Mazda has confirmed its Paris Motor Show lineup, which will be led by the Kiyora concept, a water-themed, Nagare-styled city car built on a new platform that features a "next generation" direct-injected four-banger. No additional details have been relayed at this time, other than it's supposed to be lightweight and efficient, in keeping with Mazda's "Sustainable Zoom-Zoom" approach. (As an aside, you should know that it's quite amusing to watch grown adults actually say this stuff with a straight face at press conferences.) Also officially confirmed now is the updated MX-5, complete with the new happy face that hit the web on Wednesday. It's joined by the Mazda6 MZR-CD 2.2L diesel and the Mazda2 MZ-CD 1.6L diesel, both of which are also world premieres. As always, we'll be in Paris to bring it to you live next month.

Citroen looks content to carry on in its quirky ways with its latest concept, the Hypnos hybrid utility vehicle. Residing squarely in the same vein as new coupe-like crossovers like the BMW X6 and Infiniti FX models, the French machine goes that extra step towards the crazy house. From the renderings in our gallery below, the front doors appear so long and exagerated that the rear portals bottom-half is taken up entirely by the wheel wells. Things get even stranger from there with jewel-like seats and a DNA-style double-helix center section adorning the interior.

Under the hood will be a hybrid powertrain with an engine producing 200-horsepower plus an undetermined amount of force from the electric half of the drivetrain. This 50-mpg powertrain is one part of the concept that we hope is based in reality. Fortunately, we're pretty sure that these renderings are just conceptual while the real vehicle will debut in concept form at the upcoming Paris Motor Show in October

The trailer for Need for Speed: Undercover is out, and it is 60 straight seconds of "We want." The in-game texture looks primo and the storyline sections are a nice mix full-motion and rendered video. We have no idea what the game involves yet, so we can only hope that EA has restored some of the buck-wild madness that was missing from Need for Speed: ProStreet. We do know, however, that not only have police chases returned, but the boys in blue appear to be driving... R34 Nissan GT-Rs. So if as the sultry voiceover in the trailers says, "This is all going to come crashing down," it looks like you'll have a whole lot of fun making rubble.

Toyota is the undisputed leader in the hybrid space, and the Japanese automaker is looking to expand its kingdom by adding an all-electric vehicle to the mix. While there are few details available, Toyota has said the EV would likely be an urban city-type vehicle that will be available in the "early 2010s". Hopefully it will be more accommodating than Toyota's last attempt at an EV: the eCom (above), which used the innards of the RAV4 EV to achieve a top speed of 62 mph and a range of just 60 miles. Toyota's new EV, however, will be preceded in 2009 by the arrival of the brand's first plug-in Prius hybrid.

The Dakar rally may have packed up and left North Africa following threats from al-Qaeda, but bands of roving terrorists aren't about to scare off HUMMER. The go-anywhere GM division has set up a driving academy smack in the middle of the Sahara desert to give participants a hands-on training program for off-road driving through some of the harshest terrain Mother Earth has to offer.

The inaugural session will kick off this coming November, taking 28 participants in 14 vehicles – each with alternating pilot and co-pilot – on an 800-mile, five-day journey through the Moroccan Sahara. The 14 HUMMER H3s used in the course are equipped with survival gear, sand tires and GPS equipment, but are otherwise stock. The program costs nearly $6,000 per two-man team and includes luxury accommodations at each stop along the way in addition to tutelage in driving and navigation techniques. The experience promises to bring participants closer to the elements, and the brand closer to potential buyers. Follow the link to the academy's dedicated website for more information in testing your limits behind the wheel of HUMMER.

A new study in the UK confirms that women like fast cars, but apparently it's not the sexy curves of a Lamborghini, Maserati or Ferrari that turns them on. Researchers discovered that it's actually the loud sound of their engines revving that gets a woman's motor to hum. The study was conducted with 40 participants that included both men and women who were played recordings of a Maserati, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Volkswagen Polo engine. Afterwards they got their saliva swabbed and analyzed for the presence of testosterone. A higher level of the hormone in their spit indicated that the subjects were more aroused, and the results revealed that 100% of the female participants experienced a big jump in testosterone levels after listening to the Maserati. Chances are the Maserati engine was actually sourced from Ferrari, but we don't know if the results after listening to the Maranello mill were identical. And what happened after participants heard the Polo's wheezy motor? Testosterone levels fell across the board.

This shot of the Corvette Centennial Concept comes courtesy of our friends over at Jalopnik who have a few more in their own gallery. For those of you living under a rock, the Corvette Centennial Concept is both a tribute to General Motors' 100-year history and a budding young actor on the Hollywood stage with a bit part in Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. It is not, we repeat not, a production car, a concept intended to hint at the future design direction of the Corvette or any such thing, at least as far as we know. Being a flight of fancy concept, however, doesn't take away from its inherent coolness. The view from the rear is particularly mind blowing as you can see the split rear window, incredibly sculpted rear fenders and nuevo Sting Ray badge. We're not sure when the actual car will be revealed, but GM is celebrating its 100-year anniversary this month. Then again, the official debut might also coincide with the release of the Transformers sequel in 2009. We'll have to wait and see.

Choosing them for their portrayed image of "strength and power," officials in Kuwait have ordered 150 Dodge Chargers to be modified as police vehicles. As the Charger is the leading volume vehicle for Chrysler LLC in the Middle East, the choice doesn't come as much of a surprise. Delivery of the cop cars, however, isn't expected to take place for another couple months. In the meantime, the lot of them are heading to Canfield Equipment Service in Michigan where they'll be fitted for their new Kuwaiti roles in traffic, security, and emergency response. (Here's hoping none of our readers get a chance to check them out from the back seat once they're in service).

The current styling of the Mazda MX-5 could well be described as just a bit boring with very round corners that play it safe. Mazda would like to change the image of its iconic little roadster and revised styling is certainly on the way. We have an early shot of the changes courtesy of the interwebs and, while they are a welcome refresher, the design team didn't quite go far enough. The only real changes visible to the naked eye are in the front fascia, which sports styling inspired by tweaks made to the latest rotary-powered RX-8. Front and center is a gaping grill that features five distinct corners instead of the old oval opening. Flanking that new mug are angled fog light surrounds and swept-back headlights above. The changes are mostly design elements seen on Mazda's latest batch of concept cars, though overall it's a safe update for an already safe design – and very close to what we were expecting – but we're still hoping for more from the next-gen MX-5.

The only real question in the P1 class of the American Le Mans Series this year was which Audi driver pairing would capture the championship. Audi only faced one actual challenger all season long in the LMP1 class from the Intersport Racing team, and they weren't really in the same class, if you know what we mean. Going into this past weekend's Detroit Sports Car Challenge, the pairing of Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner were leading their teammates Marcel Fässler and Emanuele Pirro with an opportunity to clinch the drivers' championship. Some mishaps for the Luhr/Werner team early on, however, suggested the battle would go on until at least the Petit Le Mans next month. Luhr hit a tire wall hard on lap 13 and Fässler went on to cross the finish line third behind a pair of Acuras in the LMP2 class. But the Fässler/Pirro car was disqualified after the race for being underweight, leaving the LMP1 drivers' title to Luhr and Werner. Hopefully the entry of Acura and Corsa Motorsports' hybrid racer in the LMP1 class for 2009 will give Audi a real challenge. If only we could convince Peugeot to run the full ALMS schedule with its diesel-powered 908s, LMP1 would be as much fun as the P2 and GT classes.

As is usually the case when complaints of unintended acceleration are levied against a vehicle, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has concluded that no specific vehicular defects have been found in 2004-2008 Toyota Tacomas. The mid-sized truck had been under fire from over 400 owners who claimed their trucks had accelerated without them touching the gas resulting in 51 crashes and 12 injuries. According to Toyota, however, the truck features a drive-by-wire system and its computer records any event of a mismatch between the gas pedal and the engine's throttle. None of the trucks involved in accidents reported any such codes. The NHTSA has closed its investigation and believes that driver error is the most likely cause for the vast majority of complaints while a few could be attributed to loose floor mats.

While the fact that the Tacoma has received so many specific complaints is worrisome, we are not big believers in unintended acceleration and tend to agree that publicity of the issue may well have attracted more erroneous claims. Debris stuck under the brake or pedals that are just closer together than some drivers are used to remain possible explanations, but could hardly be considered defects.

While work is reportedly be done on developing a cabrio version of the Lexus IS and a lighter-weight version of the fire breathing IS-F, the IS 250 and 350 need some attention too. They're receiving mild updates for the 2009 model year, images of which have found their way onto the web. Though not expected to officially bow until the Paris Motor Show in October, the '09 IS will be sporting an ever so slightly revised front end, new side mirrors with turn signal indicators, redesigned taillamps with integrated L-shaped reverse lights and a new wheel design. In true Lexus tradition, the exterior changes are about as minimal as they get and require close comparison with an '08 model to appreciate. We can see that the front bumper, lower air intakes and fog lights have been softened, but that's about it. While we don't know anything official about mechanical changes, Carscoop reports that a revised electronic stability control system will be part of the '09 package.

Hyundai made a huge splash at the New York Auto Show this year with its Genesis Coupe, and it's looking for a repeat performance next month at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The Koreans are working with several aftermarket tuners to create special coupes for the tuner show and they just passed along a photo of one of them. This example was created by HKS USA and includes the usual array of body work mods along with plenty of mechanical upgrades. Hyundai hasn't provided details on the engine re-work yet other than noting it's got an HKS GT Turbo package, so presumably this car will use the 2.0L turbo four-cylinder as its starting point. Since the guts of the engine are being beefed up, we can safely assume this thing will be running considerably higher boost than a stock Genesis. Hopefully the HKS Hipermax III fully-adjustable suspension will help make all this power usable on the street as well as the track. The Genesis Coupe may just yet prove to be a very formidable competitor to all those new Mustangs, Camaros and Challengers appearing over the next few months, and we can't wait for our chance to drive one.

HUMMER, a brand that has seen its sales drop by a shocking 40% so far this year, is apparently burning an SUV-sized hole in General Motors' pocket. Main money-man at the biggest American automaker, Fritz Henderson, says that GM wold like to rid itself of the brand as quickly as possible, saying that its sale is being approached "on an urgent basis." The time frame given was by the end of this year or early 2009 for a completed transaction. So, who would want the brand that represents wretched American excess? We have no idea, but it seems that somebody does as Henderson reiterated that the General's been approached by multiple suitors. Interestingly, these comments were made in India, a country that had previously been rumored to have two separate bidders for the HUMMER brand. Considering the growing sentiment for small cars in the U.S., it wouldn't be surprising to see HUMMER sold to a company that does most of its business outside America.

While everyone is aware of what GM, Honda and Toyota have been up to when it comes to fuel-saving technology, Chrysler has been playing it close to the chest. The Auburn Hills-based automaker, however, will show its dealers three new all-electric cars at the end of this month that are said to be production capable. Jim Press, the Chrysler exec who came from rival and current hybrid-leader Toyota, added that Chrysler's future platforms were being designed with electrification in mind and that is still has access to technology from its previous owner, Daimler.

Like General Motors, Chrysler seems convinced that its EVs need to have plug-in capability. The goal, says Press, is 300 miles of range. To make that a reality, a very good set of batteries will be necessary – likely lithium-ions – and Press assures us that his company is working with multiple suppliers. Will any of the production-ready models be anything like the concepts shown off last year in Detroit? We'll see.

Sales figures for the month of August aren't out quite yet, but analysts predict they won't be good. Apparently they could have been worse for General Motors if not for the employee pricing deal that began on August 20th. Though scheduled to end yesterday, the employee pricing deal has now been extended through the end of September and most 2009 models have now been included. The original deal extended to all 2008 models and only the 2009 Chevy Cobalt and HHR, Pontiac Vibe and G5 and Cadillac CTS. Dealerships are reporting that employee pricing helped clear out their inventories, especially trucks and SUVs, which were the most heavily discounted. We've already wasted hours perusing this web page that details what each GM vehicle will cost with employee pricing and any other incentives available. Looks like we'll be wasting a few more.

"Yo Jesus, you gotcher ears on, good buddy?" Cletus Snow has made his last crackly Tx on the CB. We know Jerry Reed best as The Bandit's Coors-hauling cohort, but Jerry Reed had a long and successful career that saw him rubbing elbows with greats such as Chet Atkins, Elvis Presley, Waylon Jennings, even Dexy's Midnight Runners (the great part might be debatable on that last one.)

The star of music, film, and television passed away in Nash-Vegas on August 31st of emphysema-related complications. Tonight, we're going to break out the LPs, crack a Banquet Beer and watch all three Bandits as we lament another gone too soon.

Even in a down pickup truck market, the all-new Dodge Ram should be a boon to Chrysler and not just because it's a far better truck than the one it replaces. The new Ram will also be the next Nissan Titan, a deal that helps Chrysler keep its truck factories running closer to maximum capacity. With Nissan borrowing Ram mechanicals and engineering, the assumption has been that Chrysler's 5.7L HEMI V8 was going to be part of the package. Nissan officials have continually denied that any decision about the truck's engine of choice has yet to be made and that its own Evolution 5.6L powerplant was still under consideration.

Chrysler chairman Jim Press put any speculation to rest when he declared at an LA Motor Guild meeting recently that the Nissan Titan would indeed receive HEMI power. After our friend Mike Levine from Pickuptrucks.com broke the news, Nissan responded by saying that it has made no decisions concerning the HEMI engine and when it does, the announcement would come from Nissan. It makes sense that the next Titan would be HEMI-fied, especially considering that the engineering needed to mate the HEMI and Ram platform has already been done and paid for, and part logistics are already in sync with truck assembly. Plus, the new HEMI produces a class-leading 390 horsepower and gets decent fuel economy for a big, burly truck engine. Nissan could do much worse.

Hyundai will have a full display at this year's Paris Motor Show next month, and front and center will be a new subcompact to replace the Getz called the i20. With availability set for sometime early next year, the i20 features five doors and a longer wheelbase than the outgoing Getz, which means there's more space for passengers inside. Its styling was penned in Germany at Hyundai's European Design Centre, and that's a good thing as the i20 is one sharply dressed econo car. Unfortunately, the i20 was designed specifically for European tastes, and like the Getz, won't be making an appearance in the U.S. anytime soon.

Accompanying the new i20 in Paris will be the i20 i-blue concept, a high-mpg concept version of the production car that can achieve 68 mpg on the Euro cycle, as well as a hybrid Sante Fe concept and new ix55 sport ute based on the Veracruz. We'll be in Paris next month to watch it all go down, so stay tuned.

Anybody who watches Autoline on Detroit or reads our Autoline on Autoblog posts will know that John McElroy is a certifiably nice guy. Bob Lutz is known more as a brash talker who isn't afraid to make his views known, regardless of what others may think. Both of them, though, are very closely attuned to the auto industry. The head product-honcho at GM and our very own Mr. Nice Guy share the opinion that the Feds should suspend their ever-increasing crash-testing standards for a few years. If a car is safe enough for our European relatives, it should be safe enough for us, right? In reality, this is not the case, as the U.S. standards differ enough from those across the pond that a car sometimes needs to be designed specifically to pass one or the other. For this reason, the Chevy Beat won't be sold on U.S. soil.

To complete the deal, McElroy also suggests doing the same for environmental standards. As with crash tests, though both the U.S. and the European regulations are strict, they don't quite match. Therefore, many cars -- especially those equipped with diesel engines -- can't be sold in the States despite being available in Europe. Lutz doesn't specifically touch on this point, but we'd hazard a guess that he'd go along with it as well.

Hyundai swung with the Genesis and connected big time. But even though the Korean automaker wants to take its public perception upward, that doesn't mean it plans to keep releasing big, luxury sedans. For the six new and redesigned models that will appear by 2011, Hyundai America's product development chief says "We're looking at small, fuel-efficient cars." The company will also be giving buyers the option of putting smaller engines in some of their vehicles.

The i10, only on sale in India right now, is being considered for America (or not). And if the fortwo does well, Hyundai could invest in giving the i10 the safety and engine changes it would need to make it Stateside. A four-pot Genesis Coupe will available for the low twenties. Hyundai's first hybrid will be installed on the redesigned Sonata, which gets redesigned in 2011, and the reworked Tucson will get four-cylinder engines only, along with the Santa Fe. And when the Tiburon goes bye-bye in 2011, it could be replaced by a small, FWD coupe based on the Veloster concept.

Regardless of the fact that over a dozen official looking images of the 2010 Chevy Camaro SS showed up on the web early last week, this single high-res image of the modern muscle car is notable for the fact that it is the first overall shot that GM has officially released. It showed up on the automaker's media site yesterday evening all by its lonesome with no accompanying details, but what else is there to know besides the fact it's packing a 6.2L LS3 V8 producing 422 hp and 408 lb-ft of torque? And for those who were wondering before, the nostril vent does appear to be part of the production package. Perhaps this picture's sudden appearance portends more information to come. We'll keep our ears and eyes open just in case.

Ford's new SYNC system is already helping the automaker sell cars, and the Microsoft-sourced technology is primed to deliver even more bang for the buck this fall. Sync 2.0 is set to drop on Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles this November, but our friends over at Engadget got an early peek of the updates to come.

First on the list of improvements is 911 Assist, which enables your SYNC'd Bluetooth phone to call 911 automatically in the event of an airbag-deployed accident. SYNC also interacts with the vehicle's PCM and can send vehicle health reports to an owner's email address using the signal from your own phone. We're looking forward to getting our hands on a Ford vehicle with SYNC 2.0, and although we have no intention of testing 911 Assist, the Vehicle Health Report tool sounds like an interesting and useful application of the service.

Engadget also got the scoop on some items that may appear in SYNC 3.0, which should debut sometime in 2009. Some of the enhancements could include access to sports, weather, traffic and news, all without the need for an expensive nav system. If you do have a navigation system, you can already get Sirius Travel Link for a monthly fee of $7, which comes with live traffic info, movie times, gas station listings by price and sports scores.

While we're clamoring for small, efficient transportation, Europe is already awash with micro cars, diesels, and hatchbacks. When Toyota designed and engineered the tiny iQ, it had to go smaller and greener than the competition, so the little four-seater is only about 1.5 feet longer than a Smart fortwo. AutoExpress is reporting that Toyota is prepared to take iQ to the next level of green, with a plug-in hybrid version of the micro mini. Plug-in technology would reportedly be shared with the next generation Prius, save for an engine that goes from 1.0L to a displacement of only 500 cc. Chargeable batteries will enable the iQ to travel 15 miles or more without a drop of CO2-spewing combustion, and the smaller engine would stay stingy when it does come to life. While the iQ is probably still a little too small for large scale US consumption, we're sure the vehicle would have quite the cult following if it could pull off fuel economy in the 100 mpg range. If gas decides to travel back north of the $4 mark, though, even a clown car would be acceptable Stateside.

It's being reported as the second most incredible thing next to cold fusion - a VOLKSWAGEN traveling above 100 mph? What next? We suppose a bunch of kids from England will kick Elvis off the top of the charts. Welcome to the 21st century, out of touch news-ninnies. Volkswagen Beetles - proper air-cooled medieval rollerskates - indeed have a tough time cracking 100 mph in stock trim. A New Beetle, which is really just a modern Rabbit in drag, can easily crank that speedo right around to 125 with its 5-cylinder mill.

In this case, the news media is just piling its idiocy on top of a stupid driver who tried running from the police. It rarely ends well when a driver decides to run, and the case of Nathan Hurlbirt and his gray VW are no different. Hurlbirt and a female colleague were nipping along I-25 in Littleton, Colorado when a Sheriff's deputy took issue with the pair's 115 mph speed and attempted to pull them over. Hurlbirt took off, instead, and the deputy broke off pursuit shortly before the VW crashed after exiting the highway. Hurlbirt and passenger escaped injury, but not the long arm of the law. The lack of injuries is the incredible part; try crashing an old Bug and see if there's anything left to put cuffs on.