Nissan has released more teasers for its forthcoming 2011 Quest, and we’re starting to get the feeling that it could just be the first mold-breaking minivan in some time. It’s not necessarily the most exciting looking thing, but under that blunt-nosed skin, this Quest likely boasts the RWD/AWD chassis of the newest Japanese Elgrand van and an optional 3.5 liter VQ V6. We’ll wait for official details before we start getting too crazy, but the possibility of a 300 hp, RWD minivan is a little to perversely thrilling to ignore. With all the talk of “Swagger Wagons” and “Man Vans” lately, Nissan may just have the most exciting minivan since the first-gen Mazda MPV (to date, the only minivan to be appear in a rap video) hiding up its sleeve…

Italian supercar upstarts Pagani started with one car, the Zonda, and have maintained a laser-like focus on that single nameplate ever since. Former supercar heavyweight McLaren is re-entering the road car arena with its V8-powered Ferrari Italia-fighter, the MP4-12C, but is fast-tracking the development of its range-topping supercar, pitched as a neo-McLaren F1 and aimed at the Zonda and its hypercar ilk. Recession? What Recession?

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In this day and age, it’s nothing short of a minor miracle that giant multinationals still build cars that are as ridiculously potent and expensive as the LF-A. Especially giant multinationals which have made good headway in recent years with a green-friendly, Prius-powered image. The LFA is rare enough that few non-car-nuts know it exist, let alone associate it with their new ES350. It costs $375k a pop and Toyota still loses money on each one built. In fact, thus far, only this video (a promotional shoot by Lexus Europe at the 2010 Goodwood Festival Of Speed) comes close to properly explaining why this car was built (starting at around the 1:10 mark). In fact, I challenge anyone to come up with a more concise argument for the continued existence of hugely expensive, hugely fast cars.

Via Top Gear comes this in-car footage of the Porsche GT3 R Hybrid lapping a racetrack and making some peculiar sounds in the process. Part Porsche purr, part RC Car whine, this new note is one of the first hints at what future supercars will sound like, in particular the forthcoming Porsche 918 Spyder. It may not be the most viscerally evocative sound ever recorded, but dammit, it’s the future.

And you thought it was over. You thought that, with Top Gear’s “Car Of The Decade” trophy accompanying Ferdinand Piëch’s “Ego Of The Decade” award in the Volkswagen trophy case, Bugatti could move on and let tiny companies based in sheds and garages fight over who has the world’s fastest “production” car. But no. That’s not how things work in Wolfsburg… er, Mollsheim.

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Since we’re neck-deep in sales numbers today, here’s something delightfully frivolous to break up the seriousness: a few sights and sounds from the Pagani Zonda R breaking the Ferrari 599XX’s “production derived” Nürburgring record. And while you shiver in delight at the Zonda’s shrieks echoing through the Eifel forests like the howls of a wounded wild beast, remember this: Pagani didn’t even show a car in concept form until 1999. Tesla shouldn’t be trying to be the next Apple or Google, they should be taking notes from these guys.

Our aim is to raise the Lotus brand equity back to its rightful place as it existed in the 1970s when it competed with the likes of Ferrari, Porsche or Aston Martin. Maintaining the unique Lotus DNA is crucial, but with more relevance, greater efficiency and even more sustainability than we have had in the past.

According to a hot tip from Autocar, Toyota is using the delay of its FT-86 sportscar (top, right) to develop a larger “Supra” version, said to be hinted at by the FT-HS concept (bottom) and boasting a V6 hybrid drivetrain. A similar powerplant, based on the Highlander Hybrid system, was recently shown in a mid-engine MR2 evolution prototype (top, left). That model has apparently been approved for development, albeit with a 1.5 liter hybrid system, and aimed at Honda’s recently-released CR-Z. Which means that Toyota will go from offering nothing resembling a sportscar to selling two flavors of front-engine, rear-drive coupe and a mid-engine roadster. That’s what we call Moving Forward. Still, you have to wonder why these models weren’t released to take advantage of the LFA’s already-fading halo.

The 2011 Suzuki Swift has debuted in Europe, and though it looks a lot like its predecessor, Suzuki says it might, maybe, just possibly come to the US this time around. Will they wait for a plug-in version? Will they give it more power than the Euro-market 92 horsepower 1.2 liter? Will the Kia Soul know what hit it? Tell us how Suzuki should bring this car to the US (if at all), and we’ll promise not to make any 18th Century literary references… for now.

From Formula One to Nascar, racing series the world over are coming under pressure from automakers to make their action more relevant to the vehicles available on the market. Meanwhile, these same manufacturers are increasingly challenging each other to obvious marketing set-ups posing as races, the latest example of which is the laughable MINI vs Porsche challenge [above]. With cars becoming increasingly homogenized, racing and motorsport are some of the only ways for marketers to restore some of the automobile’s lost romance… but neither modern race series nor corporate challenges seem to resonate much with consumers. What (if anything) can make racing and performance prowess relevant in the post-Prius marketplace?

With apologies to Robert Burns, the best laid schemes o’ mice an’ marketers gang aft agley. That’s certainly what’s happened to MINI’s plan to race a Porsche 911. Porsche said “no thanks” to MINI’s challenge, which is exactly what MINI was looking for. Then Hyundai had to come in and force MINI out of its underdog status, making it defend itself against a cheaper competitor. And the search for a meaningful race-as-marketing-stunt continues…

Do you buy the base four-cylinder, or upgrade to a V6? For most car-purchasing decisions, this is an important question to think through. And usually the trade-offs are simple: you can pay more for more power and less efficiency with the V6, or save money and gas with the four-potter. And with fuel prices staying volatile, four-cylinder engines are becoming all the more popular: for example, Hyundai’s new Sonata has been engineered to be four-cylinder only. But according to Consumer Reports, the differences between the V6 and the four-cylinder option aren’t always as clear as you might expect.

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While LeMons’ Judges Jonny and Phil took a breather to get married (not to each other) I was one of four people with the honor of taking their place. It’s true, there was a quartet of judges needed to do what those two professionals do on a regular basis, no matter what previous accounts may suggest. So I inspected close to 100 crap cars to see if they meet LeMons’ $500 purchase price criteria.  And while I did, I found the Ten Coolest Engineering Feats of The 24 Hours of LeMons. So let’s get right to it. Read More >

Spoiled market watchers were disappointed by China’s less than red-hot May numbers: Passenger vehicles grew just 23.2 percent, the whole market grew 26 percent. Now here’s a number worth waiting for (or to induce a heart attack, if you have green leanings:) Read More >

When Toyota announced their share purchase / NUMMI deal with Tesla, the greenies rejoiced, the skeptics said it’s just an elegant way to unload NUMMI. Toyota said they are mildly interested in Tesla, in a venture capital kind of way. As in: here is some money and a factory we no longer need. Would be great if something comes of it. Well, they will actually build a car together. Not the Model S as many thought. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s build a prototype first. Read More >