With just a few days left before the start of the Shanghai Motor Show, images of the Mercedes-Benz GLA Concept compact crossover have emerged online. The little 'ute is based on the small A-Class hatchback, and though it shares an identical wheelbase, is larger in every other dimension.

Looking like a rough-and-tumble five-door hatchback on the tippy toes of its 20-inch wheels, the GLA is most certainly destined for production in a toned down form that will borrow many bits and pieces from other cars based on this platform like the aforementioned A-Class and the CLA-Class sedan. Carscoop reports that the production version of the GLA will be revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September of this year, with sales to the public starting in 2014.

Since it's based on the A-Class, we expect that the production GLA-Class will be powered by your choice of Mercedes' 2.0-litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine and a diesel or two, and will offer transmissions that include the company's seven-speed DCT and perhaps a six-speed manual (at least in Europe). If the GLA follows the same path as the two cars before it, expect a GLA45 AMG producing over 300 horsepower, as well. As for what powers the GLA Concept, that just might remain a mystery until the vehicle is officially revealed in China.

Stay tuned to Autoblog this Friday night and Saturday for our live coverage of the Shanghai Motor Show.

Click through to watch a Mercedes-Benz coupe concept launch video.

After taking last week to review the record category for World's Fastest Production Car, Guinness World Records has reconfirmed that the holder of this hotly contested superlative remains the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.

The Veyron Super Sport set the official record back in 2010 with a Guinness-verified speed of 267.8 miles per hour (431 km/h), but other interested parties have recently contested that record's validity because the Veyron used that day had its speed limiter removed. With the speed limiter in place, the Veyron Super Sport tops out at 258 mph (415 km/h).

Guinness rules state that a record-setting production car must be unchanged from what is available to customers. While some, particularly Hennessey Performance, have claimed that removing the Veyron's speed limiter violated that rule, Guinness has settled the matter by stating that "a change to the speed limiter does not alter the fundamental design of the car or its engine."

This is a nice win for Bugatti on top of the news last week that the Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse also set a record for the fastest open-top production car with a speed of 254.04 mph (about 409 km/h). That record, however, as far as we know, has not been verified by Guinness World Records.

For its part, Hennessey, whose claim against the validity of Bugatti's record didn't work this time, could potentially break the record outright if given enough road for its own Venom GT to run. The 1,244-horsepower Venom hit 265.7 mph (427.6 km/h) earlier this year before running out of room on a two-mile runway, though those runs were not officially verified by Guinness. Nevertheless, there still remain questions about whether or not the Venom GT counts as a production car by Guinness standards. The world record authority defines "production" as building at least 50 examples and only 29 Venoms are supposed to be built, though Guinness does permit itself to grant exceptions.

Click here to watch the world's fastest supercars.

Bugatti has come back from losing its "World's Fastest Production Car" title with a new superlative to add to the Veyron's trophy case: World's Fastest Open-Top Production Car. That's right, if you can't beat 'em, take the roof off and join them.

The record of 408.84 kilometers per hour, or 254.04 miles per hour, was set by a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse driven by Chinese racing driver Anthony Liu at Volkswagen Group's proving grounds in Ehra-Lessian, Germany. The speed was measured and verified by the German Technical Inspection and Certification Association, or TÜV.

That last point is important to note, as the kerfuffle over the closed-roof Veyron's record involved the Guinness World Records organization, which both sanctioned the car's world record run back in 2010 and then stripped Bugatti of the title after it was learned the car used to set the record had its speed-limited removed. Also, whereas Guinness calculates a car's speed based on the average of two runs in opposite directions, Bugatti doesn't say what criteria TÜV used to verify and calculate the convertible's speed.

So what we're really saying is that Bugatti claims to have the world's fastest open-top production car, but that claim remains unsubstantiated by what many consider to be the only authority on world records, Guinness World Records.

As for the particular Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse that hit 408.84 km/h, the special black-and-orange model will be on display at the Shanghai Motor Show later this month, and Bugatti plans to sell eight World Record Editions just like it for the princely sum each of 1,990,000 euro, or about CAD$2.64 million dollars.

Click here to watch the world's 10 fastest supercars, including the Bugatti Veyron.

The Volvo S60 Polestar Concept may be entering limited production in Australia and, depending how the Aussies take to this Swedish super sports sedan, could then be made available worldwide. The news comes from Austrlia's GoAuto, which claims to have received early info from its sources inside Volvo and its tuning/motorsport arm, Polestar.

Polestar released a short teaser video this week (watch it below) of what appears to be the S60 Polestar Concept clipping the snowy apex of an ice track's turn. The only information given with the teaser were the words "Limited Edition. Soon in Australia." Unveiled last June, the S60 Polestar concept has since made the rounds at auto shows, visited Jay Leno's Garage, played on the track with its future competition, and even secured a home for itself with a buyer who reportedly is paying Volvo some $300,000 to own it.

The S60 Polestar Concept is about the meanest machine one can imagine making out of Volvo's sports sedan. Packing 508 horsepower and 424 pound-feet of torque from its heavily modified T6 engine, then routing those revolutions through a six-speed manual transmission to all four wheels, the S60 Polestar is said to cover the sprint to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds. A lower and wider body, brakes by Brembo, suspension bits by Ohlins and a diet to delete some weight make this car a serious issue for M3 and C63 AMG owners everywhere. GoAuto's sources say the production version's performance will be dialed back a bit from the concept's, but we'll have to wait until Volvo and Polestar make this sedan's production official to find out by how much.

Click here for the teaser video and additional images of the Volvo Polestar S60.

Our host Jessi's going solo this week as we check off another oft-requested item from our list of 1,001 Car Things To Do Before You Die. The task this time is to compete in a demolition derby, so Ms. Combs took herself to one of Southern California's county fairs where this time-honoured tradition is still a celebrated "motorsport."

With a car supplied by derby veteran Stan "Mac" McDonald, Jessi was able to enter the field of 14 rust buckets, clunkers and mangled machines competing that night. The battle field was a 7,500-square-foot patch of earth in the center of an arena that was bordered on all sides by dirt mounds.

Her strategy? Put it in Reverse and mash the throttle. As it turns out, competing in the derby is a lot different than watching from the stands, and Jessi's night wouldn't go as she expected.

Click here to watch what happened.

Subaru has issued one of the strangest recalls we've come across in some time. As it turns out, certain Subaru models may randomly start their own engines. The issue is confined to select models equipped with an automatic or CVT and the company's optional Audiovox remote engine starter (RES) accessory. If the RES key fob is dropped, it could "randomly transmit an engine start request without pressing the button."

Vehicles affected include the 2010-2012 Legacy and Outback with an automatic or CVT, 2012-2013 Impreza with the CVT, and 2013 XV Crosstrek with CVT (shown), all equipped with the Audiovox RES accessory. Likewise, certain 2013 Legacy and Outbacks may have received replacement RES fobs that could be affected. All told, 47,419 vehicles are included in the recall.

Should one of these cars start on their own, Subaru says they will run up to 15 minutes, but the vehicle may also continue to start and stop until either the battery in the fob dies or the car runs out of fuel. Of course, if one of these cars is parked in an enclosed area, that means harmful gasses could build up, which could be dangerous if inhaled.

The fix is an obvious one: Subaru will replace the RES fobs for free. Owners of the affected vehicles can expect to be notified by the end of April, though their car might let them know sooner.

Click through to watch the zombie car action...

How quickly can you change a tire? The pit crew for Infiniti Red Bull Racing can do it in 2.05 seconds. Actually, they can change four tires in 2.05 seconds, and they did just that at the Grand Prix of Malaysia two weeks ago, setting a new world record for the quickest pitstop in the process.

There must've been something in the water over there in Malaysia, as the old pitstop record of 2.31 seconds set by McLaren in Germany last year fell six times during the course of the race. Five of those record-beating pitstops were performed by Infiniti Red Bull Racing, one for Sebastian Vettel on his first stop, which took 2.13 seconds, and four for fellow driver Mark Webber, who brought his car in on Lap 19 for what would be the quickest pitstop of the day and the new world record. Three other Webber pitstops were under the old record's time, and even team McLaren apparently beat its old record in Malaysia with a best time of 2.28 seconds.

What does a 2.05-second pitstop look like? Scroll down to watch these expert car handlers reshoe an entire car in less time than it takes you to find a tire iron. We've also included a video of the previous record-setting pitstop by McLaren that stood for about a year.

We enjoy highlighting artists who turn their brushes, lenses or whatever medium they fancy towards the four-wheeled things in life. San Francisco-based artist Sabrina Chun has done just that with her series called Blackprints: Car Designs Reimagined, which is currently enjoying an overabundance of funding on Kickstarter.

In the series, Chun has taken eight iconic autos and created inverse black-and-white profile views of each. The cars include the Porsche 911, '67 Mustang GT500, Shelby Cobra, Lamborghini Countach, Volkswagen Microbus, Ford Model T and pop culture icons like the Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters and the DeLorean from Back to the Future.

The prints will be available in two sizes, mini (6x9 inches) and jumbo (24x38 inches), and they're printed on 80-pound card stock made of recycled paper using environmentally friendly soybean-based ink and solvent. What's more, this is some very reasonably priced art; a pledge of just US$34 or more will get you all eight mini prints, while a pledge of US$139 or more scores you all eight jumbos.

If you'll indulge us donning our art critic hats for a moment, what we like about Chun's Blackprints is not only the fact that she's chosen eight excellent cars to feature, but the works will hang equally well on the wall of a garage or living room. They seem so simple, but you'll soon lose track of time staring at features you've never noticed before that only reveal themselves in the light of Chun's negative spaces.

Hit the jump to check them all out for yourself and watch a video on these works of automotive art.

The light commercial vehicle market has exploded in recent years. With a too-large full-size van no longer the only option for small businesses looking for an enclosed cargo carrier, options like the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Ford Transit Connect and now this, the Mini Clubvan, are available to suit every size need.

Unveiled at last year's Geneva Motor Show, the Clubvan will soon be on sale here in North America and we finally have details about what that transaction will cost you. Motoring File reports that the Clubvan's price will be US$25,985 south of the boarder, which includes the so-called "chicken tax" and a US$700 destination and handling charge. What does this mean in Canadian pricing? We're waiting to receive official Canadian pricing from Mini Canada, but to give a rough ball park, expect the Clubvan to call for mid to high 20K when it hails on our shores.

Other questions that were answered include whether or not the Clubvan can be ordered as a Cooper S or even John Cooper Works model, and the answer is no (why do you need to deliver cakes that fast anyway?). Also, Mini has confirmed you can't take the shortcut of creating your own Clubvan by purchasing a standard Clubman and removing the rear seats. The factory Clubvan features steel side panels instead of vinyl coverings over the rear windows, as well as a fully flat load floor and a safety cage protecting front seat occupants.

The Clubvan's price slots in just above the US$25,100 Clubman Cooper S model (a standard Clubman starts at US$21,400). It has a payload capacity of 500 kg (1,102 pounds) and will consume about 860 litres (30.37 cubic-feet) of stuff in its cargo area, which features six attachment loops and is fitted with 12-volt sockets. The Clubvan, of course, also features the Clubman's unique arrangement of five doors that includes a mini front-hinged door behind the front passenger's door, and two side-hinged vertical doors in the rear.

We live in a world now where not every police cruiser and taxi is a Ford Crown Victoria, not every executive car is a Lincoln Town Car and not every ambulance is based on a Ford or GM truck. Vehicles like the new Nissan NV200 are making inroads into the service, livery and emergency vehicle markets, and we've got a couple cases in point to share.

The first one is a fleet of 30 new ambulances based on the heavier-duty NV2500 chassis. They are entering the Mexican Red Cross fleet of emergency vehicles this year after performing well in pilot tests last year. The Mexican Red Cross says it receives 1,200,000 ambulance service requests per year, so the mettle of these new machines will be tested in a hurry.

The second example is less useful for life-saving, but may save a guitar from going to the scrap heap. Called the Gibson NV200 Mobile Repair & Restoration Van, it can take the services of an authorized Gibson rep anywhere they're needed to repair or restore an instrument in need. The van features a whole aesthetic designed to evoke the classic Gibson look, with wood veneer and shades of brown and black used throughout. There's a guitar rack that holds four instruments, a sliding 142 cm (56-inch) long repair table, toolbox, genuine Gibson stools and a sound system by Gibson Pro Audio.

The Gibson van will debut this week at the New York Auto Show, and we wouldn't be surprised to see more collaborations like this between these two companies in the future, as they're both local to Tennessee. Feel free to learn more in the press release down below.

The redesigned 2014 Cadillac CTS will be unveiled this Tuesday on the eve of the New York Auto Show, but as often happens, some images of the car have leaked onto the web a few days early. Previously, the only information we had on the 2014 CTS concerned the all-new twin-turbo V6 engine that will be found underhood, rated at 420 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque.

While none show the new car in its entirety, the images do show much of the front end, particularly the headlights that feature vertical bars of LEDs that start down low as foglights and continue up to the top of the front fenders. They're similar to the lighting design first shown on the XTS and ATS, except the lower portions are much taller.

There are also views of the rear end and one of the taillights, as well as an interior shot of the front passenger door. The latter image has us most intrigued, as it shows some very high end materials being used in the new CTS interior. The low-gloss wood trim, in particular, looks very premium.

We found these images at GM Inside News, which claimed they surfaced on Cadillac's official Flickr account. GM Inside News has pointed out to us the Flickr page they mention in their article, which can viewed here. It's not an official Cadillac account so we can't say from where the owner of this private account got the images. Cadillac does not have a Flickr account, the brand only lists Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts on its consumer site.

To watch a CTS-V hit the drag strip, hit the jump.

The TV show Breaking Bad has broken out to become one of the small screen's best offerings in years. Don't worry if you haven't watched it yet; I'm only up to season 3 on Netflix, so the chances of me spoiling much for you are low.

What I do know from watching the show is that crappy cars play a key role, from Walter's jalopy of a Pontiac Aztek to the car you see above, Jesse Pinkman's 1984 Toyota Tercel. Both cars are as run down as their owners and do nothing to hide the brutal weathering of some very bad years. Indeed, they deserve supporting actor credits, and soon you'll have the chance to park one of these four-wheeled thespians in your own driveway.

TMZ has learned that Jesse's Tercel will be sold by Mike Faris Auto Wholesale in Albuquerue, New Mexico. The car was reportedly leased from Faris by the show's production, and with production on the show now complete, it's been returned. Faris does tell TMZ, though, that he can't guarantee the car was ever onscreen, since producers apparently had more than one on-hand to work with. Also, part of the deal he made with Sony Pictures Television was that the car couldn't be sold until the last episode airs, which will happen sometime this summer.

For now, the Tercel is sitting on Faris' lot with the words "Jesse's Car As Seen On 'Breaking Bad' – Make Offer" written on its windshield. We'd bet our last bag of Blue Sky that it'll fetch a few more than its book value.

Click here for a closer look at Breaking Bad and check out the Tercel's photo gallery.

Reports are coming in from Israel that US President Obama's limousine, often called "The Beast," has broken down. You might be wondering how the most protected vehicle in the world could break down on an overseas visit, and the answer will surprise you. Apparently, somebody filled The Beast with diesel fuel instead of gasoline, according The Times of Israel. As the report goes...

"The Americans filled it up with diesel, rather than petrol," reports Channel 2 - stressing that it was the Americans, not the Israelis.

What does the Secret Service do when the President's ride has been compromised this way? Since calling a cab is out of the question, they reportedly have a replacement limousine being flown in from Jordan. "Son of Beast," we'll call it.

Perhaps if Cadillac developed a "Beast" based upon the new ELR, the Secret Service wouldn't have had to add fuel in the first place? Click through to watch the ELR in winter testing.

UPDATE: According to the Times of Israel, this was actually the backup limo as the original one shipped wouldn't start at the airport.

You wouldn't believe it by looking at the Corvette in these pictures, but the driver of the Chevrolet that slammed into the back of this moving truck survived with only non-life threatening injuries. The crash occurred near Los Angeles on the southbound 405 Freeway on Monday, March 4. Fire crews reportedly had to raise the moving truck in order to extricate the driver, who escaped perhaps the worst possible death imaginable – decapitation – by simply ducking prior to impact.

What's supposed to prevent a crash like this from becoming lethal is a Mansfield Bar, so named because the low-hanging bar affixed to the rear of semi truck trailers became mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after the death of popular movie actress Jayne Mansfield in 1967 from a rear-end collision with a tractor trailer.

The Mansfield Bar is designed to prevent under-riding, and in 1998, the rules governing them were revised to lower the bar to 22 inches off the ground. Even at the height, some vehicles, including sports cars like the Corvette, have leading edges that are low enough to clear them. That's particularly true when the car in question is braking hard and its weight is pitched forward, lowering the nose even more).

Fortunately for this man, the combination of the crash-worthiness of the Corvette, the Mansfield Bar on the truck – and the fact that he had enough wits about him to duck at the last minute – all combined to save his life.

Click here for more Corvette crashing mayhem and to view the full photo gallery.