Filed under: Convertible , Coupe , Performance , Japan Mitsuoka Orochi Premium Gold – Click above for high-res image gallery So you’re headed to Japan and need to rent a car. What to choose? The island nation is a smorgasbord of metal foreign to American tastes, from a wide buffet of pint-sized kei-cars to more American-sized contraptions. But what if none of those options have the kind of flair you require for that special business... 

Tesla Roadster eligible for $38,000 clean energy rebate in Japan Not a bad discount, right? GM says Chevy Cruze Eco with an automatic will hit 36 mpg highway This slushbox won’t hurt too bad at the pump. Coda will sell electric sedan in Hawaii in late 2011 The line is forming that-a-way. Other news: Donnie Bowles scores first win in propane-powered Roush Mustang Motive doesn’t Bogart cannabis car info, passes us more details Mazda’s... 

Filed under: Aftermarket , Motorsports , Videos Spectre Perfromance Speedliner hits 366 mph – Click above to watch video after the jump Spectre Performance has been busy. The team made impressive progress toward its goal of toppling the 400 mph barrier in a four-wheel, gasoline-powered vehicle during this year’s Bonneville Speed Week . Their weapon of choice? A twin-engined speedliner with a combined displacement of 1,026 cubic inches... 

Filed under: Coupe , Crossover , Mini , Rumormill 2011 Mini Countryman – Click above for high-res image gallery At first take, it’s not easy to accept the 2011 Mini Countryman crossover. We understand. But after our first drive of the pint-sized CUV, it started to make more sense. We’re hoping to have similar revelations about a coupe version of the Countryman, which is reportedly being considered within Mini ’s product... 

Filed under: Spy Photos , Coupe , Subaru Subaru FT-86 RWD coupe spy shots – Click above for high-res image gallery We’ve read many reports lately having to do with Toyota ’s FT-86 rear-wheel drive sports coupe, but we mustn’t forget that Subaru will be getting its own version of this new two-door – it is a joint venture, after all. Our spies have captured this obviously Subaru-bodied mule out testing in Death Valley,... 

Filed under: Concept Cars , SUV , Videos , Jeep , Design/Style , Off-Road Jeep shows off Fiat-based CUV – Click above to watch video after the jump There have been plenty of murmurings about how Fiat’s partnership with Chrysler will impact the Jeep brand. Exactly how much platform sharing will occur between the Italian automaker and the Pentastar’s globe-roaming purveyor of SUVs has been a hot topic amongst the Jeep faithful... 

Filed under: Convertible , Performance , Videos , Hatchback , Ford , Porsche Ford Focus RS vs. Porsche Boxster – Click above to view the video after the jump When it comes to a German-American face-off, you could do a lot worse than pitting the BMW M3 against Ford’s 5.0-liter V8 powered Mustang . How much worse? How about a comparison test between a base Porsche Boxster and Ford’s turbocharged, torque-steering Focus RS . Granted,... 

EPA finally issues proposed fuel economy labels for plug-in vehicles What’s the grade? Future Leaf owners revolt over outrageous charger installation quotes Aerovironment is, thankfully, listening to complaints. Autocar says range-extenders are the future. Do you agree? Boxers vs. briefs. Coke vs. Pepsi. And now, PHEVs vs. EVs. Other news: Michigan-born Tesla employee pretty much embodies industry shift to electric vehicles Elk Horn, Iowa... 

Filed under: Hatchback , Suzuki 2011 Suzuki Swift – Click above for high-res image gallery The on-again, off-again plans to bring the Suzuki Swift to the U.S. have been thwarted yet again as the automaker fleshes out its global product plans with its new partners at Volkswagen . According to Autoweek , the recently redesigned Swift – due to go on sale in Europe and Japan later this year – was nearly federalized for the U.S.... 

Mitsubishi admits to serious (likely) depreciation of i-MiEV In other news, Mitsubishi shoots itself in foot. Study: Average male drives extra 276 miles/year because he won’t stop for directions Are we there yet? Libertarian Reason Foundation proposes U.S. highway fund changes They just what you’d expect. Other news: Europe’s “amazing response” to the Leaf nets Nissan only 100 pre-orders in Ireland Video: Nissan... 

Filed under: Aftermarket , Truck , Etc. , Chevrolet , GM , Specialty Reeves Callaway makes the point that his company’s Silverado program is extremely new by saying, “Anything I may have said in this conversation may not be true, ’cause I don’t know what I’m talking about yet.” Modest and super-nice, he’s emphasizing that our recent phone chat covering the details of Callaway Cars’ move into the…  Read More →

Filed under: Videos Click above to watch the video after the jump Pixar’s Cars proved what most of us have known since we were little kids: the front end of a car looks a lot like a face. A company named Carlashes hopes to cash in on the whole “car as face” theme by offering big, curly headlamp eyelashes that would make Betty Boop jealous. Seriously. This aftermarket glamification is apparently available for $24.95, but that’s... 

Filed under: Europe , Hirings/Firings/Layoffs , Porsche , Volkswagen Volkswagen continues its executive shell game. The company has announced that Klaus-Gerhard Wolpert will take the reigns as its new chief product strategist. If you follow the comings and goings of auto execs, Wolpert’s name likely sounds familiar. He’s the hardy soul who brought the most successful model in Porsche’s history to life: the Cayenne . Wolpert... 

Filed under: Toys/Games For a show from another country that only produces 14 episodes a year, Top Gear is everywhere. And it’s going to be even more everywhere soon, thanks to a licensed video game reportedly being developed for PC, console, mobile and tablet platforms. There’s no word on exactly how the developers plan to game-ify the Top Gear television experience, but we guess we’ll find out soon enough – it’s... 

Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Videos , BMW , Luxury BMW 1 Series M Coupe – Click above to view the video after the jump The achingly slow striptease of the BMW 1 Series M Coupe continues with a 47-second-long spot of the camo-clad coupe bearing just enough sheetmetal to keep us interested. The multi-spoke wheels, drilled discs and quad-exhausts are the only elements not left to the imagination, but the extra vinyl aft of the front...