Car Moon

Saab is in trouble. With mounting debts and limited capital investment, the Swedish company is a prime candidate to go the way of the dinosaurs. The troubled automaker has not built a single vehicle since the 1st of April, and a much touted deal with China’s Hawtai Motor Group has fallen through. They did however sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with another Chinese company called Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. Ltd, earlier this week, but we will have to wait and see if the deal goes through.

In light of this, I’ve thought up four plausible (though unlikely) scenarios for Saab. These range from the hugely cynical all the way to the brazenly optimistic. After all, isn’t it better than Saab has some future rather than no future at all? Without further ado, here are your options:

Toyota’s FT-86 sports coupe has to be one of the most hotly anticipated cars of the last ten years. A sporty, lightweight, front-engined and rear-wheel-drive spiritual successor to the legendary AE86, brought to you by the same company that built the Celica, MR2 and Supra? Yes, please!

So far, we’ve had three iterations of the “AE86 Nouveau”. First, there’s the original, scene stealing Toyota FT-86 Concept from the2009 Tokyo Motor Show. Then there’s the much derided FT-86 II Concept from Geneva 2011. And lastly, there’s the Ferrari-emulating Scion FR-S that took the 2011 New York Auto Show by storm.

Apart from the humorous articles and the plethora of eBay finds we come up with, Carscoop’s bread and butter is automotive news straight from the manufacturer. And as such, we read a lot of press releases. In all the ones I’ve read, General Motors refuses to call the Chevrolet Volt a hybrid. It’s a range extended electric vehicle.

I speculate that it might have something to do with hybrids being uncool (so sayeth GM CEO Dan Akerson) or to avoid comparisons with that other hybrid. You know, the one made by the world’s other biggest car manufacturer.

Like Saab and countless other brands before, Alfa Romeo is at a tipping point. The famed Italian automaker, which once stunned the world with its gorgeous styling and motorsport victories, is now losing an estimate €200 million (US$265 million) per annum. It’s hard to believe that the company that brought us cars like the GTA, the Spider and the 158/159 Alfetta could be reduced to such a sad state of affairs.

Sergio Marchionne, the unwavering CEO of Fiat and its subsidiaries, is determined to turn the ailing automaker around. Meanwhile, Volkswagen is sniffing around for more brands and smells a potential winner in the Milanese company.

In the past I’ve covered my picks for the best cars of the 1980s and ‘90s. Now it’s time for my Top 10 cars of All-Time, whereby I pit country against country. Our six contenders are the U.S.A., Britain, Japan, Germany, Italy and France. Will you side with American muscle or French flair? Can Japanese perfection trump Italian passion? Or do you choose German engineering over British ingenuity? Whatever you choose, you’re in for one helluva ride. So, let’s count down my Top 10 Cars of All-Time.

Today’s contender is...the U.S.A.

In less than two weeks, 2010 will draw to a close. So what better time to look back at the real stars of this year’s motor shows: the concept cars! Enter into a world where considerations like practicality and profitability fall by the wayside and the world’s designers and engineers show us their true potential. Let’s count down...my Top 10 Concept Cars of 2010!

For me, the 1990s will be memorable for four things: the Gulf War, the death of Princess Di, the Clinton / Lewinsky affair and the Oklahoma City Bombing. There was a lot more to this decade, of course: the highest grossing film of all time (Titanic), two white rappers (Eminem and Vanilla Ice), the collapse of the Soviet Union, the release of Nelson Mandela, Dolly the Sheep, the Columbine Massacre...

But it’s those four that stick in my mind. It was both a great decade and a sombre decade, and also one that produced (possibly) some of the best cars the world had ever seen. I class ‘90s cars as those that were launched between 1990 and 1999, and also a few that were launched in the late ‘80s (’88 or ’89) and gained popularity / infamy in the latter decade.

Ah, the eighties: the decade that brought us shutter shades, punk rock and the Cadillac Cimarron. Back in the days when greed was good, Frankie said relax and nobody knew where the beef was. It was also a great decade for cars:

The Germans brought us the Porsche 959, the AWD Audi Quattro and the BMW E30 M3. The rest of Europe brought us the insanely awesome Ferrari Testarossa, Lancia Delta Integrale rally champ and the "geography teacher on crack" Saab 900 Turbo.

In the good ol' U.S. of A there was the third generation Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, the C4 Corvette and the built-for-NASCAR Buick Grand National. At the same time, the British Isles brought us the wedge shaped Aston Martin Lagonda sports saloon (okay, it was launched in the late 1970s but it was offered throughout the '80s), the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth and the Irish-built DeLorean DMC-12.

There were 41 candidates eligible for the European 2011 Car of the Year (COTY) award, with quite a few big names being mentioned, such as the Audi A7 Sportback and A8, BMW 5-Series and X3, Jaguar XJ and Mercedes Benz CLS. This week, the list was narrowed down to just seven finalists and, as in previous years, some of them weren't really expected to make it this far.

Our summary presents the remaining candidates in alphabetical order, with the winner set to be announced on November 29. We'd really like to know which of the seven cars would get your vote, though, so comment away below.

We recently told you about how the angriest drivers in Britain tend to be behind the wheel of a BMW. Now we have some speeding/insurance info from the States, and it's a bit surprising.

According to Quality Planning, a division of Verisk Analytics Inc., American Mercedes SL drivers are at least four times more likely to get ticketed than a run-of-the-mill motorist who presumably drives a Camry Solara or...no, wait, the Camry Solara/Coupe and Scion tC come in at second and third.

Oddly, the Pontiac Grand Prix is still on the list and making waves (scroll down for the full list with stats).

We've already reported on the upcoming Top Gear Live show at the MPH: The Prestige & Performance Motor Show at Earl's Court this November. Now the organizers' website has polled some 2,500 men and women on their preferences for dream cars and dream passengers. Details after the jump.

If I had a dollar for every time I was honked at, tailgated or called something unsavory on the road, I would be a very rich man. And it seems that the worst for this sort of behavior, at least according to a recent UK survey, are BMW drivers - feel free to insert your own joke about iDrive. If you want to see a frustrated / angry BMW driver in action, check out this... enlightening video.

The results were released by Gocompare.com, a UK insurance comparison site, that asked some 3,000 UK motorists about their opinion on road rage. Scroll down for their findings.

With the 2010 Paris Motor Show officially finished from the car fan's perspective, it's time to see what debuts people thought were the real winners and losers. From VW's less-than-lackluster Passat to the revelation of the entire new Lotus lineup, there were some very conversation-inspiring appearances this year.

At the 2010 Paris Motor Show, we saw three new mid-size sedans making their way to the halls of the Parc des Expositions Porte de Versailles. Two of them, the all-new Peugeot 508 and the redesigned VW Passat B7, received their world premiere, while the Kia Optima was presented for the first time in Europe.

Now, we all know you can't and you shouldn't buy a car based upon looks or preliminary specs alone. It's the whole package that counts. However, in this case, we simply want to find out which one of these new family sedans captured your attention for the right reasons.

Place your vote in the poll after the jump and be sure to have your say in the comments section.

Whether you're a fan of Adam West or Roger Moore, you have to admit: cars and television go together well.

The Saint had the Volvo P1800. The Dukes wreaked havoc with the General Lee. The Caped Crusader and his sidekick did the "vra-vra-vroom" in the Batmobile. The Hoff had the Knight Industries Two Thousand (a personal favorite, if only for Will Daniels' quips).

Heck, some of these cars are more loved and remembered than the stars that drove them. Except maybe for David Hasslehoff. I hear he's big in Germany.

With both the Ford Focus ST and Opel GTC set to debut in Paris, the hot hatch world is astir. If you're in a "global" market and interested in going fast on the cheap, these are looking to be two serious contenders.

The big difference here is shaping to be extra output in a traditionally showy hot-hatch package, or a sleek and sophisticated ride with potentially less power. But first, a joke: what would a diesel Ford Focus ST be called? Think about it.

Pretty soon buyers here in the States will have a few new choices when considering an affordable and efficient entry-level coupe or hatch. No, no, we aren't getting VW's Scirocco or Peugeot's RCZ anytime soon (but the Hyundai Veloster is on its way). We're talking about Honda's CR-Z hybrid that goes on sale here in the States on August 24 and Toyota's all-new 2011 Scion tC that arrives in showrooms in early October.

Audi may have confirmed the new RS5 for the States, but Americans won't be able to sample the scorching hot high-performance coupe until sometime in 2012. But when there's a will, there's a way, so the crew from Motor Trend headed to Germany to compare the two newest entries in the sports coupe segment, the Audi RS5 and Cadillac CST-V Coupe, with BMW's 'old-timer', the M3 Coupe.

We won't spoil the video for you by telling you won, so follow the jump to check it out along with the performance details on all cars and then don't forget to take our poll on which sport coupe would you be more likely to buy.

Kia may soon follow the increasingly popular automotive trend that is alphanumeric naming and abandon product names in its U.S. lineup, according to a recent statement by Hyundai Motor Co. Vice Chairman, Chung Eui-sun.

The automaker is already using a mix of alphanumeric and product names in South Korea and some other markets. For example, the recently revealed 2011 Optima and Cadenza sedans are known as the K5 and K7 respectively in the company's home market, while the Forte is said to become the K3.

Earlier today, Honda came out with official info and photos of the mildly refreshed for the 2011 model year [U.S.-market] Accord sedan and coupe. Given all the negative talk lately about the design direction Honda has taken as well as the not-so-positive comments on the facelifted Accord, we thought of a poll; which is the best looking generation of the North American Honda Accord to date? .

To help you out in your decision, we've added a comprehensive picture gallery of all eight generations of the Honda Accord. Check out the photos and vote for your pick after the jump.