Toyota will launch a tarted-up Prius through its developing G’s Sports in-house tuning arm in an attempt to reach a different type of customer and further expand the appeal of Toyota’s most visible hybrid. A concept version of the Prius G’s was unveiled at last January’s Tokyo Auto Salon. ..readmore

The Nebraska State Patrol has used the long arm of the law and multiple search warrants to scope out the car collection and the collector, Mark Pielock, himself. You may wonder why they’d invest so much time into a classic and muscle car collector, but when it comes to light ..readmore

Filed under: Etc. , Government/Legal , Technology Now that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Environmental Protection Agency have established fleet fuel economy standards of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016 , the government agencies are hard at work on the next phase of increases that will stretch ..readmore

United Auto Workers President Bob King said Friday that President Barack Obama and his staff “saved the auto industry” with federal bailouts of General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC and any derogatory statements made by administration officials during that decision-making process miss the point.

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising , Chevrolet , GM , Celebrities General Motors has officially announced that television and movie star Tim Allen will be the new “voice of Chevrolet ,” starting with a series of ads that will begin airing on September 7. These ads will be for the all-new ..readmore

Filed under: Etc. , UK , Celebrities When murmurings began hitting the web that the man who plays The Stig was itching to publish his memoirs, we knew it was only a matter of time before the character met his end on the BBC’s Top Gear . According to ..readmore

The voice of Pure Michigan will become the new voice of Chevrolet. Movie and television star Tim Allen will appear in commercials for the all-new 2011 Chevy Cruze when they begin airing Tuesday.

Filed under: Government/Legal , GM , Celebrities Steven Rattner , former automotive adviser to President Barack Obama, has just written a juicy account of last year’s automotive bailout, complete with insights on the coming and goings of CEOs, courting foreign saviors and the General Motors plan to abandon its ..readmore

Filed under: Sedan , Performance , Japan , Toyota , Rumormill That’s what the crew at Car Guide would have us all believe. According to the website, Toyota is looking to hedge its bets by producing a second model on the same platform as the upcoming FT-86 . As ..readmore

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs , GM If you’ve been wondering what former General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson has been up to since getting the boot, The Detroit News has the skinny for you. Henderson is now headed to Sunoco to fill in as the company’s senior vice president, at least ..readmore

Filed under: SUV , Government/Legal , Safety , Ford Ford’s second-generation Explorer has just cost the company $131 million. Despite the popularity of the seminal SUV, it’s had more than its fair share of legal scrapes regarding its rollover resistance. And while the Explorer/Firestone tire kerfuffle has long since ..readmore

Filed under: Car Buying , Etc. , Earnings/Financials Map Powered by Tableau It’s that time of the year again, kids. Manufacturers are busy trying to put people in cars in order to move leftover stock and make room for incoming models, and many are doing so with ridiculously low ..readmore

Filed under: Technology , Mercedes-Benz , Luxury Mercedes-Benz and its partners at Hughes Telematics have released an updated version of its Mbrace app for the iPhone, and 2.0 brings along a new line of location-based services. In addition to the usual array of safety and convenience features (locking and ..readmore

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs , Toyota If you want a job at Toyota’s still under construction Mississippi assembly plant, you’d better get in line. In fact, you’d best fill out an application post-haste, because the Japanese automaker reportedly received 9,600 applications in its first week. Anyone surprised? Americans want and ..readmore

Tesla Roadster eligible for $38,000 clean energy rebate in Japan Not a bad discount, right? GM says Chevy Cruze Eco with an automatic will hit 36 mpg highway This slushbox won’t hurt too bad at the pump. Coda will sell electric sedan in Hawaii in late 2011 The line ..readmore

First Drive: 2011 Kia Optima It’s hard to imagine comparing an Optima to the cream-of-the-crop, but with sharp new styling and some compelling powertrains, Kia has a mid-size winner of its hands. Video: Top Gear USA runs with the bulls Judging by this newest trailer, Top Gear USA might ..readmore

Filed under: Crossover , Dodge , Ford The SUV is dead. Long live the SUV! The 2011 Dodge Durango and Ford Explorer are big departures from the models that they replace. Aside from the usual styling and refinement differences, the biggest changes for these vehicle are that they both ..readmore

Washington — Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik Thursday praised a plan by federal regulators to begin assigning letter grades to new vehicles, based on their fuel efficiency and emissions.

Excerpts from the upcoming book, “Overhaul: An Insider’s Account of the Obama Administration’s Emergency Rescue of the Auto Industry” by Steven Rattner, the Obama administration’s former top auto adviser:

Detroit — About 4,600 electric vehicle charging stations will be installed throughout the country — including 280 in Michigan — under a federally funded program, ChargePoint America, designed to build a fueling network for electric cars, industry and state officials said Thursday.