We reported in September that the redesigned 2011 Hyundai Sonata will have a direct-injected 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder gasoline engine.

Today, we learned that this engine is an advancement on the company's current Theta structure and, with the addition of direct injection, it will have an 11.3:1 compression ratio (up from 10.5:1 on the port-injected version). It also has a three-stage intake and variable valve timing on both the intake and exhaust side.

In the Sonata, this 2.4-liter will be rated at 201 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque.

In the current market, this ties it with the Acura TSX's 2.4-liter for most horsepower from a normally aspirated four-cylinder engine. And Hyundai has the advantage in torque — Acura only gets 172 hp out of its 2.4-liter.

And, remember, this is the only the beginning: Hyundai also plans to offer a turbocharged version of this engine on the Sonata making about 240-250 hp.

IL News: Hyundai Develops Own Gasoline Direct-Injection Theta II Engine

It's a low-key operation in an LA bedroom community, but Honda Performance Development in Santa Clarita, CA, is where Honda has done the development work on its IndyCar engines and the Acura American Le Mans Series cars.

In this video, the 4.0-liter V8 used in the Acura ARX 02a has been placed on a dynamometer. But it's not just going to redline a few times. It's being place through a simulated lap of Sebring.

Honda Performance Development

Hope you weren't counting on seeing the 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia at next month's LA Auto Show. Ferrari, Maserati, Bentley and Lamborghini have all pulled out of the show due to financial considerations. A source close to the LA Auto Show tells us the decision came months ago, though a report out of Detroit has drawn the Web's attention to it today.

Aston Martin is still on the exhibitor list. Although Aston public relations officials told us recently the company would have no official presence there, the LA-based Aston dealers are still expected to pull together a booth. Our source tells us that show organizers tried to persuade the other exotics to do the same, but Ferrari and Maserati in particular were against that because they wouldn't be healthy to control the brand message going out to consumers.

2009 LA Auto Show exhibitor list, TheDetroitBureau

First Drive: 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia

Mitsubishi's Lancer Evolution has a cult following in the United States. It has never been advertised heavily on TV. But here's a new TV commercial for it. Will this get the message crossways to the mainstream buyer who wants a fast, fun car? Or does that buyer even exist?

We've driven a prototype of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. However, the car's lithium-ion batteries were fully charged at the time, so we never experienced the 1.4-liter inline four-cylinder firing up to power the front-drive electric motor. In this capacity, the gas engine acts as a generator, and it's the reason we consider the Volt a series hybrid.

Since the Volt has only 40 miles of "all-electric" range, most owners are likely to spend a considerable amount of time driving the car in "generator" mode (or in General Motors-speak, "charge-sustaining" mode). GM has finally prefabricated Volts acquirable for members of the media to drive in generator mode on its Michigan proving grounds, and the New York Times' Lindsay Brooke and CNBC's Phil LaBeau were the first journalists to get behind the wheel.

Both report that the experience is initially a bit unsettling, because the gas engine runs when battery charge is deemed low, but its operating rpm has no obvious relationship to the driver's throttle input.

"The engine's initial engagement is inaudible and seamless, " Brooke writes. "I'm impressed… I near the accelerator and the engine sound does not change. The pedal has no connection to the generator, which is programmed to run at constant, preset speeds. This characteristic will take some getting used to by a public accustomed to vroom-vroom feedback.

"A few hundred yards later, as we snake through the track's infield section, the engine rpm rises sharply. The accompanying mechanical roar reminds me of a missed shift in a manual-transmission car."

GM officials say they're continuing to refine the software to smooth out, and quiet down, these transitions. You can read the first drives at the links below.

New York Times

CNBC

Inside Line First Drive: 2011 Chevrolet Volt Prototype

Daimler bought the Brawn GP Formula 1 team on Monday and renamed it Mercedes GP. On Wednesday, Jensen Button said he was leaving to drive for McLaren. And today, a BBC Sport columnist is speculating that Michael Schumacher will drive for Mercedes in 2010.

The columnist, Eddie Jordan, bases his supposition on a conversation that he says took place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. "Dr. Zetsche, for now the CEO of Daimler-Benz, Ross Brawn himself and Michael Schumacher were deep in conversation, and I believe it was to do with Schumacher possibly joining the team as a driver for the 2010 championship."

He argues that a Schumacher return would be part of a larger play to acquire Sebastian Vettel. "I think the comeback would be a one-year deal. I believe Mercedes wants Sebastian Vettel, but they can't get him — he's in Red Bull and that's the key to all of this. I think the Schumacher contract will revolve around the ability to prise Vettel out of Red Bull, whether it takes a year or two years… the prize in all of this is Vettel."

Jordan dismisses the lingering neck injury that kept Schumacher from filling in for Ferrari's Felipe Massa. "I do not see the neck being a problem. I think there are more than enough people to sort that out."

If Schumacher doesn't work out, Nick Heidfeld, a refugee of BMW Sauber, is thought to be the next mostly likely candidate.

BBC Sport

Photo: Schumacher and Vettel at the Race of Champions

Here are the first spy shots of the 2011 Audi A7, which our shooters caught uncovered and undisguised in a German test lab. The resemblance to the Audi Sportback concept from the 2009 Detroit Auto Show is unmistakable. Still, subtle changes to this prototype's front fascia are visible, as the concept hatchback's cleanly styled front air intakes have been replaced with more conventional inlets resembling cars in Audi's current lineup. The headlamp design is also toned down quite a bit.

In one of the detail shots after the jump, you'll see that the A7's hatch treatment has all the sass of the Sportback concept's, but there's what appears to be a spoiler atop the rear deck. We hope that's a temporary addition, or at the very least a deletable option.

Overall, though, the A7 is a nice translation from the concept, with a long, elegant silhouette that makes you wonder why BMW couldn't have done any better with the 5 Series Gran Turismo.

The 2011 Audi A7 is expect to go on understanding in late 2010.

Come Jan or February, you should see a few more car-related clues on Jeopardy! But they might all have to do with Fords! Beloved host Alex Trebek was at Ford's Dearborn headquarters yesterday to shoot video clues for the show!

We can't tell you how many of those clues will be Daily Doubles. But the Detroit Free Press was there and it turns out Trebek gave the F-150 SVT Raptor some unprompted love.

"I took one look at that Raptor and I'm thinking, yep, that's the way to go," he said.

Detroit Free Press

Full Test: 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

How special is the reborn Mercedes-Benz Gullwing? So special that Mercedes has started a blog just for the car and it's authored by Matthew K. We're not sure why Mr. K doesn't disclose his last name, but his latest report from Laguna Seca has some nice footage of the cars going through the Corkscrew. A full video of Mr. K's (or is that, Dr. K?) hot lap with Tommy Kendall will evidently be posted on the "SLS AMG Reporter" on Monday.

SLS AMG Reporter blog

First Drive: 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

We finally have an on-sale date (December 15) and a base price ($46,305) for Acura's MDX-based, five-seat, hatchback-shaped crossover called the ZDX. A 300-horsepower version of the company's 3.7-liter V6 is under the hood of every 2010 Acura ZDX, and a six-speed automatic transmission drives all four wheels through the vehicle's Super-Handling AWD (that's SH-AWD to you) system. And every ZDX has a 16 mpg city, 23 mpg highway, 19 mpg combined EPA fuel economy rating.

If add the Technlogy package, which includes navigation (with real-time traffic and weather), a rearview camera, keyless start and what's sure to be a very fine Panasonic ELS surround-sound system, you'll move up to $50,805.

Above that, there's the Advance package, which further adds adaptive cruise control, adaptive suspension damping, a blind-spot warning system, collision mitigation braking support (that keeps that left pedal down when your nerves fail), upgraded Milano leather upholstery, and heated/ventilated seats. All together, that will cost you $56,855.

And in fact, the 2010 ZDX with Advance Package is the most expensive Acura you can buy in 2010, eclipsing the RL, which tops out at $55,060.