Lexus extended its reign as the top brand for long-term dependability while mass-market brands, led by Toyota, outperformed luxury brands for the first time in an annual J.D. Power study.

Kia introduces the second-generation Sedona minivan, larger and better equipped than the outgoing model, for North America on Feb. 10, 2005, at the Chicago Auto Show.

Toyota introduces the FJ Cruiser, evoking the automaker's original FJ40 from the 1960s, at the Chicago Auto Show on Feb. 9, 2005. The FJ Cruiser was first shown as a concept at the 2003 Detroit auto show.

U.S. light-vehicle sales dropped 1 percent in January, with higher fleet shipments offsetting lower retail volume, as the government shutdown and severe cold that blasted the Midwest this week dampened consumer demand.

The first DeLorean DMC-12, the brainchild of John DeLorean, a precocious former General Motors engineer who went on to become the youngest head of Pontiac and later Chevrolet, rolls off the production line Jan. 21, 1981, in Belfast, Ireland.

The Holland America Westerdam pulled into New York Harbor from Rotterdam on Jan. 17, 1949, carrying the seed of an automotive empire -- the Volkswagen Type 1, later known as the Beetle.

The first-generation Durango, based on the Dakota pickup, held up to seven passengers and towed up to 7,500 pounds when properly equipped. Original designs for the Durango featured a rear-facing third row similar to older station wagons marketed by Detroit's automakers. To make room for a more practical, forward-facing third row, Dodge shortened the length of the Durango's front doors and raised the roof two inches beyond the front seats, engineering changes that allowed for stadium seating.

U.S. auto sales rose 2.2 percent in December, capping a year that saw overall volume rise 0.6 percent even as automakers endeavored to counter slumping car demand with healthy light-truck deliveries. The seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of sales in December -- 17.72 million -- was a high for the year, providing automakers with momentum and optimism heading into 2019.