In an effort to establish that it's not some shady operation that wheels and deals behind the scenes, the Barrett-Jackson auction house decided to subject itself to an independent audit from accounting firm Deloitte and Touche.

Guess what? D and T found no irregularities, no questionable conduct and nothing that would otherwise raise questions about whether cars at B-J auctions are in any way manipulated on the block.

The report was ordered in part because some other automotive auction houses have been accused of shady practices like not paying off consignors on time and artificially boosting auctions with imitation bidders.

Barrett-Jackson
 

According to a report on 7Tune.com, Subaru's version of the FT-86 sportscar will get more than just new badges to differentiate it from its Toyota sibling. Instead of rear-wheel drive, Subaru's car will use an all-wheel drive setup along with a turbocharged version of the boxer four-cylinder engine. The Subaru sportscar will also get a slightly larger body and most likely a substantially higher price.

7Tune

According to a report on 7Tune.com, Subaru's version of the FT-86 sportscar will get more than just new badges to differentiate it from its Toyota sibling. Instead of rear-wheel drive, Subaru's car will use an all-wheel drive setup along with a turbocharged version of the boxer four-cylinder engine. The Subaru sportscar will also get a slightly larger body and most likely a substantially higher price.

7Tune

As expected, Fisker Automotive announced today that it plans to buy GM's Wilmington, Delaware plant for the purpose of constructing a new, mid-priced plug-in electric car. Fisker says it will pay a mere $18 million for the shuttered plant and then spend an additional $175M to get it ready to build Fisker's next car.

A Fisker spokesman also told Green Car Advisor that it plans to use union labor. "We are looking to establish a mutually beneficial partnership with the UAW."

This all sounds great on the surface, but they are plenty of reasons to remain skeptical. Fisker has yet to deliver a single working version of its first car, so its viability as a manufacturer has yet to be determined.

And then there's the issue of cost. Fisker says its next vehicle will be a "mid-priced" vehicle, think closer to $50K, but union fag in a plant in Deleware won't be cheap. Fisker is going to have to reduce its costs substantially to make it all work, so there's still plenty of difficult decisions still to be made.

Green Car Advisor: Fisker Plug-In Plant Will Be Union, UAW "Essential" Says Company
 

As expected, Fisker Automotive announced today that it plans to buy GM's Wilmington, Delaware plant for the purpose of constructing a new, mid-priced plug-in electric car. Fisker says it will pay a mere $18 million for the shuttered plant and then spend an additional $175M to get it ready to build Fisker's next car.

A Fisker spokesman also told Green Car Advisor that it plans to use union labor. "We are looking to establish a mutually beneficial partnership with the UAW."

This all sounds great on the surface, but they are plenty of reasons to remain skeptical. Fisker has yet to deliver a single working version of its first car, so its viability as a manufacturer has yet to be determined.

And then there's the issue of cost. Fisker says its next vehicle will be a "mid-priced" vehicle, think closer to $50K, but union fag in a plant in Deleware won't be cheap. Fisker is going to have to reduce its costs substantially to make it all work, so there's still plenty of difficult decisions still to be made.

Green Car Advisor: Fisker Plug-In Plant Will Be Union, UAW "Essential" Says Company
 

We must admit, we figured Ford would be spreading great heaps of 2010 Taurus SHOs around SEMA like grass seed. Not so much. Ford has revealed only two SHOs that it gave to two Detroit-area tuners.

Ford first went to Mobsteel in Brighton, Michigan, which went full comic-book villain on the big sedan. No surprise we suppose, since Mobsteel specializes in mean-looking, black-wearing, low-riding '60s Lincoln Continentals. For the SHO, the Mobsteel team dropped the SHO with Air Runner front struts and Mobsteel adjustable rear air ride suspension. The team bolted on 22-inch wheels wearing Pirelli PZero Nero tires. Then they painted everything black, and we do mean everything. Mobsteel says it anticipates the SHOs EcoBoost V6 can be tuned to about 420 horsepower.

The other SHO went to former Ford employee, Scott Hoag, who is now owner of MRT-Direct in Plymouth, Michigan. Hoag went for more of a subtle approach than Mobsteel. His SHO gets a coat of candle-apple red paint, a new hood, tasteful body kit. The body is lowered a bit on a stiffer suspension, a new exhaust system is added and "increased performance is achieved through turbo system efficiencies." How much the performance is increased, Ford isn't saying. Nice looking ride though that's not likely to be mistaken for a standard Taurus as the stock SHO often is.

We must admit, we figured Ford would be spreading great heaps of 2010 Taurus SHOs around SEMA like grass seed. Not so much. Ford has revealed only two SHOs that it gave to two Detroit-area tuners.

Ford first went to Mobsteel in Brighton, Michigan, which went full comic-book villain on the big sedan. No surprise we suppose, since Mobsteel specializes in mean-looking, black-wearing, low-riding '60s Lincoln Continentals. For the SHO, the Mobsteel team dropped the SHO with Air Runner front struts and Mobsteel adjustable rear air ride suspension. The team bolted on 22-inch wheels wearing Pirelli PZero Nero tires. Then they painted everything black, and we do mean everything. Mobsteel says it anticipates the SHOs EcoBoost V6 can be tuned to about 420 horsepower.

The other SHO went to former Ford employee, Scott Hoag, who is now owner of MRT-Direct in Plymouth, Michigan. Hoag went for more of a subtle approach than Mobsteel. His SHO gets a coat of candle-apple red paint, a new hood, tasteful body kit. The body is lowered a bit on a stiffer suspension, a new exhaust system is added and "increased performance is achieved through turbo system efficiencies." How much the performance is increased, Ford isn't saying. Nice looking ride though that's not likely to be mistaken for a standard Taurus as the stock SHO often is.

There was a time when an event such at the Specialty Equipment Marketers Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas would have been packed to the rafters with modified vans, carrying horrid metal-flake paint jobs and interiors that looked like the inside of a trombone case.

That time has passed. Still, Ford dropped off its dorky, little Euro work van with the folks at Azentek and Grant Products to load it down with custom paint, BBS wheels, navigation and entertainment systems as well as what Ford described as a "kitchen on wheels."

Okay sure, it's cute in a dorky VW Camper van sort of way. But we think it still pales in comparison to the custom Transit Connect we designed months ago. To apiece their own, we guess. (original art by Boris Vallejo; illustration by Kurt Niebuhr)

Hyundai has released an official photo and specs on its Genesis Coupe R-Spec. Not surprisingly, it looks just like the R-Spec that debuted at the Chicago Auto Show early this year.

To refresh your memory, the Genesis coupe R-Spec is a de-contented version of the 2.0T Track model. It's designed to offer a lower price while maintaining all the essential hard parts like the limited slip differential and upgraded brakes. It's prced at $23,750 and goes on understanding any day now.

2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe R-Spec
  

In the midst of hotly contested pony-car contest, Ford will litter the Las Vegas Convention Center with modified 2010 Mustangs for the SEMA show, which starts November 3.

Ford donated these Mustangs to various tuning shops, parts makers or favored associates to create something tasty (with some guidance from Ford officials, of course). The company will also have at least a couple of surprises it created independently, but the company isn't ready to talk about those yet.

So meanwhile, peruse this collection of Mustangs starting with the car above. It's called the Mustang RTR-C, but we prefer to call it The Black Death. This carbon fiber-bodied 'Stang is the work of champion drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr. and is alleged to be an "extremely limited production" model. Beyond the carbon panels all that we know about The Black Death is that it carries a 550-hp motor. That should do the trick.

Make the jump to see many, many more Mustangs.

And now for something quite completely different comes a Mustang inspired not by drifting but by the drag strip. Paul's High-Performance built a quarter-mile queen with a stonking hood, Pro Stock-style rear wing, fat rear drag slicks.

Long-time Mustang tuner, Steeda created this road-racing style Q350. The company claims to have more wins, records and championships in production-based Mustangs than any other "specialty manufacturer." Accordingly, the Q350 prioritizes dynamics and agility.

You had to know that someone would place white LED lights on the front of a Mustang sooner or later. That someone is H&R Springs which fitted the Mercedes E-Class-looking strings to the lower front end of the blue Mustang GT. We're not feeling the wing, but the wheels might look nice. We'll reserve finals judgment until we see it in November.

The only convertible of the Mustang bunch is this Galpin Auto Sports (GAS) GT. The folks at GAS give the convertible a wide body, two-tone paint and a Ford Racing supercharger that brings output to 550 horsepower.

Long-time body-kit specialists, 3dCarbon, brings to SEMA the 2010 version of it Boy Racer styling kit. It's an update on the body kit the company introduced in 2005. The 2010 version keeps the existing kit's close-set Eleanor-style driving lights and quarter-window louvers among other details.