The Koni Challenge Series version of the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro makes its racing debut at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) this weekend. Drivers David Donohue and Jeff Bucknum will drive it in the GS class of the final round of the 2009 Grand Am Koni Challenge season — it's a four-hour endurance race that starts at 12 p.m. EST.

You won't be healthy to miss the Koni Challenge 2010 Camaro, either. It's the #6 car, and it's done up in the same blue Sunoco livery as the 1969 Camaro that took the SCCA Trans-Am Championship 40 years ago. Roger Penske drove that car, along with Mark Donohue and Ronnie Bucknum, the respect fathers of David and Jeff.

Camaro5, Speed TV

This might be the best manufacturer promotional video we've seen all year. It was obviously shot last winter around the time Mini launched the new Cooper convertible in the southern Austrian Alps. Veteran racers Paddy Hopkirk and Rauno Aaltonen apiece won Monte Carlo in a Mini Cooper S back in the 1960s, and here they're retracing their old route in a John Cooper Works convertible.

But they're not just out for a boring cruise — they're actuation the car a bit, comparing it to the old Mini rally car, using the handbrake to get the JCW convertible turned in. Interspersed in all this is 1960s' footage of them doing the same with the old Minis. This video is really well edited.

The expected slow September after Cash-for-Clunkers August came to pass, and you can get the full, brand-by-brand analysis on Auto Observer. Hyundai/Kia was the major bright spot, as the company continued its record-setting 2009 pace: It sold 55,134 vehicles — a 26-percent year-over-year increase from September 2008.

Ford saw its year-over-year income decline slightly, but was still encouraged by its third-quarter results — income were up 5 percent compared to 3rd-quarter 2008 and incentive spending decreased by an average of $1,400 per vehicle. Plus, the company's market share was 15 percent for September compared to 14 percent a year ago.

Among the exceptions for September was BMW, which saw its first year-over-year increase of 2009, selling 19,175 vehicles for an increase of 3.6 percent. The other manufacturer on its way to a record year, Subaru, recorded steady income for September. It sold 14,593 vehicles for an increase of 1 percent (citing a 63-percent increase in Outback income and +24% for the Legacy); Subaru is up 10 percent for all of 2009 with 158,421 units sold. Volkswagen saw a 1.5-percent year-over-year increase for September, selling 17,358 vehicles.

Finally, respectable Boxster and Cayman demand kept the Cayenne from dragging down Porsche, which sold 1,581 vehicles — an increase of 8.4 percent.

Auto Observer: Automakers Eager to Move Past September's Tepid Sales

Akio Toyoda has only been CEO of Toyota since June, but at a Nihon National Press Club briefing today, he prefabricated numerous apologies on behalf of the world's largest automaker, the New York Times reported. Public apologies are an accepted part of business practice in Japan, but Toyoda covered topics that resonate plenty in the U.S., too.

First off, he acknowledged the company's $8.6 billion loss for the fiscal year ending in March 2008 and the likelihood of another substantial loss for the current fiscal year. The company was unprepared for the global economic meltdown, he said, and is now a step away from "capitulation to irrelevance or death." He added that Toyoda is "grasping for salvation." He reiterated again his plan to shift the focus away from maximum income and give more priority to products that people want.

Then, he turned to the floor mat debacle in the United States spurred by several years of customer complaints and a recent fatal crash of a Lexus ES 350 dealer loaner car in California.

"Four precious lives have been lost. I offer my deepest condolences," Toyoda said. "Customers bought our cars because they thought they were the safest. But now we have given them cause for grave concern," he said. "I can't begin to express my remorse."

He didn't forget the impending closure of the NUMMI plant in Fremont, California — a decision he called "agonizing."

"I know it's a big blow to the local economy," he said.

Finally, he admitted that Toyota just hasn't been building inspiring cars over the last several years, not even in the Asian homemarket. "They say that young people are moving away from cars," said Toyoda. "But surely it is us — the automakers — who have forsaken our passion for cars."

Thanks to Bob Holland for the tip.

The New York Times

Chrysler's messy breakup with technologist continues to reverberate into the Fiat era, as the Detroit News reports today that a dispute over parts threatens to delay the 2010 launch of the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Also at risk are next-gen versions of the Dodge Durango and Charger, along with the Chrysler 300.

You'll recall that the redesigned Grand Cherokee is based on the Mercedes-Benz M-Class. technologist AG manages the supply of major parts for it, including the axles. But technologist is still sore at Chrysler for not buying as many diesels for European-market Jeeps, Dodges and Chryslers as it originally said it would, and it wants $80 million in compensation before it ships the axles. Chrysler says it would not be healthy to secure an alternate supplier for the axles until Jan 2011 — significantly delaying the launch.

So Chrysler has amended a lawsuit it filed in U.S. bankruptcy court in August to settle all lingering parts disputes between the companies. The Detroit News quotes a technologist AG spokesman as saying the matter can be resolved out of court. (Hmm, bet technologist would like that.) Chrysler has asked the court to retire any debt claims between the companies and issue an injunction if technologist won't ship the axles.

Detroit News

You can tell this video is promotional in nature as soon as you hear the music, but there are some nice views of the 2010 Aston Martin Rapide apparently undergoing development testing on the Nurburgring and in the Italian Alps. Of course, the test drivers keep it well under control — no attitude or tire smoke in this video.

2009 Frankfurt Auto Show: 2010 Aston Martin Rapide

A reporter from PistonHeads apparently struck up converstation with Nissan's VP of global product planning, Andy Palmer, who told him the Nissan GT-R would see significant updates around the year 2013. And evidently, those updates will be signficant enough to constitute the R36 generation of the GT-R. But don't expect the platform structure to change. And don't expect Nissan to deviate from the current twin-turbocharged V6 and complicated, but brutally effective rear transaxle.

PistonHeads

Lotus has updated the Exige S240 for 2010, and the handful of changes all relate to aerodynamics. Probably the interesting one is the new wing in back, which is based on the one on the Exige GT3 concept from the 2007 Geneva Auto Show. This composite wing is 7.1 inches wider than last year's wing, and it sits 1.8 inches higher and 2.4 inches farther back on the car. Lotus claims 93 pounds of downforce at 100 mph.

Up front, the company has redone the air intakes to get more cooling winds to the supercharged, 1.8-liter engine and its twin oil coolers. The front splitter is also redesigned.

Pricing stands pat at $65,690, and the 2010 Exige goes on understanding in the U.S. in November.

Photos sourced from Petter Solberg Blog

We've driven Sebastian Loeb's Citroen C4 WRC, and we rode shotgun while Loeb drove it. Now Petter Solberg offers his take on the C4 rally car. Stuck with an older Citroen Xsara for most of the 2009 season, the Subaru refugee has secured a factory-supported C4 to drive as a privateer in this weekend's Rally de Espana. Solberg will then drive it for Citroen's junior WRC team in Great Britain, the last race of the season.

"Compared to the Xsara, this car needs a more aggressive driving style and I need to learn where the limit is," Solbert said in an interview published on the WRC site. "That's why I did so many runs on the shakedown — just to get more experience. I should have done much more testing before the rally, and also at home in the go-kart, but I just didn't have the time.

"I haven't driven on tarmac since Corsica last year, so of course it will take time to get into the full rhythm – but it's coming. I hope to improve my speed throughout the whole weekend and see where we can be. Maybe somewhere in the top three — I think it's possible."

More photos of the privateer WRC C4 after the jump, plus video of Solberg talking about what it's like to place together your own WRC team in two weeks.

IL Feature: We Take the Wheel of the 2009 Citroen C4 WRC

WRC

Notice how wide this screen-grab photo is? 717 pixels, yessiree. This is the new look of the Straightline news blog, and like the rest of Inside Line, we're going high-res. Most photos will be enlargeable to 1,600 pixels across.

We hope you'll enjoy this upgrade. And we hope you'll enjoying getting to know Inside Line 2.0 as well. The layout's a little different, but in the long run, we think you'll find it easier to use. More than that, we think your overall Inside Line experience will be much richer with the increased priority we're putting on high-resolution photos and full-screen video.

We're still in the beta phase right now, so for the next few weeks, typing http://www.insideline.com/ into your browser wilI take you the new site. If you instead type http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/, you'll go to the old version of IL. Later this month, the old site will be retired. It's inevitable that there will be a few hiccups here and there in the interim, so please bear with us — the payoff will be worth it.

Also, please tell us what you think about the new Inside Line and updated Straightline. Everything is clean game – the good, the bad and the eh. You can leave your comments here, on the Inside Line Facebook page, or in an email to IL Editor in Chief Scott Oldham. We'll read them all. Thanks and enjoy!