Recent patent filings from BMW may have uncovered the name of the upcoming crossover belonging to the German automaker’s MINI brand. Speculation previously had the model named the Crossman, a clever play on the fact that it’s a crossover and that the latest MINI model is called the Clubman. The name BMW has registered for, however, is the Countryman.

Little is known about the Countryman, although it has been spied several times testing in both Europe and California, where two different models were spotted driving together in the desert. Due to the different front-ends on both of the tiny SUVs, it’s likely one was sporting a turbocharged motor, in keeping with the MINI product line of offering a base “Cooper” model and then a more powerful “S” model.

Whether MINI will risk selling a high-performance John Cooper works version of the Countryman remains to be seen.

The MINI Countryman is expected to debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show this September.

[Source: GermanCarZone]

Yesterday we urged GM CEO Fritz Henderson to sit down with his new Vice Chairman Bob Lutz to get their stories about the future of the Pontiac G8 straight. Now they have, and the news isn’t good.

Bob Lutz posted on GM’s corporate Fastlane Blog that the G8 will not live on as the Chevrolet Caprice. In fact, it won’t live on at all. “The G8 will not be a Caprice after all. I’d mentioned it, and said we were studying it, giving it a serious look, because a car like the G8 was just too good to waste,” wrote Lutz, who continued; “But I have to say that, with my new ‘marketing’ hat on, upon further review and careful study, we simply cannot make a business case for such a program. Not in today’s market, in this economy, and with fuel regulations what they are and will be.”

Lutz then expressed his personal disappointment, but said there was just no way to make the car happen and that the company’s resources had to be placed elsewhere.

He then tried to reassure rear-wheel drive, performance enthusiasts saying that, “in no way does this mean we are backing away from performance, or backing away from rear-wheel drive.” He applauded the Holden team in Australia and said that he would like to look to their products to bring another RWD vehicle over in the future, but not now.

Sadly, the G8 will bow out after a short stay in the North American marketplace, an emotional product that fell victim to “further review and careful study.”

How about an apology for getting our hopes up Bob?

[Source: GM Fastlane Blog]

Audi has just officially released full details and plenty of photos on their new A5 Sportback model and unfortunately the German automaker has no plans to bring the surprisingly great looking model to North America.

This hatchback version of the A5 (currently available in both Coupe and Cabriolet form) is a unique vehicle and Audi is expanding on the recently popular four-door coupe idea, delivering the A5 Sportback as a five-door (hatchback) coupe. And it seems to work, due in part to the short overhangs, long wheelbase, wide track, frameless doors. The car even sits 1.42-inches lower than the A4 Sedan and when equipped with optional 19-inch wheels looks seriously sporty.

The A5 Sportback is also a four-seater.

Five engine’s will be offered including three diesels and two gasoline powerplants. The diesels include the 2.0 TDI with 170 and 258 ft-lbs of torque, the 2.7 TDI with 190hp and 295 ft-lbs of torque and a 3.0-liter V6 TDI with 240hp and a massive 369 ft-lbs of torque. The gasoline engines are, as expected, the 2.0 TFSI engine making 211hp and 258 ft-lbs of torque and the 3.2-liter V6 with 265hp.

Cargo space is 17 cubic feet in the rear hatch, which expands to 34.61 cu.-ft. with the rear seats folded flat.

Pricing ranges from 36,050 euros for the 2.0 TDI with 6-speed manual transmission to 47,950 euros for the 3.0 TDI quattro with 7-speed S-tronic.

The A5 Sportback goes on sale this September.

GALLERY: 2010 Audi A5 Sportback

Full details and specifications after the jump:

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According to a just-released German police report, a driver died at a Volkswagen test track earlier this week. The man’s name was not released, but the report did say that we was a 42-year-old Brazilian. The accident occurred at VW’s Ehra-Lessien test track near the German automaker’s head offices in Wolfsburg. The track is an extensive facility with many different areas and 60 miles of paved roads, and is the location where Volkswagen’s Bugatti division recorded a top speed run of 253 mph in the Veyron supercar (pictured above).

According to the German police the unnamed test driver lost control of his vehicle during a sudden downpour. He managed to stop it without incident but was then hit by another out-of-control vehicle on the same track. The impact trapped the driver and he succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The other driver, a 27-year-old, was taken to Wolfsburg hospital with serious injuries.

The German police and Volkswagen officials are investigating the incident.

[Source: Manufacturing.net]

Thanks to CaliberForums member ResumeSpeed we have this grainy photo of what is reported to be the interior of the 2010 Dodge Caliber. Along with that photo came a list of upgrades being made to the sub-compact’s interior in an effort to improve the overall look and feel of the cockpit.

As the photo shows, the upper instrument panel has been restyled, along with the doors, which now feature soft-touch armrests with vinyl on the top portion. The center console armrest also gets a soft-touch coating.

Other upgrades include electronic (rather than cable) temperature controls that can access an improved air conditioning system. As well, the handle for the reclining seat has been lengthened and the seat track covers have been improved.

Dodge is no doubt hoping the improved interior of the Caliber will help make it a more attractive option in an ultra-competitive segment where the vehicle has never really captured the interest of buyers.

[Source: CaliberForums]

Perhaps General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson and his newly appointed Vice Chairman Bob Lutz should sit down, have a talk and get their stories straight.

After consistently saying that the Pontiac G8 would be eliminated with the rest of the Pontiac brand, it seemed as though Henderson had a change of heart after his newly appointed Vice Chair and product boss Lutz proudly proclaimed that the G8 would live on as a Chevrolet Caprice. Calling it “too good to waste” Lutz said the rebadged G8 would be available for consumers and as a special model for police departments.

Now, according to an Autoblog interview with Henderson , it seems only the latter is true. “We’ve been looking at it for police applications. As for whether or not it’s broader than police applications, I am not a believer in re-branding and re-badging. We’ve been talking about in terms of potential police applications and we’ll leave it at that.”

So there you have it… the official word on the future of the Pontiac G8… at least until Lutz opens his mouth next.

For a company that recently emerged from bankruptcy and that is trying to promote confidence in its leadership, General Motors certainly isn’t doing a very convincing job.

[Source: Autoblog]

Lotus CEO Mike Kimberley has announced his retirement as the head of the U.K. based sports car maker due to medical reasons. The 70-year-0ld Kimberley has been suffering from severe back pain, underwent surgery in 2008 and has now been advised by his doctors to resign his position.

“Sadly, it is on doctor’s orders that I am stepping down but I will leave confident that Lotus is in great shape with a strong management team fully supported by our shareholder in Malaysia,” Kimberley said in a statement. “It’ll be very hard to leave knowing that there are such exciting times ahead but I’ll take with me many very happy memories. I want to extend my thanks to the company’s shareholder for their unfailing support, my management team and the wonderful staff both at Hethel and at our various operational locations throughout the world. Most of all I want to thank our Lotus customers and loyal fans worldwide for their support over the years.”

Kimberley started his career with Jaguar in 1953 and has since worked in the automotive industry for 56 years. He joined Lotus in 1969, leaving in 1992 to pursue other opportunities with companies like General Motors and Lamborghini, before returning to Lotus in 2006.

Since then Kimberley has over seen the production of the Evora, as well as the expansion of Lotus Engineering, a world renowned high-tech engineering firm.

Kimberley will officially retire on tomorrow, July 17th.

Official release after the jump:

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Each year J.D. Power & Associates does a study that examines the most appealing cars to consumers and this year there is one big surprise. The Hyundai Genesis sedan topped the BMW 5 Series and Jaguar XF in the mid-sized luxury segment for the 2009 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study.

The APEAL Study is based off of owner evaluations of over 80,900 new car consumers from February to May 2009 and takes into account over 90 factors and generally evaluates how those buyers or leasers feel about their car new car.

Other winners include the VW Passat in the Mid-sized car segment, the Nissan Maxima in the Large Car segment, the Honda Odyssey in the Minivan Segment, a tie between the Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Avalanche in the Pickup Truck segment and the Smart fortwo in the Sub-compact Car segment. And on that note, we urge you to take the list with a grain of salt, as the Smart beat out cars like the Honda Fit.

In terms of manufacturers, Porsche topped the list for the fifth consecutive year, while domestic brands like Dodge, Pontiac, Buick and Cadillac showed the most improvement. As a manufacturer Cadillac placed third overall.

Overall, scores for 2009 improved over 2008, due mostly to improvements in the fuel-economy segment. J.D. Power lists three contributing factors to this increase: improved fuel-economy of the vehicles; an increase in ownership of fuel-efficient cars, with over 50 percent (as compared to 39 percent in 2008) of the surveyed vehicles powered by four-cylinder engines; and a drop in fuel prices that has also meant consumers are less interested in fuel economy.

One other trend that has emerged is the increasing appeal of domestic brands, as they ranked, on average, just five points below import brands. This compares to a difference of 15 points last year and 27 points in 2007.

GALLERY: J.D. Power 2009 APEAL Study

Official release:

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Several weeks ago we reported that Subaru of America was looking to set a Guinness World Record for the longest parade of Subarus and over the weekend they achieved that goal. Organized by Subaru of America’s Great Lakes Region and the Village of Itasca, Illinois, the chain of Subys stretched a total of 339 cars.

Yup, that’s a lot of turbocharged boxer engines and a total of 1,356 all-wheel drive wheels.

For achieving their goal, as promised, Subaru’s Great Lakes Region made a donation of $3,500 each to PAWS Chicago and Salute, Inc.

See the official Guinness posting below:

http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_The-largest-parade-of-Subaru-cars/blog/432363/7691.html

[Photo Credit: Drive Magazine]

Official release after the jump:

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Last year Chevrolet announced that it would retire its GT1 Corvette Racing team after dominating the class for close to a decade. In its place Chevy would run a lower-level GT2 team in a class that has become increasingly competitive.

This year the GT1s still ran in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) during the season opener at Sebring and then at Long Beach before heading off to France to compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. There the team did Corvette Racing justice, taking the top spot on the podium in the last race the GT1 C6Rs would ever see. It also marked an astounding six class wins at Le Mans for Corvette Racing.

Now Corvette Racing has announced plans to return to the series on August 6th at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Two cars will take to the field to battle it out with Ferraris, Porsches and Vipers. Both cars will be piloted by familiar drivers, with Johnny O’Connell and Jan Magnussen forming one team and Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin forming the other.

“For several years now, the competition in GT2 has been the closest and most competitive among all our classes,” said ALMS CEO Scott Atherton. “With the news of Corvette Racing’s official entry into the category at Mid-Ohio, the class quite possibly becomes the most diverse and competitive ever. It also serves as another example of the continued growth and success of the American Le Mans Series. Corvette never truly left, but it’s safe to say that they were missed by the countless participants at our Corvette Corrals and fans worldwide. We would like to be the first to officially say, ‘Welcome back!’”

The two car Corvette Racing GT2 team will race for the first time at Mid-Ohio from August 6-8th.

[Source: American Le Mans Series]