The finish line is in sight for development of the next McLaren supercar, the MP4-12C. The project has entered the final phase of testing with a new round of prototypes that feature significant advancements from last year.

McLaren released film on Tuesday of two versions of the new testers, called the XP8 and the XP10, which it says are in the "beta phase" of development. They move the project closer to production guise with a new version of the M838T twin-turbo engine, transmission with new gear ratios, an improved cooling package, new suspension geometry and upgraded electrical architecture. The 3.8-liter V8 is expected to make about 600 hp and work in tandem with a seven-speed, dual-clutch gearbox. The weight should come in at less than 3,000 pounds. Look for a sticker of about $230,000 when the car goes on sale in 2011.

 

Despite temporarily suspending recommendations for a whopping eight recalled models (a first in the magazine's history), Consumer Reports is reporting that Toyota has placed third in its 2010 Automaker Report Cards. (A carmaker's score is "based on the average of its vehicles’ overall scores in Consumer Reports’ road tests and their average predicted-reliability ratings from Consumer Reports’ Annual Auto Survey.") The Toyota Prius remains the Top Green Pick, despite recent recalls to address braking issues.

Toyota places behind fellow Japanese carmakers Honda and Subaru, which take the one-two spots for delivering best all-around quality for American drivers. On the opposite end of the spectrum, beleaguered Chrysler has fallen off further than even last year, ranking dead last. According to the magazine: "Most models from the manufacturer have noisy, inefficient, unrefined powertrains; subpar interiors; and poor visibility." 

Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. President James Lentz plans to stick to his guns and tell skeptical lawmakers Tuesday that the company's unwanted acceleration problems do not stem from electronic defects, a copy of his testimony shows.

Lentz's reiteration of Toyota's longstanding position suggests that top company executives were unmoved by sharp criticism of that stance Monday by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman.

“We are confident that no problems exist with the electronic throttle control system in our vehicles,” Lentz says in 2½ pages of written testimony prepared for delivery to the House panel. “We have designed our electronic throttle control system with multiple fail-safe mechanisms to shut off or reduce engine power in the event of a system failure.”

His testimony adds that the company's “extensive testing of this system” has “never found a malfunction that caused unintended acceleration.”

 

Lotus just announced that the first two “Naomi for Haiti” Lotus Evoras sold at charity auction for a combined $450,000. That may seem like quite a bit of money to pay for a sports car that retails for around $73,000, but the buyers weren’t crazy. Not only did the proceeds of the sale go toward relief for the victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti, but the buyers themselves got more than a new car to play with. Buying a car through a charity auction means a portion of the sale will be deductable on next year’s taxes, and that’s no bad thing.

While big-number charity auctions promoted by supermodels like Naomi Campbell tend to grab headlines, the truth is that plenty of auctions are more approachable for everyday buyers and still benefit good causes. 

In 1992, Congress mandated that the Justice Department create a database recording vehicle information from junkyards, mechanics, insurance companies and other sources as a tool to combat auto theft and fraud. The Justice Department dragged its feet a bit -- 16 years or so -- before lawsuits from consumer advocacy groups spurred the creation of the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System in 2008. Two years later, California has joined 30 other states offering residents the reports produced by the system, and for a pittance. California residents can now pay $4 for a report that shows whether a car has been stolen or its odometer altered, and whether it has been salvaged from a flood, rebuilt after a wreck or declared a total loss. Before, customers had to pay $30 or more through Carfax, the company to which the state farmed out reporting duties up until recently. 

Toyota chief Akio Toyoda may want to pack his fire-retardant driving shoes for this week's congressional hearing, considering that participating officials have pledged to “hold Toyota’s feet to the fire.” In between bouts of grandstanding, the politicos will also subject the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to scrutiny -- which they should. There are recurring inconsistencies in the way consumer complaints to NHTSA turn into actual investigations; there's a similar lack of rhyme or reason to the pace of investigations, which could be wrapped up in 10 days or drag on without closure for several years.

           

This raises important questions about why some cars are investigated or recalled after just a handful of customer issues, which others are not, despite thousands of consumer complaints. Based on my own reading of complaints to NHTSA, I’ve long suspected that what bothers some people is simply the way their car works. Without minimizing genuine defects, I’ve met plenty of drivers who simply don’t know enough about cars to offer objective criticism of their functions.

 

(Update: Check out this great Washington Post article for a history of Toyota's lobbying activities and ties to Washington.)

Well, this isn't going to help Toyota's reputation.

According to documents requested by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (as part of the government's investigation into the myriad Toyota safety issues), Yoshimi Inaba, Toyota's head of U.S. operations, crowed to the company's Washington staff that Toyota had saved about $100 million through its work with the government to limit regulatory action in the face of unintended-acceleration issues. The statistic was part of an internal presentation by Inaba during a July 6 meeting in Washington and was listed under a subheading called "Wins for Toyota."

The documents were recently obtained by the Detroit Free Press. 

We can't remember the last time we were excited about a new Kia.

Sure, the Korean automaker is making a (new) name for itself with capable and dependable models like the Soul and the Borrego -- all with a bang-for-the-buck factor, considering their low price points.

Which is not, of course, to say that you're going to have your head turned by a Kia rolling down your street.

But could that change? Based solely on the picture above (and, yes, that's a Kia), perhaps: That image is the concept version of an all-new, redesigned Optima that, it has just been announced, will make its debut at the upcoming New York Auto Show, in April.

Will the production model resemble the sleek, mean, low-slung monster that looks like a powerhouse Audi/Beemer mash-up? Few models bound for showrooms closely mirror their concept counterparts, so probably not. But considering the side-by-side view of the current Optima against its slick rendering, we are, yes, excited to see exactly how the transformation plays out.