We've heard talk for some time that Porches will be gracing the world with a diesel Cayenne. Sourced from Audi via Volkswagen (now essentially owned by deep-pockets Porsche), the 3.0-liter oil-burner is more a volume and CAFE proposition than anything related to performance. Seeing as how the off-roading (not) Cayenne is already the poster boy for all that's wrong with the brand, no one really cares about a diesel truck. But check this: it seems as if the yet-to-be released Panamera 4-door is getting the same engine. According to the Ozzies at Motor Authority, Porsche let slip at a focus group right here in California that the big sedan will have a spark plug delete option. Interestingly, Porsche now has access to all the diesels in VW's garage– the V8, V10 and V12. But all those mills are too heavy for Panamera duty. At this same focus group, Porsche also indicated that a Panamera Targa is in the works, to compete with a convertible version of the upcoming Audi A7. Wait a second– focus groups?

In case you missed it, a GM test engineer named Jim Mero just poppped off a 7:26.4 lap of the famed Nurburgring. This is just weeks after Nissan's GT-R ran the 'Ring in 7:29. What's significant about the ZR1's run: the Chevy did it quicker than the real record holder for production cars, the Pagani Zonda F (7:27). But don't despair– Nissan will soon have a GT-R Spec V with more power and carbon fiber (i.e. faster and lighter) to (probably) dethrone the fastest ever Chevy. And Honda's going to make a push with their new NSX. And Porsche's refreshed 911 Turbo might beat the ZR1. You know Lexus' LF-A will. And my question is: So? Who cares? What difference does it make if car A can go around a stretch of German road faster than car B? Right? But, there's always another hand. The Nurburgring Norschleife is favored by companies looking to tune road cars; the 'Ring offers nearly all possible road condition in one (kinda) convenient seven-mile stretch. Also, the track is in fact open to the public– which makes it much somehow more interesting. I mean, imagine you're hot lapping a billion dollar test mule, you come upon Bergwerk, heel and toe to slow yourself and suddenly come upon some jackass in a GTI having the joyride of his life. How cool is that? Or is it?

Last night I had the distinct, uh, pleasure of going to the Los Angeles stop of the Bullrun 2008. If you don't know, the Bullrun is an extravagant road rally where entrants pay $20k for the chance to drive around the country (and sometimes Canada) in extremely expensive machinery festooned with lots of stickers. There's also a lot of free booze, food and B-list celebs (Paris Hilton, Dennis Rodman) on hand. Despite the occasional reference to charity fund raising and carbon offsets, this event is another one of those bon vivant, not-so-PC kinda deals. As is the One Lap and the Great American Run. ABC News says "The 200 or so cars competing in the second annual race — an update of the famed Cannonball Run — will spew about as much CO2 in seven days as the average person generates in 16 years. Mention that to the drivers and they'll probably ask, 'Yeah? And?'" Me too. You? And what do YOU do for extracurricular automotive thrills?

Motor Authority reports that a new, smaller Bavarian SUV has been caught running the 'Ring. And they're doing so with a straight face (BMW, not the Australian bloggers). Based on the 1-Series (not our favorite Bimmer), the X1 will be smaller than the X3. Uglier too, which is quite an impressive feat. The X1 will borrow design cues from the sleek CS Concept, including the big flat nostrils, headlights and an "aggressive bumper" (whatever that may mean). The X1 will not only be more expensive than the 1-Series (gulp), it will share many parts with the upcoming MINI Cooper SUV in order to reduce costs. You can also order your X1 with a 145 hp 1.8-liter four-banga or a 3.0-liter diesel, though probably not here. Look for your daughter's best friend to be driving an X1 xDrive35i to the prom in 2009.

Gas is more expensive than ever and because everything else costs two arms and/or legs, much more painful to purchase. Many consumers are switching to fuel-sippers or looking for something completely different (EV and Hydrogen, not hooning sheiks). Regardless, cars are more powerful than ever. Even cars that aren't here yet are going to be more powerful than ever. Examples? The new 911 Turbo is up 20 hp. The M5 is growing in displacement and probably leaping in power. MB's upcoming Gullwing will be in the 750 horse ballpark. Audi's S4 will be dropping two cylinders, but gaining 10 hp and gobs of torque. And that's just the Germans. The 2009 Maxima is up to 290 horses. The 2010 Mustang, despite losing its big-block 6.2-liter Boss V8, should grow to 5.0-liters and make much more than 300 horses. Then there's that Camaro SS which very well might have over 500 horsepower, the 550 hp CTS-V and the 638 pony ZR1. These are just off the top of my OCD head. Is "more POWA!" the future, or has the entire industry been caught without pants and excuses?

Truck sales are in the toilet, Toyota will be all hybrid by 2015. And yet there's this: The Ironman Toyota Tundra. No, ToMoCo's not trying to supporting Robert Downey Jr. rehabilitation (as Audi did). They're naming the most powerful-ever Toyota anything after truck racing legend Ivan "Ironman" Stewart. Hey why not? Along with the mu macho moniker comes 501 horsepower and 550  supercharged lbs.-ft. of torque. Autoblog reports that other, ahem, enhancements include "Magnaflow cat-back exhaust, Bilstein shocks, Hella lamps, a Hurst pistol-grip shifter and 20-inch Alcoa aluminum-alloy rims with General tires." All that kit should add $20k or so to the price of the heavily discounted, dust-gathering, Texas-built full-size pickup. No word on fuel consumption, but we predict somewhere between unconscionable and just plain awful. 

A bit of navel gazing is good for the soul. When I sent in the Volkswagen V10 TDI review, I knew that ranking it as a 5-star vehicle would prove to be a bit controversial. But, let me restate why I rated the behemoth like that. First and foremost, the Touareg has the finest interior in terms of  materials, controls and fit & finish I've yet encountered. The power is Biblical. The ride is subliminal. The handling is an engineering feat for the ages. And did I mention the power? I'm well aware that the fuel mileage, price and badge are wrong, but so what? If I'd driven this car when diesel was cheap, I only would've loved it that much more. Yet reading through the comments, people were shocked I gave such a gas hog so many stars. Though I remember almost zero complaints when Sajeev gave the Ferrari F430 5-stars, and it's gets much worse mileage. Others couldn't believe I didn't take depreciation into account. Still others were upset that the Touareg could "only" tow 7,700 pounds. Towing? Depreciation? Really? These should be part of our star system? When I was writing up the review I remember thinking to myself, "If this sucker isn't 5-stars, what is?" So I'm asking you — what is?

Warning: Today's question is not about your first car. Though we suppose there could be overlap. But what I'm interested in is the car that was used to teach you to drive. When I was eleven-years-old I got into a weird fight with my dad. He said that no Japanese car could be worth $20,000. This was in 1986 and the Legend (so to speak) had just been born. I explained to him that the buff books were all saying very good things about Honda's new luxury brand. My dad loved Datsun Zs and sporty Hondas, but just couldn't wrap his head around that level of sticker shock. So the two of us went down to the brand new Acura Dealer to investigate. A few hours later we drove off with a brand new champagne-colored Integra. It had leather seats (the first car my father ever had so equipped) and a $13,995 sticker price. I mention this because when it came time to get my learner's permit and then take the big test, that Integra served me well. But was it the first car I learned on? My memory banks are a bit foggy. I remember when I was seven or so sitting in the passenger seat of a Nissan Sentra wagon and yelling, "Clutch!" Dad was teaching me how to shift. Then when I was ten I remember he let me drive our enormous Buick wagon up and down a dirt road. His logic being that he learned to drive at twelve, and had never had an accident, ten-years-old would be even safer. But in truth, I gotta go with that brown on brown Integra. You?

The VW Phaeton was the answer to a question no one asked: who wants to buy a $70k Volkswagen? Marketing mishegos aside, "Piech's folly" is a superb car: relatively quick, preposterously quiet and completely comfortable. Lest we forget, VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech is something of a master engineer. He was directly responsible for Porsche's 917; a race car so dominant they canceled the entire race series. Piech also willed the Bugatti Veyron into existence. The Touareg V10 TDI was born from the same world-crushing crucible as the Phaeton and the Veyron. So, how does the uber-oil burner measure up?

While my old man was a died-in-the-wool hoon, there were certain cars he'd never buy. Convertibles were the big one. He must have lectured me 500 times, "Contrary to what people assume, the convertible is always going to be heavier and slower than the hard top." Cowl shake, too. Of course he's right, as anyone familiar a 3-Series drop top can attest to. However, little in life feels as right as driving with the top down. I mention this because I'm thinking about a Miata. My girlfriend's lame duck (to put it kindly) Ford Focus needs to be put out to pasture. We need a second car. And since my WRX already has 5 doors and there's only two of us, why not a convertible? I mean, hello, LA? If not here, where? Feel like talking me out of it? Better yet, talk me into it.

There's a fascinating new study out of Colorado that suggests bumper stickers are actually road rage warning labels. Here's the jist: "Equating bumper stickers with a warning label, the research of social psychologist William Szlemko indicates that people who apply the rearward-facing declarations to their cars are much more likely to use their cars to show rage on the road than people without such stickers, reports the Washington Post. The message of the bumper stickers themselves has no relevance to the result; peaceful messages of unity are just as much a warning sign as are offensive or hostile statements." I've never thought too highly of announcing anything to the world from the back of my car. Full disclosure: I've had one bumper sticker in my life– my old band. However, when I was in junior high a friend and I ordered a bunch of screw stickers from the back of National Lampoon (squares with a picture of a screw) and ran all over town modifying Chevy Suburbans to read "I [screw] My Children" and "I [screw] My Horse." Hey, I was 12. You?

Red Ken lives! Only he's moved across the pond, had massive surgery and now looks and sounds just like the Big Apple's mayor, Mike Bloomberg. Oh wait, it is Bloomberg. And he's lost his frigging marbles. To wit: According to the NYTimes (via Motor Authority ) the city is conducting a series of one day experiments and a nearly 7-mile stretch of road running from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Upper West side will be car, truck and bus free. This should prove quite (in)convenient for trust-funded socialites needing the services of their Williamsburg coke dealers. The "Summer Streets" program will run for three Sundays in August. If it proves successful the Mayor says they'll do it again. We'd like to know what metric they use to measure "success." Most people late for appointments? Most revenue lost by a single parking lot? Most miles walked by ticked-off bus riders? Store with the most missed deliveries? People often ask me why I left New York. Here's my new answer, "Officials are planning to run fitness, dance and yoga classes along the empty streets and will also rent out bicycles as part of the event." Joy.

All good things come to those who wait for Geneva. Hot on the heels of the redesigned (thankfully) S- and C-Class Mercedes comes MB's new bread und butter. (The E-Class is still Western Europe's taxicab of choice). Set to debut in 2009 as a 2010 model, the new E-Class should continue Mercedes' trend of quality uber-alles, especially when it comes to interiors (reliability is in the eye of the warranty holder). Like all Benzes, the big news is the choice of engines. Starting with a turbocharged four-pot good for a measly 184hp (though not in the States), motor options continue upwards in both displacement and power. Expect our base engine to be a direct-injected V6. We may also get a 354hp torque-monster diesel and of course the tire-detonating 6.3-liter V8 in the AMG version, good for at least 550 hp (if not more). One year after launch, MB will offer a hybrid E-Class. A wagon, too. Prices should remain in the "four years at a private liberal arts school" bracket.

I was just on the virtual horn with Mr. Berkowitz and we were discussing that for $47,000 the 430 horsepower Corvette is a fantastic bargain. We're also both young, dumb and childless. So Farago's pronouncement of the Corvette as a "death Car" has no effect on us. But then Justin dropped this bomb, "my girlfriend's mom, who is on her third Lexus SC430, told me she thinks the Corvette is the lowest class car a person can buy." Ouch. Take that, Vetteirati. And hey, with the Camaro still not in production, the lady makes a point. But not a great point. See my friends, next to Dodger Stadium yesterday I witnessed the scuzziest car imaginable. That's right, a Fox-bodied Mustang 5.0 with Truck Nutz. Seriously, beat that.

First off, it's not very big. Measuring less than 10 feet long and weighing just over a ton, the iQ is Smart-sized. Unlike the two-seat Daimler product, the Toyota boasts a rear seat. Maybe "boasts" isn't the best word choice. ToMoCo is calling it a "three and a half seater." Ouch. Automotive News [sub] reports the iQ will also feature the thriftiest fuel economy of any Toyota product, save the Prius. Other pertinent info includes a diff in front of the axles to allow a relatively long wheelbase (79 inches) to create more interior space; a flat, underseat gas tank to cut down on the rear overhang, a longer steering column that lets the engine sit closer to the vehicle's front and high-tensile steel to create thinner seats. A legroom allowing flat-bottom steering wheel, too. Additionally, Toyota might sell the car in the US. Subjectively speaking, the iQ does bear a resemblance to both the Smart and Tata Nano. However, I find it much tougher looking. More sporting than either micro-car, too. Plus, unlike the ruthlessly decontented Nano, the iQ will be trying to pull off an upscale persona. Engines include a 1.4-liter oil-burner for Europe (natch) and 1.3 and 1.0-liter gas mills for other markets. No word on when the iQ is going on sale. But when it does it (maybe) could be yours for just a toro roll under $10,000.