MAJOR SHOWS AND EVENTS, SUPERCARS, CONCEPTS, EXOTICS, COLLECTIBLES, AUCTIONS AND MORE!

NEW NOW! FOUR ALL-NEW HONDA HYBRIDS; FCX CLARITY FUEL CELL SEDAN NOW LEASING

Honda says that by 2015, the company will have a minimum of four very different gasoline/electric hybrid cars on-sale in the US and around the globe. These will include a hybrid version of the Fit, a sporty hybrid modeled on the CR-Z concept we saw at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, the company's existing Civic hybrid and an all-new Toyota Prius-fighter slated for a 2009 debut. (Photo Above -- Honda's robot Asimo appears above the FCX Clarity at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show).

More on those four later; Honda's most intriguing news this week is their announcement that production versions of their FCX Clarity hydrogen-fueled fuel-cell EV will soon be in the hands of about 200 families, who will sign three-year leases for each of the cars at about $600 a month. (Photo --- Honda said this week that their CR-Z concept, shown at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2007, will be one of the vehicles the company will sell as a gasoline/electric hybrid).

But first, as they, this: Most important for consumers around the world, Honda (and Toyota and Nissan) continue to put their money where their mouth is; American car-buyers still cannot buy very high-mileage cars with cutting-edge technologies from one of the Detroit Three. As it was with overall vehicle quality through the '80s and '90s and in many cases right up until today, Asian car-makers and the Japanese in particular seem so far ahead of the curve when it comes to gas/electric hybrids and hydrogen-fueled fuel cell EVs which produce virtually no emissions, that the Detroit Three seem in danger of being left out in the cold.

European car-makers including Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz will be marketing diesel-powered cars and trucks in the US later this year which meet the nation's strictest mileage and emissions standards. The Detroit Three lag well behind of that bell curve, too. Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Mazda have all been experimenting, very publicly, with using hydrogen as a fuel for internal combustion engines. (Photo --- GM's Equinox hydrogen-fueled fuel cell crossover; the company says about 60 of them will be available for leasing later this year).

When compared with Chrysler and Ford, General Motors is clearly, and by far, the US' leader in high-tech, high-mileage, low-emissions cars and trucks. Their development of the mileage-improving Dual-Mode Hybrid Transmission for large trucks and SUVs, the Volt passenger car which uses a small gasoline-fueled "generator" to keep on-board battery packs recharged and allow a 600-mile near all-EV range, and the Equinox hydrogen-powered fuel cell small SUV are all note-worthy newsmakers. The General says that some Equinox test vehicles will "hit the road" with specially-selected families in America within the next year, similar to the program Honda has announced for their FCX Clarity (more below). But talking about developing the vehicles necessary for the 21st century and beyond and actually building and selling them to the public are two very different things.

Honda says their plans call for the company to deliver about 200 of their FCX Clarity (Fuel Cell eXperimental) hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles to Japanese and American customers in its first three years of production, with leases beginning this July. The program marks the world's first large-scale retail initiative for fuel cell vehicle technology, and Honda has begun the process of identifying customers from a group of over 50,000 drivers who have expressed interest in the FCX Clarity on the company's website. (Photo --- A new dual-mode transmission is one of the components which make the large GMC/Chevy SUVs "Green Cars of the Year;" the system almost doubles highway mileage).

Honda will announce its first customers when the first FCX Clarity rolls off the production line at a ceremony on June 16, 2008 in Japan, where Honda will also showcase the world's first dedicated fuel cell vehicle production facility.

FCX Clarity is a next-generation, hydrogen-fueled fuel cell vehicle. Propelled by an electric motor that runs on electricity generated in the fuel cell, its only emission is water, and its fuel efficiency is three times that of a modern gasoline-powered automobile.

The FCX Clarity's multi-year launch began in October 2005, where we witnessed the unveiling of the next-generation FCX Concept vehicle at the Tokyo Motor Show. This was followed in November, 2007 with the debut of the FCX Clarity much-closer-to-production model not in Japan, which was expected, but at the Los Angeles Auto Show. We were there, too, when Honda announced plans to begin leasing vehicles to customers in the US.

For more analysis, perspective, information and photos of Honda's four new hybrids and FCX Clarity fuel cell sedan, click below.

$10,894,900 --- 1961 FERRARI CALIFORNIA BREAKS AUCTION RECORDS

One of 55 Ferrari 250 short wheelbase (SWB) models ever built has sold at a European auction for over USD $10,890,000 a record for any car ever sold at public auction. The beautiful car was bought by a UK-based Ferrari enthusiast and "radio personality," and his wife, a professional golfer. They both must be doing alright.

(From RM Auctions press release): Car enthusiasts and Ferrari collectors from across the globe descended on Maranello, Italy this past weekend for RM Auctions' second annual "Ferrari Leggenda e Passione" auction event to witness a new auction record established for a 1961 Ferrari California Spyder formerly owned by actor James Coburn. The rare car exceeded all expectations by selling for a world record auction price for a vintage car at auction in the amount of $10,894,900 U.S., surpassing the previous record set at Sotheby's Monaco in 1990 for a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO at $10,756,000 U.S. (Editing note --- James Coburn? I thought he drove a Lark ... No, forgive us, he smoked Larks (and did all their advertising in Japan, starting in the late 1960s, when very few American actors would "lower" themselves doing advertising outside the US. Boy, have times changed).

The annual RM Ferrari auction, held in association with Sotheby's, put under the hammer an unrivaled collection of historic Ferraris at the legendary home of Ferrari in Maranello, Italy. Among the attendees was one extremely well known Ferrari enthusiast, and British television and radio personality Chris Evans. Chris, accompanied by his wife, golf pro and writer Natasha Shishmanian, attended the Gala reception on Saturday, May 17th where he fell for the considerable charms of a black 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder. The following day, Chris made the successful bid for his dream machine, which will now take pride of place in his own celebrated collection and the honor of "the most valuable car sold in auction history." (End of press release). The car does not look too much unlike another two-seater of the same era, this one from the UK, from a company called AC. (Photo --- This most expensive Ferrari was once owned by actor James Coburn, seen below; the two Ferrari owners, both Coburn and Steve McQueen, were pallbearers at the funeral of action star Bruce Lee ... Small world, huh? Coburn was in some great movies, like the "Flint" spy spoof series of the '60s, the Magnificent Seven, 1960, and the Great Escape, 1963, where he appeared with McQueen. These are some Ferraris with heavy acting karma!).

Replacing their long wheelbase (LWB) California Spyder with a SWB version, which made for better- handling and lightened the car's weight quite a bit, Ferrari designer Scaglietti showed a new Spyder California at the Geneva Show in 1960. Based on the 250 GT SWB, it also introduced disc brakes and a 280 hp version of the 250 V12. About 55 were built. (Photo --- UK radio personality and Ferrari collector Chris Adams stepped up in a big way and spent almost USD $11,000,000; witnesses say his wife did not attack him after he made the winning bid ... Lucky guy!).

The 250 models were a series of Ferrari sports cars built from the 1950s and into early 1960s. It was the company's most successful early line of vehicles, produced for over a decade from 1953 to 1964 and resulting in several variants for both road and track. The 250 was replaced by the 275 and the 330.

The most celebrated 250 is the 1962 250 GTO, a true supercar that spawned numerous imitators. Other 250 Ferraris closely-related to this record-setting sports car include the Lusso, Monza, Testa Rossa, GTO and the P and LM (LeMans) racing versions. Some of these cars are those which literally take your breath away when seen in person and in context, on either a race track or the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach's Concours d'Elegance. The long wheelbase (LWB) 250 GT theme was expanded with their 2+2 model 250 GT/E. That car was the first large production four-seat Ferrari (earlier four seaters were made in very small numbers).

Click below for more about the world record-breaking Ferrari California Spyder.

BEVERLY RAE KIMES, 68, MOST-HONORED AUTOMOTIVE AUTHOR AND HISTORIAN, DIES

Longtime automotive historian and author Beverly Rae Kimes died Monday, May 12. Kimes was a rarity in the field; as one of the first female authors in a business traditionally dominated by men, Kimes' expertise in classic, racing and collectible cars, and the people who made and drove them, was the exception to the rule.

Her career has helped open doors for other women, such as Denise McCluggage (Autoweek and more), Jean Lindamood (Automobile) and Judy Stropus (who covers motor racing). They and others to come in the future owe a debt to Beverly Rae Kimes which can never truly be paid-in-full. Knowing that in order to succeed in her chosen profession her work had to be better than everyone else's, Kimes went onto become certainly the most-honored auto writer in this country, maybe even the world. Someone had to be first, and in this case, she was the "one".

Kimes' body of work, found for decades in magazines, newspapers, especially in books and now through the Web, confirms that she was one of the best writers in her league, spending much of her professional life at the top of the ladder. Kimes had a visceral understanding of cars and drivers but also of the more "ordinary" people, like the marketers, engineers and assembly line workers who made cars possible and available to the masses. She quite literally "wrote the book" on the rare and expensive European and American classics, and her "Standard Catalogers" and other books and articles are used as trusted reference material for many motor writers who came after Kimes (trust me ... I know ... Visits to the local library or the Detroit Public Library or private periodical collections are still necessary for true research into auto stories, even with the existence of Web).

Beverly Rae Kimes was born in West Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 17, 1939, and grew up in Wheaton, Ill. She earned two journalism degrees, a bachelor’s from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a master’s from Penn State.

A stickler for accuracy and detail, thoroughness and patience, with liberal doses of humor and insight, the exact qualities her job called for, Kimes  was a prolific researcher and writer known for such books as “The Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942” and “Packard: A History of the Motor Car and the Company.” Most recently, Beverly was the executive editor of the Classic Car Club of America, and had been a longtime editor of "Automobile Quarterly;" in fact, Kimes was that prestigious publication's first full-time employee.

She also had a longtime relationship with Mercedes-Benz, and in 1986 was commissioned to author and  produce the large, single volume commemorating the company's first 100 years in business, "The Star and The Laurel: The Centennial History of Daimler, Mercedes and Benz 1886-1986". The magnificent book became an instant automotive and publishing industry collectible. It featured over 850 photographs and details the technical developments and achievements in the history of the automotive industry first made by Daimler, Benz and Mercedes (the company's division which was named for the daughter of one of Daimler-Benz's first board members, Emil Jellinek, who also formed the company's first racing division and was the company's French distributor).

She also frequently contributed articles to "The Star," the magazine of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, itself one of the most-honored publications, with gorgeous, memorable prose and wonderful, warm photography dripping with Kodachrome color.

Click below for more on Beverly Rae Kimes, her life and profession.

WATCHES OWNED BY PAUL NEWMAN AND FERRARI'S PRESIDENT BRING OVER $2.3 MILLION AT AUCTION!

Most people who like cars also like airplanes ... and boats ... and trains ... and watches. Almost anything mechanical, in fact, attracts our attention.

Two motor racing-related wristwatches once owned by Paul Newman and a former president of Scuderia Ferrari (Ferrari's racing team) set records and sold for a total of $2,386,067 at the Geneva, Switzerland, auction on May 12th.

A large gold Patek Philippe chronograph watch which had belonged to Count Carlo Felice Trossi, an Italian Grand Prix-winning driver (what they used to call Formula 1) who became president of Scuderia Ferrari was bought for 2.345 million Swiss francs (current USD$2,219,297). This was the highest price ever reached for a wristwatch at Sotheby’s, according to the auction house. In a sale of almost 200 watches, the Patek Philippe knows as the “Trossi Leggenda” was definitely the star attraction. (Photos --- Above, the Trossi Leggenda which sold at auction for over $2.2 million, in front of a photo of a young Carlo Trossi; Below, a version of the Rolex Paul Newman Oyster Daytona which brought over $166,000 at the same event).

At  the same event, a gold Rolex Cosmograph Oyster Daytona, made around 1980, known as the  "Oyster Daytona Paul Newman," named both after the Florida race track and for the American actor who (perhaps unknowingly) made the style famous, netted 157,000 francs (current USD$166,770), compared to its pre-sale estimate of less than half that amount.

It's important to note that the there was never an official "Paul Newman" watch from Rolex until these were produced by the company after 1980 --- The Rolex Oyster Daytona models which came before are known as "Paul Newman-types".

Geoffery Ader, head of watches at Sotheby’s told a news conference that the watch was one of “great symbolic and historic importance as it came out in 1932, a turning point which also saw car racing and the emergence of airplanes".

Count Carlo Felice Trossi was a wealthy, handsome Piedmontese nobleman who was enormously rich from his family's banking and landholdings and was a serious lover of automobiles and racing. His ancestral castle at Caglianico, near Biella, had a racing shop, entered by a drawbridge, where the Count often joined his small retinue of mechanics to work on his cars, always wearing a pair of white linen gloves.

Trossi was one of that small group of European aristocrats whose daily lives were so far removed from reality that even WWII failed to take them away from their "hobbies." (Photo --- Trossi Roadster version of Mercedes SSK currently in the Ralph Lauren collection).

Enzo Ferrari, an engine mechanic and race car engineer, started the Scuderia as a private Grand Prix team which campaigned race cars for Alfa-Romeo. Carlo Trossi, an early investor in the team, replaced Augosto Caniato as the president of record for Scuderia Ferrari in 1932 at the ripe age of 23; but the title was purely honorary, as Enzo Ferrari ran the operation and Trossi acted as Ferrari's personal ATM, the young company's main source for funding and as a backup driver. Trossi died from a brain tumor at only 41 years of age.

For much more information and many more photos concerning Trossi, Newman and Ferrari and their fantastic cars, click below.

BLING! MOST-EXPENSIVE ROLLS-ROYCE EVER SOLD AND $200,000 JEWELED "FLYING LADY" MASCOT KEEP COMPANY'S IMAGE ALIVE

Time for a quick look at some  recent Rolls-Royce news which some readers may have missed.

First, Rolls' famed mascot, known both as the Spirit of Ecstasy and/or The Flying Lady, has taken on some bling in this era of hip-hop, all good and subtle taste be damned. It's a one-of-a-kind diamond version of the Rolls-Royce mascot designed by Manhattan jeweler Jean Kemanjian and is exclusive to New York City's Manhattan Motorcars. Called "The Spirit of Ecstasy," it measures 4"h x 2"w and consists of mostly diamonds and platinum, plus a few other rare metals. Valued at $200,000. We wonder if Kemanjian's Flying Lady will fit into the "bomb shelter" which the mascot on the latest Rolls' lowers into when the driver so desires, or if that part of the new Phantom's massive grillwork also has to be somehow reworked, though from the photo it looks like it'll fit nicely. (Photos --- Above, The $200,000 jewel-encrusted Spirit of Ecstasy; Below, the fourth-ever Rolls-Royce built sold for almost $7 million at a recent London auction).

When it comes to headlines like these: "Oldest Rolls sells for record sum; The car is in perfect running   condition, says (UK auction house) Bonhams," we're always more than a bit suspicious. There are, admittedly, a huge percentage of all the Rolls-Royce machines ever built still in existence and operated on daily basis; some say this figure is as high as 75%. Many of these vehicles are owned privately, many by museums, some are owned by various groups, clubs, trusts and other kinds of organizations. Because there are so many cars and so many owners (and so many restorations), and with the cars being scattered throughout the world, whenever a Roller sells for a big price at auction, some smart headline writer or newspaper editor (or Rolls PR person) will find some reason for that particular car to have set some sort of "world record."

For more on the original 1907 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost and the 1904 machine which sold at auction for almost $7 million, click below.

SIMON COWELL BUYS BUGATTI VEYRON, ROLLER DROPHEAD COUPE, MCLAREN SLR TO ADD TO HIS COLLECTION

Rolls-Royce has calculated that there are 85,400 people in the world who have the necessary disposable income to buy their cars. The company-aims to do business with 1 per cent of them every year. Simon Cowell already had one (or two) but a few weekends ago in Los Angeles bought one of the first Roller Phantom Drophead Coupes ... and a Bugatti Veyron. (Photo --- Cowell and girlfriend Terri Seymour in a Bugatti Veyron, perhaps a "test-drive loaner;" Cowell took home an all-black model).

American Idol's Simon Cowell, 49, the (creator/producer/) judge on that FOX-TV smash hit which viewers most love to hate, did what untold millions of other transplanted Southern Californians have done before --- Hit a few car lots, kicked a few tires and considered making a purchase or two, perhaps wanting to bring something special home for the girlfriend, so she can make a run to the market when their stock of eggs dwindles.

When his weekend shopping jaunt was over (he had some spare time to shop because the Rugby World Cup precluded taping of his UK TV show, X Factor), the garage at Cowell's a-building Beverly Hills manse was populated by two new models (of cars, that is, not fashion): A Bugatti Veyron and a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe. Cowell dropped somewhere well north of $2 million (with factory options) for the two engines, eight wheels, AM radios and all else which comes with these machines (the ego boost alone has got to be phenomenal ... and worth it).

He's got the cash; no one need hold a benefit dinner for The Young Mr. Cowell. More than two years ago, Cowell signed a "golden handcuffs" deal worth £20 million-a-year (currently USD$39,037,284) with the UK's ITV, making him the highest paid British TV star of all time (quick, name two other highly-paid UK TV stars ... Ha ha! Got you on that one!). (Photo --- Last week, for Mother's Day in Los Angeles, Simon Cowell took his mom to the star-heavy Ivy restaurant on Robertson Boulevard in West Hollywood, which is directly across the street from a business office which we've frequented for many years ... So I can attest that the street is always a 'scene', with star-sightings as guaranteed as anywhere in La-La Land. And Cedars-Sinai Hospital is barely 100 yards around the corner from the famed eatery, which is where celebrities have their kids; they die of old age at St. John's in Santa Monica. Anyway, Cowell and Mum enjoyed arriving in son's black custom-built Rolls-Royce Phantom Limousine, purchased near New Year's, 2008, and equipped with that most showbizzy of optional extras - mirrored privacy glass).

Turns out that Cowell already had quite an auto collection. Cowell's is not in the "Jay Leno mode," that is,   a grouping of classics and collectibles kept in a plain-Jane industrial area near the Burbank (CA) Airport. Leno visits "his garage" almost every day, sometimes twice a day, tuning and working on the cars and motorcycles himself aided by a small crew; no, Cowell's collection is probably more closely-related to what the average Car Nut would purchase if they found themselves on the winning end of the Super Lotto. They're generally stock from the factory, they're new, they have warranties and Cowell doesn't have to employ a full-time gang of wrenches to do upkeep on the the fleet.

He says, "I've got lots of nice cars... six, in fact. It's completely over the top! I absolutely love them. I could have 100 cars and I'd still want more. I love staring at them. I love driving them too. I've got two Rolls-Royce Phantoms, a Range Rover, a Jaguar XKR, an Aston Martin DB9 convertible and a very hot Mini Cooper which I drive more than anything else."

In addition to the newly-acquired Veyron and Roller, Cowell has recently taken-delivery on one of the last of a small run of McLaren SLR coupes, what many call "the ultimate Mercedes-Benz sports car". The USD$683,052 McLaren, as all of Cowell's cars, has instant credibility, inherent high value and immediate cachet. This is not only because of their low production numbers which translates into exclusivity, but also their celebrity connection. In fact, in years to come, Cowell's stable will do very well either at auction or in private sales because the cars are so stock ... We'd expect that all the numbers will "match". (Photo --- Cowell in the Veyron which he now calls his own; fewer than 200 of the cars have been built since production began in 2005).

The style and comfort of the Bugatti Veyron coupe deserves a whooping price-tag. Built by Volkswagen, the car comes with more than 1,000 horsepower being produced by its 16-cylinder engine and a top speed of 253.81 mph (408.47 km/h). The Bugatti concept car at the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show actually had 18 cylinders. Cowell's Bugatti Veyron is truly a stud car. With an excess of 1,000 horsepower, the Veyron - built by Volkswagen, which also owns the Bentley, Audi and Lamborghini car brands - has a top speed of 253.81 mph (408.47 km/h). The car lists for $1,480,584 in US dollars.

For much more on Simon Cowell and his cars, click below!

FORD PLANS FLEX TO SELL 100,000 FIRST YEAR; FORD OF CHINA INTRODUCES NEW RACE CAR FOR CCC SERIES

Let's take a bit of a "time-out" from the (some say) imminent failure of corporate America to be able to keep even the Detroit Three in business, and look at some good news for a change! Ford introduced their all-new Flex as the Fairlane concept in 2005 ... And to be honest, we were not big fans of it at first. Gone from the production Flex are the concept's suicide doors, and the interior's instrument panel has, of necessity, been "calmed-down" quite a bit. It will have the Sync system standard, that new-fangled system which coordinates your no-hands phones (remember, this July 1st it's the LAW in California, cell phone users!), MP3 players and almost anything else which goes "beep!" every once in awhile, for no particular reason. Ford says the Sync system has done its job in bringing to Ford showrooms first-time buyers, current import-owners and, in general, a much younger crowd than you might expect to find hanging-around in the local Ford store. (Photos --- Above, Ford's betting that their 2009 Flex CUV will come out the chute selling 100,000 units in its first year, Center, Ford's 2005 Fairlane concept which begot the Flex, Below, The real thing from Ford, the production Flex).

More good Ford news ... Most people know that China, with its one billion people, is the focus of almost every major player in the world car-producing market. And India is next on the list. But we're here to bear witness to the fact that motor racing is alive-and-well in China, and Ford's Focus race car is being campaigned in the "CCC series" for 2008; Ford won the series in 2007. And while we're telling you about China, we ought to mention that China should take it's filthy hands off Tibet, honor and respect the Dalai Lama and hold meetings with him, and generally --- China needs to just back-off! Okay, got that out of our system ...Now onto Ford planning to sell 100,000 Flex crossovers in its first sales year.

Ford Motor Co. is looking to sell 100,000 units annually of the new Ford Flex crossover. The 100,000 threshold " absolutely" is possible for the 2009 Flex, said Jim Farley, Ford group vice president of marketing and communications. "That's what we're looking at production wise," Farley told reporters at a Las Vegas media event.

Click below to read more of the story and see more photos!

TOYOTA'S 2011 SPORTS CAR WILL HAVE SUBARU ENGINE

Get ready --- An all-new Toyota sports car will hit the US and the rest of the world in 2011, and it will have a Subaru "boxer" engine.

Was it really almost 22 years ago, 1986, that Toyota last offered a "real" front-engine, rear-drive sports car? Yes, it was, and I was one of about ten US journalists in Japan in 1985 who drove one of those first Supras on a race track owned by Yamaha in central Japan. The Supra, until that time, had been known as the "Celica Supra", but, given its own name to stand it well-apart from the sporty-yet-family-like "Celica" line, Supra became something of an instant classic. These days, an original Supra in good shape is one of the very few "collectible" Japanese cars from the modern era. (Photos --- Above, Toyota's FT-HS hybrid-powered concept shown at the most-recent Tokyo Motor Show might contain much of the same design cues which we'll find on the just-announced 2011 sports car, Below, Subaru's all-new Impreza WRX-STi was displayed at that same Tokyo show; Fuji Heavy Industries makes the Subaru brand).

To make the new sports car's development possible, Toyota is doubling its ownership stake in Fuji Heavy Industries (parent of Subaru). Fuji will also give up its development of the small, under-660cc "k-cars", which carry favorable tax incentives in Japan, relying on another Toyota partner, Daihatsu, to design and produce those popular small vehicles.

Daihatsu is one of the few Asian makes which did not succeed in the US. It wasn't, however, because of the quality of the cars; rather it was their pricing, which was quite a bit higher than any of the competition at the time. One of my favorite memories of being in Japan was being taken on a tour of a Daihatsu assembly plant in Osaka with a small group of motoring journalists. On the line in front of us we watched as three very different vehicles were being assembled, including two vehicles bound for Europe and one of the Japanese home market. As we watched in some open-mouthed amazement as each robot and each worker appeared to be putting each piece on at the right place at the right time. The fellow standing next to me, editor of a large Detroit-based auto industry publication which name you'd recognize instantly (and not one of the Crain magazines), muttered to no one in particular, but loud enough so we could all hear, "They can't be doing this. This (assembling such very different cars, vans and wagons on the same line) can not be done". I don't know if he thought the gathered Toyota executives were staging a very expensive charade for us all, not that I would not put that beyond them, but, yes, it was being done. But it was being done in Osaka, not Detroit. (Photo --- Daihatsu HSC concept at the October, 2007 Tokyo Motor Show; Daihatsu is taking-over under-660cc car design and production duties from Fuji Heavy, according to this Japanese new mega-deal).

By the way, "Charade" was the name of one of the cars Daihatsu tried to sell in the US during that somewhat abortive attempt in the late-'80s. When I asked one of the company's vice-presidents (a very Japanese fellow who wanted to be called, and I am not kidding, "Elvis") why they choose a name for a car which could easily be taken to mean a "farce" or a "mirage" (no, wait, that's a Mitsubishi), he said to me, in English, in a way which made me feel that he was proud of what he was about to say, "Our president is a very big Audrey Hepburn fan!" Oh, okay. I get it. The movie named "Charade", with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant! Good movie, good car, as it turned out, too. But a loser in the US. (Photo --- Lexus exhibited the latest version of their "LF-A" supercar at the Tokyo show, the much talked-about NSX-fighter; Will the Toyota/Subaru 2011 sports car look more like this than the Toyota concept seen above?).

Toyota's long-anticipated sports car will arrive in 2011. It will be jointly developed with Subaru and boast a boxer engine. The compact, rear-wheel-drive " affordable" car will be built at a new Japanese plant to be set up by Fuji Heavy Industries, parent of the Subaru brand. Each company will market the car separately and badge it as its own. The model is part of a sweeping expansion of the tie-up between the Japanese companies.

Click below to read more and for more photos!

Steve Parker's "Tokyo Motor Adventure; 2008 Wild & Wacky Vehicles"

Steve Parker's "Tokyo Motor Adventure, Wild & Wacky Vehicles 2008".

A fun collection of photos from the Tokyo Motor Show, available to share with friends, download and enjoy! 

HAMILTON IS TOLD: WIN THE TITLE, GET A CAR --- A MCLAREN F1 LM CAR, THAT IS

Ron Dennis, well-known and highly-regarded principal of McLaren Mercedes Formula 1, has promised his second-year driver, one Lewis Hamilton, that if Hamilton wins this year's F1 World Championship of Driving title, and, between himself and McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen, the two bring the F1 2008 Constructor's Title to the team, Hamilton will "win" one of only five McLaren F1 LM models, a bright orange job which Hamilton has apparently had his eyes on since first seeing the car in the McLaren factory in 1998, when he was but 13 years of age. No word, at least so far, on what Dennis has promised Kovalainen if these wins take place. How can Dennis make such a promise in the first place? Because he owns a minimum of 15% of McLaren Mercedes F1 ... Wonder how much of his 15% paid that nasty $100 million fine to the FIA last year?

Doubters should remember that McLaren, deeply involved in an F1 spy scandal worthy of James Bond, forfeited all their Constructor's Title points at the end of last season, and paid a $100 million fine (though one must wonder how close to reality that $100 million figure really is). All things being equal, if Hamilton had won the Driving title last year, McLaren might have won the Constructor's Title ... But perhaps Hamilton will be glad if he, his teammate and the team can own all the glory they win this season ... Because that'll mean he'll win his beloved McLaren F1 LM (though it's a little garish for our tastes).

Lewis Hamilton is the current and incumbent (so far this season) F1 l'enfant terrible; at least the other drivers on the F1 Circus must think he is the "wild child" of the moment, if not a magic child. He seems to have a more-than-winning way with the media, and his rookie-type errors, one of which cost him last year's World title, seemed to have appropriately humbled him, at least in front of the public. Hamilton missed-out on winning the 2007 World Driving Championship by one point ... in his rookie year in the sport, at that!

So far this season, Hamilton won the pole and the race in F1's first event of the year, in Melbourne, Land of Oz, then in Malaysia, the season's second race, he started ninth and finished fifth, while his nemesis from last season, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, started second, but finished first. That Raikkonen is the one and the same who aced Hamilton out of the series driving title in 2007 by a mere point.

But this posting is about the promise from Ron Dennis, with whom Hamilton has had a written and signed contract since 1996, when he was but 11 (Hamilton is positively reaching elder status at this point in his career, pushing as he is 22, turning 23 on July 1, 2008). Hamilton was only 13 when he's said to have fallen in love with this bright orange McLaren F1 LM supercar sitting on display at the factory in Woking, UK, not too far from Heathrow Airport.

The McLaren F1 was the fastest street-legal production car in the world from 1994 to 2005, the longest for  any street legal or production car in history. Engineered and produced by McLaren, the car features a 6.1-litre 60° BMW S70 V12 engine and was what its designers hoped would be the ultimate road car, at least for a somewhat lengthy period of time. Only 100 cars were manufactured, 64 of those were street versions, 5 were LMs, 2 were GTs and the rest were GTR racing models. Production began in 1992 and ended in 1998.

The F1 LM is estimated today to be worth around $4 million; a proud owner of one was the late Beatle, George Harrison. You might remember photos showing Harrison sitting in the center-front-mounted driver's seat, with one passenger behind and above the driver to each side. (Photo --- All 5 of the road-going McLaren F1 LM models, with the "24 Hours of LeMans" race-winner at the upper-right in the familiar "Gulf" colors).

Only five McLaren F1 LM models (LM for LeMans) were built in honor of the five McLaren F1 GTRs which won the 1994 24 Hours of LeMans.

The weight was reduced by approximately 165 pounds over that of original car, through the removal of various trim pieces and the use of optional equipment. The car also had a different transaxle, various aero modifications, specially-designed 18-inch magnesium alloy wheels and an upgraded, lightened gearbox. The F1 LM also used the same engine as the 1995 F1 GTR, however, without race-mandated restrictors to produce 680 hp. It had a top speed of 225 mph, which is less than the standard version due to added aerodynamic drag, despite identical gear ratios. The "thinner" LM, with its "added lightness," is achieved through having no interior noise suppression, no audio system, a very stripped-down base interior, no fan assisted ground effect and no dynamic rear wing. In the place of the small dynamic rear wing there is a considerably larger, fixed CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic) rear wing mounted on the back of the vehicle. The fact that the idle noise level inside the car is loud enough to prevent verbal communication is the reason that the car comes with a headset, which features ear protection and a means of communication through microphone, for the occupants. The conventional instruments are replaced with a LED implementation which features more information than the former type (though the "former type," whatever it was, was probably pretty accurate and cool, too).