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BMW reclaims US luxury sales crown from Mercedes

The numbers, they are in: BMW has reclaimed the luxury-sales crown from Mercedes by a margin of 9,347 cars. Mercedes donned the king's headgear in 2013 after a strong final quarter of 2013 when the new CLA and S-Class poured out of dealerships. This year, led by the 3 Series/4 Series and X5, BMW sold 339,738 units – a 9.8-percent increase year-on-year. Mercedes, led by the C-Class and M-Class, saw its sales go up by 5.7 percent to 330,391 units. We'll have to wait a bit to see if there's another registrations-vs-sales challenge as in 2012, when BMW was anointed US luxury ruler. Behind them, a dark horse named Lexus nudged closer to the leading Teutons, selling 311,389 cars. The Japanese luxury automaker also had the biggest gain among the top three, its sales rising by 13.7 percent compared to 2013. Audi had the biggest sales of anyone among the top five, though, with a 15.2-percent gain to 182,011, which moved it a spot ahead of Cadillac; the Wreath-and-Crest brand dropped 6.5 percent to 170,750. Acura (167,843), Infiniti (117,300), and Lincoln (94,474) took the final positions. Speaking of Lincoln, sales at the once-mighty luxury marque stand as the mightiest jump of any on this list, up 15.6 percent. That's the power of Matthew McConaughey... and better cars and a new crossover, sure. So now that we're back to Round One of 2015, in case no one else has said it yet: "Ok, fight!"

These cars are headed to the Great Crusher In The Sky

It happens every year. We bid adieu to some cars and trucks that will be missed, and say good riddance to others wondering how they stayed around so long. Whether they're being killed off for slow sales or due to a new product coming along to replace them, the list of vehicles being discontinued after 2012 is surprisingly long and diverse.
CNN Money has compiled a list of departing vehicles, to which we've added a few more of our own. In the slow sales column, cars like the Lexus HS 250h, Mercedes-Benz R-Class and the full Maybach lineup appear, while the Ford Escape Hybrid, Mazda CX-7 and Hyundai Veracruz are all having their gaps filled with more modern and more fuel-efficient alternatives. Obvious exceptions to the rule include models that still sell in decent numbers like the Jeep Liberty and the Chrysler Town & Country (which will eventually be replaced by a crossover-like vehicle).
Check out our gallery of discontinued cars above, then scroll down for more information.

Artist bent out of shape over ticketed warped truck sculpture

If Germans and traffic cops have one thing in common, it's that they aren't necessarily known for their sense of humor. But at least one German parking enforcement officer had a laugh last week when they ticketed a sculpture of an impossible object. The infraction was for the 'Gross Violation of Physical Laws.' At first, Austrian artist Erwin Wurm was incensed that his sculpture, "Truck", which includes a Mercedes transporter MB100D truck curving up the side of a building, received a parking ticket, according to The Local. Wurm's work often features autos bent and twisted into unexpected shapes. He took to Facebook to express concern that he or the Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany, might be stuck with the 30-euro bill. However, the ticket was all in good fun. City officials and even the clerk's office were in on the joke. Karlsruhe mayor Frank Mentrup announced he would make sure the ticket was cleared, despite the illegal parking job. "We think it's great if the fine men of this city think for themselves artistically," a spokeswoman for the arts center told CityLab. This isn't the first gravity-defying auto to be used in a work of art. In London, a town with notoriously tricky parking, Vauxhall suspended a full-scale Corsa hatchback from a strip of curved tarmac. It hung around for a few days in February. No word on how many tickets that instillation wracked up. News Source: CityLabImage Credit: Twitter/Sham Jaff Weird Car News Mercedes-Benz Vauxhall parking Corsa