HAMBURG, Germany – Mercedes-Benz gave its über-sedan, the 2014 W222 S-class, the unveiling it deserves here Wednesday, one befitting its decades-old headliner. Fending off upstarts from Munich and Ingolstadt, Tokyo and Seoul, and a likely volley from a resurgent Detroit, the S-class is the sedan that defines Mercedes-Benz, no matter what commodity cars and CUVs it launches to capture the aspiring classes.

Frank Stephenson has been the design director at McLaren Automotive since 2008. Born in Casablanca, Morocco, in 1959, Stephenson was raised in Europe, including stints in Turkey and Spain. He speaks seven languages. After finishing high school, Stephenson successfully raced motocross bikes in Europe for six years. He graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, in 1986.

We admit it: we're fans of the AMC series Mad Men. Big fans. And while the plotlines can be good, and the acting is very good, what's most seductive about the advertising-world drama is soaking in the 1960s that we never knew or were too young to appreciate. There's the on-the-job drinking, the constant smoking, the rampant sexism -- all strangely repellent and fascinating at the same time.

FEATURE CAR

Matte clear coat, not to be confused with impermanent vinyl wraps, resists fading and protects a car's base paint as well as any clear coat. The distinctive finish, however, is vulnerable.

To Catch A Thief 1955
Grace Kelly falls in love with a retired jewel thief, played by Cary Grant. Not attractive enough? High in the hills of Monaco, Kelly drives the wheels off of a Sunbeam Alpine before pulling over to eat cold chicken and drink beer in the front seat. That did it.

WOKING, England – The 2014 McLaren P1 is not about launching a new, hyper-exotic carbon-fiber supercar. It's not a Pagani, nor is it a Spyker or a Mosler. It's certainly not a Vencer, a Mazzanti, a Saker or any of those odd cars of questionable provenance that make it to the floor of the Geneva motor show. And it's not a Lamborghini, although like Lamborghini, the P1's maker has 50 years of building cars under its belt -- in this case, mostly for Formula 1 and CanAm.

The big year-over-year sales increases for the U.S. auto market appear to be over, as the industry has successfully climbed out of the hole it fell into in 2009. Volume has leveled off at around the 15-million-unit mark. But that placid surface hides plenty of turmoil, as individual automakers -- and whole market segments -- rise and fall. The biggest market segment, midsize sedans, saw volume jump last year thanks to a host of redesigned models. But that momentum has now stalled, and in the current internecine battle within the segment, the freshest entries are stealing share from those just slightly older. The seemingly unassailable Toyota Camry, for instance, was beaten in April by the Honda Accord (and in March by the Nissan Altima). Meanwhile, the Ford Fusion picked up share and the Hyundai Sonata and VW Passat lost it. One area now seeing rapid growth is the full-size pickup market, aided by a swiftly recovering housing industry. The luxury arena remains healthy, as those consumers are better insulated than the population at large from the still-shaky job market.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the Porsche 911, and the 40th anniversary of the iconic Turbo model. So it's a fitting time for Porsche to introduce all-new versions of the 911 Turbo and the 911 Turbo S, which are based on the latest 991-generation of the 911. The pair of forced-induction coupes goes on sale in the U.S. at the end of this year.

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In my line of work, I'm constantly reminded of my mechanical ignorance. One time on an assignment out in Vegas a guy was showing me a bad cam in a 1960s Hemi, and as he manually rotated the crankshaft he told me to peer in and look for the wiped lobe. "Oh, yeah," I said, trying to indicate the general area where one might find such an item. "You've definitely wiped it. If my eyes don't deceive me, you're gonna need a total lobotomy." I may have been scrutinizing the windshield-wiper motor.

TURIN, ITALY -- A well-known ex-chief designer for a major global automaker was on the flight from Paris Charles DeGaulle to Aeroporto Caselle, of the Northwestern Italian industrial town that put the "T" in Fiat. Was he consulting to Alfa Romeo? Would he share the trip to the hotel in a Fiat MPV driven veloce style, like all the automaker's hired drivers, by a man hoping to step in if Ferrari needs a replacement for Felipe Massa?

Akio Toyoda, president of his great-grandfather's loom-manufacturing company -- now a bit more involved with automobiles than with weaving machines -- went on record a while back as being determined to inject some pizzazz into his firm's products, although he didn't use that precise term. For a very long time, most Toyota cars have been real snoozers, albeit paragons of practicality, reliability, and longevity. Apparently, this Detroit show car is what Akio-san had in mind as "more exciting" design for a mainstream money-spinner.

Volkswagen has shown several crossovers concepts with plug-in hybrid powertrains at recent auto shows, including the seven-passenger CrossBlue at Detroit and the five-passenger Cross Coupe TDI in Geneva. The latest is the CrossBlue Coupe, which makes its debut at China's Shanghai Motor Show and is claimed to influence future Volkswagen production models.

Queens, New York, native Stephen J. Girsky grew up in the epicenter of American car culture, Los Angeles. Now vice chairman of General Motors, in the 1990s he worked at Morgan Stanley and was one of Wall Street's most outspoken automotive analysts. With a sharp and early eye on all that was wrong with Detroit as the business limped into the twenty-first century, he formed S. J. Girsky and advised the United Auto Workers. Girsky joined GM's board of directors and represented the UAW in the 2009 bankruptcy. Girsky is on most Detroit shortlists of potential candidates to replace CEO Dan Akerson when he retires.

There's a lot to like about the plug-in Fisker Karma. There's also a lot to think about. High on one's list of thoughts: it can't be easy being Fisker Automotive.

1. 1979 Triumph Spitfire 1500
SOLD AT $5500
SN FM100144UC. Orange over black vinyl interior. 1493-cc four-cylinder; four-speed manual transmission. 64,000 miles. Factory hard top. Decent paint, good brightwork. Most trim is old and tired but complete. Original interior with weak door panels and decent seats.

Few prewar cars can cruise at 80 mph. Few prewar cars that sell for less than $200,000 are regularly permitted to park on concours d'elegance lawns. Few cars from any era have styling and proportions so timeless that it's hard for onlookers to correctly guess their era. The 1936–1937 Cord is all those things.

Acura NSX

Gas prices are steadily marching upward. A slow economic recovery pressures Americans to spend less. Automakers are selling top-shelf compact cars they once reserved for Europe. All of these factors should be hastening the long-predicted shift to compact cars. Yet today, Americans love mid-size vehicles as much as ever.

Once upon a time, carmakers didn't spend their marketing budgets on viral Internet campaigns, microsites, or sports-stadium naming rights. There were just brochures -- beautiful, elaborate, wonderfully informative brochures. Norwegian Hans Tore Tangerud (above) has been collecting them for decades and has scanned and posted several thousand on his website, lov2xlr8.no.

About our tour guide:
Corvette program engineering director Josh Holder oversees the integration of various subsystems to meet overall requirements. He had a hand in the two previous Corvettes (and owns five). He took contributor Marc Noordeloos through the choices that went into the C7's chassis.

"The rasp of the 1965 Austin-Healey's exhaust echoed from the granite cliffs near Coomakista Pass, our senses stimulated by the sounds and aromas of the wild coast."

When Infiniti signage first appeared on the Red Bull RB7 Formula 1 car in 2011, it was so small and subtle that it looked more like graffiti than the launch of a multiyear, multimillion-dollar marketing campaign.

Who knew that the combination of SUV and coupe would be so successful? Apparently BMW did, and its X6 "Sport Activity Coupe" is proof. The German automaker is now looking to capitalize on the segment with the Concept X4.