For an age, car manufacturers were stuck with trying to package an airbag into the centre hub of a steering wheel using technology that — compared to today’s kit — approximated that of what was found on Roman chariots. Most of us will remember the “lunchbox” airbags of the era, especially the enormous rectangular hub from Ford.

Bookending that timeframe, though, there were some nifty steering wheel designs. The acid-trip ’80s provided some good fodder, as does the creative packaging of today’s tillers. What’s your fave? Ours, perhaps predictably, comes from Subaru.

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Nature abhors a vacuum, and TTAC abhors quarterly sales reports. Ever since the Detroit Three moved to releasing their sales data but four times a year, it has cause much grumbling on Slack along with the scattered bit of wailing and gnashing of teeth.

The end of September also marks the end of a quarter, so we are pleased to present to you a real tally of year-to-date numbers from all the brands — no guesstimates required. As you’ll see, some of the market’s biggest players are off by not insignificant margins.

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There’s an excellent chance that, based on pure statistical probability, most of us will never have a full-time chauffeur in our employ. Actually, I’m not even sure how many of the 1% choose to have a chauffeur these days. It seems a trifle old-fashioned.

Or maybe not. Having someone shuttle you around at all hours in all weather seems to be a good deal. Thing is, who do you choose? That’s your task today.

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If a company is going to introduce a bevy of changes to one of its pickup trucks, Texas is definitely the place in which to do it. In fact, it is a popular urban legend that the Lone Star state’s piece of the pickup pie is so large, one manufacturer splits its national marketing efforts four ways: North, West, East, and Texas.

Nissan is a small but active player in the North American pickup truck game, not unlike the plucky Corgi in the dog park yapping at the Great Danes and German Shepherds. For this upcoming 2020 model year, the company has shovelled several cubic acres of development dollars at its Titan full-size truck.

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It has come to your author’s attention that this series has not paid one iota of consideration to the Nissan Sentra. Plenty of other cars from the Yokohama-based brand have passed through these cheap seats, but not the Sentra. Let’s correct that oversight right now.

While other brands are scuttling away from small sedans like cockroaches scattering when the lights are turned on, Nissan soldiers on with the segment. This compact car competes with Civic and Corollas but, unlike those models, no hatchback variant is offered here.

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It happens to the best of us. Entranced by bigger tires or more horsepower or louder sound, we gearheads are susceptible to bouts of fiduciary myopia. Plugging a stereo system worth two grand into a knackered old Cavalier? Sure! Paying handsomely for a lift kit even though the old Silverado has rust holes like swiss cheese? Let’s go!

We’re all prone to the odd bit of automotive profligacy. Mine, perhaps surprisingly, involves a Ford Escort and some subwoofers.

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Let it be known that, in calendar year 2019, one is able to buy a large purple rear-drive SUV with near-as-makes-no-difference 300 horsepower for about the same starting price as a Camry Hybrid. It shares showroom space and DNA with psychotic coupes bearing 800 horsepower and, in a fit of brilliant marketing, is the recipient of Power Dollars.

Anyone who says the golden age of automobiles is any time other than right friggin’ now needs to have their head examined.

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Today’s QOTD was set to be something about the labor action in which the UAW and GM are mired. No matter which side of the bargaining table you’re rooting for, that subject always generates plenty of comments.

But, thanks to a well-placed ad, your author was reminded of a much lighter topic: weird and wonderful car names … including one of his favorites.

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Just a short time ago, vehicle subscription services were hailed as the second coming, permitting drivers the freedom to select from a range of vehicles for a single monthly payment. Proponents touted it as a way for manufacturers to display their wares and for buyers to sample a wide array of cars. Opponents said OEMs could potentially lose money by having all these used cars on hand.

It would seem the latter is beginning to prevail with a cadre of companies getting out of the subscription game faster than an aging athlete getting traded to another team. Fair, the $1.2 billion startup company backed by SoftBank, just picked up Canvas from the Ford Motor Company.

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It would seem that trolling isn’t limited to annoying keyboard warriors and bored teenagers. Nissan, one of the companies that skipped this year’s motor show festivities in Frankfurt, released images earlier this week of its new Juke at a pop-up display in … Francfort.

Besides the obvious appearance of new Nissan metal, a move like this is fuels the stinging narrative that sprawling and expensive traditional auto shows are currying less and less favor with manufacturers.

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This is the most predictable Ace of Base appearance since the C8 Corvette earlier this summer. With a stout off-road presence and a dose of retro style, the Land Rover Defender was shown in production form yesterday in Frankfurt.

A trio of trims will be available in America when it goes on sale, to be joined later by similarly equipped Defenders in two-door 90 next year and a long-wheelbase 130 sometime down the road. This base model, simply called the 110, starts under fifty grand.

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It should surprise no one that the fortunes of a car company aren’t solely tied to the quality or relevance of the vehicles they produce. Much also hinges on Wall Street’s confidence in the place and, as of now, the money mavens don’t seem to have much conviction in Ford at all.

Moody’s, the investor services company which rates fixed-income debt securities, has downgraded Ford’s credit to junk status. They kicked it out of Baa3 and into Ba1 territory, which is the first rung of junk, a term which simply translates into non-investment speculative grade debt. This preceding phrase causes your author’s mind to spin even more than it does after studying assembly instructions for an IKEA Vittsjö shelving unit.

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We apologize to our West Coast readership who may be taking in these pictures while munching on their Froot Loops. It must be ruining your appetite. According to BMW, that front end — Hannibal-style kidney grille and all — is the new face of the 4 Series.

Is it too late to take back all the bad things I said about the Chris Bangle design era?

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No, this isn’t one of those “one weird thing” clickbait-style posts. You know us better than that.

This morning, we’re asking about weird cars you enjoy finding in any condition. You know what we mean: the cars that appeal to you (probably only you) when they randomly appear amongst the detritus of life.

Given that lead photo, you know where the majority of my Kryptonite is found.

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Reporting on American auto sales without including the Detroit Three is like talking about great racing drivers without mentioning the names Schumacher, Petty, or Senna. Nevertheless, here we are. Thanks to Detroit’s decision to release sales data only on a quarterly basis, a big chunk of the picture is missing. Even the big guns at Automotive News have given up trying to estimate Detroit numbers in an effort to fill in the blanks.

Everyone else is still playing fair ball, though, so let’s examine how the rest of America’s automakers fared last month.

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