In terms of automobiles, there’s no question that the classic Jaguar E-Type (XK-E), ranks as one of the most iconic of them all. And among the cognoscenti, Series I cars represent the purest of them all. When you add a celebrity’s name to the registration then surely, when such a car comes up for auction, it’s likely to attract serious interest.

So that should logically be the case with this lovely red 1965 Series I roadster, which sports the larger 4.2-liter XK straight-six engine and once belonged to Sir Elton John (the car in fact, still sports the signature OKE 1 registration plate from when he owned it).

The E-Type, which is in excellent condition, is scheduled to go under the hammer at Bonhams’ Oxford auction in March for a fairly princely £70,000 ($109,900); however for the car’s current owner, that doesn’t represent particularly good news, since 11 years ago he paid some £81,000 ($121,170) at Christie’s for the thing, during an auction that was arranged by Sir Elton himself.

Nonetheless, the estimate is right in line with current E-Type prices in the UK, proving once again that collector car values are often fickle at best.

Other significant cars slated to cross the block at Bonhams Oxford, include a 1961 Morgan Plus 4 Supersports, which is expected to sell for around  £60,000 ($94,200), a 1961 Ferrari 250 GTE, which should go for £50,000 ($78,500) and a very rare, right-hand-drive British spec, 1966 Citroen DS21 decapotable pegged at £40,000 ($62,800).

Jeremy Clarkson was invited to the BBC1′s The One Show’ last November where he remarked that the striking public sector workers should be shot. Striking controversy once again, Clarkson’s comment caused more than 30,000 complaints to the BBC and almost 800 to media regulator Ofcom.

Responding to the public reaction, Ofcom held an investigation to decide whether the show had broken any rules on taste and decency. Finally, Ofcom has announced that the program is cleared of breaching broadcasting regulations, defending that viewers should be familiar with Jeremy Clarkson’s “provocative and outspoken nature.”

Ofcom director Christopher Woolard stated in a four-page letter that, “The editorial nature of the program as a whole would have prepared viewers for the type of comments Jeremy Clarkson would be likely to make” and when considering Clarkson’s “well-established public persona,” Clarkson’s comment wasn’t overly offensive.

Woolard also added that, “The audience for this edition of The One Show would have expected Jeremy Clarkson to make potentially controversial or offensive statements… his comments were not an expression of seriously held beliefs or views that should be literally interpreted.”

In the past, Jeremy Clarkson has always been known to make a wide range of brash remarks. By now, victims to Clarkson’s insensitivity will have to accept this is only Clarkson being himself.

Check out Jeremy Clarkson’s controversial segment on The One Show after the jump:
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Keeping its entry sports car current, Aston Martin has announced the most comprehensive enhancement program for the V8 Vantage since 2008.

For hardware, the latest V8 Vantage will retain its six-speed manual transmission but will receive an all-new Shortshift II seven-speed automatic designed and manufactured specifically for Aston Martin. According to Aston Martin, an additional gear will provide the new Vantage with closer ratios, lower final drive, and a quicker, more refined shift quality.

Other upgrades include a refined chassis, quicker steering, bigger two-piece six piston brakes, and wider tires by 10mm. As for appearance, the V8 Vantage gets a Vantage S treatment with a lowered front bumper with aero splitter that features a larger air intake that feeds the engine and front brakes. Finally, sculpted side sills and a new drag-reducing rear diffuser are also added to complete the look.

Next, the V8 Vantage S remains the top of the line Aston Martin V8, producing 430-hp and 361 lb.-ft of torque. The Vantage S further differentiates itself by receiving a louder sports exhaust system unique to the S in order to further define its sporting nature. As for its exterior treatment the S receives a carbon fiber motorsport-derived aero package.

Finally, the Vantage S interior will feature luxurious hand-stitched leather upholstery. Moving on the the V12 line-up, the V12 Vantage remains unchanged and will be joined by the latest V12 Zagato exotic, created as an homage to the DBGT Zagato made 50 years ago. Now less than 12 months from official release, the stunning V12 Zagato will debut at extremely limited availability. Be sure to check out the official unveiling of the new Aston Martin Vantage line-up at the upcoming 2012 Geneva Motor Show.

GALLERY: 2012 Aston Martin V8 Vantage

Watch AutoGuide’s Vantage S Review below:

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Announcing its 2011 financial results, General Motors has reported record profits of $7.6 billion, an incredible 62 percent increase from last year. Its previous record was $6.7 billion in 1997.

Annual revenue increased by 11 percent to $150.3 billion for the American automaker and its global says jumped 7.6 percent for a total of nine million vehicles sold. In North America alone, unit’s adjusted earnings nearly doubled in 2011 to $1.5 billion.

As for GM’s international operations in the fourth quarter, profit grew by a third to a respectable $400 million.

Despite positive numbers, General Motors has also fallen remarkably short in some areas. Fourth quarter profits lacked as GM’s European business was hit with a $500 million loss, including $200 million in restructuring costs. For the year, Opel suffered a $700 million loss. GM’s initial target was to bring the figure to break-even but eventually allowed the target to drop when demand declined.

In South America, what was a $200 million profit a year market, became a $200 million loss for 2011.

Finally, GM is working hard to minimize its $24.5 billion pension shortfall, which is at least smaller than what some analysts had feared.

Stronger than expected domestic performance is only great when numbers elsewhere follow suit. Edward Jones analyst Matt Collins commented, “The good news is they’ve done a nice job getting North America back on track; the bad news is the rest of the world. In order to get the stock moving again, they really need to address international profitability and the pension.”

GM Chief Financial Officer Dan Amman answers reporters, “We obviously have work to do still and a long way to get to the objectives we ultimately want to get to. We clearly have work to do in Europe. We have work to do in the South America business. Frankly, we have work to do all around the company in terms of cost opportunity.”

However, Dan Amman did not produce select details for the 2012 financial forecast. A cause for concern, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said in a research note, “A lack of guidance leaves GM shares shrouded in the thick fog of macro uncertainty.”

[Source: Reuters]

Following an investment from Abu Dhabi Motors, BMW has opened its largest showroom in the world in the Middle East.

In 2011, BMW had its greatest sales year ever in the Middle East, recording more than 18,000 BMWs and Minis sold. What better way to celebrate the good year than with the opening of a huge showroom.

The showroom will permanently display 70 cars, and 10 motorcycles for existing and potential customers to view. Also on display will be the latest and greatest models from BMW, Rolls-Royce, and Mini.

More than 450 staff members will work at the dealership selling cars, as well as a significant service area that is capable of servicing 120 vehicles at the same time.

The top selling vehicle in the region? The 7-series of course, accounting for 24% of total sales. Other popular vehicles were the 5 series (23%) and X6 (14%)

BMW is happy with the commitment from the region saying “The investment in this impressive and unique facility that makes the world’s biggest BMW Group showroom, is testament to the continued opportunities that lie ahead in Abu Dhabi and in the region”

GALLERY: Abu Dhabi BMW Dealership

The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada announced the Canadian Car of the Year today at the Toronto International Auto Show.

The Hyundai Elantra won, though the automaker was essentially guaranteed the trophy because they were competing against their subsidiary company Kia.

The top three picks were the Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Accent and Kia Optima. All three, among many others were put through a series of tests by 70 Canadian automotive journalists in the last week of October, 2011.

Cars are initially judged within their segment, and then the winners may go on to be selected as the car of the year.

“The Elantra is the best new car we brought to market, ever. I’m happy all the automotive journalists agree with my opinion,” said Steve Kelleher, president and CEO of Hyundai Canada.

The Elantra sells in Canada for a base price of $15,849, CAD, which is roughly the same in U.S. dollars, though it’s about $500 more than the American version.

Last year AJAC picked the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze for the award.

GALLERY: 2012 Hyundai Elantra

More energized than ever, this morning Lotus PR announced a high-profile event at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.

Providing little more than an unusual image of a hat tan, bikini top, and a bottle of sunscreen(seen above), Lotus says, “Our philosophy has always been ‘less is more’. Now, with a display of true fighting spirit, we’ll take this one step further in Geneva.”

Providing a riddle, Lotus used ‘who’, ‘where’, and ‘when’ descriptors to identify the time and location of the Lotus press conference at Geneva. As for the ‘what’, it is “something breezy, something loud, something ice-cold, and some other interesting elements.” Finally, Lotus answers to ‘why’ with, “because we’ll blow the top off.”

To complement the exciting Geneva announcement, Lotus CEO Dany Bahar is engaged in a project to completely redefine the legendary British sports car company, though his ambitions have been hindered by more challenges than most.

Last month, Lotus’ Malaysian parent company Proton sold 43 percent of its shares to DRB-Hicom. DRB-Hicom currently continues its process to acquire Proton and Lotus completely. According to Malaysian law, the process for a change-of-ownership requires 60 days, during which time Lotus will not have access to Proton’s funds.

Despite this setback, Bahar told Autocar that Lotus will have complete support from DRB-Hicom, “We have explained our plans to the new owner, and have been told to keep going as we are. The immediate problem is to manage the cash in the business carefully during the 60-day pause, but I am confident that this is a technical issue.”

Of alleged suitors and the state of the Lotus brand aside from their parent company’s sale, Bahar also said to the best of his knowledge, nobody was about to buy the the brand.

“You’d have to consider the market implications before deciding to sell. Right now, we have crazy demand for the latest Exige– 383 orders already. The Evora GTE will be homologated by May, and we have 200 orders for that. Things are looking promising. Our new gearbox is on the dyno and our new V8 supercar engine is running and progressing on schedule. We will have supercar prototypes to test in May. We’ve spent so much money already that it would be silly to write it off.”

As for the murky message, we’re assuming that Lotus will be revealing a convertible. More details will be provided when time gets closer to Geneva.

GALLERY: Lotus Evora GTE

[Source: Autocar]

J.D. Power and Associates released their annual vehicle dependability study today, something consumers and manufacturers pay close attention to.

“Despite facing immense challenges in 2009, automakers placed a keen focus on delivering outstanding levels of quality, which they understood would be essential to their long-term success,” said David Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power and Associates.

Browsing through the results wouldn’t mean much to the average person unless that person were mulling over a car purchase, except for the fact that this year’s study findings break new ground. Results gathered by the famous firm suggest that vehicle dependability is at an all-time high – and not by a small margin.

In fact, that margin is larger than ever before thanks to a 13 percent improvement in reliability over the 2011 results. Last year’s study cited 151 problems reported per 100 vehicles. This year that number is down to 132 per 100. The study is based on responses by more than 31,000 original owners of 2009 model-year vehicles after three years of ownership. The survey takes problems over the previous 12 months into account and bases the results per 100 vehicles.

Basically, J. D. Power is telling the rest of the world what a swath of already-satisfied customers from 2009 probably know.

“Three years later, owners of these models are enjoying unprecedented levels of vehicle dependability and manufacturers are experiencing market recovery. This is good news both for owners—who are holding onto their vehicles for longer than ever—and manufacturers, since perception of quality and dependability is a critical factor in vehicle purchase decisions,” Sargent said.

Dependability certainly is a critical factor, which is why we’re chuckling a little that the 2009 Toyota Tundra got the nod this year over the world’s “most dependable, longest lasting line of pickups.” If Ford won, this could have been sweet revenge for Chevy’s low-blow Superbowl ad, but it’s still funny. Better luck next time, Chevy.

It’s also a little funny to think that the 2009 Toyota Prius made it into this year’s list when you remember that was the same year the venerable hybrid poster child started accelerating independent of the driver. To be fair, that happened in a minority of the cars and was a dead issue during the point at which J.D. Power conducted their study. Still, it’s interesting to see how forgiving families apparently are towards the killer car.

Counting Toyota and its subsidiary companies as one, the Japanese giant actually won eight out of 16 categories. Ford was the next best, winning three categories including its subsidiaries.

See the complete list of winners below:

Sub-Compact Car- Toyota Yaris

Compact Car- Toyota Prius

Compact Crossover- Chevrolet Equinox

Compact Multi-Purpose Vehicle- Scion xB

Compact Sporty Car- Scion tC

Ranked Entry Premium Car (tie)- Lexus ES 350; Lincoln MKZ

Midsize Car- Ford Fusion

Midsize Crossover SUV (tie)- Ford Explorer; Nissan Murano

Midsize Pickup- Nissan Frontier

Midsize Premium Car- Hyundai Genesis

Midsize Premium Crossover SUV- Lexus RX 350

Midzise Van- Toyota Sienna

Large Car- Buick Lucerne

Large Pickup- Toyota Tundra

[Source: J. D. Power and Associates]

The Viper is one of the rare vehicles to adorn a new logo for each major redesign, sporting “Sneaky Pete” on the original, and “Fangs” on the second gen. For the new 2013 Viper, the first under the SRT badge instead of Dodge, the “Stryker” logo has been designed to celebrate the new direction.

Chrysler designer Vince Galante is the talented artist behind the logo, providing the graphic depth and dimension while retaining the sinister look and “evil grin” of the original snake. A young designer still in his 20s, Galante revealed his Transformers and Thundercats influences,  ”I never looked at images of the Thundercats while I was doing the new Logo, but after the fact, I realize that the new design has some elements of those graphics, but more intentionally has some lines that reflect the new Viper.”

Chosen from nearly 20 variations of the Snake badge, head of SRT Design Mark Trostle said, “Vince actually brought his pencil sketch to both Joe (Dehner) and me to review. We both said, ‘That’s it.’ We knew Vince had created a new icon. The new Stryker badge is the most refined, sinister looking and beautiful badge yet, just like the shape of the car.”

Expect the next generation SRT Viper at the New York International Auto Show in April.

GALLERY: Stryker Logo

Imagine, if you will, a group of Cadillacs driving together. In your mind, it’s a serene, soft cruise, with the drivers enjoying the scenery, the road, and more importantly the buttery-smooth ride of their American luxury cars.

Not anymore. Many Cadillacs, like the CTS-V, include a viciously powerful engine, not to mention suspension and braking components designed for maximum performance. These machines need the apex of a mind-bending corner to reach their limits and the purity of a race-track to fulfill their purpose.

That’s the main reason Cadillac enthusiasts, as well as tuning group D3 Racing, have partnered to create the Cadillac Challenge. It’s the first Cadillac-exclusive race that allows owners to compete with one another in a “Time-Attack” format. David Caldwell, a PR representative from Cadillac, said “There are certain cars that compel their owners to drive them to the fullest extent. I think that’s how this idea and series was conceived for CTS-V drivers.”

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