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Wolfgang Egger, Audi's chief designer, is leaving the company according to a Automotive News Europe, which cites a report from Germany's Automobilwoche. Egger won't be going far, though, remaining within the Volkswagen family and taking up head design position Italdesign Giugiaro, a VW subsidiary as of 2010.

Egger took over the position at Audi from Walter de Silva, and has been responsible most recently for the Audi A6 and A3, as well as the 2010 Quattro Concept and the E-Tron Concept. He previously was head of design at Lancia and then at Alfa Romeo, where he was responsible for the achingly gorgeous 8C Competizione.

If Egger does move to Italdesign, his successor is likely to be Marc Lichte, the Volkswagen designer behind the current Golf. Of course, these personnel changes haven't been officially confirmed, and Audi is thus far refusing to comment on either Egger or Lichte's possible career shifts. We'll stay with this one, so sit tight.

It was 1998 when Subaru made some crucial changes to its World Rally Championship Impreza, such as increasing the displacement of the turbocharged flat-four-cylinder engine from 2.0 to 2.2 liters and fitting wide fender flares. Subaru won the WRC manufacturer championship with the car that year, and it also was the year of the automaker's 40th anniversary. To celebrate the milestone, the company came out with this limited-edition, road-going Impreza, the hallowed 22B STI, which looked nearly identical to the rally car.

Only 424 22Bs were built, and most of them stayed in Japan. But Dominick Infante, national manager of product communications at Subaru of America, was able to secure a drive in one of the only two 22Bs in the US. He details the car's history and some of the design and engineering cues that made the Impreza STI so popular both in motorsport and on the street, but we were caught up listening to the exhaust and admiring the timeless blue-and-gold paint. You should too, so head below to watch the video.

The cost of a gallon of fuel may go up if a Democratic representative from Oregon gets his way. Earl Blumenauer has reportedly proposed a bill in the House of Representatives to raise the federal gas tax 15 cents per gallon in a bid to cover a shortfall in transportation funding (we told you so?). The current federal tax is 33.4 cents per gallon on gas and 42.8 cents per gallon of diesel.

"Every credible independent report indicates that we are not meeting the demands of our stressed and decaying infrastructure system – roads, bridges and transit," Blumenauer said in a press conference cited by The Washington Post. The Post reports that the federal tax hasn't been increased since 1993.

"The average motorist is paying about half as much per mile as they did in 1993"

"With inflation and increased fuel efficiency, especially for some types of vehicles, there is no longer a good relationship between what road users pay and how much they benefit. The average motorist is paying about half as much per mile as they did in 1993," Blumenauer said.

While we can understand anger over increased gas prices, Blumenauer has assembled an impressive coalition to support the tax hike. AAA's vice president of public affairs, Kathleen Bower, notes, "The country desperately needs additional funding for infrastructure and, for the moment, there is no better means than the fuel tax. The proposed increase is well overdue and in line with what most experts suggest would be appropriate." In addition, Blumenauer pointed out other supporters "including the US Chamber of Commerce, national AFL-CIO, the construction and trucking ­industry, cyclists, professional groups, numerous associations of small and medium businesses, local governments, and transit agencies."

As we've shown as recently as last year, there's support among American motorists for a tax hike. Of course, you know where we're going with this. Let us know what you think about a potential hike in the gas tax by having your say in Comments and in our poll below.

Several months typically pass between when the FIA releases the provisional calendar for the next year's Formula One World Championship and when it releases the final version. The gap is usually bridged by a fair share of back-and-forth speculation over which races will make the cut, but this year's has looked even more feverish than usual from where we sit, principally for one reason: namely, that the provisional calendar included a new race in New Jersey.

After much speculation, the FIA has released the final calendar for the 2014 Formula One World Championship (along with a number of other series it sanctions). While the provisional calendar had a whopping 22 races on it, the final version has been whittled down to 19. And as you might have guessed, Jersey didn't make the cut.

New races in Austria and Russia are included, but the proposed expansion race in Mexico joins Jersey's fate, along with the Korean Grand Prix, which has been held at Yeongam for the past four years but won't be held next year. F1 fans in North America needn't worry, though: those who might have enjoyed the Mexican Grand Prix won't have far to go to enjoy the United States Grand Prix (which is still on the calendar for November 2, 2014, in Austin, Texas) and those in the northeast can head up to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix on June 8.

You can view the full release below from the last meeting of the FIA's World Motor Sport Council this year to see the final calendar for F1 as well as the world championships for touring cars, endurance racing, rallycross, Formula E and Formula 3. But for North American racing fans, the parts you need to know about are the F1 races in Montreal and Austin, the 6 Hours of the Circuit of the Americas (also in Austin), the WTCC race in Sonoma, the new rallycross event in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, and the Formula E races to take place in LA and Miami.

Tesla's strategy to sell cars, such as the Model S, through manufacturer-owned retail stores has rubbed traditional franchise auto dealerships the wrong way. The battle between Tesla and the Ohio Auto Dealers Association heated up quickly over the past week because a proposed amendment to an Ohio road-maintenance worker safety bill (Senate Bill 137) threatened to ban Tesla stores in Ohio. The automaker asked for help from its supporters to fight the amendment, and on Tuesday all 12 members of the Ohio senate passed the bill without it, Transport Evolved reports.

After the vote, Tesla sent out an e-mail to its supporters thanking them for their help, which you can read below:

Dear Tesla Advocate,

Earlier today, the Ohio House of Representatives Committee on Transportation, Public Safety and Homeland Security voted out Senate Bill 137 without the anti-Tesla amendment attached to it. We would like to thank all our customers and supporters who took the time to contact their local representatives and express their views on the matter. Your help was crucial to stopping this amendment! Tesla looks forward to continued investment in the state and serving our customers in Ohio, including at our new stores opening in Columbus and Cincinnati this month.

Thanks again for your support!

The amendment was added to SB 137 at the last minute, and the bill originally was to be voted on yesterday. But Tesla wrote e-mails to its advocates on Monday asking for help to fight the inclusion of the amendment, and the vote was quietly moved to Tuesday.

Both republicans and democrats expressed a desire to be careful with the issue of manufacturer-owned dealerships. Rep. Rex Damschroder (R-Fremont) says, "I've watched amendments go through at the last minute and making mistakes." He continues, "This issue is of such importance that it shouldn't be rushed," The Columbus Dispatch reports.

"Are we standing in the way of something that is innovative?" Rep. Robert F. Hagan (D-Youngstown) reportedly asked. "This is an up-and-coming, 6,000-employee group that should be given an opportunity to expand."

So for now, Tesla's business model is legal in Ohio, and its first store in the state is scheduled to open in Easton on Friday. A week later the automaker will open a second store in Cincinnati. Of course, there is another incentive for Ohio to not block Tesla's business model. As Damschroder puts it: "[Tesla] might have future potential in Ohio - they are looking for somewhere to build their pick-up trucks," The Columbus Dispatch reports.

As we've explained before, we have a soft spot for small, funky motorcycles. We've expressed our admiration for cafe racers and their culture, and while those modded bikes are extremely cool, we may have just discovered another niche of even more interesting two-wheeled contraptions, thanks to the team at Petrolicious.

On this week's video, there's a visit with Hugo Gallina, the owner of Vintage Italian Restoration in southern California. Gallina specializes not in the traditional Italian motorcycles - Ducati, Moto Guzzi or MV Agusta - but in the smaller, seriously vintage (think 1950s) single-cylinder bikes from little known or long forgotten brands like Benelli, Gilera, or even Maserati (yes, that Maserati). These tiny bikes are kind of like the Honda Grom of their day.

Really, if you're interested in a different era of motoring (or even motorcycling, as it were), this latest Petrolicious video is really worth a watch. Check it out by scrolling down.

J Mays, head of design at Ford, may be retiring from the company after 16 years, but not before showing the world his swan song: the 2015 Mustang. Ford officially revealed its new coupe and convertible to the public at events around the world on Thursday, including a live unveiling on ABC's Good Morning America, and Mays was in attendance at the automaker's home event in Dearborn, MI, which is where we caught up with him for a few words about his new baby.

"It's a joy" to design the Mustang, Mays told Autoblog, adding that this sixth-generation coupe is his "favorite design so far." Of course, the 2015 model takes cues from all of the generations that came before it, but Mays said it was important to edit down the specific elements from previous models, leaving just enough off to let the customer "participate and fill in the blanks."

"If it doesn't sell itself, you probably aren't a Mustang fan."

"We could have gone down and checked the list," Mays stated. "We did that a little bit in 2005." There aren't any fake scoops on this car, no added plastic bits, and the faux-gas cap look to the GT emblem on the rear has been axed. "That's walking away from something [that] doesn't need to be there," we were told. Overall, the final 2015 Mustang design needed to be a cohesive package that tells a story of confidence, power and aggression. And while Mays said there were plenty of designs that he and the team really liked ("at some point, those will surface"), the company strived to find essential elements that would make this car a proper Mustang, even though so much of the design work "ends up on the cutting room floor."

As we told you in our Deep Dive, the Mustang will be offered with three engines, including a new 2.3-liter EcoBoost inline four-cylinder, expected to produce more than 305 horsepower. But unlike other models in the Ford range, Mays confirmed that the Mustang will not have specific EcoBoost badging. There's also the Convertible variant, which was absent from the Dearborn reveal, and Mays notes that the droptop model was designed right alongside the hardtop, since it was important to create a profile that would work on both bodystyles.

For the first time, Ford will officially offer the Mustang in markets outside of the United States, and Mays isn't worried about it failing to attract customers. Why? "It's drop-dead gorgeous" and there's "50 years of pent-up demand." The design boss said it was more important to get the design finalized first, and then offer it to the world. Sure, things like European pedestrian crash standards were baked into the car's design from the get-go, but being able to succeed on a global scale wasn't a major factor in creating the shape of the sixth-generation car. Besides, as Mays says, "If it doesn't sell itself, you probably aren't a Mustang fan."

Saab is officially building cars again. Production of the 9-3 Sedan has kicked back off in Trollhättan, Sweden, and the first example is reportedly earmarked for the company's museum. Initial sales are targeted for China, although Swedish customers will also be able to buy new Saabs built in their country right away, too. It isn't immediately clear if the model will be available in the rest of Europe, let alone in North America.

The initial run of 9-3s will be powered by a 220-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder before an electric model joins the range next year. There are no Biopower or XWD all-wheel-drive models presently in production. And while the lion's share of the 2014 9-3 is a carryover from the pre-bankruptcy car, there are some changes, including a new anti-whiplash seat system and a "greater number of non-GM parts," reports SaabsUnited.

"I am very proud of the dedication and the focus that NEVS management and employees have demonstrated over the year that has passed since we became owners of the plant in Trollhättan, and who have made this possible. Swedish expertise along with Japanese technology around batteries and new lightweight materials and our Chinese group's focus on green technology is our strength for the future," said Kai Johan Jiang, the founder of Saab's parent company, National Electric Vehicle Sweden.

Sales of the new 9-3 will start in Sweden via NEVS' website on December 10. Prices for the manual-trans model start 279,000 Swedish Krona ($42,842), while the automatic starts at 289,000 ($44,377). That pricing is said to be roughly 10 percent less expensive than a similarly spec'd Griffin model cost in 2012.

Scroll down for a full press release on the relaunch of Saab from NEVS, and check out our friends over at SaabsUnited, who have done an excellent job chronicling the rebirth of the 9-3, including live pictures from the plant.

For the third consecutive model year, Honda has given its Civic lineup some substantial improvements, and with the 2014 Civic Coupe and Sedan going on sale this week, the automaker has released pricing and fuel economy numbers for its gas and non-Si models. Honda has not released any images of the 2014 Civic Sedan yet, but we got our first look at the updated Coupe last month at SEMA.

Aside from styling changes introduced on the 2013 Sedan being carried over to the 2014 Coupe, the biggest update to all 2014 Civics might be the addition of the continuously variable transmission (CVT). Fuel economy figures carry over for cars with the manual transmission, but models swapping the previous five-speed automatic for the new CVT are seeing a boost in city fuel economy by 2 mpg helping the Civic max out at 31 mpg city for the fuel-miser HF trim level.

In terms of pricing, the 2014 Civic is getting a modest price hike of $225 for the base LX models, which now start at $18,190* for the Coupe and $18,390* for the Sedan (*not including $790 for destination charges). The sedan-only HF trim level is up $175, there's a $275 price increase for the EX and EX-L Coupe and EX Sedan models and an extra $475 has been tacked on to the EX-L Sedan.

Still no word when Honda will drop more info on the Civic Si, Hybrid and CNG models, but the full press release for the LX, EX and HF models is posted below.

When Bugatti first introduced the Veyron, production was limited to just 300 coupes (including the original 16.4 and the Super Sport). Those were followed by an additional 150 roadsters (both Grand Sport and Vitesse), of which 100 have now been sold, leaving just 50 examples left before the Veyron finally roars off into the sunset.

The 400th Veyron built was the third and final example of the Jean-Pierre Wimille edition pictured here. Based on the Vitesse roadster, the Wimille edition is the first in a series of six Legend specials that pay homage to the Alsatian marque's history. The second is dedicated to Jean Bugatti, and the third to racer and factory team manager Meo Costantini, with three more of these three-unit special editions to follow out of the remaining 50 cars to be built at Molsheim. We're expecting one of the remaining three to be named after Rembrandt Bugatti, designer of the company's elephant hood ornament.

Given that it has taken the company over eight years to build those 400 cars, it figures to take Bugatti another year or so to complete the final 50, by which point it'll hopefully have a successor in place. For more news on the landmark, see the official press release below.

With the untimely death of Paul Walker last weekend, production of Fast and Furious 7 was put on hold and the future of the franchise has been left in doubt, but showing that even this worst-case scenario means nothing in the grand scheme of things, the creators of the hugely popular car movie franchise have released a touching video tribute to Walker.

The two-minute video is comprised of memorable scenes from the five F&F movies in which he starred, and the finishing shot shows him leaning against the European Mk1 Ford Escort his character piloted in the movie's most recent sixth installment. The video is posted below, and in related news of Paul Walker tributes, fans from around the globe are organizing cruises with hopes of paying homage to the actor and raising money for his Reach Out WorldWide charity.

There are confirmed events happening in British Columbia, Canada and Jacksonville, FL (both with expected turn outs of more than 500 cars) this month, but one planned for February in the UK has already eclipsed 10,000 people who say they'll be attending. There are likely many more such cruises taking place, so if you know of any, let us know in Comments.

It'd be unwise to bet against the sixth generation of this legendary nameplate.

The 2015 Ford Mustang is assuredly the most anticipated new vehicle of the year. The redesigned Pony Car has been the subject of frantic gossiping and covert spy photos covering everything from the way it looks to the tech it will include, its performance, mechanicals and a bevy of other aspects of Ford's performance icon.

And now, we've had our first look at it. In a closed backgrounder at Ford's headquarters, we crawled over every inch of the new Mustang in an all-too-short look at the muscle car that will carry the company's performance flag through the rest of the decade. We've now witnessed what is arguably the most comprehensive refit of the Mustang in its 50-year history. We're still months away from our first drive, but after seeing it in the flesh and learning about its systems and mechanicals, it'd be unwise to bet against the sixth generation of this legendary nameplate.

Happy Mustang Day. Are you tired of hearing about the 2015 Ford Mustang yet? No? Good, here's a bunch of mechanical data on Ford's sixth-gen muscle car, along with cutaways of the GT's 5.0-liter V8 and the new 2.3-liter, EcoBoost four-cylinder shown above. We also have a smattering of info on the Stang's updated transmissions and an exploded-parts-diagram view of its all-new independent rear suspension.

Ford is set to make waves offering the Mustang with a turbo for the first time since the small-volume SVO of the 1980s. Displacing 2.3 liters, the engine's twin-scroll turbo should help the four-cylinder turn out a projected 305 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque, while also returning the best fuel economy in the Mustang's engine lineup. As we said in our Deep Dive, the EcoBoost will be slotted in as a premium engine, above the 3.7-liter V6 but below the 5.0-liter V8.

Speaking of that high-revving eight-cylinder, it's receiving a new cylinder head with high-flow ports. The intake and exhaust valves are larger and the cams have been replaced, among other tweaks. It should rev even higher thanks to a rebalanced crankshaft and forged connecting rods. Ford is still claiming a projected 420 hp and 390 lb-ft, although as many of the changes for the 2015's V8 come from the 2013 Boss 302, we're going to assume there's some sandbagging at work.

Finally, the transmissions have received some attention, with the six-speed manual from Getrag getting a new shift linkage, which should provide a shorter, crisper action. A new set of steering-wheel-mounted paddles on the auto trans will provide rev-matched shifts, although there's no word on how quickly it will swap cogs.

Check out the cutaways and exploded-parts-diagram views of the 2015 Mustang's mechanicals in our gallery. You can also scroll down for our gallery of launch images and a press release from Ford.

There are several ways an automaker can get into Formula One racing. It can start its own team from scratch (like Toyota did in 2002), it can buy an existing team (like BMW did with Sauber in 2005) or it can supply engines to other teams (as so many manufacturers have done over the years). Infiniti chose another direction and opted to sponsor the world-champion Red Bull Racing team.

Infiniti has undoubtedly poured millions into its partnership with Red Bull since it started in 2011, but aside from the Sebastian Vettel edition FX (which technically emerged from the company's sponsorship of the driver as separate from the team), the tie-in has yet to translate into a Red Bull-tuned (or at least -inspired) Infiniti for the road. But that's just what Nissan's premium brand has in store for us at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show in January.

Well, almost, because the concept just announced is still a step or two away from reaching your local Infiniti dealership, but here it is just the same. It's called the Q50 Eau Rouge, and it's based on the company's latest tech-laden sports sedan. It takes its name, of course, from the famous uphill section of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit where Sebastian Vettel won the Belgian Grand Prix earlier this year, but Infiniti isn't telling us much more than that.

The concept is said to incorporate "aerodynamic styling treatments and design elements that are influenced by the company's partnership with Red Bull, and from the solitary teaser image above, we can see a new front air dam and side mirrors crafted from carbon fiber, and some sort of protrusions from the top of the hood at the base of the windshield. We'll have to wait to find out more, but we hope the modifications prove to be more than skin-deep.