Over in Taiwan, a new electric car has been introduced. It is dubbed the Studio X-Gene Avant GT, and is the brainchild of design firm Studio X-Gene (which we had never heard of before), technology companies Delta Electronics, Wistron, and Qisda. Financial backing is provided by Altair ProductDesign. The result is quite impressive actually, with the Avant GT being a very polished all-electric sedan that was first shown at the Shanghai Motor Show. The design isn't revolutionary, but is is different for sure. The front end is grille-less, with hints of the Porsche Panamera. There is a rising belt line that meets up with a hatchback rear end. The look overall is thick and substantial; we aren't quite sure how we feel about it.

Pictured above is the Tesla Model S "Alpha". The Beta model, pictured below, shows further styling development. Here we are in late 2011, and that means that deliveries of the Tesla Model S are less than a year away. All is going ahead to plan, and this past weekend Tesla held preview events for journalists and buyers at its plant in Fremont, California. Some have said Tesla's promises will be highly difficult to deliver upon. One such person is Dan Neil of The Los Angeles Times, who bet Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk that he wouldn't be able to deliver the car by 2012. If Musk fails, he must give $1,000,000 to a charity. If he wins, Neil has to donate $1,000. A

If insanity is your thing, than the Hennessey Venom GT is for you. The famous tuner created a bona fide super car last year by taking the Lotus Exige and giving it a heavy reworking. Heavy reworking as in a 6.2-liter LS7 V-8 engine sourced from the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. The engine produces 1,200 horsepower once Hennessey is done adding twin-turbochargers to it. This is quite unlike any Lotus you have ever seen, we assure you. Weight checks in at around 2,685 pounds, and that makes for some pretty incredible performance. To prove just how incredible of performance, Hennessey released this video showing the Venom GT on a stunning 10-second run from 70 to 215 (!) mph. You can check out video of that below,

While BMW and Mercedes-Benz (not to mention Infiniti, Audi, etc) have competitors in the compact segment and are looking to downsize even further, Cadillac has been left out. The CTS is the smallest car Cadillac sells, and it undoubtedly is the star of the show at the brand - especially the splendid V-Series lineup. The new ATS looks to rectify that situation with a car that is aimed directly and the 3-Series and C-Class. It will enable the CTS to refocus and compete in the mid-size segment. Various spy shots have come out about this program, and it appears to be shaping up as a very credible contender. In the beginning the ATS lineup was originally supposed to include a sedan, coupe, convertible and wagon

Few things define exotic like Ferrari, and for the most part the latest Ferrari is the greatest (aside from classics of course). That's why there was a lot of anticipation surrounding the 458 Spider, which debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Pricing information has been released for Europe and the United States, for an on-sale date of January 2012. As always, the Spider costs more than the "standard" coupe, to the tune of 15 percent. That means 226,800 euros (about 197,243 GBP) and $257,000 here in the US. Automotive News says that buyers usually spend another 15 or 20 percent on top of MSRP for customization options through Ferrari's Carrozzeria Scaglietti program. Not to mention there is quite a few dealers out there who will

No one would doubt Bentley's success with the Continental lineup. Starting with the original GT, it has spawned GTC and Flying Spur sedan variants. Toward the end of the previous generation Continental's model run, there was a few special edition models. When you have a successful model, you milk it for all it is worth. With the current generation, Bentley looks to continue that proliferation. For inspiration, it is looking to Porsche and the 911 lineup. The 911 has spawned so many different special edition models it is hard to keep track. According to Autocar, the plan to increase Continental models is being brought about by Bentley Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Durheimer. IT makes sense given his experience working at Porsche. “We can make more of

When a car is highly anticipated, the first models available for public sale are often offered up for charity by a manufacturer or dealer. The company gets good PR from it due to a high sale price, the buyer gets bragging rights as owner of the first one, and the money all goes to benefit a charity. Chevrolet's Camaro ZL1 is definitely anticipated model by enthusiasts, packing 580 horsepower despite an initial horsepower rating of 550. General Motors has a tendency lately to under promise and over deliver in both horsepower and fuel economy figures. The ZL1 does battle with fellow performance models like the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and Dodge Challenger SRT-8 392. Its the pony car wars all over again! The

Props must seriously be given to Saab's management team. They have pulled off an extraordinary feat, dodging so many bullets we can't even count. They seem to always secure the right partnership for the right time, just enough to get them scraping by. It seemed the time of reckoning had finally come though. Saab wanted to reorganize itself and get back wages paid by the Swedish government. The latest two deals, with Chinese companies Pang Da and Youngman Automotive, were originally said to secure their financial future. They didn't include short-term funding however. In order to get wages paid by the Swedish government and complete some "reorganization" until long-term financing kicked in, Saab applied for protection from the government. The Vanersborg District court rejected

Lamborghini has had a two-model lineup ever since the Gallardo debuted in 2003. It is Lamborghini's most popular model ever, and that is thanks to its more downmarket (if you can call it that) positioning and long life span. While Lamborghini is readying a replacement for that car, the Aventador has taken the reigns as the new range-topping car - for the "normal" production lineup. After making an appearance as a concept, Frankfurt brought the news that the track-only Sesto Elemento has been approved for production. It will be far rarer (just 20) and more expensive than the Aventador. It is a similar setup to how Lamborghini introduced the Reventon, which was heavily based on the Murcielago. Limited run vehicles could become the norm at Lamborghini though,

The Hyundai Veloster is a unique creation if there ever was one. It is remarkably adventurous endeavor for a mainstream company like Hyundai. We can admit to not being fans of it at first (to put it mildly). But, as is the case with a lot of things the Veloster's looks have grown on us over time. We still aren't completely sold on it yet though; we'll have to wait until we see one in person. The latest news from Hyundai Like Sunday, a company blog, indicates that we won't have to wait too long to do that. The Veloster is arriving at Hyundai dealerships around the country, and the first one has been delivered to customer Daniel Jenkins. Based on the Elantra and powered