Before cars turned a tire at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, hot air balloons raced overhead a 2.5-mile oval that in 1909 was filled with crushed rock and tar, a dangerous combination that had motorcyclists complaining of treacherous conditions.

Months later, workers laid the track with paved bricks, and for the next 100 years, the Speedway would too pave the way for some of the world's fastest circuit speeds (by 1961, the entire track was finished with asphalt, but a three-foot strip of original brick still lies on the straightaway). In 1911, the first Indianapolis 500 tore up the track with an average winning speed of 74 mph, an experience no less frightening than taking an early aircraft into the skies.

But safety, even in the early racing days of goggles, skinny tires and no seat belts, would become paramount at the track. Starting in 1911 -- before its world-first safety warning lights and mandatory helmet rule in 1935 -- pace cars were ordered to lead the Indy 500 on a rolling start after one lap. They've been in place ever since.

To that end, we've compiled some Indy 500 pace cars that aren't the typical Corvette, Camaro or other sporty cars that steal the show in our modern times.  

Some things are guaranteed in summer: swimming, sunburns and, in Detroit and around the Midwest, automaker plant shutdowns.

Beyond giving workers a summertime break, the shutdowns typically allow time for plant repairs, maintenance and retooling to better align with consumer demand. During the recession, the idling of assembly lines stretched longer than some workers would have liked.

But now that the auto industry has come roaring back with record-breaking sales and profits, some Ford and Chrysler assembly line personnel will have to postpone their traditional two-week forced vacations.

 

Americans will drive farther and spend less over Memorial Day weekend this year, thanks in part to dips in air travel and gas prices.

According to AAA's annual forecast, which collects travel data from more than 50,000 people each month, Americans will cover an average round-trip of 690 miles, up from 642 in 2012. Roughly 2.3 million people will board planes for Memorial Day travel between Thursday and Monday, an 8 percent decline possibly furthered by the FAA's furloughing of air traffic controllers – now officially canceled by law as of April 27 – that had delayed flights across the country. 

Gas prices peaked in February at an average of $3.75 per gallon and had dropped by 30 cents, to $3.45, by the last week of April, although prices have shot up in the past two weeks to an average of $3.67 as of May 20, according to the Energy Information Administration. That's within 3 cents of last year's Memorial Day price, according to AAA. Overall, gas prices are expected to remain relatively low through the normally higher summer months – roughly $3.63 on average – due to a slight decline in crude-oil prices, higher gasoline inventory and lower gas consumption. 

General Motors is recalling 18,871 Cadillac SRX crossovers to fix wheel nuts that loosen over time, according to filings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

On 2013 SRX vehicles with 18-inch wheels, the lug nuts could loosen and cause a "creaking, rattling or grinding noise" in the wheel area. In addition, drivers may feel steering vibrations and the wheel studs could break, all of which could contribute to a crash, GM said.

In October 2012, GM said it found loose wheel nuts on two of its engineering vehicles and later received four related warranty claims. In March and April, GM received six more reports of loose nuts. Some of the nuts were torqued at the lower acceptable range and loosened due to what GM described as a "rarely occurring rotor dimensional characteristic" – i.e., the bolts were misshapen. 

Dealers will rotate the tires and reinstall the same wheel nuts, replacing any if needed, starting June 3. Cadillac owners can contact GM at 1-800-521-7300 for more information.

In June 2011, GM recalled 50,500 SRXs from the 2011 model year to reprogram the passenger's airbag sensor. In March, 24,752 SRXs from 2013 were recalled to fix transmission software that could place the car in the wrong gear.

[Source: NHTSA]

 

Most vehicles these days have “eco” indicators to let you know whether you’re driving in a fuel-efficient manner, and many also have specific modes that optimize powertrain performance for maximum fuel efficiency.

Some of these systems are subtle and simple. Others are more in-your-face, like the “growing leaves” in some Ford vehicles that let you know that you’re killing trees when you waste gas. And some are overly intrusive, like the annoying Eco Pedal mode in some Infiniti models that pushes back when you push the accelerator too hard.

While driving a 2013 BMW X1 xDrive28i, I discovered that the vehicle’s Eco Pro Mode falls more toward the restrained side of the scale both in terms of its effect on performance and in its instrument panel indicators.

It not only teaches how to drive more fuel efficiently, it also has a unique and motivating way of encouraging it.

 

Tesla Motors repaid the remaining portion of its $465 million federal loan on Wednesday, marking a bright spot for a government program tattered by poor oversight and multiple bankruptcies.

The California electric car company, weeks after reporting its first-ever profit at $11.2 million last quarter and after having been called a "loser" by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2012, paid the remaining $451.8 million to the Energy Department nine years ahead of schedule. It also called itself the "only American car company to have fully repaid the government."

CEO Elon Musk, in an interview with Bloomberg, said that the U.S. government made a profit of "over $20 million" from interest and what he called a "bonus" payment. Other sources, however, put the profit at about $12 million.

"It really feels good to have repaid the U.S. taxpayer; that's really what's important here," he said. "I feel we had a moral obligation to discharge this loan at the earliest reasonable opportunity while still being good to the institutional shareholders that have supported Tesla over the years." 

McLaren will produce a limited run of MP4-12Cs and MP4-12C Spiders for its 50th anniversary. The cars will get a few upgrades, but no changes will be made to the twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V8. It stays at 616 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque.

 

The McLaren 50 12C and 12C Spider will get a handful of unique parts and styling cues produced by McLaren Special Operations, the division that’s responsible for the “bespoke” deliveries.

 

A new bumper will provide more downforce, and is inspired by the HS Edition models. The lower section is hewn of carbon fiber, while the front floor is Kevlar. A black, McLaren Formula One-inspired badge will rest on the hood.

 

The new 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV will be the lowest-priced 4-door all-electric car in the U.S. when it goes on sale this summer, although for now the vehicle will be available only in California and Oregon.

Manufacturer's suggested retail price starts at $27,495, including a destination charge of $810.

Chevrolet also noted that with a full federal tax credit of $7,500, the net cost to a Spark EV buyer could be as low as $19,995. California buyers could also qualify for state and local tax credits and incentives of up to $2,500 that could drop the price of a Spark EV to $17,495.

This makes the base model Spark EV $2,155 less than its closest competitor, the 2013 Nissan Leaf S, which starts at $29,650 – even with a recent $6,400 price reduction by Nissan over the base model 2012 Leaf. The Spark EV is also nearly $2,500 less than the $29,975 Mitsubishi i-MiEV, and priced well below the Honda Fit EV ($37,415) and Ford Focus Electric ($39,995; however, cash incentives that expire July 8 drop that price to $28,245). The California-only Fiat 500e costs $32,500.