Named for the people from the south-central Abruzzo region of Italy, the Abruzzi draws its inspiration from the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the car is making its world debut on Tuesday, and its styling from the 1935 Delahaye Type 135 tear-drop coupe.

 

"It is about the true spirit of Le Mans, a car you can drive from home to the racetrack, race it, and then drive home again," Panoz chairman and American Le Mans Series owner Don Panoz said.

 

A three-year production run for the Abruzzi "Spirit of Le Mans" road car begins late this summer, and Panoz said his company will build just 81--equal to the number of 24-hour races run at Le Mans since 1923. Each will carry cues from an individual Le Mans race year.

 

Panoz will homologate the car for Europe, and it will be sold in European countries only, priced at 400,000 euros ($480,000). Panoz refused to comment about whether he plans a U.S. version.

 

When a good friend says, "Come to Shanghai" and offers a place to stay -- not to mention that said good friend, who's been living there for three years, is leaving the country for good in a matter of weeks -- you tend to want to say, "OK." Which is what I did, which is why, by the time you're reading this, I'll be on a 14-hour plane ride to one of the craziest cities in the world.

It is, however, a working vacation, or rather a vacation during which I'll be working. There are plans for some Shanghai-specific content (more on that later), but for the most part the blog will go on, business as usual, with the caveat that content may be showing up at odd times thanks to the 12-hour time difference between Shanghai and the East Coast of the U.S. 

My my my -- Lawrence Ulrich's post from earlier today certainly sparked some debate in the comments section. A touchy lot, all of you. For the record, I think Lawrence has a point -- being fast and agile makes a car sporty, but not necessarily a "sports car," which as a segment has its own definition.

So, to throw some fuel on that fire, as it were, here's a picture of the 2-door Volvo 3000 GTZ from, I believe, 1970 or thereabouts. It was built by Zagato, the design firm responsible for countless Alfas, Maseratis, Astons and the like -- and it would seem they built the seemingly oxymoronic: a Volvo sports car. Jalopnik is certainly calling it such. 

The Ford Explorer in its current iteration is a bit of a holdout: Despite the major uptick in smaller, more fuel-efficient, car-based crossover utility vehicles, or CUVs, the Explorer is still truck-based, with low gear ratios for handling off-road duty.

But, as we've reported in the past, Ford is forging ahead with a crossover Explorer that's based on the platform that serves both the Taurus and Flex. No low gear ratios, although by offering Land Rover's Terrain Response Management, the smaller, lower-riding CUV won't necessarily be left to exploring the mall parking lot or the back way to Whole Foods. Power, it seems, will be ample, with a standard multivalve V6 engine and, for some extra cash, a turbocharged 4-cylinder EcoBoost. 

I nearly spit coffee all over my screen when I saw GM claiming a sales achievement for its new Camaro. In fact, the manufacturer claims that its pony car, the star of the “Transformers” films, has become the nation’s best-selling "sports car," chalking up 99,872 sales in its first full year of production.

 

Let’s see, how to put this nicely -- what a crock! The claim is marketing spin at its finest; disingenuous at best and misleading for sure.

 

Read my lips, GM: The Chevrolet Camaro is not, and has never been, a "sports car." We all know what a sports car is: Two seats (or a plus-two layout at most); rear-wheel drive; convertible optional; relatively compact and lightweight. A sports car is a Chevy Corvette. A Mazda Miata is also a sports car, as is a Porsche 911, an MG and a Nissan Z.

 

A New Jersey law--the first of its kind in the country--requiring drivers younger than 21 to put a small red decal on their license plates has both teens and adults upset, according to a story on the Wall Street Journal Web site.

When one mother took her 16-year-old to the Motor Vehicle Commission for a learner's permit, the clerk told her she needed to buy red decals for her daughter. "When hell freezes over, I'll buy those stickers," she told the Journal.

About 250,000 drivers are subject to the law, and the motor-vehicle department has sold 105,000 stickers. Teens caught without the decals face a $100 fine.

 

As we reported on Friday, Chrysler recalled a small number of Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass vehicles for the same type of sticky accelerator-pedal problem that plagued some of the huge number of recalled Toyota vehicles. As the Los Angeles Times reports, the recall happened after only five complaints and an initial probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration -- and Toyota's recent troubles have much to do with the Chrysler's decision to order the early call back.

According to the article:

"Chrysler is recalling its vehicles after some drivers complained that when they released the gas pedal it did not return to the idle position. Four of the complaints said the drivers found parts from the pedal assembly loose on the driver's side floor."

 

Saab Automobile AB is reinventing itself as an independent automaker.

Since its sale by General Motors Co. to Spyker Cars NV in February, Saab has been re-evaluating every aspect of its business. Big changes are under way or expected.

"We are now in charge of our own destiny, which means we can do anything we want," said Spyker CEO Victor Muller.

Saab is slashing manufacturing and engineering costs. It is looking for tie-ups with other European automakers to share engineering costs, with an announcement expected in the next two or three months. It also is shopping its engineering expertise to automakers worldwide.