Nagare is done. After the 5, it’s highly unlikely that there will be another nagare car. Mazda has moved on

Mazda’s Peter Birtwhistle gives Mazda fans the brand’s best news in a long time [via AutoExpress]: the crazy design language inspired by the Nagare show car of 2006, will die with its first victim, the 2011 Mazda5. Mazda’s new direction?

[Becoming] more like a Japanese Alfa Romeo, producing cars which are great to drive, but crucially that also have the right premium feel, particularly inside.

Great idea. It would have been even better, say, five years ago. Better late than never…

These are the ten vehicles that NHTSA says are made from 90 percent domestically-produced components [via cars.com]. Notice a common thread there? Yes, the correct answer is Ford involvement, but according to cars.com, the task of crowning a “king of domestic content” isn’t as simple as NHTSA’s number.

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Toyota’s chief test driver, Hiromu Naruse, was killed today when the Lexus LFA “Nürburgring Edition” he was driving was hit head-on by a BMW on a rural road in the vicinity of the Nordschleife. And though this is hardly the time for levity (and so help me, I will ban the first person to crack an unintended acceleration joke), it must be noted that the ill-fated, $375k Toyota flagship supercar is referred to in this video as a “Nissan Lexus.” Sure, the Germans (local Wehrleiters in particular) have a natural contempt for non-European luxury brands, but that’s just embarrassing. Especially considering that this was not the kind of crazy legend-building crash that might have lent the LFA some man-eater mystique. What a tragedy.

Fewer 16-year-olds are registering for driver’s licenses in Illinois, according to Chicago Breaking News… but why?

[In 2006] Illinois lawmakers doubled the number of hours — to 50 from 25 — of adult-supervised driving required before a driver with a learner’s permit could get a license. The next year, the number of 16-year-olds with licenses dropped by nearly 5 percent — to 74,675 from 78,250 — even though the state’s teen population increased.

Then, on Jan. 1, 2008, Illinois imposed a sweeping overhaul of teen driving laws, the heart of which tripled the length of time — to 9 months from 3 months — a teen driver must possess a learner’s permit before acquiring a license. That year, the number of 16-year-olds with licenses dropped again, this time by 17 percent, to 61,862.

The decrease is continuing. The Illinois secretary of state’s office estimates that fewer than 60,000 driver’s licenses were issued to 16-year-olds in 2009.

The usual economy and internet-based explanations are trotted out, but it seems that mandating supervised driving hours keeps kids out of cars. And though that’s good news for Illinois drivers, it’s certainly not a trend that the auto industry wants to see followed. After all, safety is a box on an option list, not something that reduces demand for cars, right? On the other hand, just because kids aren’t registering for driver’s licenses, doesn’t mean they’re not driving. Should we do away with mandatory supervision to drive the market for cars, or should supervised hours or a more thorough form of mandatory training be instituted? Or, should the legal driving age simply be moved up to 18? Better yet, forget the politics: do you let your 16 year-old drive, and if so how do you prepare them?

At the start of the 21st century, Motor Sport, the UK racing magazine, looked back and asked an expert panel to rank the most important people in Formula One history. Behind F1 majordomo Bernie Ecclestone and Enzo Ferrari, third on the list of 99 was Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman, aka Chunky, founder of Lotus (that’s where the ACBC on the Lotus logo comes from – where the name Lotus comes from is somewhat shrouded in legend and myth).

Of the remaining 96 people, at least 7 were employees or close associates of Chapman. Graham Hill started out building transmissions at Lotus. Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth (i.e. Cosworth) were also early employees. Along with Hill, the drivers who raced for Chapman make up a veritable Hall of Fame: The aforementioned Hill, Jimmy Clark, Mario Andretti, Jochen Rindt, Ronnie Petersen, and Nigel Mansell are just a few. Sir Jackie Stewart drove for him in Formula 2.

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Motorist Paul Miller filed a federal lawsuit against Sanilac County, Michigan sheriff’s department after he was accused of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) despite being completely sober. The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit earlier this month ruled that his case should be tried by a jury.

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The MDX was the first luxury brand crossover to offer three rows of seating, and Acura was rewarded accordingly. For its tenth model year the second-generation MDX has received a refresh. But is there enough here to maintain Acura’s position in an increasingly crowded segment?

The Detroit News reports that GM will file paperwork to register its initial public offering as soon as next week, citing anonymous sources. This registration will be our first look at exactly what GM and its masters at the Treasury Department are trying to achieve with the offering. Analysts are predicting that the government will sell only one-third of its 61 percent stake in GM, which would rid it of an absolute majority stake but would preserve its status as the largest GM stakeholder. The Canadian and Ontario governments, the UAW’s VEBA fund and bondholders in Motors Liquidation may sell parts of their stakes as well, but there are still no estimates as to just how much of GM’s equity will be up for grabs in this offering. Or what the market response will be. And with the car market still shaky, Opel demanding more of GM’s cash, IPOs being canceled right and left, and only one profitable quarter under GM’s belt, voices are already starting to wonder if GM isn’t rushing this offering for political reasons.

The simplification of the automobile that’s set to take place with the transition to electric drivetrains is a troubling trend for the industry. As Bertel Schmitt has already explored, switching to electric drive could see component counts cut by as much as 90 percent, meaning the suppliers who build most of the components in modern cars are staring down a steep drop in their business. As Automotive News [sub] reports, even electric motors, which were once thought of as a growth area for suppliers looking to get in on the EV shift, are being largely built by OEMs, freezing suppliers out of potential growth. Toyota, Nissan and GM supply their own electric motors, leaving suppliers like Remy International behind in the dust. So how can suppliers stay competitive as EVs become more popular? Counter-intuitively, the answer may be gas-powered range extenders.

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TTAC Commentator PartsUnknown writes:

I just picked up a 2010 Accord sedan (don’t start – at least it’s a 5 speed stick) a month ago. Last weekend I was driving with a full, 2 gallon gas can in the trunk. I was forced to stop short due to some creative driving by some jabroney in a white panel van ahead of me. The ensuing gas spill wasn’t quite BP/Gulf of Mexico, but it did manage to soak part of my trunk carpet, and in a stroke of good fortune, the nozzle managed to wedge itself between the seatback and trunk floor, allowing gas to flow underneath my back seat cushion.

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BMW, it turns out, can sell out more than just the odd “frozen grey” special-edition M3. According to BusinessWeek, BMW’s sales boss has confirmed that the new 5 Series is sold out, and that customers will have to wait between three and four months for orders to be processed.

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Better late than never: Fiat is betting big on their comeback in China. All eyes on their Changsha-based (read middle of nowhere) joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co (GAC). They are about to be open for business. Gasgoo says there will be three Fiat models, the first a newly designed mid-class sedan, codenamed C-Medium (any guesses?) If local media has it right, two Jeep-brand SUVs will also be produced in the new joint venture. Their codenames are SUV-3 and SUV-4 (any guesses?) (Read More…)

Ah, there’s nothing like a good old Chinese catfight over a foreign joint venture partner. Daimler’s Chinese partner BAIC (they build the E-Class and C-Class in Beijing) became increasingly green-eyed watching Daimler playing footsie with up-start BYD. Now, BAIC is throwing a fit.

Gasgoo says that BAIC might withdraw from or delay its planned acquisition of Fujian Daimler, and this could frustrate Daimler’s partnership with BYD. Why is that? (Read More…)

You thought the strikes that affected Honda and Toyota in China are over, and both are happily churning out cars again? That makes two of us. But we are mistaken. (Read More…)

I just returned from the Jeep Grand Cherokee event, which included a section of off-roading in the Hollister Recreation Area. (See photo above). I’ll provide a full GC review soon but it’s not telling tales out of school to admit that this new Jeep is utterly incandescent off-road, delivering capability and poise my hardcore old five-speed Land Rover Discovery never dreamt of possessing.

With that said… does it matter? Everyone else in the segment is running from the “4WD/off-road” image as fast as their little Accord-or-Camry-based platforms can carry them. Those of you who have purchased SUVs in the past: Does it matter if your trucklet can do the business off-road? Have you been off-road? If so, why’d you do it?