We wouldn’t usually gush over a Mini mini-truck, but the upcoming Countryman has one feature that’s got us interested: a very large radio dial.

When the Mini Countryman hits the market later this year, each model will come with a web radio plugged direct into the dashboard, which means you’ll be able to tune into just about any radio station in the country, along with a growing cohort of podcasts.

We’ve been excited about streaming radio for a while—largely because of New Orleans’ WWOZ and New Jersey’s WFMU, which we otherwise could never manage to catch at the same time—but listening to the radio on a tabletop device will only get you so far. For the past couple decades, the dashboard has been the most important place to have a radio, and it looks like it’s about to take a big step forward.

Not all German cars are created equal.

To anyone weathering the sea change after the wall fell, the Trabant was the brightest symbol of clunky East German industrialism. It boasted a ridiculously complex refueling process, a ten year waitlist, and a two-stroke engine that did 0-60 in a blistering 21 seconds. In short, quite possibly the worst car ever made. So naturally it’s due for a revival.

The new Trabbi, currently hunting for investors, swaps out the moped engine for a gas-free electric motor that should give the notoriously smoky vehicle a fresh green face, but the basic question remains: Why not give it a new name? The Trabbi’s boxy silhouette’s as reviled as it is beloved, so it might have been worth just starting from scratch. Unless the GDR’s coming back into style…

The Tokyo Motor Show finishes up this Wednesday, and if there’s a takeaway, it’s that cars are about to get a lot smaller and a lot shinier. Nissan’s big concept offering was the Land Glider, a motorcycle/car hybrid that leans into turns like a motorcycle and, more importantly, does away with the passenger side entirely. If you’ve got a guest—or groceries, for that matter—they’ll be riding in back.

See it in action»

As Italian motos have worked their way into American culture, two distinct schools have appeared. There’s the polished Vespas for the Apple crowd, and then there’s the ones with a little more kick…

This would be the latter. Ducati’s new Hypermotard 796 is smaller and lighter than the two-strokes they’re used to turning out, making it more useful for urban pursuits, but it still has the look of a powerful, well-engineered machine—and it doesn’t have to cover it up with polished metal. If you were looking for something to bridge the gap, this is it.

With the gas-fueled land speed record hovering safely around the speed of sound, it’s time for gearheads to see what they can do with hydrogen. So just a few months after Jesse James (not that Jesse James) set the fuel cell-powered land speed record at 199mph, a group of Ohio State engineering students have set it even higher: 301mph, to be precise. Keep it in mind the next time you need to hitch a ride across the Mojave.

Last week’s Frankfurst auto show dug up some pretty awesome concept models—including a few standouts from VW and our French chariot of choice, Citroën—but our favorite was this electric one-seater (hat tip to NotCot) whipped up by E-Wolf and the Technical University of Dresden.

Dubbed the E1, it’s a pretty strange bird, but the specs may be the strangest part of all. It’s made from lightweight carbon fiber instead of metal, so the entire package weighs in at 991 pounds—and 600 of those are from the Li-Tec battery used to power it all. It does 0-60 mph in less than 5 seconds, with the same evenly torqued acceleration that’s currently turning heads at Tesla. Best of all, it’s actually going into production, albeit in “very low numbers,” and with a $220,000 price tag. Suddenly, that segway’s looking pretty stingy.

With vacation season in full swing, a week of off-roading looks pretty good. But now that your Hummer’s out of style, you may want to think smaller. Much, much smaller.

BMW’s new R1200 GS (MRSP $16,750) doesn’t have the bulk of the usual off-road vehicles, but a couple saddlebag-style storage units and an adjustable suspension mean it can take you and your gear just about anywhere with a trail, whether it’s the Grand Canyon or the Yukon. (If it’s the latter, the heated handlebars might come in handy.) Best of all, it got its first road tests courtesy of a pair of dashing Scottish actors on a two-month road tour of some of the spottiest pavement in the world.

Now that car shapes are tending towards a single aerodynamic ideal, it’s nice to see a wacky concept car with no hope of ever reaching the assembly line. This one, called the Type 57 Atlantic, comes from Bugatti, which seems to be showing a fondness for Art Deco curves lately.

See another view»

So far, hydrogen cars haven’t been much good for consumer use, but they’re always game for a little green PR. And, as we just discovered, they can go very very fast. This one just got up to a hair shy of 200mph on the western salt flats. It’s a record for H2, but a little short of the 760mph you can get up to if you’re willing to resort to jet fuel. Not to say we wouldn’t mind a speed trial or two…

The Prius routine was so good, it was only a matter of time before carmakers applied it to something with a little more horsepower. And if price is no object, fuel economy gets a whole lot simpler.

McLaren’s P11 uses the same regenerative braking system that gave the Prius its extra MPGs, but now the vehicle in question is doing 0-60 in under four seconds, and topping out over 200mph. Of course, it should also set the lucky owner back more than $200,000, so it’s not all roses, but it’s nice to see hybrid tech make its way into the upper tier of the industry.

We expect to see one in Leo’s garage any day now…

Much as we like cars, the four-door is getting a little long in the tooth. Where are the cars we were promised in Total Recall?

It looks like they’re almost here. This is the PUMA prototype, a collaboration between GM and Segway that might be the electric urban raider the world’s been waiting for—whenever it goes into production, that is. At the moment, the main problem is presentation…

Those hazard stripes aren’t doing anyone any favors, and the whole thing could stand to be a bit sleeker. Lest we forget, it was design that made the difference between the iPod and the slew of mp3 gadgets that came before. Is anyone out there ready to throw a few sketches together?

See the PUMA in action»

The electric car has been a been more talking point than vehicle for upwards of a decade now, but it looks like it may finally make it to pavement.

The Tesla Model S does 0-60 in under six seconds, tops out electronically at 130 mph (spoilsports!), and can run through 230 miles on just $5 worth of juice. Refueling is likely to be a bit more complex than we’re used to—it’ll take 45 minutes to refuel, and finding a charge station may be a bit troublesome—but it’s a small price to pay for progress.

Of course, we’ll also have to wait until 2011 to get our hands on one…but we’ve always been the patient type.

Another view of the Tesla roadster»

As Mr. Draper can tell you, nostalgia can be a pretty powerful force. But we didn’t think the Model T was tugging at anyone’s heartstrings.

Apparently we were wrong.

The folks at Mercedes-Benz just put together this open-top wire-wheeled contraption—called the F-Cell Roadster—apparently as a paean to the carefree motoring days of the 1900s. Of course, they wouldn’t be engineers if they didn’t throw in a bit of technology too: The F-Cell is entirely electric, tops out at 15mpg, and has a maximum operating range of 217 miles.

We wouldn’t expect to see it in stores any time soon, but maybe they’ve got a golf cart division in the works?

See more of the F-cell»

Between the credit crunch and the wholesale collapse of Detroit, the odds on the electric car have been looking pretty slim. But it’s hard to overestimate the power of a good idea.

Colorado’s Lightning Hybrids is about to roll out the LH4, a biodiesel-powered hybrid that gets 100 miles-per-gallon. Best of all, they plan to retail the cars for $40,000 and up, which would result in a surprisingly accessible end product. It’s not quite electric, but it’ll certainly do for now.

Let’s just hope they do better than Tesla.

The early 70s were a magical time, as all those Starsky & Hutch reruns can attest. And while the clothes, hairstyles, air quality, political leadership, and standards of hygiene may be a bit embarrassing in retrospect, there’s one thing that never disappoints: the cars.

Luckily, we’ll have a place to admire them all. Punta Gorda, FL is now the site of the confusingly named Muscle Car City Museum, with more than 200 muscle cars kept in spectacular working order. It’s a fascinating window into Detroit’s last great generation of automobiles, along with a decade worth of design innovations for anyone paying attention.

And we imagine they can drive pretty fast too.

A fast car is always good news, especially when it’s a torpedo-shaped European model with just enough room for two seats and a gearshift. And if fewer than two dozen were ever made…the pot just keeps getting sweeter.

Say hello to the Ferrari 250 Testarossa»

Lately, we’ve been worried that the looming collapse of the auto industry might provoke some kind of belt-tightening—maybe even cut back on some of those pipe dreams that could never possibly be produced. But what would we do without our precious concept cars?

Well, there are still a few of them kicking around. This Cadillac model is called the World Thorium Fuel concept (aptly referred to as “WTF”) and it’s designed to run for a full century without maintenance…besides adjusting the tires every few years. There’s a nuclear reactor in the back to keep fuel going, and every major system is redundant, so it should be the best car in the world long after we’re all in Mad Max territory—if it ever gets built, that is.

Until then, we’ll just have to make do with non-nuclear cars.

See more of the WTF»

You’re looking at the Splinter, the brainchild of a team of NC State students. The goal was to make a sports car made almost entirely of wood, including the suspension and wheel wells, and by the looks of things, they’re pretty close to having a supercar on their hands.

We aren’t sure how it drives, but it’s a lot lighter, cheaper, and generally cooler looking than what Detroit’s turning out these days. The creator, Joe Harmon, says he has no interest in selling the cars, but we’re sure he could be persuaded if enough loudmouth bloggers got together.

In the meantime, someone get this man a bucket of VC money.

See Harmon in action»

There’s something magical about cars made before the advent of anti-lock brakes, power steering, and rudimentary safety equipment. It may not get you to Ferrari speeds, but the first actor to pull up to the red carpet in a Model A deserves all the attention he can get. At least you know he was clever enough to find one.

Oddly enough, eBay has become the go-to spot for vintage cars, so if you’ve got an empty spot in your garage and ten thousand dollars to blow through, you might want to take a look. This 1931 Model A wouldn’t be a bad place to start for some depression-chic…but we imagine you’ll find an even better place to finish.

The American auto industry hasn’t been doing so well the last few decades, but we’re sure it’ll pull through. After all, it’s got American ingenuity on its side.

Take this bubble-top hot rod, for instance. There isn’t much in the way of trunkspace or a backseat, and we shudder to think of the fuel efficiency, but we’d take it in a drag race any day. According to eBay, it’s currently on the block for $71,000, but that’s a small price to pay for a piece of history.

If they hurry, we bet Ford could get this lined up for 2010.

Apparently the limited edition trick isn’t just for t-shirts. Like anything, the trick is thinking big…

Aston Martin just launched their One-77 model with a production run of only 77 cars for the entire world. Of course, just getting an appointment to see one requires a 200,000 pound deposit, with an extra million to buy the thing, so they probably aren’t sweating the numbers.

NotCot is raffling off a tour of the factory where the car was made if you don’t have 200,000 pounds lying around, but we’re more interested in the business end. If you’re going after the high end (and Aston Martin has never been after anything else), why make more than 100 of anything? That is, as long as there are still enough millionaires in the world.

Buried among the multimillion dollar Ferraris, Bugattis and Lamborghinis at this past weekend’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and Gooding & Co.’s concurrent auction was a little piece of automotive history belonging to one Steve McQueen..

The King of Cool’s 1976 Porsche 930 Turbo Carrera (above), in an understated shade of slate gray, was the car the actor drove daily for the last years of his tragically short life. While nothing like his older Jaguar XK-SS and Ferrari 250 Lusso, both of which sold for millions in years past, the Porsche—which was hammered down for a measly $137,000—is somehow a more authentic, poignant relic of the once and future King.

Don’t know about you, but we’d pretty much given up on ever finding a motorcar worthy of sharing garage space with our Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermes.

Leave it to Donatella Versace to save the day. The leathery Italian fashion queen has long been said to be collaborating with Lamborghini on a limited edition supercar.

More on the Versace-Lamborghini tag team»

You can pick up a vintage Bentley that once belonged to Sean Connery, the greatest Bond of all, at Bonhams’ auto auction as part of the Rolls-Royce Enthusiast’s Club’s annual rally this weekend for a relative pittance. The beautiful 1961 S2 saloon, finished in two-tone Tudor Grey / Shell Grey with a contrasting red leather interior, is estimated at only £12,000 - £15,000, or about $24,000 - $30,000, a fraction of what a new, less distinguished model sans pedigree will cost you.

More on the classic ride»

Concept cars occupy a strange corner of the auto industry. It’s taken for granted that they’ll never be seen outside an auto show. Their influence on the cars that actually reach the road is barely perceptible. It might as well be an art project.

Which is how we end up with something like this»

For engineering, design, and just plain style, there’s nothing like a roadster. From Bullitt’s Mustang to Vanishing Point’s Dodge Challenger, muscle cars have always had their own special panache. Because of goings-on in the world of petroleum, they’re going through something of a sea change…but it’s no reason to get discommoded.

With Detroit taking their time going electric, outsiders like Tesla Motors and now Fisker are stepping into the void »

The waiting list on a wicked new 420 h.p. $130,000+, all wheel drive Audi R8 is running at least six months, but if you’re quick on the draw you can snag one this week at an auction courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman. Of course you’ll pay a premium—the bidding starts at $160,000—but then this is no ordinary Audi, and you have to factor in the inestimable value of getting one up on the Joneses.

For starters, the R8 in question is customizable to the winner’s specifications »

Around Kempt, we like our whips to have a provenance. Even when we buy new, we only get the behind the wheel of rides with impeccable pedigrees. This week got our gears turning with several bulletins about vintage vehicles.

First, Hertz cheered us with the news that they’ll be renting the Hurtan Albaycin for rides down Spain’s Costa del Sol. Next, Wired posited than in the near-future of smart cars and sustainable transport, designers might be looking to classic minis.

Continue reading »

We’ve heard of watches inspired by cars, but Aston Martin’s new V8 Vantage Roadster may be the first car inspired by a watch. The venerable British sportscar marque has had a long association with Swiss watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre, and the stunning new convertible was influenced by the company’s legendary Reverso. Developed for posh polo players in the 1930s, the Reverso, like the Roadster, has “open” and “closed” modes, both equally stylish…