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During the 2014 Detroit Auto Show, Nissan showed off its Sport Sedan Concept (pictured above), an orange creation meant to foreshadow the next generation of the brand's "Four-Door Sports Car," the Maxima. For the 2014 Beijing Motor Show, though, Nissan is going to deliver a Chinese take on a future four-door, with the New Sedan Concept (imaginative name, we know).

Like the Nissan Friend-Me Concept from the 2013 Shanghai Motor Show, the NSC has been designed by Nissan Design China in Beijing. Outside of that, information is in short supply. Nissan claims this latest concept is targeted at the Chinese digital lifestyle. Whether it serves as an evolution of the Friend-Me's swoopy design or a regional take on Nissan's Detroit concept, though, remains to be seen.

We'll have the full slate of info on the Nissan New Sedan Concept, along with everything else that happens at the 2014 Beijing Motor Show, when the floor opens on April 23. Take a look below for the official press release from Nissan, which also includes a recap of previously debuted models that will be shown at Beijing.

With Mercedes-Benz bringing out coupe and plug-in hybrid versions of its S-Class sedan, the German automaker just may follow through with a battery-electric variant as well. That's what the company's Uwe Ernstberger told the folks at Top Gear during the Geneva Motor Show. And while he noted the company still needs to work in a larger-than-usual battery pack and was less than specific with details, he did envision an all-electric S-Class "in the future." Of course, rumors started bubbling about an EV S-Class as far back as 2011, so we'll see.

Christian Bokich, department manager for product and technology communications for Mercedes-Benz USA, would not confirm anything about an electric S-Class, but he did give AutoblogGreen an official rundown of MB's upcoming green cars in the US, starting with the launch of the all-electric B-Class ED in July of this year in the ZEV states (launch details for other states are TBA, he said). An S-Class plug-in hybrid is coming in the first half of 2015, followed by a C-Class PHEV closer towards the end of that year in the USA. There is also a C-Class four-cylinder BlueTEC coming at some point in 2016.

Until we get more concrete information about the possible S-Class EV, let's review what we know about the PHEV. Last September, Mercedes-Benz started showing off the plug-in hybrid S-Class, saying that it could go as far as 19 miles on electric power alone and had a preliminary fuel efficiency rating of more than 78 miles per gallon, using the more lenient European driving cycle.

Earlier this week, Mercedes showed off its S-Class Coupe. That model's US version will have a twin-turbocharged V8 that kicks in 449 horsepower, a few more than the presumptive S-Class EV will have. Ernstberger also said Mercedes would join the ranks of automakers offering autonomous driving systems and mentioned the S-Class as being at the "top of the movement." He held his tongue when asked about the possibility of an S-Class cabriolet.

We all know that street racing is dangerous, and that motorsports are best left on the track or drag strip. However, that doesn't mean that there still isn't some outlaw allure among enthusiasts of racing on public roads. In this video, Vice Japan profiles Eikichi Nagayoshi of Japan's island of Okinawa. He is a used car dealer by day and an illegal racer by night.

Nagayoshi has a deep love for his highly customized Toyota Aristo (better known to us as a first-generation Lexus GS) that he claims produces over 1,000 horsepower and has hit 205 miles per hour. He races his car both on drag strips and in drifting competitions, but says that he often has to ship the car to mainland Japan to compete. In the absence of those opportunities, he sometimes gathers friends and takes the racing to the public roads. While we're not down with street racing, this Vice video is an intriguing personality piece, as well as a look into Japan's fabled underground racing scene. Scroll down to check out the video, but make sure you have the "CC" button clicked, because several portions are subtitled.

The five-door Audi A3 hatchback, on sale in the States since the 2006 model year, never earned the respect it deserved. Despite possessing the automaker's well-regarded build quality and a range of strong powerplants (including an excellent diesel option), the entry-level model always played second fiddle to the rest of the Audi lineup, suffering from less innovative technologies and fewer premium options on its list. Many buyers considered it inferior to the rest of the models in the company's showroom. But those misconceptions could be about to change, as Audi is in the midst of introducing its third-generation A3 family to the States with expectations that the range will finally align with the rest of its portfolio.

First to arrive is this new sedan, notable as it is the first time the A3 has been offered as a compact four door. The new bodystyle is positioned as a premium C-segment offering, with its most obvious competitor being the new Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class (BMW has not officially announced a 2 Series Gran Coupe, which would be the third entrant in the segment). The automaker says its "A3/S3 models will be among the most technically advanced Audi products around" and there will be "no sacrificing Audi craftsmanship and premium appointments." To put the automaker's claims to the test, we spent a week with this new sedan in Southern California.

Acura doesn't tend to do concept cars these days that don't foreshadow a specific upcoming production model. The ZDX prototype of 2010 previewed the production version, as did the ILX and RLX showcars of 2012 and the MDX of 2013. The NSX concept is on its way to production, as the SUV-X concept is likely to do as well in the coming years. So when Acura revealed the TLX prototype at the Detroit Auto Show a few months ago, we all but knew it would only be a matter of time before that, too, would be produced. And here it is.

Spied all but completely undisguised while undergoing testing, this pair of TLX prototypes (one in white, one in black) looks almost identical to the show car. You might spot a few minor tweaks here and there – the strip of LEDs in the lower front bumper have been replaced by round fog lamps and some of the chrome accents are missing – but by and large, we're looking at the same vehicle we saw in Detroit earlier this year.

The finished production version of the TLX is expected to debut at the New York Auto Show next month, after which it will replace both the TSX and the TL, slotting in between the smaller ILX and the larger RLX in Acura's sedan lineup.

Japan's larger automakers – companies like Toyota, Honda and Nissan – have tremendous engineering talent at their disposal. That's largely because, selling as many cars as they do, they've got more revenues to tap into. Logic might dictate, then, that smaller automakers like Mazda, which no longer has the deep pockets afforded to it by its former partnership with Ford, might have less of a budget and workforce for engineering. But Mazda has been raking in record profits, and it plans on cashing those revenues in by hiring a substantial new pool of engineers.

According to Automotive News, Mazda is preparing to hire as many as 185 new engineers over the next two years – almost four times as many as the 50 engineers it previously targeted. Many of those engineers will be put to work developing the second-generation, Skyactiv 2 technologies that are on the drawing board while the first round of Skyactiv features are still being rolled out.

The boost in recruitment is enabled by a positive fiscal year that ended last March, marking the first profits Mazda had logged in four years. Sources anticipate that the fiscal year culminating at the end of this month will mark the company's most profitable yet, netting over a billion dollars to eclipse the fiscal year that ended in 2008 when it recorded $872.5 million in profits.

Rolls-Royce is not the first marque you'd think of when it comes to environmentally friendly transportation. Its cars are big – often the size of SUVs – and pack ginormous twelve-cylinder engines displacing over six and a half liters. Those upright Parthenon grilles can't be very aerodynamic, either. But the way the wind is blowing these days, Goodwood will have to get with the program sooner or later.

It developed an electric version of the Phantom a couple of years ago called the 102EX and showed it to customers around the world. But people weren't interested, so Rolls-Royce killed the program. Not to be deterred, however, Rolls is now said to be working on a plug-in hybrid that would countermand some of the shortcomings – like range and recharging times – that killed the 102EX.

The technology would apparently be borrowed from parent company BMW which is developing it for the X5 eDrive and allow Rolls-Royce to reduce its carbon footprint and offer a more environmentally friendly mode of transportation to those who don't want to skimp on the luxury and prestige.

Of course we don't know at this point whether the powertrain would be shoehorned into the Ghost or the Phantom, but we'd expect it to come in sedan form long before a coupe or convertible are ever considered – assuming, of course, that an SUV doesn't arrive first.

The debut of the Lamborghini Huracán was (and remains) big news in and of itself, but equally as exciting is the imminent arrival of the Audi R8, which the Huracán presages. While the two will share a common architecture, don't expect that new R8 will simply be a cheaper version of the Huracán (like the current one arguably is to the Gallardo).

For one, the next R8 will be larger than the Huracán. According to emerging intelligence, Audi will make its sports car both longer and wider than the Lamborghini version. It'll also share the new Lambo's innovative carbon-fiber structure that will replace both the firewall and central tunnel. But to power it all, Audi will get more creative.

The next R8 will, like the current model and like the Huracán, offer a V10 engine at the top of the range. It will also offer the same 4.2-liter V8 as the outgoing model. But that won't be the end of the matter. Word has it that Audi is also working on a smaller, turbocharged engine to offer in certain markets that mandate smaller-capacity engines.

Whether that will emerge as a turbo four, a turbocharged V6 or something else remains to be seen, but in speaking with Autocar, Audi technical chief Ulrich Hackenberg indicated they could be looking at "some numbers in between", suggesting that a turbo five like the one you'd find in the RS3, RS Q3 or TT RS could be under consideration.

One way or another, it wouldn't be the first time Audi would toy with the idea of a different kind of engine for the R8. It's experimented with V12 turbodiesels and electric propulsion for the supercar, so a turbo five – or whatever it settles on – would hardly be a big surprise.

Never mind what the executives say – we've had a sneaking suspicion all along that the upcoming Honda Civic Type R won't be coming to North America. And with good reason: both the prototype we drove in Japan and the concept unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show last week were based on the European-spec Civic hatchback – not to mention that some of the best hot hatches remain out of our reach.

Well it turns out we're not the only ones with that concern. There are legions of Honda hot hatch enthusiasts right here in the good old U S of A who want to see the new Civic Type R ripping up the Great American Road. And many of them are taking to the cyberclouds demanding that Honda bring it Stateside, post haste.

As of the time of writing, this online petition has gotten over 6,000 digital signatures, needing less than 1,500 more to get to the author's target of 7,500 votes. Of course, if and when the petition reaches its target, that still won't mean that Honda will bring it over, but it could mean that extra bit of encouragement the Japanese automaker's executives would need to tip the scales in our favor.

General Motors is facing an investigation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over its handling of a recall affecting roughly 1.6 million cars, but the automaker may have found a legal shield from possible future consumer lawsuits. The solution hinges on the old, pre-bankruptcy GM, and the new company that emerged afterward. While the name is the same, on paper they are technically different firms.

According to Automotive News, the company negotiated with state attorneys general and consumer groups during its restructuring to only carry product liability on faults with vehicles from after it left bankruptcy in 2009. If any owners want to sue GM for issues that took place before that time, they would have to take it up with the "old GM" in a bankruptcy court. So far, all attempts to sue the new company for pre-2009 faults have failed.

"It is true that new GM did not assume liability for claims arising from incidents or accidents occurring prior to July 2009," said GM spokesperson Greg Martin to Automotive News.

Because the vehicles affected by the recall were built between 2003 and 2007, covering only claims after 2009 limits the number of possible cases. The current total of incidents related to the ignition switch fault sits at 31 accidents and 13 deaths. The General hasn't revealed when these crashes occurred, but Automotive News claims to know of at least one fatal crash in a Chevrolet Cobalt in December of 2009 that was caused by the airbag not deploying. Even if the automaker is able to limit product liability lawsuits, it's still facing a possible fine from NHTSA that could be as high as $35 million, a new record in the industry.

While it wouldn't be fair to say it stumbled upon it, having invested unprecedented amounts to develop the Veyron in the first place, Bugatti has certainly arrived at a winning formula with its special editions. Take on the world's most expensive and desirable supercars, give it a special paintjob and name, and presto! You've got a multi-million-dollar prospect on your hands of which collectors just can't seem to get enough.

If that was the case with previous special-edition and one-off versions of the Veyron – and there have been many – it certainly applies to the company's "Les Legendes de Bugatti" line. The series pays homage to six legendary figures from the marque's history, each honored with a run of three special versions of the Vitesse roadster done up in their name with a unique color scheme inside and out. It started with the Jean-Pierre Wimille edition at Pebble Beach in August and continued with the Jean Bugatti edition in Frankfurt, the Meo Costantini edition in Dubai and the Rembrandt edition (pictured above) at the Geneva Motor Show last week. That leaves two more to go, and now we now what to expect - or rather, when to expect it.

In correspondence with Autoblog, Bugatti confirmed that it will reveal the fifth model at the Beijing Motor Show next month, and the sixth and final version at Pebble Beach in August. But just what will they be? All signs seem to be pointing toward pioneered female racer Elisabeth Junek for one of them – likely the next – but if we had to guess, we'd suspect that the final version will honor Ettore Bugatti himself. We'll just have to wait to find out for sure, but whoever Bugatti names them after, you can bet they'll all sell out rather quickly.

BMW has some considerable racing prowess to crow about, and draws on those credentials to create models like the new M4. But it's not about to rest on the laurels it's won at the end of innumerable races past and present. Mere months after the release of its latest performance coupe, BMW has already revealed a new M4 touring car for the DTM series, and has now unveiled its new M4 safety car for the MotoGP motorcycle championship.

Revealed on the BMW M Facebook page and set to debut at the front of the grid at the season opener in Qatar a couple weeks from now, the new M4 safety car is just the latest in a long string of official vehicles it has provided to the MotoGP series. Previous examples have included everything from the 1M Coupe to the M6 and the X6 M.

Like its predecessors, the M4 safety car features emergency lighting, special equipment and of course BMW's trademark white livery with red, navy and light blue stripes that, in this arrangement, give the new Williams Martini Racing livery a run for its money. Logos promote the BMW M Performance Parts you can buy to bring your own Bimmer up to spec, which on this car isn't likely have changed much from stock.

In the need for a good cry? Chevrolet has you covered with its new ad for the Equinox. The video showcases the trifecta of cinematic sadness - an aging dog, languid piano music and gauzy cinematography.

We won't spoil where things go, but it's incredibly clear within five seconds how it's going to end. Of course, the broader question is whether something so tearful helps sell cars. Is this tactic going to associate sadness with the Equinox in buyers' minds? Scroll down for the video... but have a handkerchief handy if you're a dog lover.

UPDATE: There's just one important bit that we neglected to mention: this commercial wasn't actually approved by Chevrolet as best we can determine. Maddie was conceived and filmed by a Canadian production company, and submitted to a contest sponsored by Chevy and MOFILM. Sorry for any confusion.

If you raised an eyebrow in suspicion when McLaren insisted its new 650S would join its lineup in tandem with – and not as a replacement for – the MP4-12C, we're with you. The 650S is, after all, based closely on the 12C, distinguishing itself essentially with a revised shape, updated equipment and more power. And with the Spider version having debuted alongside the coupe in Geneva, there's really little room left for the 12C at all.

Keeping both around at the same time would be like if arch-rival Ferrari offered both the old California and new California T (or the 360 Modena and the F430 that followed) at the same time. Yet McLaren has remained adamant that the 12C isn't going anywhere despite the arrival of the 650S.

Or is it? Well, yes and no. Reports coming in from the UK indicate that, while McLaren will continue to offer the 12C to customers who order it, the company has actually ceased production of the older, less expensive version for the time being in order to gear up for producing the newer 650S.

Keeping both models on the order sheet will likely cease once McLaren's upcoming entry-level model, dubbed P13, comes along. Essentially replacing the 12C with the 650S at that point will allow Woking to open up a bigger price difference between it and the new model, helping to differentiate between the two. In the meantime, the House that Bruce (or Ron) Built appears to be taking a similar approach to Pagani, which kept the Zonda on offer long after the Huayra came along.