We know what resident lucky bastard Autoblog contributor Rex Roy thinks about the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. Now we get another perspective on the hypercar courtesy of EVO magazine's Chris Harris. His thoughts? Occasionally frustrating, yet worth every penny. Harris laments that he gets an amazing sensation of speed yet he has to be off the gas almost as quickly as he gets on it. The 267-mph Veyron Super Sport just moves too quickly for everyday situations.

Since it is Chris Harris behind the wheel, we're treated to a nice patch-laying takeoff before he launches into a discussion of the car. The clip, which you can find after the jump, also treats us to a little over a minute of no talking... just footage of the car. Wonderful.



[Source: EVO via YouTube]

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The Pirelli Calendar is an annually produced gift, intended for friends and VIPs who associate with the top-tier tire manufacturer. It's also become a fashion icon, with 12 months of high-art photography that typically includes nude or near-nude subjects. For the 2011 edition, Pirelli has teamed up with fashion maven Karl Lagerfeld and a host of models, both male and female, including actress Julianne Moore. The theme for this year's calendar is Greek and Roman mythology, with Moore playing the part of Hera and Brad Kroenig portraying Zeus.

Past calendars have chosen to show off Brazil, Botswana, China and even Hollywood. Lagerfeld's 2011 edition sticks to the mythology theme but was shot at his Paris studio, and then unveiled in Moscow. No, this doesn't make a ton of sense to us either...

For additional information on the 2011 Pirelli calendar, be sure to hop past the jump and check out the press release – in all of its nearly 16,000-word glory. More importantly, safe-for-work shots from the calendar can be seen in our gallery below.




[Source: Pirelli]

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If you haven't seen parts one, two or three of Ken Block's Gymkhana clips, then this must be your first time on the internet. First off, thanks for checking out Autoblog.com and second, you should probably click links one, two and three from the previous sentence... sorry, a "link" is one of the underlined words. Okay. Block is looking to expand Gymkhana from the solo event that we have now seen and turn it into a head-to-head automotive showdown, complete with tire-smoking, limiter-popping action.

The Gymkhana GRID, which will take place December 3 and 4 at the Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, California, is a one-on-one showdown where two drivers attack mirrored examples of a course designed by Ken Block. A host of hot shoes will be on hand to try and knock Block off the top of the podium, including Tanner Foust, Vaughn Gitten Jr. and Andrew Comrie-Picard. Notably absent is one Travis Pastrana, which the video uses as a chance to call him out for making the move to NASCAR.

The Gymkhana GRID nonetheless sounds like it will be a rather fun event to watch – especially because of the level of talent taking to the track. Grab the e-brake and slide across the jump to check out a trailer for the event (*WARNING: language may be not safe for work).

[Source: Ken Block via YouTube]

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Gran Turismo 5 has been pretty polarizing, right out of the gate. Some diehard fans are so excited that it's here, they may not care about the obvious issues the game has at launch. On the other end of the spectrum, some folks are quick to deride the racing sim as being terrible when that's far from true. The reality is that Gran Turismo 5 falls somewhere in between these two extreme points of view. It is pretty amazing, while its flaws are clearly visible. Creator Kazunori Yamauchi has revealed that fixes are planned, and should arrive by early December.

What exactly do these fixes include? Mechanical damage will be added to the existing cosmetic damage, the "blocky shadows" will be resolved, online functionality will be increased and the ability to disable the HUD is mentioned as a possible option.

Whatever your gripes with the game may be, it's nice to hear that Polyphony Digital is listening. The ability to implement fixes and dole them out by way of a download is a far cry better from the old days of waiting for the next generation game.

[Source: Joystiq]

General Motors continues to clean up its ledger book, and the latest transaction has GM wiping $1 billion off the table. In Korea, the GM Daewoo Auto & Technology subsidiary, otherwise known as GM Daewoo, plans to pay back the 10-figure debt it owes to its Korean revolving credit facility. The debt will be paid in full by the end of this month. Perhaps a commercial thanking the Korean credit market is in order?
[Source: General Motors]

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For over a decade now, BMW has had its racing program directed by one man: Mario Theissen. Having joined the Bavarian automaker as a development engineer back in 1977, Theissen became the company's motorsport director in 1999, driving BMW onto the Formula One grid as an engine supplier to Williams before spearheading its acquisition of the Sauber team, which he then ran until the BMW's withdrawal from the sport at the end of the 2009 season. Since then he's been overseeing the construction of the carmaker's racing programs, but he's now stepping down to make way for new leadership.

Taking the reins in Theissen's place will be one Jens Marquardt, who – similar to his mustached predecessor – directed Toyota's Formula One program until it, too, withdrew from the grid. Prior to joining Toyota Motorsport in 2000, Marquardt worked on F1 and Indy engine development at Ilmor Engineering. He'll take over at BMW Motorsport on July 1, working in tandem with Theissen for six months as the company's new DTM program takes shape. Details in the press release after the jump.

[Source: BMW]

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Audi is rolling out a new solar program for its fledgling fleet of eTron electric vehicles. The German manufacturer is planning to expand the solar panel system at its facility in Ingolstadt so that the electric vehicle's batteries may be charged using clean, renewable energy from the sun. Audi says that by the end of the year, it hopes to cover some 80,730 square feet of the plant's roof with new photovoltaic panels. By the end of the project, Audi says it will have nearly 205,000 square feet of its German manufacturing facility's roof covered with the solar cells. The company says that the new installation alone should produce enough electricity to power 180 homes.

Audi plans to only use about one third of the electricity produced by its solar system directly at the plant, with the juice going to both charge the company's eTron vehicles and assist in the manufacture of other products. The rest of the energy will likely be fed back into the surrounding power grid. Hit the jump for the full press release.

[Source: Audi]

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Subaru, Hyundai and Kia set full-year sales records

The subtitle above should surprise no one. Of all the automakers operating in the U.S., Subaru, Hyundai and Kia are the only automakers to increase sales month after month through this years-long recession while their competitors have faltered. As such, all three are enjoying new full-year sales records a month ahead of the Times Square ball dropping.

The rest of the industry, however, is apparently done fumbling around and is clearly finding its footing. The vast majority of brands saw increased sales last month except for the usual suspects (GM's non-core brands that are just about dead, also-dying Mercury, along with Smart and Jaguar) and a few cellar-dwelling surprises like Chrysler, Dodge, Toyota and Lexus. We're not sure what Toyota's banking on to turn things around, aside from mass amnesia of its recall woes, while Chrysler is doing its best to either fully redesign or substantially upgrade its existing models to keep customers interested.

Either way, when the book closes on 2010, automotive historians will write that the competitive landscape on December 31 looked markedly different than it did 365 days earlier. With one more month to go, we doubt the list of winners and losers is going to look very different from what you see below.
*Brands and companies are displayed in descending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were24 selling days in November 2010 versus 23 selling days in November 2009, so the change in monthly sales volume will be different than the change in average daily sales rate (DSR) for each brand/company.

Max Wolff, formerly of General Motors, has been hired by Ford Motor Company to head up Lincoln's design team effective January 3, 2011.

During his tenure at GM, Wolff was most recently responsible for leading Cadillac's exterior design team, though he also held positions at the automaker's Holden and Daewoo divisions. Ford sees Wolff's global design experience as a benefit for Lincoln, bringing "a fresh perspective that will challenge us internally and take Lincoln to new levels of prestige," says Derrick Kuzak, Ford's Group Vice President for Global Product Development.

Wolff, 38, is tasked with creating a definitive design language for Lincoln that extends beyond the large split-grilled creations we currently see. Specifically, Ford has cited that the Lincoln brand will debut seven all-new or significantly refreshed vehicles over the next four years, including the automaker's first-ever C-segment car. For the full details, hit the jump for the official press release.

[Source: Ford]

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