerator. Fuel economy is greatly improved, by up to 5 m.p.g on the highway and 3 m.p.g. in town.

A 6-speed manual transmission is standard on the two least expensive 2.5i trim levels, replacing a 5-speed manual. All other models get the C.V.T.

The entry-level engine is a 170-horsepower 2.5-liter flat 4-cylinder introduced in the 2012 Forester and then added to the 2013 Outback and Legacy models. With the automatic, it is rated at 24 m.p.g. city and 32 m.p.g. highway. Pick the 6-speed manual and the fuel economy drops to 22 city and 29 highway.

The other engine choice is the turbocharged direct-injection 4 rated at 250 horsepower at 5,600 r.p.m. Available only on the 2.0XT, it is making its North American debut. Mileage with the turbo engine is rated at 23/28, one mile per gallon less in the city and four on the highway than the 2.5-liter engine.

That 250 horsepower is up from the 224 produced by last year’s 2.5-liter turbo. However, that gain is offset somewhat by extra pounds. The 2.0XT’s curb weight of 3,622 pounds reflects an increase of about 172 pounds, in part a result of bigger wheels and brakes.

Subaru says the base 2.5-liter Forester will go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 9.3 seconds with the C.V.T. The turbocharged 2.0XT is 3.1 seconds quicker.

During two weeks of driving in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, what the 2.5i and 2.0XT proved to have in common was driving satisfaction, albeit in different amounts.

The electric power steering, new for 2014, is predictable and properly weighted, and for an all-wheel-drive vehicle the Forester is pleasingly quick to dig into a turn.

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Wheels Blog: Aston Martin Shows the CC100 in Germany

Aston Martin Aston Martin showed off its CC100 Speedster Concept at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring race last weekend.

Among the many 100th birthday activities Aston Martin had going on during last weekend’s Nürburgring 24-hour race, almost lost in all the events was the introduction of the CC100 Speedster Concept.

“I have nicknamed it DBR100 because of its affinity to the great 1959 race-winning cars, and of course, our anniversary,” said Ulrich Bez, the company’s chief executive, who introduced the car on Saturday before the start of the race. “But this car shows that the soul of Aston Martin is as powerful as ever.”

Mr. Bez drove the CC100 around the track on a parade lap, followed by Sir Stirling Moss in the classic ’59 DBR1 – a 24-Hours of Le Mans winner – and a lineup of DB5s, One-77 limited edition models and other special Aston Martin cars.

Aston Martin Aston Martin’s CC100 Speedster Concept.

The open-top, V-12-powered concept, which Aston Martin has no firm plans to bring to production, does signal a new design direction that will be incorporated into future models, Mr. Bez said.

The concept was taken from sketches by the designers Marek Reichman and Miles Nurnberger to reality in just the last six months at the company’s headquarters in Gaydon, England. Mr. Nurnberger said his assignment was simple, yet daunting: “Create something that reflects the 100 years of Aston Martin heritage and signals the future of the brand.”

The CC100 rides on the company’s VH platform, has a full carbon-fiber body structure and a 555-horsepower 6-liter engine that will propel the car from zero to 60 m.p.h. in under four seconds, the company said. The car has a top speed of 180 m.p.h.

Aston Martin Aston Martin’s CC100 Speedster Concept.

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Wheels Blog: Wheelies: The Inexpensive E.V.’s Edition

General Motors Chevrolet announced Thursday that the Spark EV will be available for lease for $199 per month at some dealerships.

In which we bring you motoring news from around the Web:

• As of Thursday morning, General Motors jumped into the heart of the electric car fray with an announcement from Chevrolet that it would offer a $199-a-month lease for the Spark EV. That puts the tiny all-electric model in direct competition with the Nissan Leaf and Fiat 500e, both offered with $199 leases. General Motors said it expected to have the Spark EV available at some California and Oregon dealers by mid-June. Lower lease prices for battery-electric cars could help automakers meet tightening air quality regulations in California by increasing sales, which have been stymied by customer perceptions that electric models are too costly. (The Los Angeles Times)

• Two Denso executives, Yuji Suzuki and Hiroshi Watanabe, will be spending more than a year in American prison and each pay $20,000 fines after pleading guilty to charges of conspiring to fix prices of electronic auto parts. According to the United States Justice Department, the parts in question were heater control panels Denso sold to Toyota. Denso, which pleaded guilty to conspiracy last year, paid $78,000 in fines. (Reuters)

• A developer in Michigan is in the process of buying property once owned by General Motors for a car-themed condominium park. The 80-acre Pontiac, Mich., property was once the site G.M.’s validation center, but the automaker lost it during bankruptcy proceedings. Brad Oleshansky said he was trying to raise $40 million to buy the property, where he would build a park for car enthusiasts to meet and to drive their cars on an on-site test track. Plans call for a garage where owners of classic car could store their vehicles. (The Detroit Free Press)

• The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has begun releasing a series of videos offering a “behind the scenes” look at the crash testing it conducts at its plant in Virginia. The first two explain how crash test dummies work and the mechanics of frontal offset crash tests. In all, I.I.H.S., which is financed by the insurance industry, will release eight videos, each six minutes long. The informative videos provide a clear picture of tests that are often described in confusing proprietary terms. (Autoblog)

• At 7 years old, Scarlett Gurr may be the youngest classic-car owner alive. But her “classics” are pint-sized, just like she is. Scarlett’s father, Stuart Gurr, built the cars for his car-loving daughter. Her collection now includes a mini red Ferrari GTO (the pair’s favorite), a blue Cobra, a Blower Bentley and a diminutive replica of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, among others. Mr. Gurr, who owns a London-area car restoration shop, also takes his daughter to shows and races, where Scarlett drives the cars. As the youngest member of the British Women Racing Drivers Club, she has caught the bug early and will undoubtedly transition into bigger, more expensive cars before father knows what happened. (Huffington Post)

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Wheels Blog: Wheelies: The Luxo-Fisker Lutz Edition

Larry W. Smith/European Pressphoto Agency VL Automotive – headed by former G.M. executive and vocal car guy Bob Lutz – made a bid with a Chinese parts manufacturer to buy ailing Fisker Automotive.

In which we bring you motoring news from around the Web:

• What do Bob Lutz and a Chinese auto parts manufacturer have in common? If they have their way, they’ll be the new owners of Fisker Automotive, the struggling hybrid-electric carmaker that laid off most of its workforce earlier this year. Mr. Lutz, a former General Motors executive, runs VL Automotive. The boutique car company teamed up with the parts maker Wanxiang and offered $20 million to buy Fisker, which still owes $171 million in loans to the Department of Energy. Although VL Automotive’s Destino uses a gasoline V-8 in a Fisker Karma, Mr. Lutz has been a vocal advocate of electric and hybrid cars as the way of the future. (Reuters)

• George Michael – the singer, not the character from “Arrested Development” – was injured last week after he apparently fell out of a Range Rover traveling at 70 miles per hour. Top Speed reports that Mr. Michael fell out of his vehicle on a busy highway just north of London, having tried to open and close his door quickly because it wasn’t properly shut. He was admitted to the hospital, but his publicist said the injuries were minor. (Top Speed)

• Facing annual summer production scale-backs, at least two of the Big Three indicated that they would try to minimize this year’s slowdown. Although General Motors hasn’t commented on its summertime production expectations, Ford and Chrysler said they planned to boost production of certain models over the summer. Ford’s typical two-week summer shutdown will be reduced to a week, which the automaker estimates will boost production by about 40,000 vehicles. Chrysler plans to keep three of its factories open through the summer, stepping up Jeep Grand Cherokee and Cherokee, Dodge Durango and Viper production. The automaker’s engine and transmission plants will also operate without a summer break. (Automotive News)

• Automobile Magazine has named its all-star vehicles for 2013. In alphabetical order, they are: the Audi A7; the BMW 3-Series; the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1; the Ford Focus; the Honda Accord; the Mazda CX-5; the Porsche Boxster; the Ram 1500 pickup; the Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S; and the Volkswagen GTI. The publication called the current era “the golden age of sports cars,” highlighting driver-oriented models like the Toyobaru twins and the snarling Camaro ZL1. And the V-6 Honda Accord coupe? Automobile’s staff swears the soul of an NSX lives in there somewhere. (Automobile Magazine)

• In other awards-related news, Toyota has been named by BrandZ as the world’s most valuable automotive brand for 2013, edging out BMW. The list’s top three spots were claimed by Apple, Google and IBM; McDonald’s and Marlboro also made the top 10. The closest marques behind 23rd and 24th-ranked Toyota and BMW were Mercedes, in 43rd place, and Honda, in 71st. Volkswagen took the 100th spot in the annual survey. (The Green Car Website)

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Movie Review: ‘Fast & Furious 6,’ With Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson

Your auto insurance policy probably has clauses specifying whether you are covered for damage from missiles, falling objects, riots, civil war, earthquakes, hail, radioactive contamination, discharge of a nuclear weapon. But it’s time once again to check that it also addresses whether you are insured against accidentally driving onto the set of a “Fast & Furious” movie.

If you blundered into the shooting of “Fast & Furious 6,” for instance, you are almost surely walking now: If the flip-your-car-over speedsters didn’t wreck your vehicle, the giant tank surely did.

Most of the familiar faces are back for this latest bacchanalia of reckless driving, including Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto. Toretto is relaxing in fair-weather retirement, living off the big score of the previous movie in the franchise, when he is called back into service, as it were, by Luke Hobbs, the federal agent who both pursues and admires him and his band of renegades.

Hobbs is again played by Dwayne Johnson and his biceps, which get enough camera time that you expect the closing credits to include two arm wranglers, one for each. Mr. Johnson has seemingly been in every movie released in the last two years and has a reality television show, “The Hero,” coming on TNT. But he knows how to deploy his half-dozen expressions — the sly grin, the single-eyebrow arch — and is still a welcome sight, where other actors might by this point be overexposed.

He also doesn’t hijack this movie the way his character did in the recent “G.I. Joe: Retaliation.” “F&F 6” is still primarily about Toretto and his buddies. It is no spoiler to say that Michelle Rodriguez, seemingly killed off in an earlier film, returns as Letty Ortiz (she’s in the opening credits), Toretto’s tough-as-nails love interest. The gimmick here is that she’s now working for the opposition, mercenaries led by Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). Oh, and she has amnesia and doesn’t remember Toretto.

That provides just enough plot to propel the movie from car chase to car chase. The real question here is whether Justin Lin, the director of this film and three of its predecessors, can top himself. The climactic sequence of his “Fast Five” involved a preposterous scene in which racecars towed a giant bank vault through the streets at high speed.

Here Mr. Lin offers two tricks. The bad guys have flip cars, sleek machines whose armor-plated front ends are designed so that when they strike another vehicle, it goes spinning through the air. And in a later chase, Shaw and friends pull out a formidable tank that turns any vehicle it encounters into squished scrap metal.

These flashy smashies and a climactic sequence, in which the good guys try to prevent Shaw from taking off in an airliner by tethering their cars to it, make the movie a satisfying thrill ride, at least on a par with the earlier installments. A nice twist near the end is well disguised, and a coda hints at what’s to come in Part 7.

“Fast & Furious 6” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). It’s a dangerous-driving clinic.

Fast & Furious 6

Opens on Friday nationwide.

Directed by Justin Lin; written by Chris Morgan, based on characters created by Gary Scott Thompson; director of photography, Stephen F. Windon; edited by Christian Wagner and Kelly Matsumoto; music by Lucas Vidal; production design by Jan Roelfs; costumes by Sanja Milkovic Hays; produced by Neil H. Moritz, Clayton Townsend and Vin Diesel; released by Universal Pictures. Running time: 2 hours 8 minutes.

WITH: Vin Diesel (Dominic Toretto), Paul Walker (Brian O’Conner), Dwayne Johnson (Luke Hobbs), Michelle Rodriguez (Letty Ortiz), Jordana Brewster (Mia Toretto), Tyrese Gibson (Roman Pearce), Chris Bridges, a k a Ludacris (Tej Parker), Sung Kang (Han Lue), Luke Evans (Owen Shaw), Gina Carano (Riley), John Ortiz (Braga), Gal Gadot (Gisele Harabo) and Elsa Pataky (Elena Neves).

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Wheels Blog: Euro Tuner Cars Rally For Cheesesteaks

Nathan Laliberte Jameson Willoughby, a copy machine repair technician from Northern Virginia, eating a Philly cheesesteak on the rear deck of his Lotus Elise.

Last Saturday, I rode shotgun in an all-black BMW M3. Behind the wheel was Andrew Pollock, 26, an engineer from New Jersey, who had allowed me to be his co-pilot for the fourth annual Euro Philly Cheesesteak Run, a road rally that culminated at Tony Luke’s Cheesesteaks in South Philadelphia.

The 40-mile journey began in the parking lot of a Dick’s Sporting Goods in New Jersey. Mr. Pollock, in khaki shorts and a graphic T-shirt, let his left hand dangle loosely over the top of the steering wheel while his right deftly toggled the shift knob. Upon arriving at Tony Luke’s, which is by an I-95 overpass, Mr. Pollock said it would be best to buy a cheesesteak before looking at the hundreds of cool cars in the parking lot. “Better hit up the line now, otherwise you’ll be waiting for hours,” he said.

Tony Luke’s serves what is widely regarded as one of the best cheesesteak sandwiches in town. As is typical at cheesesteak restaurants in Philadelphia, customers must order in a Philly dialect. “Whiz wit” means you want a cheesesteak slathered in Cheez Wiz and topped with diced onions; “whiz widdout” means you want Cheez Whiz but not the onions; provolone is “provi”; peppers are “peps.”

Nathan Laliberte Andrew Pollock’s black BMW was one of the entrants in this year’s Euro Philly Cheesesteak Run.

After ordering a cheesesteak whiz-wit and a mug of Mountain Dew (when in Philly …), I went to the parking lot where participants were eating on their car trunks. The lot was filled with European tuner cars – I counted 120 in total. I talked with several owners about top speeds and 0-60 times. Jameson Willoughby, a copy machine repair technician from northern Virginia (“In five years, I’ve only encountered one copier I couldn’t fix”), huddled over the spoiler of his 2005 Lotus Elise, eating a cheesesteak with peps and whiz.

“The guys at work think I am getting paid too much,” he said, as we discussed the performance specs of his Lotus. “What they don’t know is that I also deliver pizzas at night to support the car habit.”

One man, holding his 6-month-old daughter, said he had recently bought a Recaro baby seat for his customized Audi S4. “She already loves cars,” he said.

Nathan Laliberte About 120 European sports cars showed up for the fourth annual cheesesteak rally last weekend.

A man standing beside a late model Porsche 911 said he had recently beat a Ferrari off the line. “I took the rev-limiter chip out, and now I can smoke just about anything.”

His 9-year-old son, wearing a blue T-shirt with a Porsche logo, was standing next to his father. I asked the boy if he had enjoyed the rally. He smiled and made sweeping motions on his belly and said, “Cheesesteaks! Cheesesteaks!”

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Wheels Blog: Tesla vs. Chrysler: Who’s on First?

Twitter Part of the Twitter battle between Elon Musk and Chrysler over which American company paid off its federal loans first.

The Twitter messages are once again flying from Tesla Motors.

In a Wednesday announcement, the Palo Alto, Calif., automaker said it had paid off the entire loan made to the company by the Energy Department — and added that it was “the only American car company to have fully repaid the government.”

Within hours, Gualberto Ranieri, a senior vice president at Chrysler, responded on Chrysler’s blog: “The information is unmistakably incorrect. It’s pretty well-known that almost exactly two years ago – May 24, 2011 – Chrysler Group LLC repaid (in full and with interest) U.S. and Canadian government loans more than six years ahead of time.” Chrysler also responded via Twitter.

“Not so fast, Tesla,” says @chrysler comm chief, re claims it’s first to repay U.S. govt. @teslamotorsbit.ly/14zB6sJ #shortciruit

— Chrysler (@Chrysler) May 23, 2013

Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive and a Twitter regular, responded, saying: “As many have already noted, @Chrysler is a division of Fiat, an Italian company. We specifically said first *US* company.” And later, he added: “More importantly, @Chrysler failed to pay back $1.38B. Apart those 2 points you were totally 1st.”

Tim Rue/Bloomberg News Tesla Motors chief executive Elon Musk (pictured) maintains that Chrysler, which is mostly owned by Fiat SpA, is no longer an American company.

Mr. Musk’s second Twitter message is in reference to a portion of Chrysler’s TARP loan that was assigned to the old Chrysler when the United States government sold its stake in the newly organized Chrysler Group LLC to Fiat SpA. Of the $12.5 billion the government had loaned the old Chrysler, approximately $1.3 billion was left behind. On June 2, 2011, the United States Treasury said in a statement that it was “unlikely to recover the difference of $1.3 billion owed by Old Chrysler.”

Asked to respond to Mr. Musk’s contention that Chrysler Group LLC is not an American company, Mr. Ranieri, in a telephone interview, said: “I don’t have any response to that. Chrysler Group LLC is the company of Walter Chrysler, and it speaks for itself for what it does.”

When asked if he could expand on that, Mr. Ranieri added, “I love espresso ristretto, so I don’t have anything more to add.”

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Bucks Blog: A Car Towing Tale of Woe

Chang W. Lee/The New York Times A car being towed in New York City.

5/17/13 | Updated with comment from towing company’s lawyer.

When we were looking for a home in a new city a few years ago, my family took a welcome break from house hunting to eat dinner.

We emerged from the restaurant just in time to see our car speed by — on the back of a tow truck. Apparently, we had mistakenly entered the incorrect parking space number in an automatic payment machine. We had paid — for the wrong space. So an alert local towing firm had pounced.

Our little adventure ended an hour or so later, after we tracked down the location of the tow lot and retrieved our car. The tow operator didn’t want to hear our argument about having paid for the wrong space, and the children were cranky, so we just paid the fee and went on our way.

But things didn’t go so easily for Robert Pelkey of Manchester, N.H., who sued a towing firm after it hauled away his car and then sold it, even though his lawyer told the towing firm he hadn’t abandoned it and wanted it back.

The towing firm invoked a federal transportation law to argue that his claim under a New Hampshire consumer law was invalid. The towing suit made it all the way to the United States Supreme Court, which this week ruled that Mr. Pelkey’s suit can proceed.

Here’s Mr. Pelkey’s tale of towing woe. In February 2007, a firm called Dan’s City Used Cars towed Mr. Pelkey’s 2004 Honda Civic from its parking spot because he had failed to move it during a snowstorm, per the policy of his apartment complex.

It turned out that Mr. Pelkey was ill, and ended up in the hospital to have his foot amputated shortly after the car was towed. He suffered a heart attack while in the hospital, and stayed there for nearly two months, according to a brief filed by his lawyers.

A notification mailed by Dan’s City to Mr. Pelkey was returned, according to the court’s opinion, so the firm scheduled the car for auction. When Mr. Pelkey did return home and found that his car was gone, his lawyer located the car and offered to pay any charges owed to reclaim it. But Dan’s City sold it anyway, without paying Mr. Pelkey anything for it.

Mr. Pelkey sued in state superior court, which found that his claims were pre-empted by federal law and couldn’t proceed. The state’s Supreme Court reversed that finding, so Dan’s City appealed. On Monday, the United States Supreme Court upheld the New Hampshire high court’s ruling. So Mr. Pelkey may yet be compensated for his troubles.

Adina Rosenbaum, a lawyer for Public Citizen and Mr. Pelkey’s co-counsel, said the Supreme Court “affirmed that people can bring state law cases against towing companies that tow their cars and sell them against the owners’ wishes.”

Andre Bouffard, the lead counsel for Dan’s City, said the high court didn’t rule on the merits of the specific allegations in Mr. Pelkey’s lawsuit. “There are still a lot of facts in dispute,” he said, like whether Mr. Pelkey had agreed to pay charges owed to the towing company. Those issues will be considered if the case goes to trial, he said. The two sides could also settle out of court.

Regardless, he said, the decision “creates a wider scope for state law suits not only against tow truckers, but also other motor carriers.”

Have you ever had a car towed? What was your experience? And how much did it cost to have it returned to you?

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Wheels Blog: The Flamboyant Cars of Liberace

Marty Lederhandler/Associated Press Liberace with a 1956 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I, which he used in a Radio City Music Hall show in 1985.

“Behind the Candelabra,” the new HBO movie about Liberace, has a scene in which he drives up to his Hollywood home (it’s actually Zsa Zsa Gabor’s home, but that’s another story.) in a Mercedes-Benz 450SL, and arrayed around the driveway is a collection of cars as flamboyant as the entertainer.

Claudette Barius/HBO Michael Douglas, left, and Matt Damon in the HBO film “Behind the Candelabra,” directed by Steven Soderbergh.

The movie, making its debut this weekend and starring Michael Douglas as Liberace, is billed as a look into Liberace’s private life and loves, so it is no surprise that considerable screen time is given to the man’s cars. Jerry Goldberg, the marketing director of the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas, said in a 2010 interview that over the years Liberace had owned at least 30 cars before he died in 1987.

For decades, the museum, which closed to the public in 2010, had a more or less permanent display of seven of his favorite vehicles. These included a gold metal-flake, customized 1972 Bradley GT that Liberace drove in Palm Springs, Calif., where he lived. There was also a 1957 taxicab from England; it still had a working meter that registered pounds, shillings and pence. The museum’s display noted that Liberace loved picking up guests in it and turning on the meter.

His “Bicentennial Rolls-Royce,” a 1954 model that was painted in patriotic red, white and blue. For a 1976 performance he wore an outfit, including hot pants, that matched the car and piano. Matching cars, costumes and pianos were a recurring Liberace theme, as familiar in his act as his signature tune, “I’ll Be Seeing You.”

One of Liberace’s more valuable cars was a 1962 Rolls-Royce Phantom V Landau with a retractable top. He had it covered in a mosaic of jewel-like mirrors, with patterns of prancing horses. It has been described as “a disco ball on wheels.”

Liberace’s collection also included a certain amount of schlock, of questionable value. One of his favorites was a replica of a 1931 Ford Model A; Liberace used it as a stage prop.

There is also a 1971 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible that Liberace commissioned George Barris, the customizer, to turn into a mini Rolls-Royce. The resulting mirror-encrusted creation was lathered in hot pink paint and had the license plate “VWRR JR.”

Of course, there is also the so-called Rhinestone Roadster, a sort of kit-car creation adorned with faux gemstones that matched a stage costume and the piano that was used in his 1986 performance at Radio City Music Hall.

That car, by the way, was on display in New York last week, along with other Liberace memorabilia, in conjunction with the movie’s premiere. The Liberace Foundation still controls many of the museum’s artifacts (although some have been sold).

His favorite car? Mr. Goldberg, the Liberace museum’s marketing director, said it was a 1954 Cadillac Eldorado presented to him by his old television show’s sponsor, Citizens National Bank.

But what was Liberace’s first car? Mr. Goldberg said Liberace’s first car, which he couldn’t afford to buy until he was already 30 years old, was a red 1950 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 convertible.

Why that car? Though Olds clearly had a winner with the new 88 and Liberace loved the color red, why an Olds 88?

Eighty-eight matches the number of keys on a piano.

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Wheels Blog: Taking a Spin Around a Dirt Track in a Pro Lite Unlimited Racing Truck

Mike Caudill/Driven PR This Pro Lite Unlimited race truck is powered by a 347-cubic-inch Ford V-8.

LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. – Casey Currie drummed in one message last Friday during our laps around the track at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park: “Slow! Slow down! Slow into the turn!” Currie, 29, who has motorcycles and Baja 1000 trucks, had good reason to worry.

After he had first showed me around the five-turn, about 1.1-mile course, we switched places. Now I had the wheel of this beastly Pro Lite Unlimited truck, a two-seat demonstrator that was otherwise comparable to single-seat entries in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, which competed here over the weekend.

Naturally, I envisioned soaring over the jumps, touching down on all four wheels and pitching sideways into each turn, where I would find the cushion on lightly packed dirt and shoot forward for the next suborbital launch.

But Currie communicated a healthy respect for the truck’s potency, its 2,800-pound mass, and its willingness to roll over if mishandled. He also stressed that the highly technical business of flying over jumps shouldn’t invite a cavalier attitude, lest we land on our chins or tailbones.

In fact, just before I had strapped into the driver’s seat and hooked my helmet to the truck’s intercom system, another driver in a 300-horsepower truck had gone end-over-end. Fortunately, he appeared to be uninjured after the wreck.

Mike Caudill/Driven PR Casey Currie, 29, was a little nervous about a journalist’s relative lack of experience behind the wheel of a racing truck.

For a reporter to get behind the wheel was unprecedented, so why was he letting me drive the truck? “I’m not sure,” he said, hardly able to hide his skepticism. “Have you ever driven on a track?”

My naming some big ones didn’t seem to allay his concerns about my ability. The fact is that he was stuck with a writer almost twice his age behind the wheel; the recent accident had clearly upset him.

While he was still strapped in, I nudged onto the track. As soon as the engine had fired up, normal conversation became impossible, but through the speakers inside my helmet Currie told me everything that could go wrong.

The truck’s lack of a windshield allowed me to see, ever so clearly, how imposing the jump hills looked. Rattling around in the back of my brain was a speech  that Rich Unferdorfer, the racing series fire safety director, had given at the drivers’ meeting. Flame-retardant socks were strongly encouraged, he had said.

Mike Caudill/Driven PR Ronald Ahrens, the author of this post, gets some wheel time.

Meanwhile, even though I’d bitten into my right cheek on a jump during Currie’s demonstration lap, I felt relaxed and comfortable in the racing seat. Cozied up to my right knee, throwing off a fair amount of heat through its sheet metal covering, the throbbing 347-cubic-inch Ford V-8 begged to go racing.

Reviewers of new cars might talk about instantaneous response, but boldly shooting forward in this rig required just one more red blood cell in my big toe. Everything about the truck reflected its intent to extend the driver’s reflexes. The steering had eye-blink directness. The tread of the big tires offered plenty of bite. And without 4-wheel drive, the truck’s rear-end wanted to swivel right around so we could power-slide through the corners.

“These ruts could make us roll over,” Currie said, breathing shallowly, as we entered a turn. “Are you braking?”

We seemed to be crawling, and I’d hardly touched the brakes on the first lap.

“Use the brakes,” he said.

Mike Caudill/Driven PR One of the turns at the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park in California.

Noticing the white flag waving, he expressed astonishment that we had been granted a third lap (and then another, which seemed almost endless, for a wholly unneeded cool-down).

I turned off the track, docile to the last. At least I hadn’t lost control and ruined someone’s day.

Mike Caudill/Driven PR Ronald Ahrens drives a racing truck at the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park in California.

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Subaru Joins the Fray

The 2014 Forester offers more room, new features and better fuel economy, all based on the underpinnings of the redesigned Impreza introduced in 2011.

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Design: Tailgate Party: Fire Up the Grilles

“A fist in the wind” is how Mr. Peters describes the pickups’ design.

The new G.M. trucks are not alone in looking as if they can deliver a punch. The latest full-size pickups from G.M.’s crosstown rivals, Ford and Ram, step into the ring with flattened noses, their huge, blunt grilles often slathered in bright trim. A special edition of the latest Toyota Tundra seems to have as many bars as Milwaukee, capped with a flat, wide nostril.

“There is a trend toward a bigger, bolder look,” said Mr. Peters, the director of exterior design for Chevrolet trucks, full-size crossovers and performance cars.

 Automobile grilles have long been carefully created to reflect the image of their brands and a particular model’s place in the hierarchy, while truck grilles were comparatively bare and basic. But with trucks locked in ever-fiercer sales battles, their grilles have grown larger and more eye-catching, a modern, motorized riff on the battle shields of medieval crusaders.

After taking a hit when the economy slumped, pickup sales are on the rise again on the strength of a rebounding construction industry: Ram (previously known as Dodge Trucks) gained 49 percent in April from a year earlier, and the full-size truck sales of G.M. and Ford each rose around 24 percent.

Manufacturers are scrambling to grab larger shares of this highly profitable market with tougher, more distinctive designs.

Rugged exteriors help to hide the fact that many of today’s macho-looking trucks are softies on the inside, with interiors wrapped in soft leather, decked with wood trim and buzzing with electronic gadgets.

Luxury trucks are especially hot. Ford says that about a third of its pickup sales come from the higher-end versions priced at $35,000 or more. Not long ago, a $50,000 pickup seemed unimaginable. Now the price tags on fancy trucks can rise well above $60,000.

In addition, a tough grille can obscure the fact that the power plant behind it is shrinking — with more fuel-efficient V-6 engines replacing thirsty V-8s in many pickup trucks.

In Texas, where one-sixth of the nation’s pickups are sold, and where Mr. Peters showed off his new truck to the press recently, pickups are like the standard uniform of boots and cowboy hats: they are everywhere, but they come in many styles and shapes. Greater personalization, with a variety of available faces, is the latest truck trend.

 The image of the pickup truck is firmly wrapped in American mythology. Model names read like the listings for John Wayne Week on the Turner Classic Movies channel: High Country, King Ranch, Laramie Longhorn.

Manufacturers present trucks primarily as work tools, but despite the ads featuring cowboys, farmers and construction workers, more and more trucks are being used partly — or mostly — as family vehicles.

“There’s a lot of diversity in the customer range,” said Joe Dehner, chief exterior designer for Ram and Dodge. In addition to working trucks, he said, “we also get the ‘air haulers,’ which means they don’t necessarily carry something.”

For decades, trucks looked like basic metal boxes. Then Dodge offered up a bold new look for its Ram for the 1994 model year. Under Tom Gale, then the design chief for Chrysler, the pickup added a touch of fantasy to the utilitarian box. With its arched grille and raised hood, the Ram resembled the cab of a mighty 18-wheeler.

Today’s Ram designers call it “the big-rig look,” said Mr. Dehner. “We own that.”

But pickups from other manufacturers began to show the Ram’s influence as their designers visually separated the hood and fenders and raised the grille above the headlights.

For the 2014 Chevy Silverado, which will arrive in showrooms soon, Mr. Peters has revised a familiar look. Bolder elements surround its traditional so-called dual port grille. Mr. Peters said, “It looks tougher because it is taller and wider and sports a new single-piece bumper that emphasizes its horizontality.” He said that drivers want trucks “to be purposeful, capable, durable, with an aggressive appearance saying that they can take the punches of everyday life on the farm or job.”

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Face Forward

The Atlas concept truck appears to borrow the muscular look of Ford’s Super Duty line of larger, more powerful pickups. The face of the Atlas adds vertical elements to the horizontal bars of the current F-150; the grille’s frame forms a shape that suggests the nostrils of a bull.

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DealBook: In a Plus for Electrics, Tesla Repays a Big Federal Loan Early

Stan Honda/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesThe Tesla Model S was introduced at the 2013 North American International Auto Show.

The taxpayer no longer has to worry about Tesla Motors.

Tesla, the maker of electric cars, paid off a $465 million loan on Wednesday that the Energy Department made in 2010. The repayment is a lift to the Obama administration, whose clean-energy loan programs faced criticism after the collapse of Solyndra, the solar panel maker. The company, using money it raised last week in the markets, is repaying the government nine years before its loan was due.

“Today’s repayment is the latest indication that the Energy Department’s portfolio of more than 30 loans is delivering big results for the American economy while costing far less than anticipated,” Ernest Moniz, the energy secretary, said in a statement.

Tesla’s payment will be the latest source of excitement to its supporters. But whether Tesla remains a good advertisement for government aid partly depends on how the company now performs. Should Tesla falter badly, it will only highlight the risks of lending to experimental companies.

Electric car enthusiasts have rushed to buy its main product, the Model S, a high-priced luxury sedan. Tesla also has plenty of fans in the markets, where investors who have piled into the company’s shares, in the belief that Tesla will find plenty of buyers for its cars.

Elon Musk, who co-founded and leads Tesla, issued a statement thanking the Energy Department, Congress and taxpayers for the loan. “I hope we did you proud,” he said.

After the demise of Solyndra in 2011, government efforts to subsidize clean-energy companies came in for special scrutiny. Mitt Romney included Tesla in a batch of companies he called “losers” during last year’s presidential contest.

Tesla’s exit from the government loan may now refresh the debate over how much support to give young, clean-energy firms.

“Tesla is repaying early and it’s a great vindication,” said Greg Kats, president of Capital-E, a firm that invests in clean-energy companies. “Tesla has really helped push the Big Three automakers down the energy efficiency track.”

Noah Berger/ReutersA Tesla Model S at the factory in Fremont, Calif. Electric car enthusiasts are flocking to the Model S, which is a luxury sedan.

The Energy Department on Wednesday said that losses on its loans were equivalent to 2 percent of its $34 billion portfolio.

Tesla has not fully weaned itself from government support. Buyers of Tesla cars can get substantial tax credits that reduce the purchase price. After a $7,500 tax credit, the lowest-cost Model S is $62,400.

The company is also able to generate large amounts of revenue from selling green energy credits to other automakers. Morgan Stanley estimates that Tesla can cover its capital expenditures this year from selling those credits.

Tesla was able to pay back the loan all at once because it took advantage of a meteoric rise in its stock price. Its soaring share prices helped it raise approximately $1 billion in the market last week by selling new stock and debtlike securities.

“The reason the loan is being paid off is not because of vehicle sales,” said Patrick J. Michaels, a director at the Cato Institute, a libertarian-leaning research group.

Tesla started delivering the Model S to consumers earlier this year and expects to sell 21,000 cars in all of 2013. But it is not clear whether the initial burst of demand for its sedan was merely the result of enthusiasts rushing to get their cars. Skeptics doubt the market is as big as the company projects, and expect the shares to plunge when that becomes apparent. While Tesla has made ambitious targets for selling cars, its more immediate financial projections seem less impressive. It recently suggested that cash flows from its operations might not be positive in the second quarter and it seemed to forecast a drop in North American sales in the second half of the year.

One perceived weakness in Tesla’s plans is the relative expense of the Model S. The company may face only limited demand until it comes up with a substantially cheaper car.

“They are going to have to have a vehicle that costs much less than $100,000,” Mr. Michaels said.

Though Tesla is on an upswing now, the Energy Department appeared to have some concerns about the company during the life of the loan. In several instances, the department softened the conditions of the loan. These amendments to important covenants might have allowed Tesla to avoid falling into a default, which could have been embarrassing for the Energy Department after the collapse of Solyndra.

Defenders of the amendments say it is common for investors to change the terms of financing for young companies. Also, the changes show that the Energy Department spotted that Tesla had potential and was wise to make the adjustments.

“Tesla is arguably making the most exciting car in the world today,” said Mr. Kats, who worked in the Energy Department during the Clinton administration. “This loan program has exceeded expectations.”

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DealBook: Bid for Cash by Tesla Motors Is Likely to Energize Company and Critics Alike

Larry W. Smith/European Pressphoto AgencyFranz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s chief designer, showing the company’s Model X at the North American Auto Show in January.

Tesla Motors announced plans on Wednesday to tap the markets for more cash, a move that will buy it time to meet its ambitious goals but will also fuel debate over its prospects.

Tesla, the maker of electric cars founded and led by the entrepreneur Elon Musk, said it hoped to raise approximately $830 million by selling new shares and debtlike securities. The company said that Mr. Musk personally planned to buy $100 million of shares in the offering.

The plans could raise questions about the company’s ability to generate cash flows from its operations. Last week in an investor conference call, Mr. Musk played down the notion that Tesla would soon tap the public markets to raise new money. “We don’t have any plans right now to raise funding,” he said.

Tesla’s main product, a luxury sedan called the Model S, was the subject of New York Times articles this year involving a test drive of the car and its charging capacity. Mr. Musk has repeatedly challenged the articles, saying they were unfair.

Since then, however, Tesla has generated a stream of positive headlines, including a glowing review this month for the Model S from Consumer Reports.

The financing announced on Wednesday could prove a pivotal development in the intense debate over Tesla’s future.

The company’s shares have risen by 150 percent this year as more investors have started to express belief that the company will make electric vehicles that people will flock to buy because they perform as well as gasoline cars.

Other investors, however, remain unconvinced. They have bet against Tesla’s shares, saying they believe there is not much of a market for its cars beyond a small group of enthusiasts. These skeptics say they think that excitement has evolved into a stock mania. Tesla’s market value, nearly $10 billion, now exceeds that of Fiat. But the investors who placed those skeptical bets, called short-sellers in stock-market parlance, have suffered heavy losses as Tesla shares have soared. In fact, because of the paradoxical dynamics of short-selling, when these investors unwind their negative Tesla bets, they help force the company’s shares even higher. That phenomenon partly explains why Tesla’s stock is up 50 percent in just the last five days.

“Right now, Tesla is a story stock,” said Carter W. Driscoll, who analyzes clean-technology companies for Ascendiant CapitalMarkets. “Let’s be realistic here, they’ve only produced a quarter’s worth of vehicles.”

For investors betting against the shares, that skepticism will have been particularly painful in recent days. For Tesla, though, the meteoric spike in its shares presents an attractive opportunity to raise money without hurting existing shareholders too much.

“You have to give them kudos for their timing,” Mr. Driscoll said.

The company will take in the money in two ways: it will offer new shares on the public markets to investors; and it will raise $450 million from the debtlike securities, which the company will have to pay back in 2018. The company expects to price the offerings after the close of regular trading on Thursday, according to Sarah Meron, a Tesla spokeswoman.

The company said some of the money would be used to pay down a big federal loan that helped it set up production facilities for the Model S.

Critics of the Obama administration’s clean-energy financing program have focused on the Tesla loan. In last year’s presidential campaign, Mitt Romney included Tesla in group of companies he called “losers.”

The company has about $440 million outstanding on the loan, which was made by the Energy Department. Ms. Meron declined to say when the company would pay off the loan.

The cash from the offering of stock and securities will give Tesla an important cushion to fall back on if its young operations stutter. During the investor call last week, Mr. Musk did say the company might tap markets to protect itself against “some sort of risk event.”

While buying time for Tesla, the decision to raise cash could also end up emboldening critics who said they believed that Tesla was going to experience weak cash flows from its operations this year. In the investor call last week, Tesla executives did not project that cash flows would be positive in the second quarter. They also suggested a decline was possible in North American sales as the year progresses.

The company has also stopped giving out the number of reservations in place for its cars, a metric that investors had previously found useful for assessing future demand.

This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: May 18, 2013

An article on Thursday about Tesla Motors’ plans to tap the markets for more cash misstated, at one point, the way in which the company plans to raise the money. As the article correctly noted elsewhere, the company will sell new shares and debtlike securities; it will not raise new money from another Energy Department loan.

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Wheels: Wheelies: The Joint-Venture Edition

Toyota/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Akio Toyoda, left, the president of Toyota, shaking hands with Norbert Reithofer, the BMW chairman, after they announced a partnership in January.

In which we bring you motoring news from around the Web:

• Something is brewing between Toyota and BMW, in the form of a four-part joint venture aimed at using lightweight materials, fuel-cell technology and batteries to bolster vehicle efficiency. The companies announced their intentions to collaborate in January, but had apparently come closer to agreeing upon what they would like to do with their pooled resources. Motor Trend reported that a joint concept vehicle might be unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show this year. At this point, what that vehicle will be is pure speculation, but Motor Trend surmises that it may be a hybrid sports car. Whatever it is, Toyota and BMW have already engaged in feasibility studies, all very hush hush. (Motor Trend)

• Three former Saab executives have been arrested by Swedish authorities for fraud and tax evasion. Although Olof Sahlgren, a Swedish prosecutor, would not name the executives, he said that they had been accused of falsifying the company’s financial records from 2010 to 2011. Skypker, the automaker, had bought Saab from General Motors in 2010, filing for bankruptcy in December 2011. It is now owned by a consortium of Chinese and Japanese investors who plan to build electric cars under the Saab brand. The three Spyker-era executives face four years behind bars if convicted. (The Boston Globe)

• Don’t expect to see too many Renaults for sale in America soon, but if there were a dealership in the neighborhood, the driving enthusiast might consider taking the new Renault Mégane RB8 for a spin. Production of the hot hatch, the styling of which was inspired by Renault’s Formula One partnership with Red Bull Racing, will be limited. Mechanically, the RB8 is the same as the Mégane 265 Cup, sporting a 265-horsepower, 2-liter 4-cylinder engine. But it will have 19-inch wheels, Recaro seats and a few other goodies the other car does not have. But again, we will have to watch the fun unfold from afar on this side of the Atlantic. (Piston Heads)

• Sergio Marchionne, Chrysler and Fiat’s Italian chief executive, came under fire from an Italian-American anti-bias advocacy group in New Jersey for comments he made at the Detroit auto show in January. He had told reporters there that if a new Alfa Romeo model was sold in the United States, it needed to have a “wop” engine. Although putting an Italian-designed engine in an Italian car may sound fine to most, using the word “wop,” a pejorative for Italian-American, attracted the attention of the the Italian-American One Voice Coalition, which pursued Mr. Marchionne until he issued a public apology for the slur. (The Detroit Free Press)

• A 20-year-old woman was killed Saturday when a Jeep demonstration in Edmonton, Alberta, went awry. Two Jeeps were parked in such a way that one Jeep had its front tire on top of the front tire of the other Jeep, ostensibly to show off the S.U.V.’s climbing prowess. When the top Jeep’s driver got out to pose for pictures, his vehicle moved forward, rolling to its side. A young woman standing nearby was knocked down by the tumbling Jeep and later pronounced dead at the hospital. (CTV News)

• Audi is now India’s top luxury brand, having outstripped BMW of the title. Sales of BMW and Mercedes-Benz cars in India fell by 9.5 and 5.4 percent, respectively, while Audi sales there rose by 43 percent over the last year – a total of 9,350 vehicles. Audi said it owed its success to focusing outside of the city centers typically aimed at by top carmakers in India. The automaker expanded its sales outside urban areas. S.U.V.’s are the company’s primary focus in the country, particularly in smaller cities that tend to have more rough roads. (Automotive News Europe)

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Well: Spring Pasta Recipes for Health

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times Whole grain pasta with mushrooms

To make a quick meal with spring vegetables, try one of these new pasta dishes from Recipes for Health columnist Martha Rose Shulman. She writes:

The beautiful, sweet vegetables of spring ? artichokes and peas, favas and tender young asparagus, spring garlic and sweet spring onions ? come and go so quickly that I find myself impulse buying at the market and using them up in the simplest of dishes. They beg nothing more than pasta, and that’s a good thing because many of these vegetables are labor-intensive. It’s worth the time it takes to shell the peas, to free the heart of the artichoke from its leaves, to shell and skin favas. Then little more is required than a quick sauté or simmer with aromatics. You can always embellish, though, as I am doing this week with some recipes, with a pesto or, in the case of a baked orzo pastitsio with artichokes and peas, a béchamel.

In most of this week’s recipes, a ladleful of the cooking water from the pasta ? which in many cases has also been used to blanch some of the vegetables ? stands in for a sauce. A small amount of this water, which has become starchy from the pasta, adds just enough moisture and body to the vegetable mix so that when you toss it with the pasta you’ll get a moist, inviting combination that can be finished with cheese or not.

Here are five new ways to spring into pasta.

Orzo With Peas and Parsley Pesto: This is like a pasta version of the classic rice and peas risotto, risi e bisi.

Baked Orzo With Artichokes and Peas: A light yet comforting Greek-inspired dish enriched with béchamel.

Farfalle With Artichokes, Peas, Favas and Onions: The vegetable ragout is a simplified version of a classic Sicilian spring stew.

Penne With Peas, Pea Greens and Parmesan: A beautiful springtime pasta that makes the most of the pea plant.

Whole-Grain Pasta With Mushrooms, Asparagus and Favas: This dish has heft and depth, but still showcases the delicate flavors of spring.

Martha Rose Shulman on healthful cooking.

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Quick Study: Walking may prevent memory problems in older people

THE QUESTION Might a regular walking regimen protect against the memory loss that occurs when the brain shrinks in old age?

THIS STUDY involved 299 people who averaged 78 years old and had no cognitive problems at the start of the study. The distances they walked weekly were recorded, MRI scans measured their brains' gray matter (the part of the brain responsible for thinking) and they were given standardized cognitive tests. After 13 years, 116 participants had diagnoses of mild cognitive impairment or dementia. Those who walked six to nine miles a week had greater gray matter volume nine years after the start of the study than those who walked less or not at all; walking farther showed no added benefit. They also were half as likely to have developed memory problems in the 13-year span as were the others.

WHO MAY BE AFFECTED? Older people. Walking has been shown to boost a person's energy and mood, benefit muscles and bones, help control weight and lower the risk for such health problems as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.

CAVEATS Data on walking distances were based on the participants' reports and were obtained only at the start of the study. The study did not rule out that other factors, such as ill health, might have led to reduced amounts of walking and loss of gray matter volume.

FIND THIS STUDY Oct. 19 issue of Neurology.

LEARN MORE ABOUT memory loss at http://www.familydoctor.org/ and http://www.nia.nih.gov/.

- Linda Searing

The research described in Quick Study comes from credible, peer-reviewed journals. Nonetheless, conclusive evidence about a treatment's effectiveness is rarely found in a single study. Anyone considering changing or beginning treatment of any kind should consult with a physician.

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Ask Well: Ask Well: An Exercise Plan for Middle Age

‘‘It’s a movable feast’’ in terms of workout options, says Dr. Michael Joyner, a physiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Pedal or swim if you have a bike or gym membership. But walking is, physiologically and logistically, the simplest exercise, Dr. Joyner says. Just put on comfortable sneakers — they don’t need to be new or expensive — and set off. Try to walk for half an hour.

‘‘Thirty minutes of moderately vigorous physical activity most days is really the sweet spot in terms of time versus benefit, from an epidemiological perspective,’’ Dr. Joyner says. ‘‘Moderately vigorous’’ means that your heart pumps at 50 to 70 percent of its maximum rate (which is, broadly, 220 minus your age for men, and slightly less for women) or, less exactly, a pace at which you can talk to a companion but you’re puffing too much to sing.

These 30 minutes do not need to be completed in one chunk, either. It is fine to break up the exercise during the day “into smaller bites,’’ Dr. Joyner says. And in fact, for certain groups of people, it’s probably more effective to do so. In one 2012 study, adults at high risk of developing hypertension improved their blood pressure more effectively if they walked for 10 minutes briskly three times a day than if they walked briskly once a day for half an hour.

‘‘Strength training is also a key,’’ Dr. Joyner says, ‘‘especially in late middle age. And it likely helps prevent frailty as we get older.’’ Many gyms have weight-training orientation classes.

Or just do push-ups and squats in your living room. Start with one push-up, if that’s all that you can do, and progress to 15 or 20.

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