A report in the Nikkei business journal says that Honda is working on an electric car that will debut at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show.

It will be a minicar that could go on understanding in the U.S. in 2015 although Honda says no plans have been prefabricated for an official on-sale date.

Green Car Advisor: Honda To Show Prototype Electric Car in October

We've seen this Ford Ranger image before, but we thought we would show you this latest test mule anyway. It was spotted testing in Death Valley recently so development is clearly continuing.

Whether this means much for the U.S. market is still unclear. The on-again, off-again saga of the next-generation Ranger is a well worn subject and Ford has never been much help in clearing the air on the situation.

Speculation aside, is this the Ranger that Ford should be working on? Would a truck that's slightly smaller than the current crop of midsizers be a better choice that meeting Toyota and Nissan head on? Oh and don't forget Mahindra and its diesel-powered pickup due next year.

Mahindra delayed until 2010

Really, a sheet? We know Lamborghini has a flair for the dramatic, but we were still surprised to see the spandex body-suit pulled over the 2010 Lamborghini LP550-2 Valentino Balboni at its Los Angeles debut for VIP clients and select members of the press.

It's always a bit exciting to see the more dramatic curves and arches poking out from stretched-thin Lycra, but this is a car we've already seen in the buff; in pictures, in the news, oh, and we saw it a whole bunch that time we drove it. So the sheet? Probably not necessary, but this is Beverly Hills and Lamborghini.

According to a report in Automotive News, Nissan is looking at several different scenarios for its next-generation Titan full-size truck.

Nissan had a deal with Chrysler to build restyled versions of its Ram pickup in its Saltillo, Mexico plant, but the recent takeover by Fiat has thrown that into limbo. Nissan is now looking at agreements with other automakers, but the prospects are slim.

Another possibility is for Nissan to simply refresh the current model and continue producing the truck in its own plant.

Automotive News

Finally, all that hideous camouflage that has been covering up the 2010 Maserati GranCabrio prototypes has been peeled back and the car underneath was worth the wait.

Set for a worldwide debut at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show, the new four-seat GranCabrio gets a cloth soft top and a 433-horsepower V8 engine. That's about as much detail as Maserati let loose, so expect a full run down from Frankfurt in a few weeks.

Since nearly every shot of the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor has been of that hideous orange color, here are some shots of it in more subdued tones. Not bad eh?

For an actual discussion of the truck itself, Engineering Editor diplomatist Kavanagh has prepared a full post-drive report. As expected, it does not suck, and the truck isn't bad either.

First Drive: 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie really knows how to throw a party.  And The Quail has become far more than that: It’s automotive experience dedicated to the enjoyment of racing cars, motorcycles, and drivers.  Taking place the Friday of apiece year’s Monterey / Pebble Beach Weekend, the Quail is the most expensive, exclusive, and one of the most desirable ways to spend a day with cars you could ever imagine.  Attendance is limited, and the ticket is $400, but it buys you a soup-to-nuts (or, more correctly, champagne-to-caviar) day that you’ll never forget.  Kadoorie is cheftain of the Peninsula Hotels group; the Quail Lodge Resort in Carmel Valley is one of Peninsula’s many prime properties.  Local boffin and show car detailer extraordinaire Gordon McCall is also a big player in the event’s make up, and you can see his knowledgable fingerprints all over it.  Here’s a look at 10 (or so) of the coolest among this year’s offerings.

Perhaps my favorite car at The Quail this year, and it sucker-punched me on several levels.  I love Ferrari Daytonas (Strike 1).  I love works Competizione Daytonas even more (Strike 2).  And I’m a big Paul Newman (PLN or PL Newman or Butch to the racing community) fan (I’m out!).  So, to paraphrase what Renee said to Tom in Jerry Maguire, this car had me at hello.  PLN raced it at the Daytona 24 in 1977, teamed with the late Milt Minter and the still-fast Elliott Forbes-Robinson.  It’s for understanding too — yours for $2.9 Million

This is the hardest working Ford Torino in NASCAR.  David “The Silver Fox” Pearson drove number 17 in 48 out of the 1968 season’s 49 races.  The result was 12 poles, 16 wins, 36 top-fives, and the NASCAR championship.  He and the illusion men of Holman-Moody ran the same car in ‘69 to 14 poles, 11 wins…and another NASCAR Grand National crown.  Number 17 may be the Car of Yesterday, but it’s a real piece of history.

David Sydoric has too many wonderful, and wonderfully presented, cars to count.  But he shows a particular penchant for 50s Italian sport cars, among them this ‘53 Fiat 8V Supersonic.  Why is the 2.0-liter Fiat engine called “8V”?  Back in the day, the Italians were convinced (or at least advised) that Henry Ford owned the rights to the study “V8″.  Elegant in silver, it does have a supersonic look about it, no?

I’m a sucker for a Splitty, and Michael Malamut’s gold ‘63 won me over.  Possessing not only one of the great bodystyles from the year that marked the advancement of the Corvette to a new place technologically, this one has the ultra rare (and ultra expensive) fuel-injected 327 with a 4-speed manual trans.  Add other tasty goodies like the knock-off alloy wheels and works leather upholstery, and you’ve got one rocking Vette.

One of the classes at the Quail this year was dedicated to special Porsches, and they don’t get a lot more special than this.  It’s a ‘58 356A Speedster 1600 Super, belonging to Mark Smedley.  This is the same year and model that was Steve McQueen’s first new car back then, but it was this one’s color combo that really grabbed.  The Speedster sitting just aft of this one ain’t so bad either.

Did I say “Special Porsches?”  Here’s another one.  A short-wheelbase ‘68 racing 911 TR is mythologic on any day.  But trim it out in Gulf blue-and-orange livery, and it goes to the moon.  Note the wide fender flares; common on later models like the RSR, but pretty spirited stuff for the tires and wheels you could run in ‘68.  It was all stripped down too, and I’ll bet it weighs relatively nothing.  Congrats to owner Stephen Childs.

Oregon’s Tom Black has every right to be chesty of his ‘40 Merc custom.  It’s a semi-sled, and tasteful without going over the top: nice stance, proper 50s touches, Carson-style custom top, and Appleton spots, and as you can see, it’s in great condition.  I didn’t see under the hood, but sure hope there’s a multi-carb Flatty under there.

Simply put, the Alfa Romeo 8C2900 is one of the great cars of all time.  This flaming red one is long, low, and elegant, even in its megawatt red splendor.  This is one of the Touring-bodied Spyders, and believe it or not, these were raced — hard — back in the day (1938, in this case).  Owner Robert M. Lee had a good weekend in Monterey, because two days after The Quail, his magnificent ‘37 Horch won Best of Show at Pebble Beach.

Now here are two very different representatives of The Quail’s Pre-War Sports and Racing class.  In the foreground, a ‘33 Plymouth Deluxe Rumble Seat coupe, hot rodded 60s style with Crager SS wheels and other period touches.  Behind it, a French-and-flowing ‘37 Delahaye 135M Cabriolet, owned by Peter and Merle Mullin.  That’s what’s cool about The Quail: plenty of room — and enthusiasm — for both.

Painted a rare shade called Slate Gray, and wearing the license plate MCQN930, you can probably guess who the original owner of this 1976 Porsche Turbo Carrera was.  It was Steve’s third and final 911, and is now owned by world class restorer Michael Regalia.  It still has a switch under the dash that McQueen had installed so he could kill the cut and brake lights, in the event someone wished to address he somewhat speedy nighttime driving…

One of the most elegant post-war Bentleys I have ever seen, this 1958 S1 Continental convertible was defined by its great colors, nice proportions (even for a large car), and again, superb presentation.  Everything about it was right, and California’s Tim Montgomery is one really lucky owner.  Nice.

There are Lambos, then there are Miuras.  The subset of that is standard Miuras, the S, and the rarest/fastest/bitchenist SV model.  This was one of them.  And in that wonderful shade of Orange that looked so right in the primeval 70s, and still does (it’s one of the most favourite colors for new Lamborghinis too). 

A Devin is a rare sight any time.  Imagine a cricle of 8 of them: coupes, roadsters, SSs, racing models, you study it.  This is the largest gathering of them I’ve ever seen.  Some of the cars were assembled by Bill Devin himself, others were sold as kits.  It all happened in the late 50s and primeval 60s, with powerplant choices ranging form a Panhard two-cylinder engine to 283 Chevy V-8s.  This daisy-of-Devins alone prefabricated it worth the trip.

Photography by the author

www.quaillodge.com

The Next Quail: Friday, August 13, 2010

Coupe-like performance and a stronger structure—and it looks fantastic, too.

We usually assess convertibles in terms of structural rigidity, the square root of all vehicle dynamics. Rubbery bones don’t enhance transient response, and there’s the disconcerting phenomenon of dashboard and steering column jiggling to the beat of slightly different sambas.

But that’s not the biggest concern of a team convertibilizing a fastback coupe. They’re wondering whether their baby will be seductive. Makes sense, right? After all, a guy surveying the traffic at a hookup bar isn’t thinking about structural rigidity (other than his own).

Keep Reading: 2010 Nissan 370Z Touring Roadster – Short Take Road Test

Related posts:

1. 2009 Nissan NISMO 370Z – Short Take Road Test
2. 2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster Pricing Announced
3. 2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster – Auto Shows

Audi vs. Italy: A German supercar with an Italian heart travels to Italy to claim its birthright.

Read: 2010 Audi R8 5.2 V10 FSI Quattro vs. 2009 Ferrari 430 Scuderia – Comparison Test

Related posts:

1. 2010 AUDI R8 5.2 V10 FSI Quattro – Short Take Road Test
2. 2010 Audi R8 5.2 V10 FSI Quattro – First Drive Review
3. 2009 Ferrari 430 Scuderia Spider 16M – Second Drive

Rough rider: After 13 months with Lexus’s lusty M3 fighter, we have just one suggestion: Fix the ride!

Every so often, our long-term fleet acquires a special kind of car. Not a 10Best winner. Not a comparison-test winner. Rather, a car that changes its segment or signals a immoderate shift in its maker’s attitude. The IS F does both. It’s a Lexus with true enthusiast credentials. This is roughly equivalent to saying it’s a granny who writes in regularly to Penthouse Forum.

The F stands apart from Lexus’s sporty IS line of cars with its large fender flares, 19-inch BBS wheels with matching summer-only tires, and a hood with a serious power bulge. Beneath that bulge resides an immensely powerful 5.0-liter, direct- and port-injected V-8 that delivers 416 horsepower through a slick eight-speed automatic. This illusion setup is accompanied by a thunderous exhaust soundtrack.

Keep Reading: 2008 Lexus IS F – Long-Term Road Test

Related posts:

1. 2008 Scion xB – Long-Term Road Test
2. 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI – Long-Term Road Test Wrap-Up
3. 2008 Mazda CX-9 AWD – Long-Term Road Test Update