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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 You might spot a few minor tweaks here and there – the strip of LEDs in the lower front bumper have been replaced by round fog lamps and some of the chrome accents are missing – but by and large, we're looking at the same vehicle we saw in Detroit earlier this year.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.

William Clay Ford, retired vice chairman of Ford Motor Company and the last surviving grandchild of company founder Henry Ford, died this morning after a bout with pneumonia. He was 88.

Ford spent 57 years with his grandfather's company, joining the board of directors in 1948 before graduating from college. Ford also held a position as chairman of the design committee, as well as the chairman of the executive committee and vice chairman of the Board of Directors during his tenure with the company. In a 2013 Detroit Free Press story, retired CFO Allan Gilmour said Ford had an eye for design, and was once able to pick out when a fiberglass model of a Ford Contour was asymmetrical, off by an inch on one side. He retired and assumed the position of director emeritus in 2005.

"My father was a great business leader and humanitarian who dedicated his life to the company and the community," said Bill Ford, Jr., Ford's current executive chairman. "He also was a wonderful family man, a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him, yet he will continue to inspire us all."

While Ford will be remembered for his longstanding service to his family's company, he may be less fondly remembered by Detroiters as owner of the city's long-suffering NFL team, the Detroit Lions. Ford purchased the Lions in 1963 and has served as its chairman ever since.

Scroll down for the official press release from the Ford Motor Company.

Apple's CarPlay infotainment system hasn't made it into a single vehicle yet, and it's already drawing criticism for distracting drivers among safety advocates. The new tech unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show pairs users' iPhones with the car's dashboard display to make calls, dictate messages and listen to music. Some automakers, like Volvo, also let users interact with the HVAC system from the screen.

"The idea that people want to be on their phones, and therefore let's give them a way to do that -- that's not putting safety first, that's putting convenience and the desire to be in touch first," said Bruce Hamilton, manager of research and communications at the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, to CNN Money.

Distracted driving is a huge concern on modern roads with more vehicles allowing drivers to use their smartphones through Bluetooth and infotainment systems. A Texas A&M study found that drivers' reaction time doubled while dictating text messages, according to CNN Money. The new tech is certainly not making drivers pay more attention.

Apple knows that inattentive drivers are a major cause of concern and addressed it in their press release, saying: "CarPlay lets drivers use their iPhone in the car with minimized distraction." Still, none of the models with the tech are available yet. It's hard to make quality judgments until it is actually on the road.

The new system will debut later this year in some Volvo, Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Apple claims to be working on future deals with BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Jaguar, Land Rover, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota and more. For automakers, the tech means a common standard and potentially less money invested into bespoke infotainment systems. Apple gets even more people using its software. Scroll down for Volvo's video preview of CarPlay.

Crowd-funding projects are quickly emerging as the way to get things done in the tech business, and the idea is even jumping into other fields as well. But it hasn't exactly caught on just yet in the automotive industry. A few months ago we reported on a crowd-funding campaign to revive the Castle Three Motor Company to build a retro trike roadster similar to the Morgan 3 Wheeler, and various outfits have attempted to harness the public's contributions to jump-start electric vehicle development. But while those projects haven't gotten very far (as of yet), Spyker very well could.

For those unfamiliar, Spyker is a Dutch sports car manufacturer that has taken on some rather ambitious projects. It's produced successive versions of the C8 over the years, but canceled plans for the Zagato-designed C12, has repeatedly postponed plans for a high-end SUV, got in over its head with its own Formula One team and ultimately had to divest itself from the sinking ship that was Saab. But now it's trying to get back on track with the B6 Venator.

Expected to be half as expensive as the $300k+ C8 Aileron, the new B6 was unveiled in concept form at last year's Geneva Motor Show and as a Spyder roadster concept at Pebble Beach just months later. Production is scheduled to gear up later this year, with the first US deliveries to follow next year. While the C8 often arrives in collections as an owner's seventh or eighth car, the B6 will more likely be a buyer's third or fourth.

Spyker says it's amassing orders, but in order to actually start production, it needs capital. That's why it's turning to a rather unconventional way of financing the project. Rather than simply taking deposits to get started, Spyker is selling bonds. Each of the 100 bonds will be priced at £100,000 ($167,000 at today's rates) and be redeemable for one Spyker B6 Venator, which itself will be priced at £125,000 – a quarter more than what the bonds are being sold for. Alternatively, investors will have the option to cash out the bond after three or four years, or turn it into stock if Spyker issues an IPO.

Bobby Unser is one of the great American racing drivers of his generation, having won the Indianapolis 500 in 1968, '75 and '81 and belonging to the Unser racing dynasty. But he might be getting the oddest tribute of his life at the 2014 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. Infiniti has created a tribute to his Indy-winning 1968 car out of a Q60 Convertible (previously the G37), and he will be driving it around the event.

The Infiniti is wrapped in red, gold, black and white livery with the number 3 designed by the company's design director Alfonso Albaisa. While the connection seems dubious, Offenhauser-powered racecars are one of the featured vehicles at this year's concours, and the Japanese luxury automaker worked with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum to bring Unser's 1968 Eagle, which used an Offenhauser engine and flew those colors, to the show. The brand wanted a car of its own to match... no matter how outlandish it looked.

Honestly, while certainly a nice gesture, the choice still seems a bit weird. At least visitors will get the chance to see American racing royalty and his winning car. Scroll down to read Infiniti's full explanation for their effort.