Motor Trend Editor in Chief Angus MacKenzie LOLs on Twitter over the TTAC-Jalopnik Lutz Race drama. What Angus doesn’t realize is that our contract with GM obligates us to a minimum of one pre-stunt controversy. C’mon Angus, you run the most sold-out car rag on the planet. You should know how these things work!

Through September, as calculated by Edmunds [via Automotive News [sub]]

The rise of electric cars has  pedestrian safety and hearing-impaired rights groups worried about the accident potential of near-silent electric cars. And so the race to aurally differentiate EVs is on. Heinrik Fisker tells the New York Times that his company’s Karma EV will sound like “a cross between a starship and a Formula One car,” thanks to bumper level speakers pumping out a Hollywood-developed “exhaust note.” Others suggest exhaust notes may be downloadable, like automotive ringtones. Until now, the sounds our cars make has been a function of the engine (with some customization possible via enormous exhausts). Being given the option of making our future electric vehicles sound like anything we want creates a world of options.  How to decide?

There’s the newly-updated Mitsuoka Viewt. It’s a Nissan Micra with a huge crush on the Jag Mk2. And a penetrating insight into the deep reserves of quirk available on the Japanese market. Hit the jump for cognitive dissonance-inducing interior shot.

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Is it Motor Trend for giving the Outback an “SUV of the Year” award, or is it “the original SUV alternative” for being in contention at all?

Bailout and reorganization gave GM the fresh start it so desperately needed in the US, but other governments have been decidedly less sympathetic to GM’s plight. Germany saw an opportunity to free Opel from GM’s grip, and now the Korean Development Bank has GM up against the wall over the future of GM-Daewoo. Reuters reports Fritz Henderson flew to Korea to meet with Daewoo’s creditors and put a cheery face on the situation. But calling the talks “very positive” is more tribute to Fritz’s unflagging optimism than an indication that GM-Daewoo is almost out of the woods. GM has no choice but to fight for its only remaining small car development center, the only question is with what?

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Autocar can’t decide. But then, Alfa’s denial, “No front-wheel drive or four-wheel drive Alfa Romeo will use a engine larger than a V6,” is pretty cagey. But leave dreams of three liter turbocharged “Multiair” V8s to the European gossip-mongers. Our wild-ass guess is that the only Alfa V8s the US market will be seeing will part company with their Hemi bretheren at the engine-cover stop on the assembly line in Brampton. That thing got Italian engineering?

Ford has announced that research conducted jointly with Auburn University shows the promise of GPS in enhancing active safety features like stability control. According to Ford’s press release:

Researchers have found potential for a GPS satellite to act as an early warning system that detects when a vehicle is about to lose control and communicate with the vehicle’s stability control systems and other safety features to prevent a rollover or other serious accident…Virtual reality tests show that GPS satellites can precisely monitor a vehicle’s motion, which could improve the speed and effectiveness of electronic stability control systems.

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She’s young, used to getting her way, and she wants her Regal. But what are the odds of this scene repeating itself in America?

The Freep reports that the Opel Insignia-based Buick Regal has been officially approved for the US market. Says GM’s Susan Docherty, “the transformation of Buick began with our luxury crossover, the Buick Enclave and continued this year with the launch of the 2010 LaCrosse premium sedan. We’re thrilled to announce that the Regal will be the next member of the Buick family.” Expect GM’s 2.4 liter engine to come standard, and be prepared for it to be the only option. GM’s mid-sized sedan offerings are stacked up like hotcakes, and the Regal has two other Epsilon-based competitors in its own brand to contend with. Fanboys are being asked to keep GNX requests to themselves.

Meet the Peugeot Bipper Tepee. That’s right, Bipper Tepee. Volkswagen, take notice: the weird name bar has been raised. [via Autocar]

“Should I buy a Saturn car?” asks Consumer Reports’ blog of itself in the wake of Penske’s takeover interruptus. “In a word,” comes the answer, “no.” Though other GM dealers will be able to honor warranties and service Saturns, CR worries that there are “practical limitations to parts inventory and technician training.” Normal servicing shouldn’t be a problem, but major repairs could take more time and money, particularly for low-volume Saturns like the Sky and Astra. And of course there’s the unavoidable fact that reliability studies indicate that many Saturn models will be in for repair on a fairly regular basis. Though they conclude that it’s difficult to predict exactly what the Saturn ownership experience will be like over the next decade, “there are simply better alternatives that are more reliable, have lower owner costs, and do not carry undue risks.” We would agree.

A few weeks ago we heard that Chrysler would be rehiring designers and engineers to help kick-start the companies product refresh-a-thon. After all, seven major reskins in 18 months weren’t going to happen with Chrysler’s bankruptcy-level staffing, which saw some departments covered by “only a few people.” Well, according to the Freep, Chrysler has hired back a total of 14 UAW-represented white-collar staff. And that’s it. Per a Chrysler statement:

Chrysler Group continually evaluates its human resources with the goal of assuring that its workforce is well-qualified and effective. At this time, no decisions have been made regarding an increase in salaried staffing levels.

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About a year ago we heard that European emissions standards had killed off any hope of a turbocharged version of the Toyobaru sports coupe. That may be true for the European market, but Japan’s Holiday Auto Magazine [as translated by the Toyobaru-crazed gents of FT-86.com] swears that a Subaru STI is under development which could offer a 40 to 50 hp bump over the stock 200 using a 2.5 liter turbocharged engine. Bigger wheels, fender arches and other racerish accoutrement would help set this apart as the only sporty variant of the FT-86 Toyobaru. And Holiday Auto won’t even speculate about a price premium, let alone the model’s chances of escaping the JDM. Still, it would be a great day to see the European market denied a truly desirable sports car that you could buy in the U.S. I want to believe! [Hat Tip:Yuichi]

A touching story of auto-industry love may be developing between Mitsubishi and PSA, reports All Cars Electric, citing Wards [sub] and French newspaper reports. It seems the French concern was deeply smitten with Mitsubishi’s $45k MiEV electric car and pursued the option for Citroen and Peugeot-branded versions. And apparently, the more PSA learned about the Japanese company, the more they liked. Did hands brush awkwardly over battery capacity charts, causing a thrilling moment of heart-fluttering eye contact? Executives did share the stage at the announcement of the EV-sharing deal, and now sources close to the deal say the new-found relationship could be snowballing towards a full-on R&D cost-sharing alliance.

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