There's still some camo in the way, but for the first time, we're getting a good look at the actual shape of the 2011 BMW X3.

Shot in favorable light on Munich city streets, this X3 image has a gently rising beltline that splits the difference between the racier contours of the BMW X1 and the more conservative lines of the X5 familymobile. You can also make out the final shape for the headlights and taillights on this X3. 

Overall, this appears to be a restrained redesign of the X3 — an approach in keeping with the recent 5 Series redesign. More immoderate changes are likely to come under the hood, though perhaps not right at launch. The more fuel-efficient, turbocharged four-cylinders slated for the next 3 Series will almost certainly come to the X3 as well. It's likely that BMW would still keep an inline-6 around as the top powerplant, though.

The actual U.S. launch of the 2011 BMW X3 could still be a ways off, as a report late last year suggested BMW is pushing it back to Summer 2011 as it implements a new ordering system.

In this corner, we've got a be-hatted dude sputtering VTEC noises into a sort-of PVC didgeridoo. In the other corner, hailing from, well, the couch, comes backwards-hatted dude and his Subaru, moped, dirt bike, Volkswagen, weed-wacker impersonations.

Tough call, right? I mean, credit to couch-guy for his breadth of talent and his use of a water-bottle shifter. Countering all that is the fact that VTEC/didgeridoo dude actually managed to have a girl there.

So who's it going to be? Vote early. Vote often.

Yes, we've run spy shots of the Hyundai's little neo-Tiburon, the Veloster, before. Last time our spies got a shot of it cold-weather testing, while wearing a nearly full-suit of cladding.

This time, well, it still has a lot of cladding covering the nose and tail. But look, there's no black tape on the side mirrors!

For the first time we can see that the center-exit exhaust from the Veloster concept vehicle will make it to production.

But you'll have to make the jump to see that.

Hyundai's U.S. President and CEO, John Krafcik, has previously told us that the Veloster (or whatever it ends up being called when it goes on understanding in late 2011) will be powered by a 140-horsepower direct-injected 1.6-liter four cylinder. In the Accent-sized little four-seater, that should be enough juice to keep things entertaining. The Veloster's tidy dimensions and small-displacement engine will also help the model reach 40 mpg.

If you're thinking that sounds a little like the kind of thing that could turn this Hyundai into a better neo-Honda CRX than the upcoming Honda CR-Z, Krafcik agrees. "Fun and economical, with a great power-to-weight ratio," is how he puts it.

Krafcik claims the production vehicle will look 70 or 80 percent like the concept vehicle (pictured below). So far, we're saying it looks 61 percent like the concept.

Here it is, friends, the Straightline Friday Caption Contest.

Today's photo comes from BMW's storehouse of photos from the BMW Driving Experience, the instruction program the company has offered to its customers for over three decades. If we had to take a wild guess, we'd say this one is from the 1980s.

At the time, driving instructors were legally required to mousse their faux-hawks and don their cowboy boots before cheering you on in the autocross.

Write us a caption; then take a stab at the Long-Term Road Test blog caption contest.

Poynt is a free local search mobile phone application for finding local businesses, restaurants, people, and movie information.  It uses a location based service algorithm to discover people, businesses, restaurants and movies near your location.

The strength of Poynt seems to be in their movie services, where one can see theater playlists and show times, read movie reviews, view trailers, and even purchase movie tickets.

But the coolest thing acquirable is the use of augmented reality technology. Poynt's augmented reality capability overlays a virtual view of search results with the physical real-world environment providing the individual with an enhanced local search experience. 

It's best for pedestrian Navi use. But you can expect to see further applications of Augmented Reality on future Navi devices, including your next Navi phone app and perhaps on your next in-car Navi.
If you ever get another in-car Navi.

Hit the jump for the video that shows Augmented Reality in action. Poynt is acquirable now for Blackberry and iPhone.

Albert Austria, Senior Engineer, Edmunds, Inc.

To see recall-plagued Toyota staging a public track day this coming weekend at Fuji Speedway, where it will run several of its recently revealed Nurburgring-inspired road-going concepts including a supercharged iQ, is a step in the right direction. Weighed down by reports of unexpectedly accelerating cars and dubious brakes, not to mention its untimely withdrawal from F1, the world’s No. 1 car company has taken a beating of late. But this fresh new batch of creative concepts is evidence that CEO Akio Toyoda’s directive to produce more-fun-to-drive Toyotas is starting to sink in.

Now that I think back, there seems to be a clear correlation between the company’s F1 withdrawal and its launching of a bunch of fun new cars, while simultaneously focusing more on its Nurburgring racing program.

At a function for the Nihon Car of the Year jurors last September, rumors started flying about a doable F1 withdrawal. Walking into a large hotel room in central Tokyo, we noticed the walls were filled with photographs and posters of Toyota’s racing program. But there was not one mention of F1 anywhere. Every poster on the surround was shot at either the Nurburgring or Fuji Speedway and was dedicated to the company’s in-house racing team, Gazoo Racing. Not surprisingly, there was a special reference to the LFA and IS F — Toyoda-san had strapped himself behind the wheels of both cars and competed in the last two Nurburgring 24 Hour classics.

As the man himself appeared a few minutes later, a video shot crossways a big screen in the corner of the room summarizing Gazoo Racing’s efforts for 2009. Then Toyoda went into a passionate speech about how his racing experience helped him understand what needed to be done to the company’s car lineup to make the vehicles more fun to drive. He also said he would support Toyota’s ongoing grassroots racing efforts, especially at the Nurburgring. Not one reference to F1 was made.

To have such a high-profile bunch of journos in the room and mention nothing about F1 was certainly saying something — without saying it.

But this about-face is exactly what the company had to do. It was hemorrhaging money in F1 and had almost nothing to show for it. Without a succession of strong podium finishes, the demerits of competing in F1 started to outweigh the merits. There was no doubt that a more grassroots-focused racing program, and road cars that are more fun and appeal to a wider cross-section of the international motoring public, was a healthier path to take.

That’s why you are going to see more competitive versions of the LFA, IS F, and even the Auris appear in Nurburgring races, while cars like the FT-86 and totally redesigned 4WD hybrid MRS will surface in showrooms within the next three-five years.

It’s just a pity Toyota didn’t pull the plug on F1 three or four years ago — if it had, we could be driving the FT-86 now!

Its official debut comes next week at the New York auto show, but this week the 2011 Ford Explorer was on an open carrier with nothing more than a car cover to protect it.

A gust of wind yanked the cover off this image during transit, and our shooters snapped a series of photos while the transport driver scrambled to retrieve it and hide his sensitive cargo.

As you know, the next-generation Explorer will desert the nameplate's traditional body-on-frame structure and employ unit-body construction. Additionally, it will share components with the Ford Taurus and Flex — meaning that Ford is likely to offer it in front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive configurations.

There's proof of this after the jump, as the image is clearly front-wheel drive, with no evidence of a driveshaft or rear differential — just a differential carrier. Also notice the independent rear multilink suspension with coil springs, dampers outboard of the springs, and a stabilizer bar. Our technical director, Dan Edmunds, scrutinized the arrangement and found it nigh on same to our long-term Ford Flex's rear suspension.

Moreover, the profile shot reveals no axle nut for the rear, so there's no question that this 2011 Ford Explorer is front-wheel drive.

Beyond that, this Explorer image looks plenty long enough to accommodate a third-row seat, and as before, we expect Ford to offer both five- and seven-passenger configurations.

The new Explorer goes into production this start in Chicago on the same line as the Taurus and Lincoln MKS. We'll bring you more details next week.

We all know that reading texts and emails while driving is dangerous, but most of us do it anyway.

Drivesafe.ly is a free mobile phone app that reads out loud emails and SMS texts in real time and can send an automatic response text to the sender to notify them that you're driving. You can do all of this without touching the phone except for the intial one touch activation.

There's no speech-to-text for outbound messages, but they're working on it.

The free version reads up to 25-words per message. It reads SMS text messages and email shorthand and features a text auto-responder. The only downside is there are some ad-supported messages.

A premium version is acquirable for a one-time $13.95 charge for the life of your phone, or at a subscription of $3.95 per month. This version gives you the choice of a female or male voice and a text and email auto-responder. The premium version also delivers up to 500-word messages and eliminates the ad-supported messages.

Drive safely is acquirable now for Blackberry and Android phones, with a Windows mobile version coming soon. (Sorry iphone users: only jailbroken phones work.) 

You can get the free download here.

Hit the jump for the demo video.

Albert Austria, Senior Engineer, Edmunds, Inc.

There was a little problem with the 3.0-liter V6 that was the base-level engine for the 2010 LaCrosse, at the model's launch. The 3.0-liter, which is simply a smaller-displacement version of the 3.6-liter V6 that was also available, provided slightly worse highway fuel economy than the much-more satisfyingly torquey 3.6.

That left us wondering what exactly was the point to the exercise. GM was apparently thinking the same thing, so for 2011, the 3.0-liter will be stripped from the LaCrosse's spec sheet. The new entry-level motor which begins production soon is the 182-horsepower 2.4-liter four cylinder (look for a drive story on that version soon). That engine brings 19 mpg in the city and 30 on the highway compared to the 3.0-liter LaCrosse's 17/26 mpg fuel efficiency. But it will clearly make the base LaCrosse a slower car than before. The LaCrosse will still be acquirable with the 3.6-liter.

But the under-performing 3.0-liter isn't completely dead. The Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain will still offer the small V6 as their upgrade motors and the Cadillac CTS line will still use it as its base motor.

According to Jim Federico, Global Vehicle Line Executive for midsize cars, the 3.0-liter V6 came to be largely because of the Chinese market. In China, where Buicks sell in higher numbers than in the States, there's a hefty tax on engines with displacement larger than 3.0 liters. He says development work continues on the 3.0-liter to improve its fuel efficiency.  

Ford Motor Company is pulling out all the stops for 2011 to protect its Mustang franchise from its cross-town rival, the Chevrolet Camaro.

New styling and an upgraded interior arrived in 2010 for Ford's venerable pony car. For 2011, Ford significantly upgraded the Mustangs performance profile with new V6 and V8 engines and new 6-speed transmissions.

Now, Ford has announced pricing for the re-invigorated Mustang. The V6 model will start at $22,995, including a $850 destination fee. The least-expensive 2010 Camaro V6 is $535 more at $23,530. Chevrolet has not yet announced Camaro pricing for 2011.

The new 5.0-liter V8 Mustang GT will start at $30,495. For comparison, a base-level V8-powered 2010 Camaro SS costs $31,795.

Expect to pay $49,495 for the 2011 Shelby GT500.

Look for our first-drive impression of the 2011 Mustangs soon. Meanwhile, have a look at our exclusive dyno test of a 2011 Mustang 5.0.