We obsessively cover the auto industry…

A Houston, Texas, man is likely out of his freedom and his General Lee-style Dodge Charger following a police chase. According to news reports from Houston, police clocked the man going 120 mph on a city freeway.

To catch him, police had to run his plate through their database, which led them to his apartment. When the cops showed up, the guy was taking a shower as if everything was normal.

Evading the police at 120 mph is something the Duke Boys' Charger is likely used to. This time, though, the big orange Dodge's owner was hauling marijuana, not moonshine. It's been impounded, and charges are pending.

This crash isn't as odd as the California melee that saw a Saturn end up on an apartment roof, but it's still a little out of the ordinary. Apparently a driver in Wellesley, Mass. missed a curb, and wound up driving up and over a Cadillac CTS that was inside a parking structure.

We're a little baffled as to how this all went down, and the Wellesley police don't give us any clues in their video. Check out what happened after the jump.

Starting next March, Mini buyers will be able to grab a set of Recaro seats off the option list for their cars. The upmarket buckets will be available for all Mini models except the Countryman and Convertible.

As you likely guessed, they don't come cheap. Be prepared to fork over a heady $3,000 for the better seats. There are other constraints. The Recaros only come in black leather and Dinamica and can only be had with built-in heaters. Still, they look the ruckus and should make Cooper S and JCW drivers even happer when they attack the twisty stuff.

Volkswagen buyers in the Netherlands will soon have the opportunity to get their hands on a brand-new 2012 Volkswagen Type 2 Microbus. That's right, the original hippie van will be available brand-new in Holland as a 2012 model.

How is that possible? Well, while the buses went out of production a long time ago in Europe and the states, South Americans have been enjoying unfettered access to the Type 2 (currently sold there as the Kombi) for decades. The Type 2s slated for the streets of Holland will be built in Brazil with their South American-market counterparts and then shipped to the Dutch market.

As you can see, the T2 hasn't been changed much to make it more suitable for modern families.That spare tire on the front end, however, is anything but. The van's air-cooled flat four-cylinder engine has been replaced with a more modern 1.4-liter inline four, and the "spare tire" is actually an air filter that obscures placement of a front-mounted radiator.

For now, these camper-only vans are only scheduled to be available only in Holland, but they'll be eligible for registration anywhere within the European Union. We think things will stay that way, so don't expect any to make it Stateside.

I had a buddy in college who got so tired of tailgaters that he carved a middle finger out of plywood, wrapped it in Christmas lights, and stuck it in the rear window of his Volkswagen. When someone got too close on the interstate, he flipped a button, and the wooden bird illuminated, letting people know exactly how he felt.

Enterprising motorist Gandeep Singh took that idea to the next level, applying some creative thinking, and installing a 40"x16" led crawler in his rear window to give his road rage a serious edge.

Unfortunately, it looks as if most of Singh's programmed messages are G-rated, but he's apparently working on a Bluetooth cellphone hookup, so you can update your crawler in real time. Follow the jump to watch video of it in use.

Demand for supercars in India has exotic automakers scrambling, with Lamborghini on the verge of opening its second dealership in India this year, and Ferrari planning to open four more by the end of 2012.

Ferrari opened its first Indian dealership in May as the country's blossoming economy continues to spit out millionaires left and right. The number of India's millionaires is expected to double by 2015.

Despite climbing numbers of millionaires and increased demand for exotic rides, a chilling fact remains: World Bank estimates that 75 percent of Indians live on less than $2 a day.

Nebraska's Carhenge, an art installation built in 1987 by Jim Reinders, is up for sale. A 38-car tribute to the druid monument in England, Reinders built the automotive megalith on a farm once owned by his father on the outskirts of Alliance, Nebraska.

Not to be confused with the Cadillac Ranch in Texas, the site is owned and operated by the non-profit group, Friends of Carhenge, and it attracts some 80,000 visitors a year. Trouble is, the site doesn't charge admission and Friends of Carhenge is in debt, having taken out loans to maintain the structure.

The organization hopes to find a buyer who can fund amenities like a campground and go kart track on the property, which would give visitors reason to pay admission. Check out the Friends of Carhenge website for additional information.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin announced at Web 2.0 that Google's next goal for its driverless cars is to go 1,000,000 miles without driver intervention. According to Brin, Google's teams have already amassed more than 1,000 incident free miles without driver involvement.

Up to now, Google's driverless cars have gone 160,000 miles, but with some limited human input. The company admits that there's been one fender bender, but attributed that to human driver error rather than Google's software.

Google would like to reach a point where it's legal for driverless cars to mingle with everyday traffic, but Brin said there's a lot of research and development left to do. Before the technology can be marketable, Google says it needs to be developed to need to a point at which human drivers can ignore the road entirely. Click past the jump for a video with more details.

Automakers fared extremely well in Interbrands' Best Global Brands 2011 Report. The study, which ranks the financial strength of all kinds of brands around the world, was topped by Coca-Cola, IBM, Microsoft, Google and General Electric. Most automakers either held fast or moved up in the top 100, with the exception of Ferrari, which fell from 91 to 99. Despite having a rough row to hoe these last two years, Toyota still leads the automaker pack on the list, sitting tight this year at number 11, after dropping from eighth last year, followed closely at 12 by Mercedes-Benz.

Nissan popped back on to the list this year, making a surprise comeback at 90 after a four-year absence. According to Interbrands, both Nissan and Toyota showed enough resilience in the face of both the earthquake and Toyota's quality control issues that their brand value actually increased for 2011.

Funnily enough, Ford was the only one of the Detroit automakers to make the list.

Others on the list included BMW, which held fast at 15, Honda, which jumped one place to 19, Volkswagen which climbed from 53 to 47, Ford, which held fast at 50. Audi and Hyundai both moved up four places, into 59 and 61, respectively. Porsche held its footing at 72, while Nissan and Ferrari brought up the rear. Hit the jump for a press release, click here to see the whole list.

We aren't entirely sure what's happening here. It seems a Macedonian man took his brand-new 2011 Mercedes-Benz CLS 350 CDI to the car wash and decided the interior could use some freshening up, too.

Instead of doing what every other Mercedes owner would do and busting out the Armor All, this guy asked the detailers to take the power washer to the interior of his brand-new Mercedes-Benz. Mystified and horrified, the wash attendants refused. That's when the owner took things into his own hands and, well, the results are in the video after the jump.

General Motors is recalling 5,755 2011-2012 Chevrolet Corvette coupes for potentially faulty hatch hinges that could break loose in a crash. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the rear hatch hinges on Vettes built between January and September don't meet federal weight capacity requirements.

The recall was scheduled to start on Oct. 7. According to the recall, dealers will notify owners of the recall and inspect and replace both hinges for free as necessary. Hit the jump for a press release.

Nothing communicates the Miami Vice-era coke-dealer ethos like a slantnose Porsche 911 Turbo. Nothing, that is, except this 1986 Rinspeed Porsche 911 R69.

The loony Swiss outfit put its twist on the Flachbau by adding hot pink paint, color-matched wheels, the requisite body kit, and Testarossa-inspired side slats. Inside, Rinspeed installed power seats, the best hi-fi audio 1986 had to offer, and steering-wheel controls that would give Ray LaHood a nervous breakdown today.

True to the era that spawned it, this car's looks were dated almost before it left the factory floor.

In a strange way, though, that's part of its appeal. If you've got $79,000 to pony up, this Rinspeed R69, claimed to be the only one in the U.S., can be yours. Check out the entire eBay listing, or eyeball the photo gallery above for the whole plasticky package.

The world's oldest running car, an 1884 De Dion Bouton Et Trapardoux Dos-A-Dos Steam Runabout, made history Friday, fetching $4.62 million at RM Auctions' Hershey, Pennsylvania event. Before a packed house, the 127-year-old ride quickly eclipsed its $500,000 starting bid.

By the time the dust had settled, the gavel fell at $4.2 million. The final price included a ten-percent buyer's premium. The crowd began applauding as soon as the car crept onto the stage and the enthusiasm didn't wane until well after the sale.

The Runabout had been in the same family for 81 years prior to the sale, and is one of six De Dion tricycles known to still exist. A total of 20 of the three-wheelers were built. When new, the trike had a top speed of 38 mph and a range of 20 miles on one tank of water. The vehicle that sold last night was the only car to show up for the world's first auto race, where it averaged 16 mph over a 20-mile course. Hop the jump for a press release.

Using portable emissions equipment, a wide sampling of cars and bikes from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s and with the help of Dr. Kent Johnson of UC Riverside, the Mythbusters team claims they proved motorcycles are dirtier than cars.

Doing so meant gathering data in real-world driving conditions along a 75-percent freeway, 25-percent city driving loop in and on the vehicles from different eras. The results of that test proved one thing that everyone should already know: motorcycles use less fuel than cars.

They also produce less carbon dioxide than cars, which accounts for 90 percent of a vehicle's emissions. Where cars pull ahead, though, is in the amount of other noxious gases they produce. The Mythbusters found that bikes produce tons more hydrocarbons, which are carcinogenic; nitrogen oxides, which cause acid rain; and carbon monoxide, everyone's favorite odorless deadly gas. Astoundingly, the 'busters claim bikes produce up to 8,000 percent more carbon monoxide than cars. Yes, 8,000 percent.

A controlled test on a track using a small displacement, fuel injected modern bike didn't give two wheelers the help the 'busters thought it would.To give bikes another chance, Jamie and Adam built an aerodynamic frame to make the modern bike sip even more gently through the wind. The result, predictably, was that the emissions got a little better, but were still worse than the car's. See the videos for yourself after the break.