We know, it sounds like either a hipster drink or a cheesy figure skating show, but “Aston Martin On Ice” is really a cool driving event that’s held at the St. Moritz resort in Switzerland. Aston Martin enthusiasts will have the chance to take a full range of the automaker’s vehicles out for a frosty drive.

If you happen to be in Switzerland in February, you could be taking the Rapide, DBS, DB9, V12 and V8 Vantage for a spin on the ice. This is the third year Aston Martin has held this event, and already dates are booked up solid. But the following dates are still available:

February 4/5
February 6/7
February 7/8

This specially developed driving program is taught by professional instructors who offer individual so participants gain the driving skills needed to drive in icy conditions while having plenty of fun.

If you’re interested, register here and a member of their Performance Driving Team will contact you.

A recent study shows that we’re finally getting it – we are buckling up more than ever before. In fact, the numbers are at their all-time highest.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] (anyone else wondering why they conducted a seat belt study?), 85 percent of adults say they use seat belts. Even though that’s up from 11 percent in 1982, at least one in every seven adults don’t wear their seatbelts while driving. It’s not known why people would still have issues about wearing their seatbelts car accidents are still the leading cause of death in the U.S. among people aged 5 to 34.

“A simple step that most drivers and passengers in the United States already take-buckling their seat belts-cuts in half the chance of being seriously injured or killed in a crash,” said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH. “Yet, about 1 in 7 adults do not wear a seat belt on every trip. If everyone in the vehicle buckled up every time, we could further reduce one of the leading causes of death.”

When it comes to individual states and their seatbelt usage numbers, Oregon comes out ahead with a high of 94 percent, while North Dakota bottoms out the list with 59 percent.

British car firm Bentley has made the most of its Continental platform with a coupe, convertible and a sedan version available. However, a coachbuilder by the name Touring Superleggera had found a void and decided to fill it.

Their model is called the Flying Star and it is a wagon version based on the underpinnings of the Continental GTC convertible. So while you still have all the mechanical goodness of the stock Bentley, you now get a custom body that will be built in a limited number of just 19 vehicles worldwide.

Demand for the Flying Star must be quite strong, as its manufacturer has just recently invested in more tooling and workforce. Now they can build five cars at the same time, but since each car takes 4000-hours to complete, it will still take about six-months to complete your car.

As you can probably imagine, this conversion is not cheap since the price of the ‘basic’ model starts at $790,000 (you can easily buy all-three factory produced models of the Continental for that price).

Touring Superleggera has built three cars thus far, and will be displaying this model at the Qatar Motor Show at the end of January. So if you’re in the area, do check it out and send us some pictures.

[Source: Autocar]

Here at the AutoGuide office, we are quite fond of the Tesla Roadster. We like its battery technology, its range, and most of all its amazing performance. It certainly has shown us a glimpse of the future, and thankfully its not boring.

However, the Roadster model is quite expensive and impractical and Tesla is aware of that. So to appeal to the masses, Tesla has been working on a sedan of its very own, known as the Model S (obviously taking naming inspiration from the Ford Model T).

It looks now that the Model S has gotten closer to production as the company just released a video of it rolling along silently in the countryside.  Tesla’s vehicle dynamicist Graham Sutherland says the Model S is “amazingly agile for a car of its size. It has great handling balance and poised ride with communicative steering.” He attributes these qualities thanks to a stiff body and a low center of gravity.

Tesla claims that the Model S will have a range of about 300-miles on a full charge and will accelerate from 0-60 mph in just 5.6 seconds. Sounds good to us and we hope to get our hands on one in the near future.

Follow the jump to view the video:

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Lingenfelter is world-renowned for pushing the limits on horsepower and their new engine package for the 2009-2011 Cadillac CTS-V (and new CTS-V Coupe) is no exception to the rule. Providing a turnkey package to CTS-V owners, Lingenfelter Performance Engineering offers 623-rwhp and 617 lb-ft of torque at the wheels in a manual transmission CTS-V.

The performance package is as comprehensive as one can get which includes removing the stock powerplant from the vehicle and overhauling it for extreme power. Much of the work is done in the head, with Lingenfelter’s CNC port & polish while swapping in new valves, valve springs and retainers. Helping aid in producing high end horsepower is Lingenfelter’s GT9 camshaft.

Lingenfelter then focuses on providing additional fuel to go with the extra boost thanks a 2.55-inch diameter steel supercharger drive pulley. New injectors are installed and the entire package is tested to perfection on a dyno with extensive ECM tuning.

The complete package comes with Lingenfelter’s 2 year, 24,000-mile warranty.

Official press release and video available after the break.

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While it doesn’t get a lot of press, Infiniti has climbed up the luxury ladder to become the fourth largest luxury brand in the U.S. And over the past two years, the company has expanded globally as well.

But with sales just half those of brands like Lexus, BMW and Mercedes, Infiniti is missing something, or perhaps, some things. Exactly what the brand needs to hit that level of success is a halo model, as well as an entry-level luxury car that would serve to introduce buyers to the brand. Or at least that’s the opinion of Nissan North America sales VP Brian Carolin.

While immediate thoughts turn to a more luxurious GT-R, possibly using hybrid technology, along the lines of the Essence Concept, a flagship luxury sedan is also under consideration.

Based on Infiniti’s more sporting pretensions, we have to think the brand’s top model would be a luxury sports car. After all, the Essence has been on tour for two years now visiting local auto shows and it almost always attracts more attention that anything new.

In addition, Carolin admits a smaller luxury model might also be in the pipe, based on a different platform than the G sedan. Past rumors have indicated it would be a front-drive model.

GALLERY: Infiniti Essence Concept

[Source: WardsAuto]

While concentrating on its newly acquired Saab brand, Dutch sports car maker Spyker is still in the business of building its own unique machines. Debuting over a year ago, the Aileron Spyder follows after the coupe model, but its about to get one major change.

Powering the hard-top is a version of Audi’s 4.2-liter V8, a capable engine, but not exactly worthy of the true exotic-ness of the Spyker, or it’s price tag. That, however, will be solved with the Spyder model, with company CEO Victor Muller recently commenting that his company is planning to use the Corvette ZR1 engine – which makes 638-hp.

In addition, Spyker will look to keep the Aileron Spyder exclusive, building just 99 versions of the car.

[Source: GTSpirit]

Audi‘s finest test drivers got to wring out the new RS3 Sportback in on some powder-strewn Canadian roads this past week, and lucky for us, they were kind enough to film the whole thing. Powered by the same 340 horsepower 5-cylinder in the TT-RS, the cost of the TT-RS will likely stop it from being imported, but at least we can marvel at its capabilities from afar.

[Source: Audi]

Hit the jump to see the video

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Less than a week after the Cadillac CTS-V Race Car took a bow at the Detroit Auto Show, it’s already had its first shakedown at Sebring International Raceway in Florida, and the all-black paint job looks even meaner than the Cadillac livery we saw in person.

Alas, there is no video, but it won’t be long before we can see the CTS-V in person or on television, as the car will be campaigning in the SCCA World Challenge GT championship, with the season opener kicking off in St. Petersburg, Florida on March 25th. The sound of an LSA V8 is already demonic, and we will sacrifice a bit of our hearing if it means listening to the beast roaring at wide-open throttle, sans mufflers.

[Source: Cadillac]

Gallery: Cadillac CTS-V Race Car Test Session

Surging demand and ambitious sales targets are causing BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz to expand factories in Europe and North America to simply keep up with production obligations.

China and America are leading the resurgence for the German automakers, with Audi planning to roll out 13 new or upgraded models in 2011 alone, in the hopes of topping its 2010 figure of 1.15 million units produced. Their 11.6 billion euro investment in manufacturing facilities over the next 4 years will ostensibly help them topple current segment leader BMW. Not to be outdone by either, Mercedes-Benz will invest 700 million euros in two plants in Europe, as well as an unspecified amount at their Alabama facility. Deliveries in 2011 will be “defined by production capabilities rather than demand,” Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche told Automotive News. “That’s a good problem to have.”

[Source: Automotive News]