Wheels Blog: Wheelies: The Holy Roller Edition

Associated Press The Mercedes-Benz E200 convertible belonging to the Rev. Hernando Fayid, a Catholic priest, was parked in Santa Marta, Colombia, Wednesday, bearing a for-sale sign. Father Fayid said he was selling the car after Pope Francis’s recent statement that it wounded his heart to see a priest in a luxury car.

In which we bring you motoring news from around the Web:

• Pope Francis has made his position on clerical wheels quite clear: Drive if you must, but keep a low profile. The new pope, who was elected in March, told his clergy that their personal consumption choices should be more austere. “A car is necessary to do a lot of work, but please, choose a more humble one. If you like the fancy one, just think about how many children are dying of hunger in the world,” he said last week, according to Reuters. (Reuters)

• In other papal news, Pope Francis met with Dieter Zetsche, chairman of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz. The pontiff was presented with the newest Mercedes-Benz M Class popemobile. But the pope, who has been an outspoken proponent of more environmentally friendly motor vehicles, also received a Smart electric-assist bicycle. (E.V. World)

• Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to deliver the keynote speech at the annual National Automobile Dealers Association convention in New Orleans at the end of January. Ms. Clinton was serving as secretary of state when the Obama administration bailed out General Motors and Chrysler in 2009. Other convention speakers include Steve Forbes, editor in chief of Forbes Media, and David Westcott, chairman of N.A.D.A. (Automotive News)

• The revival of Indian Motorcycles by Polaris Industries has been made up of a series of information releases. This week Polaris released a professionally produced film featuring its recreation of Burt Munro’s land-speed record-holding motorcycle. The bike Munro of New Zealand rode into history was a highly modified 1920 Indian Scout, but the tribute motorcycle has Indian’s new Thunder Stroke 111 engine inside a high-speed fairing similar to the one Munro used at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967. (Popular Mechanics)

• In an effort to sell more Focus EVs, Ford has decided to reduce its price by $4,000, to $35,200, for 2014. But the competition in the slow-selling E.V. market is tough. Nissan’s Leaf still has a starting price less than $30,000, and General Motors has reduced the price of its plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt by $4,000, to $35,145. Monthly lease rates for most E.V.’s, from the Honda Fit EV to the Leaf, are in many cases being lowered well below $300. (The Detroit News)

• Remember when Toyota Camrys and Honda Civics sold briskly? Although still strong sellers, the perennial econocar favorites are beginning to slip in favor of cars from Detroit, like the Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Cruze, among others. One result has been that Toyota and Honda inventories are rising as supply eclipses demand. (The Detroit News)

• In a test using a Honda Accord, a Toyota RAV4 and three different varieties of the Ford Fusion, Consumer Reports found that reducing highway speed from 75 miles per hour to 55 m.p.h. increases fuel economy by an average of 14 miles per gallon. The magazine calculated that driving 75 m.p.h. instead of 55 m.p.h. yields a cumulative fuel loss of seven to 10 gallons over 1,000 miles. (Consumer Reports)