According to a recent report in Japan’s Best Car magazine, Lexus is planning a sport version of its flagship LS sedan. The LS460 SZ, as it is to be called, will get a stylish new aero kit with a new front and rear bumper, new side skirts and a dark black chrome grille.

The SZ badge, rather than an “F” badge indicates that this is not a high performance model, so don’t look for any big power upgrades. Still, drivers are sure to appreciate an upgraded Brembo braking system and a new set of BBS wheels.

According to 4WheelsNews the price works out to $94,425, but Lexus hasn’t officially admitted the LS460 SZ is coming.

[Source: 4WheelsNews]

Subaru of America is looking to set a Guinness World Record for the largest parade of Subys… er, Subies… um, Barus? And its reaching out to fanatical, AWD, boxer engine owners to help.

Subaru and the Subaru Great Lakes Region is asking owners from all over the country to meet on July 11 at 500 Park Boulevard in Itasca, Illinois.

The parade coincides with Itasca Fest, an annual fun for the whole family event that includes live entertainment, carnival rides and kids games.

Participants will receive a gift bag (one per car) and Subaru’s Great Lakes Region will donate $15 per car (to a maximum of $7,000) to PAWS Chicago and Salute, Inc. And knowing how fanatical Subaru owners are, they should probably just write the $7,000 check now.

Any Subaru owners interested in participating are asked to register here:

Subaru Parade

[Photo Credit: PicassaWeb]

Official release after the jump:

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While GM has reached a deal with Penske to sell off its Saturn brand, the future for dealers is anything but certain and Korean automaker Kia is hoping to capitalize on that.

Kia dealerships are often in either rural areas or less popular urban areas because land in high-traffic and densely populated urban areas is just too expensive. With both GM and Chrysler eliminating dealerships in urban areas, Kia intends to take advantage of this opportunity and make a big push. And with many well-appointed and nicely designed Saturn dealers conveniently located in those higher traffic areas, Kia hopes to convince Saturn retailers into switching to the Kia line.

In an interview with Automotive News, Kia executives said that the fact the Saturn dealerships are new and ideally-located is important, but the main factor is their availability.

Kia is targeting Saturn dealers in three main ways. First, it is looking to buy Saturn dealerships that are closing or closed and convert them to Kia dealerships. Second, it is seeing if any operational Saturn dealerships are interested in switching to Kia. And third, Kia is seeing if Saturn dealers who aren’t interested in the first two are interested in opening up a separate Kia franchise.

[Source: Automotive News via Autoblog]

When Ford launched it’s all-new retro-inspired Mustang in 2005, the car received plenty of improvements, but according to a recent report in Motor Trend it could have been even better. The chassis, the S197, was originally scheduled to have a fully-independent rear end which would have provided superior performance and comfort, but that plan was scrapped late in development so Ford could save $100 a car.

When the car was first introduced in 2004 the automotive press (and enthusiasts)  almost assumed that Ford would do away with the live rear axle in favor of the more modern independent setup and when that never happened questions were asked. Back then we were all told that it would have cost Ford thousands to go this route.

Now, that story appears to be exaggerated. Originally the S197 chassis Mustang was supposed to get a fully-independent setup that was to be shared with the Ford Falcon in Australia. The problems with that setup stemmed from the very different purposes that both cars were designed for, with the Mustang needing just two seats and not much rear space, while the Falcon needed three seats and usable passenger room. Eventually the engineering teams in both Australia and the U.S. came up with their own separate designs.

That U.S. plan for an independent rear-end was, however, scrapped when project boss Phil Martens convinced Ford execs that the company could save $100 per car if they went with a solid rear axle. And so the retro looking Stang got a genuinely old school piece of equipment out back.

The Motor Trend report also points out the eventual irony of the decision to stick with old technology, claiming that it actually ended up costing Ford $98 extra per vehicle due to all the engineering required to make the setup livable by modern standards.

[Source: MotorTrend]

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Top Gear kicked off a new season in the U.K. with two big stunts. For starters, it revealed that The Stig is none other than Michael Schumacher.

More amazingly, however, the seven-time Formula 1 World Champion piloted his very own black Ferrari FXX  around the Top Gear test track completely obliterating the previous record held by the Gumpert Apollo. The Gumpert’s best lap was an incredible 1:17, while the 800hp 6.3-liter V12 FXX crossed the line in just 1:10. As it’s not street-legal, however, we wouldn’t exactly call this matchup a fair fight.

MINI has recently rejuvenated its product lineup, launching second-generation versions of its most popular models, while introducing the Clubman. Sales have been good, despite the poor economy, and so MINI will be expanding its U.S. dealership network significantly in order to keep up with the demand that is expected to increase further still.

In total, MINI will increase its number of dealerships by 17 for a total of 100. Those numbers may not sound like much, but it is a significant 20 percent increase.

The new dealerships will go up over the next 18 months and are schedule to be built in areas that do not currently have a MINI dealer. The first new dealer to open will be MINI of Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama.

“We are pleased to be in a position to dramatically increase our U.S. dealerships,” said MINI USA Vice President Jim McDowell at a meeting in New York. “I have often said that the world is becoming more MINI every day, and I believe that that sentiment is true, now more than ever, as consumer tastes shift decidedly to cars that offer tremendous value. Our cars are not only fuel efficient, and offer great value, but they also provide a fun and dynamic motoring experience and are packed with personality.”

McDowell also said that starting in 2011, MINI expects to begin posting a percentage sales growth in the double-digit range. Last year the brand moved 54,077 units.

And while the expansion of the MINI network to new regions will be a part of the growth, it will also be assisted by new models. MINI does plan to bring a crossover to market in the near future, and there have been persistent rumors of a small city car (possibly electric) and either a sportscar or ‘GTI’ model.

Follow the jump for a full list of all the new MINI retailer locations:

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The Corvettes, Porsches and Vipers that compete in the SPEED World Challenge GT series are about to get some serious competition from a serious car – the Mercedes McLaren SLR 722 GT. The car was homolgated to World Challenge specs by The Racers Group (TRG) and our sources at the series tell us it will first see competition at the Autobahn County Club outside Chicago on July 24-26th.

Designed specifically to run it a spec series in Europe, the 722 GT is powered by a modified version of the supercharged 5.5-liter V8 and makes 680hp and 612 ft-lbs of torque. It also only weighs 3,200 lbs, meaning it can accelerate to 60 mph in just 3.3 seconds. Thanks to some serious aerodynamics and a significantly lowered ride height, the 722 GT is also capable of hitting 2 Gs in the corners.

No doubt the SCCA (the governing body for World Challenge) will level the playing field, forcing the SLR to either add weight or reduce horsepower… or probably both.

TRG Motorsports should still put on quite a show with the SLR as the team has plenty of racing experience, running cars in the Grand-Am Koni Challenge as well as in the Grand-Am Rolex Series. In 2005 and 2006 TRG competed with a Pontiac GTO.R team in the Grand-Am Rolex Series GT class, and has since been involved with a two-car Porsche effort in the GT Class.

See the Speed World Challenge series website for more info:

http://www.world-challenge.com/

Follow the jump for all the specs on the McLaren SLR 722 GT

[Source: TheRacersGroup]

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One of the last things Shoichiro Toyoda did as honorary chairman at Toyota Motor Corp., was to assemble all of the company’s executives and give them a tongue lashing. Toyoda even called out president Katsuaki Watanabe and blamed him, as well as those other executives in charge of the Japanese automaker, for leaving behind the company’s long-standing business practices to chase the quick-buck. He said they followed the lead of now-bankrupt automakers like GM and Chrysler, a path that has put the company in a serious financial bind.

While Toyota has posted significant profits for years, last year it posted a $4.5 billion loss and expects to lose even more ($5.7 billion) next year.

Toyota has always been known for building economical cars and for using a business practice called kaizen, where small improvements are constantly made to improve products and production. It is expected that Akio Toyoda (pictured above), the new Toyota president and grandson to the company’s founder, will once again begin to return the company to an economically-minded, slow growth corporation. Akio will officially take over the Toyota helm tomorrow.

Industry experts also believe that in order for Toyota to stay on top it must not only move away from luxury cars and large trucks, but it must also look outside the United States develop vehicles for emerging markets.

[Source: Bloomberg]

Contrary to recent reports that the Vibe would be the sole Pontiac model to continue on into 2010, General Motors has now decided to end production of the utilitarian vehicle early. Production of the Vibe at the GM/Toyota joint-venture New United Motor Manufacturing Incorporated (NUMMI) facility will end this August.

Several weeks ago GM’s interim CEO Fritz Henderson stated that the G8 would not continue on past 2009, while other reports highlighted the elimination of the G3 and G5. The G6 will be offered to rental, corporate and government fleets.

There is no official word on when the Solstice, but it is also expected to be phased-out this year as GM seems dedicated to eliminating the Pontiac brand before 2010 even gets started.

GM continues to reiterate that it wants to work with Toyota to develop another shared platform at the NUMMI facility. Toyota may, however, have its hands full with the upcoming Toyota-Subaru project.

[Source: Edmunds]

A U.S. government initiative that would see low-interest loans granted to automakers who build environmentally-friendly cars in the U.S. appears to have one taker – Nissan. The Japanese automaker will spend anywhere from $500 million to $1 billion to update its Smyrna, Tennessee plant to build a green car and produce lithium-ion batteries.

While no specifics have been given the environmentally-friendly car is expected to be an electric vehicle based on an existing Nissan small-car platform. That leaves either the Versa or the new third-generation Cube. Nissan is currently testing an electric powertrain in a second generation Cube.

The Smyrna, Tennessee plant will be able to produce anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 of the electric vehicles annually by 2012. Nissan will begin electric car production in Japan in late 2010, with an expected annual production of 50,000 units.

[Source: Reuters]