It’s been around in current form since 1983, but the rugged go-anywhere Land Rover Defender can trace its lineage directly back to the first one the company ever built  in 1948. Beloved of the British military, farmers, ranchers and explorers the world over, it’s a true icon.

However, there are now rumors circulating that Jaguar Land Rover plans to give the old warrior a serious makeover. No details have been released, or even leaked, though apparently the JLR group is intensively studying what needs to be done before proceeding with development on the ‘next-generation,’ Defender.

Hopefully whatever is decided, the result will stay true to the vehicle’s rugged, practical persona, with short and long wheelbase variants  being retained as well as retaining a chassis highly adaptable  for different needs (a part of the current model’s enduring appeal).

A concept study is likely to emerge sometime around 2013, with the projected introduction of the actual ‘new’ Defender to follow a couple of years later. In the meantime, if  you happen to live outside North America, you can still get your hands on a current Defender and take it places like this.

Did you make a wrong turn? D-oh! Now that Homer will be your navigator, thanks to the new TomTom GPS iPhone app, you’ll never get lost on your way to pick up donuts again (woo hoo!).

Homer Simpson, aka Dan Castellaneta, of The Simpsons fame, is the new voice of this TomTom app that’s available for download for $5.99 – that’s more than the price of a dozen donuts (mmmmmmmm, donuts!). You’ll need the 1.7 version on the TomTom app, and that will cost you $49.99 to get it installed.

“Homer’s skills will help keep drivers and fans entertained in a light-hearted and familiar way. It’s exciting to have him onboard!” said Alain Pakiry, senior vice president of marketing at TomTom.

If you live in the following countries, you can download the Homer Simpson voice for the TomTom App now: U.S., Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, and Sweden.

[Source: Cnet]

Volkswagen sold a whopping two million vehicles around the globe in one quarter, the first time in the company’s history.

The criticism of the new Jetta didn’t damper sales at all—sales profits grew over 30% in the first quarter, netting VW a tidy 37.5 billion Euros. Growth in China, India, and Eastern Europe helped fuel the profits, and the Polo, Tiguan, and Jetta were the models most gobbled up by international consumers.

“The Volkswagen Group has got off to a good start”, said VW chief financial officer Hans Dieter Pötsch, adding: ”Our sound finances and continuous improvements in profitability are the basis for the Volkswagen Group’s successful future.”

Arizona officials say a 21 year old motorist survived a 200 foot drop after his car plummeted into the Grand Canyon. The driver in question claims it was an accident and was treated for non-life threatening injuries, and was able to remove himself from the car and ascend the 200 feet to seek help. No word on what kind of car he was driving either.

Volkswagen is looking to add an entry-level brand for the Chinese market as a means of stabilizing its lead in the Chinese marketplace. ”We are currently evaluating with our partner First Auto Works whether we need to add a domestic brand to enter the low-cost portion of the Chinese market,” Soh Weiming, executive VP for Volkswagen’s Chinese sales and marketing arm, told Automotive News.

Soh cited the fact that the “low cost” portion of the Chinese auto market makes up about 20 percent of sales. General Motors, Honda and Nissan all have their own sub-brands. Volkswagen is looking to double Chinese production to 4 million units a year by 2018, and is building new factories and expanding its current plants as well.

[Source: Automotive News]

Rolls- Royce is expecting a massive sales increase in the second quarter of this year, thanks to increased demand spurred by their “cheaper” Ghost model, which retails for a mere $246,500.

The introduction of the Ghost in 2010 helped sales jump 167 percent, spurred by enormous growth in China. The brand expects to open 11 showrooms in the country by year’s end, with China eventually overtaking the United States as its largest market. Nevertheless, Rolls-Royce will open a further 4 dealerships in the US by year’s end.

[Source: Reuters]

With Volkswagen now having launched the new Jetta and Passat on our shores, the automaker has pretty much run out of cars to Americanize and so it will soon look to deliver some all-new models designed to appeal to our less sophisticated tastes and larger beltlines.

One of the first will be a three row crossover or SUV, priced well below the Touareg. Instead of competing in the near the luxury SUV segment, the new model would be a rival to cars like the new Ford Explorer and Dodge Durango. VW’s new Passat platform could likely serve as the basis for the new machine.

Next up would be a sub-compact or B-Segment car, along the lines of the VW Polo. Sadly (very sadly) we won’t see anything like the current Polo offered in Europe (like the Polo GTI pictured above), and instead we’ll most likely get a watered-down version that’s almost certain to be a sedan.

[Source: Car & Driver]

China’s largest carmaker, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), is among a bunch of Chinese automakers looking to expand into the American market.

Before they can form more concrete plans, however, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration official David Strickland visited China to explain U.S. safety standards, and touring the SAIC plant. Despite the reputation Chinese automakers currently have for quality control, Chinese domestic brands are slated to meet international companies in quality by 2015, according to JD Power. Chinese companies tend to hire managers and engineers from other countries, buy supplies from overseas and adopt quality control processes that are industry-standard, said Jacob George, managing director at J.D. Power Asia Pacific

“When they offer their vehicle for sale, we will treat them like we will treat any company whether it is a Detroit company or a Japanese company or a Chinese company,” said Strickland.

SAIC took the reigns of the Rover empire from Britain after MG Rover went belly-up in 2005; they now build the Roewe 550, a car engineered in China with some English input, as well as the former Rover 75. With a partnership from General Motors, SAIC will start selling cars in the burgeoning market of India by the end of the year. Eventually, they’ll aim to sell 800,000 cars by 2015. Hopefully that quality prediction is pretty accurate.

[Source: Automotive News]

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Corvette Racing’s 2011 season rolls on and with it the latest installment of season two of the Track to Street series. In Episode 4 the team heads to the Long Beach Grand Prix, a treacherous street circuit where you’re lucky to escape with a functioning car. And with the 24 Hours of Le Mans race next on the schedule, Corvette Racing was eager to keep its cars intact.

For all the videos subscribe to Chevy‘s YouTube channel here and while you’re at it, sign up to AutoGuide’s YouTube channel too.

The Steve McQueen nostalgia binge rolls on, with the news that legendary London auction house Bonham’s is putting up the King of Cool’s 1971 Husqvarna 400 for auction.

The “Husky” took American off-road riding by storm—after McQueen ditched his own Triumph for a Husky in the classic motocross film On Any Sunday, popularity of the small Swedish bike exploded overnight.

The very same bike auctioned off here was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in August 1971, where McQueen tested a number of new off-road bikes in the dirt. McQueen was an accomplished rider himself, and the auction includes numerous trophies that he accrued over the years, liberated from the McQueen Estate in 1984.

The auction is set to take place at the Quail Lodge in Carmel, California on May 14th and will also include McQueen’s collection of racing trophies. Like anything touched by the hand of McQueen himself—such as his Porsche, Ferrari, and his Baja racer—it won’t go for cheap. Click the jump for the full press release from Bonham’s.