I've said it before and I'll say it again: Red Bull, along with Travis Pastrana, are making some exciting, blood-pumping auto sports videos. Here's a video, with some interesting footage of how the team preps, of Pastrana's record setting run up Mount Washington.

Enjoy, after the jump. 

Ah, good old supply and demand. Or call it the circle of car-buying life: As the economy remains in less than full health and lenders remain scarce, car owners are hanging onto their old models longer. Fewer new car sales, in turn, mean fewer late-model trade-ins, which means the supply of used models on the lot is decreased. (Let's not forget that rental agencies, hurting like everyone else, are hanging onto their models for longer, as well.) Of course, with less money floating around, those who do need a vehicle are more likely to turn to a used car -- and with that demand, used-car prices are skyrocketing. USA Today quotes this example:

"[Used car prices are] so high that at Gerald Jones Honda in Augusta, Ga., owner Andy Jones paid $6,000 at auction for a 2004 Buick Century with 70,000 miles that he fixed to sell for $8,500 -- more than three times what a car like that would have been worth before the recession hit, Automotive News reports.

Prices have become so out-of-control that some dealers have stopped buying cars at auction -- and it won't stop there. New car sales are expected to be low again this year, though they are projected to outpace last year, at least.
 

There are many reasons why a mechanic could hate a certain car model, but one reason that's best for consumers: It rarely breaks down and, therefore, rarely requires the driver to fork over his hard-earned cash to the mechanic. Luckily for us, Click and Clack -- otherwise known by their real names, brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi -- of National Public Radio's "Car Talk" fame, have broken down their top, most hated models for mechanics (as well as a few manufacturers notoriously loved by car fixers). Their full list is included after the jump, though before you take a look, see if you can guess the top two manufacturers overwhelmingly represented on the list. Here's a hint: Despite some recent quality and safety issues experienced by one of the two rivals, they are likely exactly what you'd expect them to be. 

 

An all-new Honda Odyssey goes on sale Sept. 30, and America’s children are about to be seriously spoiled. Starting from $28,580, and shooting all the way to $44,030 for the new Touring Elite model, the Honda is poised to continue its run as the flat-out best minivan on the market -- in handling, interior refinement, passenger space, and now fuel economy as well.

 

I drove the new Odyssey in suburban New York and listened to Honda engineers tick off all the advances to their favorite family bus. Slightly larger than before, the Honda gets a carryover 3.5-liter V6 engine, with a bump to 248 horsepower, and a standard 5-speed automatic transmission; a new 6-speed comes standard on uplevel models. Variable cylinder management can run the engine on three, four or six cylinders; combined with a host of weight-saving and aerodynamic improvements, the Odyssey’s Touring models are rated at a remarkable 19 mpg city/28 mpg highway -- on the highway, that's 4 mpg better than any minivan on the market.

 

The Chevrolet Cruze, on sale in the U.S. this week but previously available in other parts of the world for about a year, is a big deal for GM. It replaces the outgoing Cobalt, and is positioned to have a truly global appeal in the small-car segment.

Which is why, at the upcoming Paris Motor Show, GM will unveil a hatchback version of the Cruze. Only one problem: There are no plans to bring it to the U.S., and Rick Kranz over at Automotive News wants to know why. 

 

Good news for 2-wheel riders across the country: According to a study by the Motorcycle Industry Council, riding a motorcycle is becoming safer.

The report says the latest research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that 4,462 motorcycle riders were killed in 2009 -- 850 fewer than the 5,312 who died in 2008. That 16 percent drop in fatalities came even as motorcycle miles traveled jumped 5 percent, or 1.3 billion miles more, in the same time frame.