Volkswagen has announced that as the result of recent talks in its “step towards an integrated automotive group with Porsche” (aka, takeover) it will begin by taking a significant 49.9 percent share in the German sports car maker. The process will begin this year with a final merger occurring in 2011.

Volkswagen is expected to pay 3.9 billion Euros ($5.8 Billion) for the almost 50 percent stake. Pending shareholder approval, Volkswagen will offer preferred stock next year to raise the necessary capital.

In a statement VW said that it, “remains committed to the phased integration of the two companies and is preserving the independence and the interests of Porsche.”

Official release after the jump:

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Recently General Motors posted a video on YouTube teasing six-new Camaro stripe designs that will be on display at the 2009 SEMA Show. In the backdrop for the video there is also a rather wild looking pickup truck, which is believed to also be a special projected also headed to SEMA.

Reported to be called the Silverado Baja Off-Road, this pickup gets some serious restyling with a huge grille, flared fenders and a suspension lift. Presumably, the idea behind the truck is to build a conceptual competitor to the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, although the oversized wheels and low profile tires are a strange addition for an off-roader. Then again, this is SEMA.

Unless GM lets anything else slip out between now and November 3rd, we’ll have to wait for the truck’s reveal at the 2009 SEMA Show.

Check out the video after the jump:

[Source: GMI]

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Thanks to the folks at PickupTrucks.com we have our first glimpse at what the Brooks and Dunn Toyota Tundra SEMA Show truck will look like. Interestingly, the theme of the pickup isn’t so much country music, as it is the Hot Rod car craze. Built to look like a 1950s-style hot rod, the truck will get a wooden flatbed, black paint and the obligatory flames. It will also get a classic bench seat.

The vehicle is being built by motorcycle maker Sucker Punch Sallys and Fender Guitars and will feature a custom Sucker Punch Sally’s Triumph Thruxton straped down in the back. We’ll be sure to bring you plenty of pics when this retro truck debuts at SEMA on November 3rd.

See AutoGuide’s live SEMA Coverage here!

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

The lubricant experts at WD-40 and the SEMA Cares foundation have teamed up to build a wild Custom Camaro for the 2009 SEMA Show. After the show the one-off vehicle will be shipped to the Barrett-Jackson auction with proceeds going to benefit Childhelp and the Victory Junction Gang Camp.

Painted blue and yellow, the car will get a custom aero kit, interior, wheels and a SportsRyder Extreme coilover suspension. There are also plans for under the hood, where the 6.2-liter V8 will get a power increase from 426hp to 600!

Once unveiled, the custom Camaro will be digitized and appear in Nitto’s 1320 Legends online racing game.

We’ll be sure to bring bring you photos of the WD-40 SEMA Cares Camaro with AutoGuide’s live coverage of the SEMA Show starting November 3rd.

See AutoGuide’s live SEMA Coverage here!

Ever seen a Volkswagen with a little white Mac apple decal on the back? Of course you have. VWs and Macs go together like Beer and bratwurst. Volkswagen has decided to work with its fan base and launch the new 2010 GTI using Mac’s App Store, where you can now download a free racing video game featuring the new 2010 GTI.

As though that wasn’t already cooler than a Weezer t-shirt and some dark rimmed Emo glasses, Volkswagen will give away one special edition GTI each week for the next six weeks. Ever time you play the Real Racing GTI App you get the chance to win one of the custom cars, which feature black 18-inch wheels, a carbon-look interior trim, unique stitching on the headrests and a numbered plaque.

The Real Racing GTI App also lets competitors send message to other drivers via Twitter, as well as upload videos onto YouTube.

The game is offered for the iPhone and iPod touch and is free. Just visit the App Store on your phone of visit www.itunes.com/appstore.

And be sure to read our review of the 2010 GTI here:

2010 Volkswagen GTI First Drive

Official release after the jump:

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Speaking to reporters at the Tokyo Auto Show, Honda CEO Takanobu Ito suggested that when the time is right he would like to build a “green” sports car. The Japanese automaker faces two big hurdles first, however: a lack of cash as well as insufficient technology. “Once we have that technology and once we have cash on hand, I would like to see Honda have a sports car that symbolizes our technology,” he told Automotive News.

While Honda is set to launch the compact hybrid CR-Z sports car next year, this new car would be a range-topping vehicle with optimum performance and fuel economy. Honda is struggling in the technology department, however, with hybrid systems that are much less efficient than competing systems.

Ito made the comments just after Toyota drew back the covers on its 560-hp Lexus LFA supercar, which uses “old fashioned” internal combustion technology. Earlier in the month he told Reuters that big displacement engines are nostalgic and that the people who like them are, “stuck in the past.” Knowing full well at the time that Toyota was about to debut its new V10-powered flagship, Ito professed that, “The era of V10 engines is gone.”

Until last year, Honda was in development of a V10-powered replacement to the Acura NSX, but Honda canned the project due economic concerns. The concept car’s harsh reviews by the automotive press also, no doubt, had a hand in the vehicle’s demise.

[Source: Automotive News]

With Mercedes’ 6.2-liter V8 making as much as 518-hp in car’s like the S63, the same engine in the performance-oriented C63 makes “just” 451-hp. There are numerous reasons for this, but it does seem like those who pony-up for an AMG-spec C-Class are getting the shaft. In an attempt to remedy this Mercedes is now offering a “Performance Package Plus,” which pumps up output to 487-hp, just 13 shy of the C-Class DTM race car. Torque is rated at 442 ft-lbs.

Mercedes says this new package will help shave a tenth of a second off the car’s 0-62 mph time, bringing it down to 4.4 seconds.

The improvements were made thanks to the use of several parts from the Mercedes SLS, including forged pistons, con rods and a new lightweight crankshaft, combined with a new engine program. Mercedes says the lighter engine components also help to make the V8 more responsive.

Other modifications in the package include a carbon fiber rear spoiler, carbon ceramic brakes, a new AMG steering wheel and Alcantara seats (yummy!).

Mercedes will offer the Performance Package Plus on both the C63 sedan and wagon, but there is no word if the German automaker will bring this new kit to the U.S.

GALLERY: Mercedes C63 Performance Package Plus

Official results after the jump:

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No doubt if you’ve ever looked at a picture of Chevy’s upcoming, revolutionary plug-in hybrid, the car has been painted sliver. But “silver” isn’t exactly the sort of name that helps to sell a car or to properly brand it. And besides, there’s more to the paint than silver, as it has a bit of an electronic green glow about it.

So rather than paying some marketing company millions of dollars to come up with a title like “Electric Silver,” General Motors has decided to go the populist route and make a contest of it. GM is asking you to put your thinking ca on and dream up a creative name for the color and then to enter our idea at www.chevroletvoltage.com starting today. Submissions will be accepted until November 4th after which GM will pick three finalists. The top three names will then be posted online for a secondary vote between November 16 an d December 1st.

All three finalists will be flown to LA where the winner will be announced at an event prior to the LA Auto Show. The winner will also be one of the first people outside GM to drive a pre-production Volt.

Enter your contest details at www.chevroletvoltage.com and check out the Gallery below for inspiration:

GALLERY: Chevrolet Volt

Official release after the jump:

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With Mitsubishi’s Outlander crossover a relative behemoth in the compact crossover category, the company has announced plans to bring a smaller CUV to market. Like the Outlander, it will be based on the Lancers chassis and its design will follow along the lines of the Concet cX (above), that was first shown at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 2007.

Power will come from a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and the vehicle will be offered in both front and all-wheel drive.

In a rather confusing marketing move, the Japanese automaker has decided to keep the Outlander name for this new crossover, but add the title, “Sport.”

The Outlander Sport will go on sale in Japan in February with sales starting in North American in the Fall of 2010. The car’s official debut will happen the Geneva Auto Shwo this coming March.

[Source: Automotive News via Car & Driver]

Officially unveiled today at the Tokyo Auto Show, the first showing of the Lexus LFA supercar in North American will be at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The SEMA (Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association) Show, which runs from November 3rd to 7th is not a public event, however, and so the first public showing of the car will happen at the L.A. Auto Show in December.

After those venues Lexus plans to show the car in Detroit (at the North American International Auto Show), Chicago, Dallas and New York. For those who get the opportunity, it will be a rare one as Lexus has said it will build just 500 LFAs at a cost of $375,000 each.

The LFA is powered by a 4.8-liter V10 engine with 552-hp and 354 ft-lbs of torque. Weighing just 3,263 lbs thanks to a chassis and body that is mostly constructed of carbon fiber, the LFA can hit 62 mph in 3.7 seconds and tops out a 202 mph!

The decision to show the car at SEMA is a bit unconventional, however, the world’s largest aftermarket parts trade show does bring together automotive enthusiasts, as well as the publications and websites that cater to them.

AutoGuide will be in attendance with live coverage of the SEMA Show starting November 3rd.

GALLERY: Lexus LFA

[Source: Reuters]