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The sequence of events from 2007 that began with Porsche's secret attempt to take over Volkswagen, and instead lead to Porsche being taken over by VW, continues to instigate lawsuits against the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer. A group of hedge funds that suffered over $1 billion in losses sued the car company in New York. Porsche had publicly stated it wasn't trying to buy VW, the hedge funds in question were shorting VW stock, and when Porsche's actual intentions were revealed, the stock shot up and the hedge funds took a beating.

The case was thrown out over the issue of jurisdiction, then appealed, only to see another suit filed on top of that. After that, most of the hedge funds withdrew their claims in New York and Porsche offered a 90-day window to refile in Germany where it is already fighting a number of other suits over the same issue. The hedge funds accepted the offer, refiling in Stuttgart for $1.8 billion in damages. According to Bloomberg, Porsche hasn't commented on the refiling, but as the same plaintiffs are involved, it's safe to assume that the carmaker still feels the case is "unsubstantiated and without merit." It has fared alright so far even in German courts, with two lesser cases against it thrown out last year.

Subaru today announced a recall that affects 5,379 Legacy sedan and Outback wagon models in the United States. All of the affected 2013 model-year vehicles were built between February 15 and June 15 of 2012.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "the inner and outer shafts of the steering column assembly may become disengaged from one another" in these vehicles. If that happens, the driver can lose the ability to steer the vehicle, which could obviously lead to all sorts of harmful things.

Subaru will notify owners of the problem, and affected models will have their steering columns replaced at dealerships, free of charge. Scroll down for the official NHSTA report.

A lawsuit in New Hampshire, a state where they take their slogan – Live Free or Die – seriously, is setting the city of Keene against a group of citizens fighting "the violent monopoly" by putting money in the about-to-expire parking meters of strangers. The action is known as "Robin Hooding in Keene," and there are various ways in which practitioners do it. The specific activity that the city has a problem with is when the Robin Hooders follow the city's parking enforcement officers and, in the city's words, taunt, interfere, harass and intimidate them. Keene officials say the situation is causing its parking officials to think about quitting.

A spokesman for the Robin Hooders argues that videoing and talking to the enforcement officers isn't harassment. The city isn't suing to get them to stop, but it is suing to establish a 50-foot safety zone around the parking meter officers in order to prevent the interactions. There are six members of the group who are named in the suit.

There are videos of Robin Hooding on YouTube which show what kinds of forms it takes. Let us know if you think it helps or hinders the city's case in the poll below.

Strategic Vision has released its annual Total Quality awards, and some of the winners may come as a surprise. To quote Alexander Edwards, President of Strategic Vision, "For the first time in over a decade our comprehensive and complete study of Quality resulted in more domestic winners than imports."

That's not to say import brands performed poorly. Volkswagen was voted the best overall corporation in Total Quality for the eighth-straight year, and Audi tied with Lexus for the best individual brand. Breaking things down on a model-by-model basis, here are some notable victories:

• Dodge Dart, Best Small Car
• Ford Fusion / Chevrolet Volt, Best Midsize Car
• Volkswagen CC, Best Large Car
• Hyundai Genesis / Audi A4, Best Near-Luxury Car
• Lexus LS, Best Luxury Car
• Chevrolet Corvette, Best Premium Coupe
• Chrysler Town & Country, Best Minivan
• Volkswagen Tiguan / Toyota FJ Cruiser, Best Entry Utility
• Chevrolet Traverse, Best Midsize Crossover Utility
• Dodge Durango, Best Midsize Traditional Utility
• Chevrolet Avalanche, Best Full-size Pickup
• Ford F-250 / F-350, Best Heavy Duty Pickup

Scroll down below for the full list of winners, both import and domestic, in each and every category.

The Detroit Free Press reports the new generation of Brazil-built cars are to blame for the country's high death rate. Thanks to a booming middle class, Brazil is the fourth-largest vehicle market in the world, but four of the country's best-selling models have failed independent crash tests. Couple those machines with the country's notoriously dangerous roads and weather, and Brazil winds up with a traffic death rate nearly four times that of the US when weighted for the disparity in the size of both driving populations.

Automakers, meanwhile, say their products meet or exceed Brazil's safety laws – starting next year, manufacturers will be required to install front airbags and anti-lock brakes. Activists, meanwhile, say those changes aren't enough to make a meaningful impact on the country's death toll. Independent testing found that four of the country's top-selling cars from brands like General Motors, Volkswagen and Fiat received a lowly one-star crash rating.

Compounding the issue is the fact that manufacturers make more money on less safe, inexpensive Brazilian-made cars. The Detroit Free Press reports companies earn a 10-percent profit on vehicles built in Brazil compared to three percent from US-built models and an average of five percent from machines assembled elsewhere. Vehicles imported from other markets are more likely to have safety equipment that meets more stringent standards.

General Motors told us so back in March, but it is now official: The twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter V6 announced for the 2014 Cadillac CTS will also join the options list for the 2014 Cadillac XTS. The LF3 engine puts out 410 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque in the XTS, however, which is 10 hp and 61 lb-ft down from its application in the CTS. It will be identifiable from the outside by a specific grille treatment and a badge on the decklid. The 3.6-liter V6 with 304 hp and 264 lb-ft holds steady as the standard engine, and both will be yoked to a six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters.

Also new for the front-wheel drive model for 2014 are updates that include electric power steering and optional Automatic Parking Assist that can maneuver the sedan into parallel parking spots. The three trims above standard – Luxury, Premium and Platinum – get Intellibeam headlights that automatically switch between high- and low-beam,

The four current trim levels remain but the list of optional extras for the higher specs grows with a rear-seat entertainment system equipped with DVD screens in the front seatbacks, memory settings for the front passenger seat and an armrest in the back seat fitted with radio and sunshade controls. The press release below has more info on all of the changes.

Here it is, folks. Right on schedule, Holden has revealed full details on its reborn range of HSV Gen-F models. The bulk of the new HSV machinery will go on sale next month, though the baddest of them all, the supercharged HSV GTS, will reportedly be delayed until September.

The GTS may well be worth the wait, however, as its 430kW supercharged V8 engine (known as the LSA, the engine makes 580 horsepower and 556 pound-feet of torque in the US-market Chevy Camaro ZL1) will make this the fastest Holden ever produced. Lower-level ClubSport models will come equipped with a 6.2-liter LS3 V8 with 317kW of power. A ClubSport R8 sedan with a 325kW version of the engine and a ClubSport SV with a 340kW engine will also be available.

Bodystyle choices range from a sedan to a wagon and, of course, an El Camino a Ute called the Maloo, since this is Australia after all. Long-wheelbase Grange model and an upscale Senator model will be offered with slightly more toned-down exterior looks for those who'd rather blend in to the crowd. Pricing has yet to be announced, but you're welcome to scroll down below to watch a video before checking out all the details from Holden here.

BMW and Pininfarina are planning to debut a new concept at the 2013 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. The Gran Lusso Coupé is designed to be the next logical step forward from the Zagato Coupé, and the one-off creation boasts plenty of BMW earmarks to set the car off as a true member of the German automaker's family. With a long wheel base and a stretched nose, the two door can't help but channel the long-dead BMW 8 Series, and the potent V12 under the hood only reinforces the link.

BMW has been kind enough to slip the world a few teasers, and the images show what looks like it could be the low-slung grand tourer of our dreams. Check out the full press release below for more information, and stay tuned for the full unveiling.

Is it that time already? Like its predecessors, the current BMW M5 has been endangering US licenses since it first went on sale here in 2012, but its design became a known quantity back at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. Apparently that also means that the F10 generation has already grown tired enough to the "Must Have Latest Set" who can afford these sorts of super saloons that a facelift is in order.

If these leaked images sourced from Autocar are anything to go by, BMW stylists have used a predictably light hand to rework their hottest 5 Series, with a revised grille that echoes the M6 along with modestly resculpted headlamps. The rear end appears wholly unaltered. Interior changes gleaned from a look at the cabin photos include an updated touchpad-equipped iDrive controller and a new steering wheel cribbed from the M6.

No new word on changes to the 4.4-liter, twin-turbo V8 powertrain, but in late April, we heard that BMW was readying new competition packages for the M5 and M6. The packages are said to include 15 more horsepower, revised suspension and steering, along with new wheels and blackened exhaust tips. Given that BMW is known for habitually underrating its cars' horsepower outputs (particularly its M models) we can't help but wonder if its engineers will need to do anything other than wave a magic wand to corral those extra ponies underhood...

Speaking to some of its dealers recently, Mitsubishi unveiled its plans for a new subcompact sedan offering in the US. Automotive News reports the automaker showed off a rendering of a new subcompact sedan and said the machine will debut sometime in 2015.

The little four-door could be based on the three-cylinder G4 Concept that bowed at the Shanghai Motor Show this year, effectively making it a four-door version of the current five-door Mirage. Mitsubishi dealers are currently starving for new products to entice buyers into showrooms. A redesigned Outlander will show up this summer, long before the teased subcompact sedan. The automaker is also planning to bring out a revised version of the five-door Mirage compact later this year.

Dealers are taking the announcement as a sign that Mitsubishi has finally begun to turn things around. Automotive News spoke with Scott Grove, who owns two Mitsubishi dealerships near Chicago. Grove said he thought the dealer meeting was more positive than it's been in years, and that he believes Mitsubishi is finally on the offensive.

Hennessey Performance Engineering has created an HPE650 package for the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT fitted with the 6.4-liter Hemi engine. When it leaves the showroom floor it has 470 horsepower and gets from 0-60 miles per hour in 4.8 seconds. When it leaves Hennessey's garage floor after the upgrade it has 650 horsepower – 530 hp at the wheels, according to Hennessey – and gets to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds on its way to running the quarter-mile in 12.6 seconds.

There's more than just a Roots-type supercharger bolt-on, with ported cylinder heads and high-flow headers among the many changes made to the engine. You can watch this pre-2014 facelift silver model prove its spec sheet on the drag strip in the video below.

Sure, your first response to the idea of Tesla introducing a battery swap system might be, "what, this again?" After all, we heard in 2009 that the Model S was built with battery swaps in mind and, in 2011, Tesla CEO Elon Musk explained the Model S battery swap idea this way: "When people take an occasional two-way long distance trip, they'll get a replacement pack and then pick up their original one on the way back. The issue of giving up your one-year old pack for a three-year old one goes away." The Supercharger network, too, was at one point supposed to feature battery swapping robots that could get the job done in as little as one minute.

But the Supercharger stations – as they exist today – don't have that feature. And Musk has recently been much more excited about the benefits of quick charging than battery swaps. Which is why we forgive any ongoing skepticism that Tesla will introduce batter swaps to the Model S.

Except that the other day, Musk Tweeted, "There is a way for the Tesla Model S to be recharged throughout the country faster than you could fill a gas tank." And our friends at Green Car Reports noticed this line from Tesla's latest quarterly report (PDF):

Other factors that may influence the adoption of alternative fuel vehicles, and specifically electric vehicles, include ... our capability to rapidly swap out the Model S battery pack and the development of specialized public facilities to perform such swapping, which do not currently exist but which we plan to introduce in the near future.

So, yeah. Now what? We asked Tesla directly, and Sarah Meron, VP of communications for Tesla Motors, told AutoblogGreen, "We don't have any comment on battery swapping right now or timing of further announcements. But we'll let you know when we do!"

Tesla has already announced replacement costs for its battery packs ($10,000 for the 60-kWh and $12,000 for the 85-kWh pack), but that's if you need an entirely new pack and you purchased the warranty. This is something else entirely. Is Tesla going to make actual battery swaps available soon?

When Lincoln pulled the wraps off the MKC Concept at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year, we said that the very attractive concept was going to closely mirror the production vehicle. With few exceptions, a clad prototype recently caught running on public roads seems to substantiate our statement.

From what the pictures reveal, the disguised Lincoln MKC production mule and show concept seem to share the same waistline with identical sculpting over the wheels. The midsection of the two also appear to match with the same flare and styling. The lower rockers have been cleaned up a bit, mainly to be more practical in the real world (the deep chisels on the show car would have collected mud and snow).

Taking a look at the exposed front bumper, we see a very similar lower fascia complete wtih the metal skid plate on the chin. The window profile also seems to match the concept, though we're still unclear exactly how that C- and D-pillar section is going to look. Of course, and it always seems to be the case when concepts evolve into production vehicles, the MKC gains four normal door handles, standard-sized mirrors and a slightly smaller wheel/tire package. We expect the production version of the Lincoln MKC to debut later this year.

The BMW Z3/Z4 roadster has never really had a truly widespread following because it has either been too humble and small a roadster (albeit with some fun and very low-volume M editions) or it has been – in this E89 generation – too casual an image leader with no racier aspirations. The current 480-hp Z4 GTEs don't count, since they are as stock a Z4 as today's Pamela Anderson is the same blonde actress we knew as Heidi on Home Improvement. You know, sort of like those ever-so-slightly modified Toyota Camry coupes competing in NASCAR.

The ultimate highpoint for the BMW Z roadster franchise was at the very start of its life in the mid-90s, in the James Bond film GoldenEye with Pierce Brosnan. The Stinger missiles that Q's team installed behind the Z3's headlights were never fired, and BMW never even offered this self-defense package as an option. Yet another case of the ol' bait and switch.

And in all these subsequent years of Z3s and Z4s strutting their long-hooded stuff, the little sporting Bimmer could really have used a live Stinger missile or two to spice things up. The current Z4 exists, it is pretty dang sexy, and BMW seems content to let it linger there. We just drove the new midlife version of the roadster near BMW headquarters in Munich, and it served to reinforce our feelings.

Driving Notes

• We have always harbored a desire to fall in love with this swoopy and well-proportioned roadster, but it still strikes us a bit like the way the over-designed Mercedes SLK now strikes us: a really nice lifestyle/reward car, with not much else going on.
• All BMW had on hand for us was this Z4 sDrive35is with its 335-horsepower, 3.0-liter TwinPower Turbo straight-six that also cranks to 332 pound-feet of torque, all spiffed up with the M Sport spa treatment and adaptive dampers. Things could be worse.
• If we were going to take the graying-chest-hair plunge and grab a BMW Z4, it would be this exact car. Otherwise, and despite all the positives of the newer 240-hp four-cylinder sDrive28i model, what's the point? This particular roadster needs its strong six-cylinder to give it some character.
• We would also be happier if this top-trim roadster could be equipped with the six-speed manual transmission that is offered on the aforementioned sDrive28i.
• The optional Valencia Orange Metallic paint does look a bit two-tone precious to us when the black folding hardtop is closed, but it's still a sweetheart to gaze upon.
• Looking at the standard Monroney sticker of $64,800 (the base sDrive28i now starts at $47,950) and then dragging our eyes down the hyper-extended list of optional add-ons until reaching our car's $75k-plus price estimate, one has to pause to take it all in. The Z4 35is is wonderful enough, but, man, it can cost a ton.
• Our 19-inch, $1,200 optional M alloys with Bridgestone Potenza RE 050A run-flat treads, combined with the speed-sensitive electric power steering and Servotronic assistance, made for a usually fine but occasionally woggy feeling under some circumstances. Through series of curves taken at real speed, there was, at times, a vagueness of trajectory, again leaving us with the feeling that BMW wants the Z4 in any trim to be a car of leisure.
• The adaptive M suspension package does help treat this vagueness from behind the wheel somewhat, but overall the various dynamic elements taken together create a slightly confused ride and handling experience for a sexy car that promises so much. Basically, the Z4 ends up feeling every bit of its 3,549 pounds. (For reference, a Porsche Boxster S weighs a tick under 3,000 pounds at its heaviest PDK curb weight and feels like even less than that.)
• Attempting to make up for any black marks on the Z4's resume is this model's sheer power and torque. That final "s" tagged on to the name certainly helps. And while we miss a manual option, the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with paddle shifters is a sweet setup when its most dynamic mode is selected. However, we understand that BMW has no intention of even offering a self-locking sport limited-slip rear differential. Oh, well.

This freshened 2014 BMW Z4 has been on sale in North America since the end of March. It's a shame the car has become so sexy and interesting, yet so little time has been spent spicing up its chassis dynamics and overall drive feel. The absence of an M edition of the Z4 has been rather conspicuous, but perhaps that's because BMW's engineers know the platform isn't up to the job. This one's for sunny-day happy time cruising only... with style.