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The Rolls-Royce Phantom leads this month's list of discounts

Every month, we take a look at vehicle sales data in America to pick out the vehicles with the largest monetary discount. Usually, the list is dominated by high-performance two-door luxury sports cars. This month is different. Much to our surprise, the 2020 Rolls-Royce Phantom stands above all others with an average discount of $18,588 off the price quoted on its window sticker. Now, it bears mentioning that an $18,000-plus discount still only represents 3.46% of its $537,500 average retail price, and that the resulting $518,912 cost to drive off the showroom floor still makes the Phantom an extremely expensive range-topping luxury sedan. Still, even very wealthy people won't snicker at that kind of savings. Up next is another unlikely newcomer to the biggest-discount chart: the 2020 Porsche Taycan. The electric super sedan's average sticker price of $152,250 is cut to $135,707 after a discount of $16,453 is lopped off. That represents a savings of nearly 11%. We can't say how many of the Taycan's buyers over the last month will be able to claim tax rebates due to the Taycan's status as an electric vehicle, but that could potentially represent a further cut off the car's sticker. Rounding out the top three is the 2020 Maserati Quattroporte. Buyers of this Italian luxury sedan are saving an average of $13,839 for an average transaction price of $87,646. We normally only share the top three, but this month's list is interesting enough that we'll share some more. In fourth and fifth place are the 2020 Mercedes-Benz S-Class (with an average $13,239 discount) and the 2021 BMW 7 Series (with an average $12,435 discount) followed by the 2020 Rolls-Royce Wraith — interestingly enough also with a savings of 3.46% — and the 2020 Maserati Levante and Ghibli. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Watch MotorWeek review the last great air-cooled Porsche 911

These days air-cooled Porsche prices are blasting through the roof, and the 993 gets much of that love among collectors as the last generation before the 911's switch to water-cooled design. MotorWeek's latest Retro Review now looks back at the 1996 911 Targa. The coupe came from a brief period when the 911s were the only models in the brand's lineup, but the company made sure those cars were perfect. The point of Porsche's Targa models is to combine the open-air driving of a convertible with a security of a coupe. In this case, the engineers came up with a massive glass panel that slid into the roof at the touch of a button. The design still allowed for rearward visibility but created a giant opening to allow the sunshine in. The solution isn't as awe-inspiring to watch as the Transformer-like metamorphosis of the latest 911 Targa, but it gets the job done in a very unobtrusive way. As air-cooled values continue to creep upward, it's fascinating to hear how contemporary reviewers critique the cars. In this case, the 993 lives up to the promise of being the ultimate evolution of the original idea behind the 911. MotorWeek even calls the coupe "simply one of the best road cars ever made." Check out the video to find out why. Related Video:

Paul Walker's accident due to 'speed, and speed alone'

Following an investigation into the crash that killed Fast and Furious star Paul Walker and driver Roger Rodas, an unnamed law enforcement source told the Associated Press that there were no signs of mechanical failure on the Porsche Carrera GT that was destroyed in the accident.
The report from The Huffington Post claims the officer in question blamed "speed, and speed alone" in the fatal accident. The same report ruled out the presence of debris in the road, which may have caused Rodas to lose control of the V10-powered super car.
Engineers from Porsche are traveling to California to investigate the accident with the help of the Carrera GT's on-board data recorder. Until then, investigators won't speculate on the car's speed at the time of the wreck.