Nissan Terrano 2000 Spare Tire Carrier [5748180] on 2040-parts.com

Land Rover Expedition America presses on through the Rocky Mountains

Land Rover Expedition America is more than halfway across the country, three weeks after having departed Asheville, N.C., on their 5,000-mile route through 10 states. The team is traveling all the way across the country in three Land Rover LR4s -- from sea to shining sea if you will -- almost entirely off-road. The Oregon coast is their destination, and the team is following a route based on an off-road motorcycle trailed created by Sam Corero, a famous off-road motorcyclist who charted this trail back in the 1990s.

Citroen DS3 WRC (2010): Loeb's new company wheels

This is the new Citroën DS3 WRC, just unveiled at the 2010 Paris motor show. And it’s the car that everyone interested in world rallying has been waiting for – it’s Sébastien Loeb’s wheels for the 2011 World Rally Championship. Okay, we know it’s not as highly anticipated as the Mini Countryman WRC, but the reason we’re excited is that this could be the car to end Loeb’s reign – the Frenchman has won the last six WRC titles, will almost certainly take his seventh this year, but having an all-new car will hopefully reset the field and give Ford’s Fiesta RS WRC a chance.

June sales get a pick-me-up from pickups

If there's a bright spot in June's tepid light-vehicle sales, it came from an unlikely segment. After slumping for several years as the economy tanked and gas prices spiked, pickup demand is rising faster than the overall sales gains of most automakers--serving as a pillar once again during the industry's fledgling recovery. And most of the buyers returning to showrooms are pickup enthusiasts, automakers say.