According to Automotive News, we’re about to see some pretty drastic changes to the General Motors landscape. In less than six years, all manufacturers will be required to increase the average fuel economy of their fleets to 35.5 mpg. Throw in the fact that General Motors expects fuel prices to return to the $4-per-gallon levels we saw just a few years ago, and we can begin to understand why the company has decided to tailor its products accordingly. While we’ve heard all about the new 2011 Chevrolet Aveo and the small people-mover based on the GMC Granite Concept, the news that even midlevel luxury badge Buick will dabble in the compact segment is something relatively new. 

Via Jalopnik, here's a cool video of two guys chasing down a trio of 2012 BMW 6-Series prototypes on Germany's autobahn.

Certain elements, such as the exhaust, front air intakes and taillights of the three convertible Bimmers seem different from one another -- though some of that could of course be due to the camouflage -- and the prototype drivers seemed reluctant to be caught in the beginning, which pushed the pursuit up to 160 mph. But the the spy videographers, one of them an administrator at the M5board.com forum, did manage to catch them, thanks to the fact that they were hauling in a G-Power BMW M3 with 600 horsepower.

The good back, front and side views come mostly after the 4:27 mark in the video, after the jump. 

As reported by Automotive News and others, Honda is recalling 384,220 vehicles in the U.S. (428,000 vehicles in total, including those recalled in Canada) because of a defect in the shift interlock system.

The problem, which affects Civics and Accords from the 2003 model years as well as some Elements from 2003 and 2004, allows the vehicle to be turned off, and the key removed, without the automatic transmission secured in the "park" position. Obviously, this could cause the vehicles to roll away after the driver has exited, leading to damage to the car and possible accidents. 

Chevrolet's quest for more vehicles that match the styling appeal of the Equinox crossover and Camaro muscle car will continue in the next several years.

For instance, a more upscale Impala is in the works, with a low production volume and limited rental fleet sales, one source says. That would follow the example set by the 2010 Ford Taurus. But the new Impala is not coming until the 2014 model year.

In the nearer term, Chevrolet will prepare for rising federal fuel economy standards by decreasing the displacement of its V-6 engines, adding more four-cylinder engines and introducing redesigned small cars.

Here are Chevrolet's 2011-13 model year highlights:

 

The $109,000 Tesla Roadster could hardly be said to compete in any way with the upcoming Nissan Leaf, which is set to retail for around $32,780. The same can be said of Tesla's planned Model S sedan, which is expected to run in the sub-60-grand range. But that didn't stop outspoken Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk from ripping into the all-electric Leaf in a conference call last Wednesday with shareholders and analysts.

According to site Earth2Tech, Musk asserted that the Leaf's battery tech is "much more primitive" even when compared with Tesla's early prototypes, and says he expects to beat Nissan's cost per kilowatt hour. 

With the death of Mercury, Ford Motor Co. will funnel more dollars into Lincoln.

For example, planners are looking to add a compact, front-drive car or crossover. There also is talk that a car based on the next-generation Ford Mondeo could be added to the lineup.

For Lincoln to succeed, analysts say, it's critical that product planners separate Lincoln's design, powertrains and technology from those of the Ford brand. Lincoln will get features such as active noise cancellation and adaptive suspensions.

Here's Lincoln's outlook for the 2011-13 model years.

 

Small cars have never been big players for Detroit, to put it mildly. But with more Americans downsizing into compact and even subcompact cars, it’s critical for General Motors and Chrysler (and, to a lesser extent, Ford) to change their small-car offerings from bottom feeders to market leaders.

 

For GM, the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze is the latest bid to erase bad memories of crapulent Cavaliers and mediocre Cobalts. At a dinner in New York with Jim Campbell, Chevy’s general manager, journalists pored over a spiffy pair of Cruzes parked outside. And at a standstill at least, the Cruze looks to have the right stuff to finally put Chevy in the game against the perennial small-car sales kings, the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.

 

The Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport recently reclaimed the title of world's fastest production car, with an average top speed of just over 267 mph -- an impressive feat, to say the least, but one that is shattered by (drum roll, please) an old-school yellow school bus. The kiddie-mobile topped that 267 mph speed by a whopping 100 mph at the Vectren Dayton Air Show in Ohio last month.

Obviously, the school bus was hardly a production vehicle, unless the world's most awesome school superintendent somewhere has been ordering fleets of buses powered by a General Electric J-79 jet engine with 42,000 horsepower.

Check it out after the jump.