Autoweek in review: What you may have missed

It was a slower week in the newsroom as 2012 winded down. On Monday, we learned how motorcycles were coming back and got some ideas for last-minute holiday gifts. In the racing world, the Trans Am Series announced that it’s expanding the 2013 race schedule.

UK car sales up 11% in May (2013)

The Ford Fiesta (pictured) was again the best selling car in the UK The rise and rise of new car registrations in the UK continues to defy the rest of the economy, with figures up in May 2013 by 11 per cent year on year, and private sales up a massive 20.9 per cent to levels last seen in 2007. It’s the fifteenth month in succession new car registration have risen in the UK, with sales for May at 180,111 and total sales to date in 2013 hitting almost 1 million units, at 948,666. The SMMT think the big jump in private registrations is down to a number of factors, including cars bought under the scrappage scheme now being traded in for a new car, strong incentives from car makers and the promise of new cars offering lower running costs, and they’re probably right, although there are other factors in play too.

Mazda MX-5 roadster distilled to Superlight concept for Frankfurt

Mazda's design and engineering team in Germany has taken the MX-5 roadster and boiled it down to its pure speedster form to create the Superlight concept. We'll get a close look at the car at the Frankfurt motor show. Some changes are obvious.