Auto News 5

Spoiler alert. I just ran my first Mille Miglia Storica, in a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing with Steve Cannon, the head of MBUSA. Unfortunately, we completed our turn in one of the world's most grueling, prestigious vintage events after a mere fifty of its 1000 miles. I have often said -- in the context of twenty-four-hour races I have driven or crewed for -- if you're going to break, it's much better to break in the first hour than the last.

This may sound obvious, but the Cadillac ATS is a new car. It's the first small, rear-wheel-drive sedan Cadillac has ever produced, rides on a new platform, and is bristling with high-tech features. It's no surprise that editors have been eager to grab the keys to our Four Seasons model.

Our Four Seasons Volkswagen Beetle Turbo convertible arrived along with the start of warm weather here in southeast Michigan, and staffers have taken advantage by snatching the Bug's keys for a smattering of road trips. After the Beetle went to the New York last month, associate web editor Evan McCausland and his wife took the VW to Cleveland, Ohio, for a wedding.

We all know the real reason people buy cars like the 2013 Infiniti JX35: because they have kids. We can talk about towing capacity, or all-wheel-drive traction, or premium-brand appeal or a lot of things with regards to the JX35, but people are going to buy it, or not buy it, because of how well it schlepps their kids and their stuff -- which is mostly their kids' stuff.

Poor Mazda. The Japanese carmaker tried for more than two decades to sell Americans a small utility vehicle, but no one cared. Remember the Navajo, a rebadged Ford Explorer two-door that debuted for 1991? Neither do we. Mazda followed up with the Tribute, another rebadged Ford. Like the Escape it shared almost every part with, the Tribute was a fine vehicle in its day, but Ford's marketing machine made sure its version always far outsold Mazda's. Then came the CX-7. Sure, it was sleek, but it couldn't decide if it was a compact crossover or a mid-size crossover. Consumers were clear on one thing, though: they didn't want it. Actually, they didn't even know it existed. So Mazda watched enviously as the small-crossover segment grew, dominated by the Escape and the Honda CR-V and the Toyota RAV4. Then, for 2013, Mazda brought out the CX-5, and the skies cleared.