The last time Lotus trotted out an “Elite,” it was a funkily be-hatched, sports tourer which, at about 2,000 lbs, was already nearly a thousand pounds heavier than the sleek fiberglass coupe it replaced. Thirty five years later, the beat goes on: as part of its mainstreaming effort, Lotus is showing a new “Elite” concept at the Paris Auto Show that is the heaviest and most powerful model the brand has ever produced. At 3,700 lbs, and offering a hybrid five liter V8 (reportedly based on the Lexus LS600h drivetrain) and a folding hardtop, this Elite appears to be aimed at Ferrari’s California… and more generally, at people who don’t know who Colin Chapman was. Lotus CEO Danny Behar tells Autocar

Make no mistake, there’s a definite market requirement for the Elite. It’s the ultimate compromise of sports car feel with comfort and space. There will always be those who say Lotus should stick to small sports cars, but we didn’t take the decision to design something like the Elite lightly. It is based on months of careful research and planning.

What Behar apparently doesn’t get is that McLaren would be more than happy to take Lotus’s status as the preeminent British sportscar maker if it takes its eye off the ball for a second. And going from the Elise to the Evora to a full-fat, hybrid hardtop convertible tourer is quite the leap of faith for Lotus. Business is business, but brands are brands… and we didn’t realize just how mainstream Lotus was aiming for.

From a source no less then the NY Times comes the stunning news that Liberace’s popularity is not crossing the generations, resulting in a precipitous drop in attendance at the Museum devoted to his refined taste. The doors are closing next month, so this is the last chance to see his splendiferous collection of custom automobiles, like one of only two Kanzler Coupes ever made (above) which obviously borrowed its passenger compartment from an Opel GT. This is just an aperitif of what’s on display inside. Read More >

Via Hemmings News comes this delightful find from Chevymall.com: an officially licensed poster comparing women to cupholders. So, did Susan Docherty sign off on that when she was GM’s marketing boss, or is this just more evidence that GM really is a “testosterone saturated, white, American male culture”? Either way, it cements the impression that Chevrolet’s values and image stopped making progress around the same time its market share did… which, incidentally, was about the same time the poodle skirt went out of fashion.

It’s just too bad that, between the ’59 Impala, the poodle skirt, GM’s US market dominance and casual sexism, only the casual sexism seems to have survived.

Several weeks back, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann was hinting to Forbes that weight loss would be crucial to the Lambo future (he also revealed that the brand’s best-selling colors “are white, black and the grey tones”). As the hype builds towards the release of the new Murcielago-replacing Jota, Winkelmann has released a “manifesto” that he says will guide Lamborghini into a sustainable future.

Alternatively, it could also be seen as an after-the-fact justification for Lamborghini’s decision to ditch the V12. After all, the Jota teaser image released with the Winkelmann-ifesto hints very strongly at a ten-cylinder drivetrain… which means the era of V12-powered Lamborghini flagships is probably about to end. Can one little manifesto really explain that kind of brand-defying break with tradition? Hit the jump to judge for yourself. Read More >

Remember when Hyundai was famous for cheap, tiny hatchbacks instead of sculpted, Lexus-alike sedans? Though Hyundai’s first hybrid will be based on its popular Sonata, its first-ever EV is based on its old-school i10 hatchback. The AP reports that the BlueOn (remember, blue is the new green) will be delivered to Korean government fleets this year, with sales to the public starting in 2012. Hyundai hasn’t disclosed whether the BlueOn’s pricetag will be as old-school Hyundai as the i10, but with only 87 miles of EV range and 80 MPH from 16.4 kWh of Lithium-polymer batteries, it looks like low-cost city transport is the name of the game. But with a planned production volume of 2,500 units per year, the BlueOn shows how far Hyundai still has to come before catching up with the Nissans and Mitsubishis of the EV world. Then again, Hyundai’s come from behind before…

In the interests of truth, we feel compelled to point out that this is not, in fact, the 2011 Jaguar XJ. But considering the damn thing had hardly changed in 35 years, it’s easy to understand why the Detroit News thought it could get away with just slinging up a photo of the previous year’s model. And though that may have worked for the better part of the last four decades, now that Jag has a truly new XJ, it’s just cruel. Or sloppy. Either way, it’s plenty ironic.

The 1970 Mustang Boss 302 is a legend. Created specifically to compete against the Camaro z-28 in the Trans Am championship, the Boss 302 is a much rarer pony than its nemesis. Only 1628 were built in 1969 and 7013 in 1970. Its claim to fame was the unique pairing of the Windsor 302 block with the biggest Cleveland heads possible, the result rated (conservatively) at 290 hp. Somewhat surprisingly, CR bought and tested one in 1970. And since they just finished comparing the 2011 Mustang V6 against the Camaro, CR pitted the stats of the two against each other. Let’s just say that the forty years have brought some progress: Read More >

Automotive enthusiasm is a hugely diverse phenomenon, and for plenty of hobbyists, the smaller the car the better. The NY Times recently caught up with a few such microcar mavens at the Microcar/Minicar World Meet, and helped shed some light on the miniaturist automotive subculture. Sure, some might call driving a Goggomobile pickup the length of Route 66 without ever exceeding 30 MPH a bit…eccentric, but the passion that these microcar maniacs exude is undeniable.

In recent interviews with Automotive News [sub] and AutoObserver, GM’s recently-hired marketing boss Joel Ewanick dished out some of the insights that have earned him the reputation for being an ace image guy. He tells AN [sub] that

Consumers don’t buy General Motors. General Motors sells nothing

Oh, really? Because GM decided to remove the GM Mark of Excellence from its vehicles right around the time it emerged from bankruptcy, the better part of a year before Ewanick was brought on board. Since the first Government Motors joke emerged on the internet, GM has sought to distance itself from its corporate umbrella’s brand… and this is the insight Ewanick is bringing to the organization? Hell, Automotive News [sub] suggested that “Stop mentioning General Motors” when he was hired in June of this year. Which leaves Ewanick only one choice: don’t talk about General Motors more than anyone might imagine.

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Seventy seven years. That’s how long Allen Swift owned this 1928 Rolls-Royce P1 Roadster, a graduation gift he received in the same year. When he passed away at the age of 102,  what may well be the world’s longest car ownership relationship ended (Guinness doesn’t keep this particular record). But Rolls-Royce does, and in their meticulous record books, he was undoubtedly the longest owner. RR bestowed him with a crystal Spirit of Ecstasy award in 1994.  The Rolls, built in Springfield, Massachusetts, had 170,000 miles on the clock, and Mr. Swift drove it right up to the year of his death  (2005). It reputedly “runs like a Swiss watch”, and is still cosmetically perfect. It now resides in the Springfield History Museum, as per an arrangement Mr. Swift made with them in when he was 99.

At least one Curbside Classic owner might be able to best Mr. Swift’s long run. This 1950 Ford was bought by its owner in 1964, when he was fourteen. If he lives to at least 92, he’ll have Mr. Swift beat. How about you; what’s the longest you’ve owned a car?

Hat tip to Ray Charlton; via christiancarguy.com

When BMW announced that it would be building a million front-wheel-drive cars, a conflict between the new BMW-branded “Megacity” or 0-Series and BMW’s existing MINI brand seemed inevitable. And though we’ve posed the conflict in terms of an either-or decision, it’s clear that BMW sees no problem with offering small, front-drive models through both its BMW and MINI brands. In fact, BMW will offer its Megacity alongside the MINI Cooper, and, according to Autocar, a new MINI-branded model based on the same platform but slotting underneath the Cooper. MINI promises that the new city car will be no larger than the original Mini, and that it is likely to offer a two- or three-seat interior. This three-cylinder, Smart ForTwo-fighting Mini will be built to pass North American crash test standards, so don’t be surprised if it arrives stateside eventually. And though it returns the MINI brand to its roots, the question of how this sub-MINI will relate to its Megacity cousin remains an open question.

Ever since the Subaru brand was introduced to the US market as the makers of “cheap and ugly” little cars, it’s suffered from a tortured relationship with styling. From the unapologetically utilitarian to the downright contrived (hello, flying vagina) and right back to the tragically anodyne, Subaru’s styling has been as consistent as an acid trip… and about as popular with middle America. But now that Subaru is making headway with the buying public, its new stylist, Osamu Namba, tells Automotive News [sub] that it’s time for a change.

We want to broaden the appeal to make it accessible to more than a small, loyal crowd. We need to add a more contemporary element. We have to show the function through design with simple, clean lines. I want a very simple design that exhibits strength. I don’t want it to be just something serious and boring. A lot of people don’t know that Subaru brand. If we can make styling more accessible, it will bring them in

That sounds well and good, but where does Subaru even start going about building a consistent, coherent design language? We hear that Subaru’s Hybrid Tourer Concept is the best hint yet at the shape of things to come…

Mack had always admired Richard Milhous Nixon, starting with the Checkers speech, but especially after the disgraced ex-president had begun to emerge as an elder statesman. “The man won’t give up,” says Mack, noting that even President Clinton, whose wife, Hillary Rodham, had worked on the Watergate investigation for the House Judiciary Committee, had invited the former President to the White House for consultations. When Mack heard they were making the Frost/Nixon movie, he drove himself across the country and banged on doors in LA until they said he could try out for the lead role. He claims he almost got it, and that even Ron Howard admits that he–Mack–looks a lot more like Nixon than does Frank Langella. Now, back at the gas station in Maynard, Mass, if you tell Mack he looks like Nixon, you could almost swear the ol’ cuss is smiling.

Don’t worry my fellow Americans, your supercharged Elises and Exiges are safe. In Europe, however, the introduction of the new 1.6 liter Elise means the old 1.8 supercharged cars are on their way out, victims of the new Euro 5 standard.

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