The average age of cars and trucks in the U.S. remains at an all-time high of 11.4 years as of Jan. 1, according to IHS Automotive and its Polk subsidiary. While sales, which are expected to exceed 16 million units this year, are strong, new cars joining the fleet aren't being offset as much by higher scrappage rates of old cars. In other words, old cars are lasting longer.

Subway will partner with Keurig Green Mountain Inc. to install the latter's single-serve coffee and tea brewers in Subway's 25,000 or so sandwich shops in the U.S. Keurig said the system would help Subway franchisees simplify coffee brewing during breakfast hours and in dayparts with less demand, as well as reduce waste and cleanup.

The motto of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman has pretty much been, "I can cover anyone." Now, he finds himself being covered. Sherman, who helped to lead the Seahawks to a victory in Super Bowl XLVIII this past February, has been voted as the cover athlete for EA Sports' "Madden NFL 15" video game. He recently signed endorsements with Campbell Soup, BodyArmor sports drink and Oberto beef jerky, and last month inked a $57.4 million contract extension with the Seahawks.

Those in the know know it's no surprise: hybrid cars are losing market share. That's because so many other technologies, both in internal combustion and diesel, have accomplished high MPG and are way cleaner than before. Market research firm IHS Polk reports that this year, consumer had 47 choices of hybrid vehicle, almost double the number of models in 2009. But they've been making up about 3% of the total car and light truck market in the U.S., down from the year before.

Jeeves wannabe? You may have prospects. The demand for butlers in some parts of the world has surged as the incredibly wealthy in markets like China, Russia and Dubai, thanks to the PBS show "Downton Abbey," want to get their own trophy help. Thirty-five years ago, there were only a few hundred butlers left in Britain; today there are roughly 10,000, plus thousands more abroad, per writer David Katz.

FIFA has launched a multi-level marketing campaign in time for the World Cup. Called "Elements," it comes with the umbrella theme, "Developing Football Everywhere," and tackles such challenges as discrimination, game manipulation and the role that the sport plays in uniting people and helping undeveloped countries. It comes as many of FIFA's partners have openly questioned the selection of Qatar as host of the 2022 World Cup.

Biosensing wearables like Fitbit and Jawbone will be the next trend in consumer electronics, and many investors are ponying up the cash. Companies raised $229 million in venture funding in 2013, a big increase from $20 million in 2011. Some examples: last week, Apple unveiled an app that gives users a dashboard of their health and fitness data; Samsung two weeks back offered a concept body-sign monitoring smart watch; Google is working on glucose-monitoring contact lens for diabetics.

Usually, the first quarter is when consumers pay down their credit card debt, since they have tax refunds and New Year's resolutions in hand. But Americans paid down $32.5 billion in credit card debt in the first three months of the year, 1% less than they paid off in the same period a year ago, per a study released Monday.

A killer app for wearable tech is coming, or at least most people think so, per global ad agency JWT in its "10 Mobile Trends for 2014 & Beyond" report. The report sats the "fourth screen"' will lead to customized content as brands get better data. The report says design will be a driver, as high-end- eyewear brand Luxottica will produce a hipper Glass. Google also hired fashion designer Ivy Ross as head of Glass.

Barely a day after CEO Mary Barra openly acknowledged her frustration and disappointment with GM's safety woes, the company has announced another four, much smaller, recalls. In all, about 150,000 vehicles are covered by the new recalls, though one of them involves just 33 Chevrolet Corvettes. The 34 separate recalls announced this year covers 15.9 million vehicles - a full 20 times as many as GM recalled during all of last year.