Economies of scale are the driving force behind everything happening in the industry right now; it’s why Alfa and Mazda are collaborating on an MX-5 and why Volkswagen is building nearly everything on one platform. Does that lead to increased homogeneity on the product side? Absolutely. But it also makes cars like the CLS63 AMG Shooting Brake possible. Mercedes has all the components needed to make this car, and it barely costs them anything to produce it. The halo effect alone makes it worthwhile. Cadillac needed to sell just 5 CTS-V wagons to break even on the car, and it’s likely no different for Mercedes. Look for a brown one to show up in press fleets at some point.

As amazing as the specs may be, I’m not sold on the design of the McLaren P1. It may be functional, but it can’t stand up to the elegant minimalism of the F1 and looks far too busy. Let us know what you think.

Yesterday’s coverage was fairly snarky, for the simple reason that none of the product was particularly compelling or exciting. But I love the look of the new VW GTI, especially in this blue hue. In my senior year of high school, my father bought a 2006 Jetta 2.0T with the DSG gearbox; it might be one of the all-time great sleepers, with just enough power to be fun in the city, but not enough to get you in serious trouble. Even on mundane all-season tires, it was one of the better FWD platforms I’ve ever driven. I can’t imagine how much fun the new GTI will be with more power and 200 fewer lbs.

I’m not one who identifies as a “wrong-wheel drive” Nazi like most people with zero performance driving experience online car enthusiasts are, but to me, this is not a BMW. I’m sure it will be a great car, with a very cool three-cylinder powertrain and a nice interior. It would probably make a lot of sense for someone like myself, given that it’s a plug-in car. But to me, this is BMW. Not a hybrid city car.

Lexus debuted a gorgeous mystery coupe, dubbed the LF-CC, and took all the fun out of it by making it a hybrid. I’ll take an Audi S5, thanks. Does anyone see a hint of Scion FR-S in the rear view of this car?

The 2014 Mazda6 wagon was shown in the buff today, causing the American contingent of journalists to spontaneously ejaculate in their pleated Wal-Mart trousers. Meanwhile, Europeans yawned with the sort of withering ennui that would have made Derrida blush. Predictions of the Mazda6 Skyactiv-D wagon 6MT selling 400,000 units have been running rampant today, mostly from “Top Auto Writers” who don’t own cars – let alone new cars.

Hey, remember when Porsche made an effort to make the C4s visually distinctive? Yeah, neither do we. But the new one has stop-start and is good for the polar ice caps. Anyways, if you squint really hard you can see the big visual change on the 2013 911 Carrera 4S. The “4S” badge on the decklid.

Oh, Happy Days! The Messianic Age is upon us. God so loved the world that he sent his only son to do battle with the Porsche Cayman R in an epic shootout organized by an over-the-hill Australian journalist. At least this one has a bunch of crap from TRD on it.

Jack thinks Porsche may have ripped off the Ford Taurus X with their new Panamera Sport Turismo concept. I say the taillights are a rip-off of the 1993 Mazda RX-7.

The Audi S3 promises 300 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque from its 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Err, wait a second. That’s not the hot hatch you are looking for. The real pictures are below. You can tell it’s the real thing because of the LED headlights. That’s what makes it premium, dontchaknow?

Fresh out of Weight Watchers, the next-generation Volkswagen Golf was apparently greeted by smoke-bomb wielding Greenpeace protesters. Wouldn’t something other than a fuel-efficient compact hatch be a better target for one’s environmental anguish?

This might be the first live shot of the Jaguar F-Type that isn’t taken on a blurry camera phone.

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