If you think about it, AM General really is a pioneer in the 21st Century automotive industry. How so, you ask? By cutting out the consumer and building its business around government vehicle buyers. From GM to Better Place, almost everyone in the business either owes a government money or is pitching a future based on government assistance or involvement. By this logic, the GM-Hummer experiment was a predictable disaster, eschewing AM General’s core strength and attempting to build a consumer brand. But with Hummer as good as sold off, AM General is going back to its bread and butter, showing off this MV-1 developed in conjunction with the Vehicle Production Group.”The vehicle is the first purpose-built vehicle for people in wheelchairs,” VPG’s chief marketing officer tells The Freep. “Every municipality has to offer on-demand service for the disabled as a result of the Americans With Disabilities Act.” See how that works? That’s how you build a vehicle with built-in demand.

From the Lotus press release:

Translated as ‘dark’ from Italian, the name ‘Scura’ reflects the stealth character of this already fierce looking Lotus and its stunning soft-feel matt black paint finish.  Limited to just 35 cars globally, this Exige evokes a desire to ‘indulge your dark side’.  This is a serious looking car and enhancements to performance and a reduction in weight from the production level Exige S means that the Exige Scura demands to be driven by a serious driver.

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Auto Motor und Sport‘s Erlkönig prototype hunters tracked down Audi’s smallest car yet, testing before a 2010 European launch. Pricing and currency issues are blamed for the A1’s Euro-restricted habitat, and with a base price of €16-18k for a 1.2 liter engine, it’s no surprise that it won’t show up stateside. The possible 200 hp, AWD, seven-speed DSG S1 version sounds worth a grey market import, but at an estimated $36k, you’d have to be pretty fanatical about hot hatches to even think about it. And good luck finding a VW dealer in America who can work on your twincharger engine.

7tune is celebrating the shockingly unnecessary with a look into the world of Prius tuning. And AMS’s first-gen Prius “Terra” bodykit is by far the pick of the litter. But hold onto your comments until you see the front end…. Read More >

I especially appreciate the satellite dish on the roof . . .

Easyrod Kits are pre-engineered to be assembled in hours not years. Bolt, screw and glue the high quality hand laid fiberglass ’57  components to your ’93-’02 Camaro and be driving a cool, radical stylized hot rod. Simply remove the original hood, bumpers and front fenders. The fiberglass replacement hood bolts onto the stock hinges, struts, hood latch and safety catch and use the stock interior hood release.  Front fenders bolt on using the stock factory bolt holes.  Our trunk lid is an overlay.  Door skin overlays, rear quarters and bumper cover snap on and are glued in place using 3M 8115 Panel Bonding adhesive. [thanks to FW for the link]

In our Regal-welcoming thread, Martin Schwoerer noted that the Insignia is smaller inside than the Cruze.  And guess what? He’s right (trust but verify). The German-market Cruze has 963 mm (37.9 inches) of rear kopffreiheit, while Insignia comes in at 910 cm (35.8 inches) according (PDF) to the guys at motor-talk.de (who cite sources ).  These same resourceful forum denizens also dug up the range of distances between the rear and front seats on the Insignia and some competitors and by comparison, Insignia rear seating isn’t sitting pretty.

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

The guys at SpeedLux caught the Subaru version of the Toyobaru coupe practicing for the big dance at the Nurburgring. It sure isn’t as pretty as Toyota’s FT-86 concept, but Subaru’s brand faithful won’t let that get in their way. Of course there’s the minor detail that this is a mule, not a concept, but given Subaru’s perennial styling challenges, this might just be as good as it gets. Looks aside though, the shared boxer engine and Subaru-developed RWD driveline make it clear that the FT-86 will be the poser rebadge of the two coupes. Which is why it’s preening in Tokyo while the Subaru is running reps on the Norschleife. Here’s hoping we won’t have to stretch so far to determine the difference between Toyota and Subaru versions when they hit the market sometime in 2012-ish.

Let’s just say she didn’t roll out of the factory this way… What was this before someone decided to sin against nature?

A China-market exclusive, this porcelain-patina’d prancer’s look is based on a Song Dynasty vase. And costs about as much. Now it’s just a matter of time before the savvy marketers from Maranello decide to name the California’s replacement the “Guangdong.” [via AutoBild]

It’s not on sale yet, but it will be. Any guesses?

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Automobile Magazine, Motor Trend and Ford’s Advertising Department bring you 6versus8.com. If you were waiting for a last straw to cancel your subscription, this should just about do the trick.