Add one more feather to the proverbial cap of the Tesla Model S. Road & Track West Coast Editor Jason Cammisa figured out how to make the electric luxury sedan extra frisky and then set about nuking the rear tires with electric-motor torque.

"Holy hell there's a lot of torque here," Cammisa wrote in his notes after pulling a fuse that took the ABS, stability control and traction control offline. That fuse also took out the speedometer and air suspension – no big deal – but power steering and brake assist went out, too, making hooning a parking-lot-only affair.

The best part is that they shot a video to accompany the hijinks, so you can see for yourself how the Model S does. If you want to try it for yourself, just be careful.

"There's no rev-limiter to contend with," notes Cammisa, and that means "you'll be spinning tire up to the car's 212 kilometre per hour (132-mph) top speed." That makes the Model S capable of blowing tires very effectively. The upside to disabling the assistance systems is that the raw dynamics of the car show through, and Cammisa reports that the underlying car is very good, indeed. You've waited long enough, scroll down for the video.

Catholics already have a celebration in December in honour of a figure with a nine-month gestation, and that's exactly how long it took the latest Mercedes Benz Popemobile to go from conception to delivery. While The Messiah arrived in a manger, the new Popemobile was delivered by company head Dr. Dieter Zetsche, who said "It is an honour for Mercedes-Benz to be accompanying His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on his future journeys with our new Popemobile."

The new Popemobile is based on the latest M-Class, though the Pope's new SUV features reduced ride height to easier shipment of the vehicle, which happens frequently. The vehicle also features improved visibility and lighting for the Pontiff, which presumably went over well at the vehicle's public debut in Rome at this year's celebration of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Look closely, and you'll see Mercedes-Benz three-pointed stars hanging from lighting fixtures, too. This latest Popemobile continues the trend of Daimler supplying papal transport, a legacy that stretches back 80 years, so look for the Diamond White modified M-Class the next time you see the Holy See.

Scroll down for the press release below.

In a move that welcomes former pieces of General Motors back into the fold, GM Financial has reached a deal with Ally Financial, formerly GMAC, to buy a piece of the company's international operations. The US$4.2 billion deal is for Ally's Latin America, Europe and China operations.

"GM is entering the most aggressive rollout of new vehicles in its history, and this acquisition will make us an even more formidable competitor by ensuring that competitive financing is available to our customers and dealers around the world," says General Motors CFO Dan Ammann. The ability to finance from a captive unit will let General Motors extend better loan terms to potential customers, which the automaker sees as key to closing a sales gap that's between 10 and 15 per cent versus automakers who already have their own financing divisions.

GM will be handing over more than US$2 billion in cash to GM Financial, and the unit will more than double its liabilities from US$12 billion to US$27 billion while also doubling its assets to about $33 billion. GM Financial expects to bolster its yearly pre-tax earnings by US$300-$400 million. It will take at least six months to wrap this deal up, provided it gets approvals from various oversight agencies. For more information on the deal, check out the official press release below.

News Source: General Motors, The Detroit News

Actually, it's not Rick Wagoner all by himself, but the ex-GM chairman is working with a team of tech entrepreneurs who make up Tred, a new test drive concierge service. Tred is still in beta, but the idea is that you pick the cars you'd like to test drive, schedule delivery by concierges who are working to get positive feedback from folks like you and then try out the vehicles you're considering on the roads you know.

There's been good in-roads for Tred in the Seattle area for both dealers and shoppers. How Tred manages to convert a delivery service that's asking for feedback into actual profit will be something to watch. Ask our auto-test fleet people, delivering cars is a time-intensive undertaking that requires people and insurance above and beyond the lot attendants at most car dealerships. Also, dealerships themselves can offer this kind of service, especially a multi-line dealer group, and they've got a book full of relationships from which to start.

In other words, Tred may have a long road to ... tread. We'll be watching.

Herbie, that loveable Volkswagen Beetle that starred in a series of Disney movies, was at least ostensibly a race car. The latest Beetle special edition from Volkswagen, the just-for-Spain Beetle Edition 53, on the other hand, is all sizzle and no steak. The Edition 53 package carries stripes, "53" numbers, and is expressly not available with the turbocharged engine; you know, the engine that would actually lend an air of raciness to the Beetle's performance.

There is some actual substance to the Edition 53 apart from its spiffy appearance. Standard wheels are 17-inchers, and gears can be swapped by a six-speed DSG. Tire pressure monitoring and Park Pilot parking assistance system are also part of the package. Prices range from €22,090 euros (CAD$28,158) for the Beetle Edition 53 with 1.2 litre TSI four cylinder, and steps through €23,770 euros (CAD$30,300) for a 1.6 litre TDI, €26,150 (CAD$33,334) for a 2.0 litre TDI and the 2.0 TDI with 6-speed DSG will set you back a cool €27,980 euros (CAD$35,668).

Why Spain is the only market to get this neo-Herbie is a question that hasn't been addressed, but maybe Volkswagen felt that the George Bruns theme music for the original 1968 movie had an "Espana, Verano de Amor" feel to it.

Click here for additional images.

News Source: Autoblog.es

That's it? You may be expecting something a lot more heroic for the 2013 Emergency Refresh of the Honda Civic, but from what we can make out in these new spy photos, the changes are more detail than drastic. It looks like the taillamps , front grille and headlamps are the most drastic changes, and the front fascia and trunklid have also been given attention.

The interior is probably more important than any nips or tucks done outside. To get a good look at that, we're going to have to wait until the refreshed Civic hits dealer lots, reportedly just a couple weeks away. In any case, consumers will probably (and not without good reason) go on predictably banking on the Civic as a paragon of automotive virtue, regardless of whether auto critics love or hate the changes Honda has wrought.

Image Credit: KGP Photography

"One day I must own this." It's something we've all said to ourselves, and it's just what Jim Goodlett said to himself back in the early 1980s. Welcome to the third installment of Cars I See, which tells the tale of the 28-year path from deep abiding interest in a Porsche 930 to actual ownership.

There's a surprise or two about the car Jim eventually wound up with, and Frazer Spowart tells the tale as deftly as ever with Cars I See number three.

Check out the video.

There is no excuse for this Subaru's suspension. There are so many ways to check for bad struts – bounce on the bumper, feel the tires for cupping, or just note the nautical motions as you go down the road.

Whoever owned this Impreza before rally racer Brianne Corn picked it up for $600 USD completely ignored all the signs of impending suspension doom. Or, like any normal person might do when your Subaru starts doing random donkey kicks, they just put the thing up for sale.

In spite of the danger, or perhaps because of it, this old boxer looks like a hoot in its own right. Keep reading to see the video.

The Volvo S60 T5 with all-wheel drive struck us as a whole 'lotta Euro sedan for the money the first time we tried out this new-for-2013 powertrain combination. There are several fans of the offbeat and Swedish on the Autoblog team, me among them, and this $38,300 S60 has a fjord-load of style and comfort that you'll pay a lot more for in some other Euro-brand showroom. Click here for a video on the new 2013 Volvo S60.

Driving Notes

• The T5 AWD is the sweet-spot for the S60. It's not underpowered, yet it's still efficient, and it comes well-equipped with all-wheel drive for a price that's way lower than you'll catch a leather-seated AWD German.
• Subjectively, the styling is distinctive and still clearly Volvo, even beautifully detailed, but it's a bit more bland than the original. That's me being biased.
• Pleasantly surprised at fill-up time to find that the T5 only requires regular fuel, even with the turbo mill. Both my turbo S60s (first-gen models) drink high-test.
• The 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine has 250 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque and a temporary overboost function that delivers 295 lb-ft for brief bursts. In spite of this, it never really blows your hair back like the 300-hp T6 or even the older, less refined high-pressure turbo five. The older engine was much less linear in its power delivery, which likely explains the different feel, but this significantly revised powerplant is a really refined runner.
• Interior is both beautifully designed and thoughtfully finished, the front seats are crazy-comfortable. Not really bolstered for truly spirited driving, but these are designed as long road-trip friendly seats.
• Steering is decently weighted, but sort of rubbery just off-center and generally numb.
• The ride is very comfortable, well controlled and compliant without float. Even without the higher-tech chassis of the T6 model, this is one of the best Volvo tuning jobs ever.
• Like every other Volvo sedan for the last decade, the trunk itself is a decently sized box with a horrific access hatch. The latest S60s back glass extends far to the rear and chews up most of the space that was once trunklid. That leaves a small slot for trunk access, and the hinges take a slight bite out of the width of the opening, too, but they're trimmed in so you won't run any risk of crushing your cargo.
• The rear seat is comfortable, though the bottom cushion may be a little bit lower than is preferable for some passengers. Legroom is also probably tight for anyone much over six-foot-two.
• Overall, this car is a really great value, and it gives buyers a just-out-of-the-mainstream choice that doesn't force unreasonable compromises or cost obscene money.

Image Credit: Copyright 2012 Dan Roth / AOL

Alfa Romeo has been threatening to re-enter the North American market for a while now, and the latest word, via Automotive News, is that Alfa has whiplashed back to being off again, for now. Then there's that thing about Volkswagen maybe buying Alfa from parent Fiat, though that's also likely on hold until the voracious German gets its latest acquisitions settled in. Fiat has repeatedly denied that Alfa is for sale.

Sergio Marchionne will lay out the newest plan for Alfa Romeo at the end of October, about the time we were supposed to be getting a compact crossover. The 4C will still probably wow the crowd at the North American International Auto Show in January, but actual vehicle rollout and sales plans are shifting. That's partially due to increased slack in European demand for Alfa Romeo vehicles, which have required volume projection adjustments.

For now, the 4C will likely lead the charge, with the next-generation Giulia being a good bet for the next Alfa on offer. We should also see the Alfa Romeo sibling to the new Jeep Liberty that's rolling out next year. The Alfa version will follow in 2014 and be built alongside the Jeep in Toledo.

News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.

Nitromethane fueled the funny car battles on the drag strips of the 1970s, and Mattel's marketing money made the sport burn brightly and also changed the face of all sports marketing for good. The rivalry between Don Prudhomme ("Snake") and Tom McEwen ("Mongoose") began in the 1960s and grew more intense as funny cars became wilder and wilder. Now it's being chronicled by the film Snake & Mongoose, which is completing post-production now.

Alan Paradise worked on a TV project back in 2005 commemorating the Mattel sponsorship when Tom McEwen suggested the story could be book-worthy. From there, compelling stories and historical photos convinced Paradise that the story would play well on film.

The spectacle of modern sports owes a debt to Mattel funneling money into both drivers' teams, and the tightly tied-in effort generated some of the hottest Hot Wheels toys ever. The yellow Snake Plymouth Barracuda and red Mongoose Duster ran races over and over again in suburban houses all over the nation with the Mongoose and Snake Drag Race Set, complete with a pair of loops and parachutes.

The film is a small, scrappy effort compared to Hollywood blockbusters. Production is finished, and it had the benefit of Don Prudhomme offering advice such as "he ought to give him the finger" to make sure the quarter-mile action is authentic. The cast is star-studded, with Jesse Williams, Richard Blake, Noah Wyle, and none other than Ian Ziering as engine builder Keith Black. "Snake & Mongoose" is one of several racing-themed films coming soon, another reason for moviegoing motorsports fans to rejoice.

News Source: The New York Times

Image Credit: Snake and Mongoose

Frazer Spowart told the story of a devoted BMW E30 owner in the first installment of Cars I See. Now for the second episode, the subject is a 1972 BMW 2002 that's lavished with love by Patrick Burns, who's BMW affliction is inherited from his father Wendell. There's forty years of soul in Patrick's car, and it's a driver.

The inevitable blemishes are part of the car's personality, though, and one of the things Patrick enjoys is picking up more stories from the people he encounters when he's out with his distinctive silver 2002. It's a another well-told story where the car, while playing a central role, is but a vehicle for fostering deeper human connections.

Click here to watch Episode 2 of Cars I See.

Ford Motor Company knows a thing or two about building an empire on the back of a rock-bottom-priced automobile sold to customers in rural regions. That's why the company's strategy in China has been baffling to some analysts. Fords are expensive in China, and there are only a few models that you can get there. This is a problem for Ford, especially as the market for new cars in China, once hotter than the sun, cools a bit. With other markets plumbing new depths, Bloomberg reports that Ford is going back to something like Henry's own game plan.

If you want to become a volume leader in the world," says Ford Motor China Ltd. Chairman and CEO Joe Hinrichs, "you'll have to compete at the lower price points because that's where the growth is." Ford is spending nearly US$5 billion to build factories in Asia, with the goal of bumping sales to five times current levels by 2020. It's a strategy intended to beat back the aggressive moves of General Motors and Volkswagen deeper into the Chinese countryside.

"Nearly every established Western automaker has a jump on Ford selling cars in China. Ford hasn't helped itself by offering a limited selection of models at higher prices than the competition, either, though that's beginning to shift with low-priced offerings like the hot-selling Figo B-segment entry. Hinrichs thinks there's gold in the Chinese countryside, and that's why Ford's adding three utility vehicles to its Chinese offerings, importing the Explorer, and expanding local production to get vehicles in Chinese showrooms that don't have import duties tacked on.

With the car market in Europe teetering on the razor's edge of failure and North America still an open question, automakers are looking for more steady success, and executives seem to think that Asia has potential. Ford's going to try and make up lots of ground in what may prove to be the fight of its life, rather than merely an exceptionally ambitious growth plan in a market the Blue Oval was late in embracing.

News Source: Bloomberg

Image Credit: Ford

Joel Ewanick split, and many suspected he was forced out the door of the Renaissance Center by General Motors Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson. We may never know if the move was a result of anger in the boardroom, but Akerson took the time during GM's quarterly earnings conference call to point out that GM Marketing is more than one man.

"The fundamental approach is, no change" said Chief Financial Officer Dan Ammann, making earlier statements about Ewanick's conduct not meeting the expectations of General Motors seem all the more personal. On a strictly professional basis, a deal with two English soccer teams and unfavorable advertising metrics, not to mention market share loss, have been cited as reasons for Ewanick's ouster.

Curiously, though, in the face of what seem to be plenty of examples of missed expectations and the need for a revamp, Akerson defends the automaker's strategy, which was presumably presided over by Ewanick. "I know a lot of public views this as a personality-driven industry," clarified Akerson, "It's a team effort. What you saw in the marketplace was a thought-out strategy that was agreed upon as a team." Firing the coach is a common move for teams that don't win, for sure, but taking a business-as-usual approach doesn't tend to clinch victories, and advertising decided upon by a committee tends to only excite said committee.

News Source: Advertising Age