Ford has announced 2 new engines for the Mondeo range, including a new 2.0 liter turbocharged EcoBoost power-plant with 203 PS (149 kW).

The new all-aluminum 2.0 liter petrol engine comes with a hefty 300 Nm (221 lb-ft) of torque too and provides the Mondeo with a 7.9 second sprint time to the 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) mark. It also improves fuel economy by 19% compared to the previous 2.3 liter unit with a 36.6 mpg (imperial) rating (or 7.7 liters/100 km). CO2 emission for the new 2.0 liter turbocharged EcoBoost are 179g/km.

The Mondeo is also now available with Ford's PowerShift dual-clutch gearbox, which comes standard with the new 2.0 liter EcoBoost and is an option with the other new engine for the Mondeo range - the 163 PS (120 kW) 2.0 liter TDCi diesel. Fuel economy on that power plant is 53.2 mpg (imperial) or 5.3 liters/100 km with an average CO2 emission of 139g/km.

The hand-built Panoz Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans will be built with an engine that produces over 600 horsepower (447 kW / 608 PS) and up to 590 ft-lb (799 Nm) of torque.  Developed by American niche manufacturer Panoz, the car will be limited to 81 vehicles, and is guaranteed to be street legal in Asia, Europe, Middle East and South America.

Not coincidentally, the 81st 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race will take place in 2013, presumably with the limited edition car in the pack.

"This is culmination of equal parts time, effort and dreams," said company founder Don Panoz.  "The Panoz brand always has prided itself on hand-building and delivering an exotic automobile and experience to our customers. Our new offering takes this to a completely new level."

The as-yet undisclosed engine will be mounted at the front, though an advanced radiator will be mounted at the back.  The car's body uses a multi-layer composite material instead of carbon fiber because it is lighter, just as strong, more resistant to damage, and recyclable.  While a progression on the Panoz Esperante GTR-1, the car does have its own unique progressions.  Items like the dual front split and the carved front end have been seen before, but not in the way portrayed here.  The elimination of the front headlight bulbs, in place of LED lighting strips, looks interesting, as do the side sills.  A nice revision can be seen at the back, where the rear end has styling that better matches the front.

Personalization will be a big aspect of this car, though the company did not state what aspects would be customizable.  A nice bonus is that customers will be able to receive driver training at the Bugatti Circuit at Le Mans, while getting VIP treatment at a 24 Hours of Le Mans event.  Pricing for the Panoz Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans has not been disclosed.

Mustang legend Carroll Shelby is thinking about hanging it up, and retiring from the car business.  The 87 year-old has confirmed that the 2011 Mustang GT 350 may be his final project.

The departure has little to do with Shelby's age.  He believes performance parts development and sales is more profitable than his Mustangs

"It's hard to make any money on a car," Shelby told the Dallas News.  "But our parts business is growing 15 to 20% a year."

If he does go through with the plan, the automotive icon will continue production of the GT 350 for a few more years, with 500 units built annually.  He may also franchise his name to a series of authorized shops nationwide to build Mustang tuners and Super Snake models.

Sales at the tuner outfit have dropped off substantially from the 6,000 Shelby models of the 2007-8 Mustang Shelby GT.  Since then, the company has let go of nearly 40% of its staff.

His catalogue booming, it is no surprise that Shelby would want to push his 1,000-hp 5.4-liter V8 engines, and their parts, out the door.  Still, it will be a big blow to the American muscle car industry if Shelby walks away.

Fisker Automotive Inc., the California electric-car start-up, will be building 100 units of its Karma plug-in hybrid model this year to be used for testing, according to an investor in the firm.

The company has contracted Finnish manufacturer Valmet Automotive to build the Karma at its plant in Finland where Valmet also builds the Porsche Boxster and Cayman models, and the electric City car for Think, the Norwegian automaker. According to investor Ray Lane, production will be ramped up next year to a volume of 15,000 units annually.

Lane is a managing partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm which has previously invested in successes such as Google and Amazon.com.

"These will be tested internally, crash tested and used for other testing purposes," said Lane. Some units will be delivered to customers for real-world testing too.

The Karma is a premium 4-door sport-sedan coupe and plug-in hybrid model with two electric motors producing a total of 300 kW (402 bhp / 408 PS) and 1,300 Nm (959 lb/ft) of torque. It has a range of around 50 miles/80 km running on electric-current alone. In hybrid mode, with an internal-combustion engine charging the 200kW lithium-ion battery pack, its range is extended to 300 miles/482 km. The drive wheels are solely powered by the electric motors.

In an ongoing effort to be more appealing to a younger demographic, Buick is developing a sportier version of the Buick Regal.  If all stays on track, the company could release the car on the market in 2011, according to The Detroit News.

Essentially a rebadged Opel Insignia OPC (except the powertrain), the Buick Regal GS started as a concept car at the NAIAS earlier this year, and the production car might show little difference.  As a design study, the car used a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine delivering 255 horsepower (190 kW, 259 PS).  The all-wheel drive car featured a six-speed manual transmission, and four-way Recaro front seats.

With the release of a German-produced Buick Regal, the company has managed to strike a nerve with a slightly younger crowd.  The average Buick buyer is now 65-years-old, instead of 72.  Still, the automaker would like to see that number fall even lower.

"Buick kind of lost its way. We built big, floaty, quiet cars -- what our customers wanted at the time," Buick representative Dayna Hart told The Detroit News.

"The GS would be the next step, more performance-based."

Buick is expected to introduce a small four-door inside the next year-and-a-half.  They are also planning on smaller crossover vehicle based on the Buick Enclave.

In a surprise move, Toyota has teamed up with Tesla to develop new electric vehicle technology.

While details are limited, the companies will create a specialized team to design parts and production systems for future EVs. As part of the agreement, Toyota will also purchase $50 million dollars worth of Tesla stock (as soon as the company goes public).

According to Toyota's President, Akio Toyoda, "I've felt an infinite possibility about Tesla's technology and its dedication to monozukuri (Toyota's approach to manufacturing). Through this partnership, by working together with a venture business such as Tesla, Toyota would like to learn from the challenging spirit, quick decision-making, and flexibility that Tesla has."

The warm and fuzzy feeling was echoed by Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, who said, "Toyota is a company founded on innovation, quality, and commitment to sustainable mobility. It is an honor and a powerful endorsement of our technology that Toyota would choose to invest in and partner with Tesla."

As you may recall, Daimler has also joined forces with Tesla "to accelerate the commercialization of electric drives globally."