Fuel efficiency is more of a hot topic during the hot months, when gasoline tends to be more expensive, which makes it fitting that the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today released images of two new versions of window stickers for vehicles starting with the 2012 model year.

The proposed stickers are mandated by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and require the EPA and NHTSA to give ratings to vehicles based on fuel economy and the emission of greenhouse gases and smog-forming pollutants. One of the proposed stickers (below) would give each car a letter grade, report-card-style, based on fuel efficiency -- an idea quickly denounced by automakers. The range would run from A+, for zero-emission vehicles only, down to a D, meaning even the worst offenders would be spared a "failing" grade. 

Mercedes-Benz is set to launch a wave of small luxury vehicles in the United States. An all-new C-class coupe will debut next year, followed by three derivatives of the front-wheel-drive B class in 2012 and 2013.

"Everyone wants to be Mercedes-Benz," said Ernst Lieb, CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA. Now, Lieb said, Mercedes will enter segments where competitors are strong.

Here is a rundown of Mercedes' product plans.

 

Today in Milan, Italy, Mazda unveiled its Shinari 4-door, coupe-style concept vehicle, which showcases the so-called "kobo" design direction the company will take in the future.

The Shinari is the result of collaboration among Mazda design studios in Japan, Germany and the United States. According to a report in Autonews, the concept shows what the Japanese automaker is capable of in terms of upgrading its image. The director of design for Mazda North America is quoted as saying: "We want to play in the same group as BMW and Audi. On fit and finish, we want the same level of quality." 

Mazda's next-generation of powertrains, called Sky, will feature a variety of new technologies that company engineers say improve fuel-efficiency by 20 percent. The Sky engines--Sky-G for the gasoline version, Sky-D for diesel--coupled with a Sky-Drive automatic transmission or a six-speed manual, were offered for test drives during a technology day in Berlin.

The Sky-G engine we drove was a 2.0-liter inline-four that made 160 hp and 155 lb-ft of torque. Globally, the I4 engine is Mazda's main power source. With direct injection and a high-compression ratio of 14:1, the engine was smooth with impressive low-end torque, something small four-cylinder engines are not known for.

 

You might not expect a sports car with a Toyota V6 engine and a mere 280 horsepower to challenge the likes of Porsches and Corvettes. But the Lotus Evora -- the first all-new Lotus in 15 years -- proves again that Lotus’ lighter-is-better philosophy pays huge dividends on the road or the racetrack.

 

With an aluminum chassis that weighs a mere 440 pounds, and tipping the scales at barely 3,000 pounds overall, the two-plus-two Evora weighs about 250 pounds less than a comparable Porsche 911 or Corvette, and 750 less than the burly, all-wheel-drive Nissan GT-R. And while many of those cars will pull away from the Lotus in a straight line, they’ll be toast the minute the road starts to twist and bend. The Evora’s midengine, 3.5-liter V6 sends it from zero to 60 mph in a reasonably swift 4.8 seconds, but the Evora’s supercar levels of steering feel and cornering grip are what make it so electrifying to drive. Try this one: Lotus says the Evora’s chassis is fully 50 percent stiffer than a Ferrari F430’s, another key to its uncanny handling. The Evora also pulls nearly 1.25 G’s of cornering force around turns, topping most supercars that cost $250,000 or more. In contrast, a well-optioned Evora will set you back about $85,000. On public roads in New York’s Hudson Valley, I couldn’t find a turn that could truly challenge the Evora’s awesome handling capabilities.

 

From GQ, a cool, short video of contributor Jamie Kitman going for a drive in the soon-to-be auctioned Aston Martin DB5 -- the very same one driven by Sean Connery as Bond. Yes, James Bond.

The car not only has the iconic looks, but also comes with working props representing the machine guns, nail-droppers, switchable plates and bulletproof shield (though no seat belt -- apparently a good offense is the best defense) made famous by the various early Bond flicks. The car goes on sale at RM Auctions and is expected to fetch a cool $5 million, if not more. Check out the video after the jump. 

Adrian Lund, president of safety advocacy group the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, has taken the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the media to task over what he perceives to be misaligned priorities. While acknowledging that unintended acceleration and distracted driving are problematic, Lund argues that the recent rash of attention those two topics have received from both NHTSA and the media at large are taking focus away from two more dangerous threats -- speeding and running red lights.

Curbing these two behaviors, Lund argued, would best help to reduce deaths on America's roads. 

Lingenfelter Performance Engineering is reviving a name from the growing list of dead car companies, building a reimagined, 2010 Chevrolet Camaro-based Trans Am for the PlayStation generation.

Ken Lingenfelter and his Decatur, Ind., team redesigned almost every panel of the Camaro, leaving only the doors and the roof intact. They parked a 1971 Pontiac Trans Am alongside the donor car for inspiration. The recessed headlights and fog lights and the twin grille with offsetting borders practically scream Burt Reynolds. The seats are covered in a period-appropriate pattern and fabric, and it's swathed in GM's classic blue.

At the heart of the new Trans Am is Lingenfelter's 455-cubic-inch RHS aluminum block, ported and polished heads, a custom grind camshaft and a Fast LSX 102 intake. The overhaul is a 655-hp, 610-lb-ft walk down Memory Drag Strip.