Tesla Motors has apparently run out of toilet paper again. Valleywag reports that they're off in search of another $250m to keep the lights on fund development of the "Whitestar" electric sedan. That's right, if you have a quarter of a billion dollars burning a hole in your pocket, you too can invest in a company that has produced exactly one working "production" car (delivered to the company's CEO) in five years, in exchange for over $145m and Federal regulatory exemptions. I'm not an expert, but this strikes me as a particularly optimistic investment. Oh, and Tesla also wants a guaranteed loan from the Department of Energy to build a factory for these new electric sedans. To quote President Bush, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me – you can't fool me again." [NB: I know we're a little late to this story, but that's kind of appropriate don't you think? And here's an old video for potential investors that shows the critical coverage given Tesla by our blogging pals. Driving range of 250 miles. Yeah, right.]  

Here they are: new bigger, clearer pictures of Volvo's upcoming XC60 crossover. And the Swedish CUV isn't quite as ugly as I'd previously suggested. It is however, at least as boring. Volvo is taking the microwaved-car route to auto design, and you can really see it here in this droopy liquid XC60 crossover. It's still front/all wheel drive, it still depends heavily on Ford family DNA, and it's still about as practical as a wagon– if you're lucky. Will this design progress kill Volvo's image for smart but safe European designs? Or is it just what they need to prevent a repeat of their 1990s box blandness that started to really cut into sales? The truth about cars. Again. Still. 

[NEW XC60 Pixamo slide show here.]

Rolls Royce just sent out press shots ahead of the Geneva debut of the new Phantom Coupe, and I don't mean to be a buzzkill but is this really it? In its corner it has: more exclusivity than the Holy Grail, phenomenal hand-built craftsmanship and materials, a 450 horsepower V12, suicide front door, a B-pillarless design, and a trick trunk. Against it: I don't think it really looks that good. In fact, this design language just might be better suited to the locomotive sedan and the Drophead Coupe (that's convertible, to us serfs). It's so bulky with such a high roofline, it has top hat proportions that don't suit it all that well. Rolls says it's likely to be purchased by robber barons, shipping industralists, and professional athletes who already have a Phantom and/or Drophead Coupe and apparently no taste for variety. The PR folk at Rolls are also marketing this as a "driver's car" to which I say: if you want a rare, high performance GT, try a Ferrari 599. If you insist that it's British, then you've got the stunning Aston Martin DB9. And even if it must be rare, high performance, British, and have a functional back seat, then there's the better looking (and admittedly outdated) Bentley Brooklands. It is for this reason – and not the $400,000 price tag – that this writer will not be commissioning one. Of course, you may disagree.

[Rolls Royce Phantom Pixamo slide show here.] 

The first production pictures of Volvo's new XC60 crossover have – you guessed it – leaked on the internet ahead of the car's official debut in Geneva. The midsize crossover ute enters into an already crowded and frankly boring category populated by such splendiforous vehicles as the Land Rover Freelander/LR2, Acura RDX, and BMW X3. So if you really, really refuse to give up having an SUV, even though these are all glorified station wagons and aside from the Land Rover, won't take you off road, now there's a Volvo option. At least in title. The platform is shared with the Land Rover LR2, which is somewhat worrisome since that car's biggest strength was Land Rover character and little else. The XC60's interior appears to give up Volvo's recent stint with simplicity in the name of a driver-focused center console. It's more Audi with light wood than Volvo. Even still, being a Volvo with AWD, it'll only be a few months before you see them with ski racks and "honor student" bumper stickers all over the snowbelt. Can't this crossover craze die already?

[Slide show on Pixamo here.] 

Edmunds' Inside Line (EIL) is reporting that fewer and fewer consumers are opting for V8 engines. True dat. Despite gains in efficiency and weight, less folks aren't flocking to the fat lady. EIL blames the V8's lower fuel economy. The other, unexplored reason: four and six cylinder engines are larger in displacement than they were ten or fifteen years ago, and they're cranking out levels of power formerly reserved for V8s. (The gearbox revolution– that's taken everybody from four-speed autos to five, six, seven, eight or infinite gears– has certainly helped.) The numbers tell the tale: the 1998 Mercedes E320 had a 3.2-liter engine with 215 horsepower. The larger alternative: a 4.3-liter V8 with 275 horses. For the upcoming model year, the E350 will have 3.5-liters offering a whopping 300+ horsepower. The "our six now makes more than the V8 of a decade ago" philosophy also applies at BMW (305 hp I6 vs. 282 hp V8), Infiniti (330 hp V6 vs. 266 hp V8), GM (304 hp V6, 290 hp I6 vs. 250 hp V8s), and pretty much everyone else. Let's face it: in cars weighing between 3000 to 4000 lbs, the common folks don't have much use for engines with more than about 300 horsepower. Why would they pay to upgrade to a V8 when basic acceleration is so good? Why indeed.

Small car lovers of the world, rejoice! Small car lovers of America, break out the freaking Dom. Pictures released yesterday (sorry, I was out trying to get a "real" job) indicate that FoMoCo's gone from zero to hero with their next gen Fiesta. Although Ford's European offerings (and the Focus in America when it was first released) were among the best steers in their respective classes, they were about as visually appealing as fish sticks. The new production pics indicate something more along the lines of pan-seared Chilean sea bass. Unlike the Chevy Volt, the new Ford Fiesta has a high probability of hitting the North America market in 2010. Chances are we'll see an hecho en Mexico sedan. And in a rare break with tradition, the production Fiesta will maintain the "alien's face" style dash from the Verve concept. Although the Fiesta faces formidable competition– Fit, Yaris, Versa, Accent, Aveo and Spectra– the sooner Ford's gets into the game, the sooner they can claw back some cred in the vital value arena.

[View a Pixamo slide show of the new Fiesta here.] 

Rolls Royce has provided "an exclusive group of journalists" (and Motor Trend) details of the previously announced $250k to $300k "baby" Rolls. BMW's minions said the new Roller won't share the Phantom's V12 engine, nor any engine currently powering a BMW. And that's about it. But it's a good thing, not a bad thing. Despite Bentley's VW Phaeton underpinnings, the new Rolls is positioning itself much higher in the food chain. To do so successfully, it needs its own platform and engine to keep the BMW brand's new money stench at bay. Rollers are nothing if not exclusive. That's why hundreds (dozens?) of wealthy motorists (expensive hotels?) pay full price (minus discount) for a new, customized Phantom (not Phaeton) rather than, say, buying a loaded Phantom with 8000 miles at a 40% discount. The rumors say Rolls' second post-Bimmer model will get a new V12 with north of 500 horsepower. Let's just hope it's doesn't turn out to be a hybrid or anything else less maniacal. On the other hand, if BMW muffs the "baby" Roller, it could be a bonus. The brand's "entry level" model will then be just as absurdly, ludicrously overpriced and rare as its big brother. In fact, even if this new model outpaces Phantom sales by 100 percent, we're still talking Magna Carta-levels of exclusivity. However unintentionally. 

Over the last five years, London Mayor Ken Livingstone has been the paterfamilias of the UK's anti-car jihad. Spearheading this effort: London's congestion charge (CC), a £5/day daily toll to drive into the central parts of the City. Amid charges that the CC is ineffective and inefficient, emboldened by talk of global warming, Ken's upped the stakes. Literally. The Times reports that the daily CC is about to ascend to a whopping £25/day (50 bucks to us Yankees). At the same time, "Red Ken" is closing CC loopholes. The hybrid exemption will expire in 2010 (which is about seven years too late for Lexus's LS600h). But the part that really sticks it in and breaks it off is that London is ditching the exemption for people that live inside the zone. Right now they're paying a reduced rate of 80p/day. Residents within the large Congestion Charge Zone will now have to pay a cruel £6000 per year. Cars that emit less CO2 will still be exempt, which is nice. Mr. Mayor says the estimated £30 – £50m in "extra" revenue generated by the modified scheme will pay for new mass transit systems. And if you believe that, you'll believe Ken doesn't secretly want to ban private passenger cars from the inner city.

First, a slew of spy shots spread around enthusiast web sites like the word "hope" at an Obama rally. Now Honda pulled the trigger and sent out the first official shot of the new TSX. And while this writer is usually one of the first to slate new cars when they deserve it (especially when they were solid the first time around), the TSX looks pretty good. That said, it certainly suffers from some of the mace-in-the-face effect, with squinty new headlights and a bigger gaping grill. But overall, it's easy to call this better looking than Acura's other recent efforts. There are three reasons to be especially excited about this car. First, it's available with Honda's new diesel engine. Second, I don't care what the TL and MDX sales numbers say, the TSX is the most authentic Acura since the Integra and Legend were prematurely aborted. Third, the past TSX was one of the better fun-to-dollar ratio autos extent. We've got to hope this one carries the enthusiast flag in the next gen. The Euro Accord (its nearly identical twin) bows at Geneva in a few weeks. We'll see the TSX for the first time at New York's Auto Show in late March.

Chevrolet hopes their plug-in electric – gas powered Volt will become America’s sweetheart. Yet GM’s boldly going where the fully electric vehicle (EV) has gone before. Forget the EV-1. I’m referring to the Baker Electric of 1899. Thomas Edison’s first car (as an owner) was a commercial success, with an effective range of around 100 miles. Today's prototypes, upon which manufacturers are presently lavishing hundreds of millions of dollars, can double that. So what’s the big deal?

Honda is quite literally gearing up its California-compliant diesels for the U.S. market. A few months ago, Honda started telling everyone that their i-DTEC oil-burning engines were headed for the U.S. Diesel fans were all a-twitter– even if the high mileage, high torque powerplant was destined to sit in the new, overdone and overweight Accord (or more expensive but generally better looking TSX). What Car reminds us just how much prep is involved. Step one, emissions compliance with a particulate standard that's twice as tough as the European Union's. Step two, configure an automatic transmission to work with the damn thing. That's right, until now the Honda-branded diesels (in Honda cars) were stick only. As less than 10 percent of U.S. driver drive a manual car, a diesel-compatible autobox is mission critical. Other updates in diesel news: Volkswagen hasn't released any info about its 50-state diesel engine since it said it would be delayed… again. So no, that's not really an update. It's a complaint. Get on the ball VW, before Honda beats you to the punch.

We love (if not admire) Autoblog's puppy dog enthusiasm for all things car. So the fact that they're on any side of a fight– any fight– is shocking. Yesterday we reported that Chicago Auto Show Internet Director Mark Bilek used his company's blog (Showlopnik) to piss on blogs in general and mild-mannered Autoblog in specific. Autoblog kept stum about the e-contretemps, covering the show with their usual New York Timesian panache. But it seems like they can't do nothin' right. Here's, in its full sarcastic splendor, is another broadside from the Chicago Auto Show folk. This time it hails from Paul Brian, the Show's Director of Communications. 

Dear AutoBlog. Amazingly, you don't seem to get it. You seem to think that auto shows are about the number of intros. Oddly enough, manufacturers, the ones who pay the bills to produce auto show, have a rather different perspective. They seem to think that auto shows are designed to make the connection between their marketing people and the public who have cash (and loans) to purchase those products. Gee, what a novel idea! Unfettered, unbeholden customers who are not on some company "X-Y-Z-A Plan" pricing for employees and suppliers. Real people. People who like big displays and the ability to view the industry in one place on one floor with the show industry's undisputed best place in which to display. You'll learn about it more when you move out of your mom's house. So, as self-absorbed as you might be, you might want to get cozy with the notion that it's really not all about you."

Hyundai's Sonata might be the ultimate in passion-free motoring (it's also available in 100 calorie packs), but it's a direct hit on an American market that shops on specs first, character second. Sales slipped just a tad in 2007 to 145,568 Sonatas, indicating it's a good time for the company to roll out a refresh. Exterior changes are subtle; you'd do better to spot differences between pop singer Fergie's face and a pumpkin. The beauty here is on the inside (same with Fergie, we're sure). First, Hyundai's finally fit a proper interior to the Sonata. The 2004 – 2007 model's cabin was decent and ergonomically acceptable, but buyers wanted a little more style– especially at the higher trim levels. So the new Sonata has a mostly new interior, including a slick looking center stack that's more than a little reminiscent of the Lexus RX. The Sonata also gets optional navigation, which means Hyundai can finally join competitors in scamming customers out of $1500 they could save by buying a TomTom-type device. Second, Hyundai shakes up the powertrains. The four-cylinder engine is now up to 175 horses (from 162) and gains a cog (five-speed auto). The legato V6 is also up to 249 horses from 234. These power bumps also bring slight mileage improvements: 22/32 for the four-pot and 19/29 for the big boy V6. Despite stagnant sales numbers and fleet dependence issues, the Sonata has been a giant leap for vanillacarkind. These refinements should help keep the numbers healthy until the next full redesign. 

Judging by list prices, ignoring the presence or absence of any other options and any thoughts of political correctness, which U.S.-spec vehicle offers the most horsepower per dollar? I always assumed it was the 300 horsepower Ford Mustang GT, which clocks in at about $26k. Nope. Its $/hp ratio is $86 per pony. It's a good buy, but not the bang-for-the-buck champ. Remember: lowest $/hp wins.

Pontiac G8 – 360 horses – $83/hp
Dodge Magnum SRT8 – 425 horses – $89/hp
Dodge Caliber SRT4 – 280 horses – $82/hp
Chevy HHR SS – 260 horses – $88/hp
Shelby GT500 – 500 hp – $86/hp

But it's when you get into the trucks that the money-power ratio comes into focus.

Nissan Titan – 317 horses – $82/hp
Toyota Tundra – 381 horses – $81/hp

Yup, the true power mongers however are pickup trucks. The Mopar option is the Dodge Ram 1500, which brings you a 340 horsepower Hemi for only $25k– a fantastic ratio of $73/hp. But the crown goes to… the Ford F250 Super Duty, equipped with a 362-horse 6.8-liter V10. Listing at $24,175, that's a $67/hp combo. Screw the Dodge Challenger ($89/hp) rebirth. The muscle car champ is still a Ford truck.