Having a Swede on our Editorial team means we’re constantly subjected to ultra-boosted Saab and Volvo one-offs — not to mention the horrendous techno often accompanying said videos — but this one really stands out. After all, when was the last time you saw a 1969 Saab 99, let alone one that pumps 700 hp out of a 2.0-liter block. Yeah, he must be running like a habillion pounds of boost. So worth it though. Dom Toretto, we’ve found your next 10-second car.

[Source: YouTube]

And the hits just keep on coming for America’s former automotive darling.

Today Toyota announced its intentions to withdraw from F1 at the end of this season, citing economic reasons. The team has escaped the axe once before, but this time’s for real, we’re afraid. It’s pretty odd timing considering the recent reveal of their new supercar, the LFA.

After setting a strong sales pace for years and essentially becoming the reliability leader for the American car market, things have gone downhill quite quickly. First came a couple recalls, then there’s the RAV4 transmission problem that the company is losing customers over, followed by the unveiling of a car that goes against every aspect of the company’s current image.

Since 2002, Toyota has racked up 13 podium and 87 point finishes over eight seasons. [Source: Toyota]

Apparently bored stiff with Gymkhana mayhem (if that’s possible), Ken Block has moved on to bigger things… literally. Determined to hoon his Subie no matter what the conditions, Block has slapped a set of friggin’ tank tracks — yes, you read that right — onto an STI rally car for a bit of mountaineering. Our friends at 0-60 Magazine recently interviewed KB about his newest creation and we think this excerpt sums it up pretty well:

“0-60: So are there plans to jump this thing?

Block: You, know, I’ve put a lot of thought into this, and weighed the limitations that the Mattracks system presents and it really just boils down to…Yes!. It’s a rally car, it has to jump.”

All we have to say is rally on, brave pioneers. Rally on.

Don’t get too attached as the VW R models are currently a Euro-only offering, but they certainly look tasty. Boasting extra turbo boost, the Golf R and Scirocco R put down 270 hp and 265 hp respectively, and while we’re not sure just who would confuse them with a G-force centrifuge, they will doubtless be a blast to drive when properly hustled. Hopefully one day Volkswagen will find a good business case for selling the cars stateside. And hopefully that day will be, like, tomorrow. Bitte?

[Source: VW via Exhaustnote]

Conan has never been shy about the fact that he still owns — and allegedly drives — a 1992 Ford Taurus SHO, a vehicle he considers to be the pinnacle of automotive engineering and ingenuity, but which others seem to… er, not hold in such high esteem. To thank him for his unwavering support, Ford invited him to check out the new Taurus SHO. The result was, well, about what you’d expect.

[Source: Hulu]

Sorry this one’s a little late. Travel schedules around here have been rough!

From the “outrageous” to the ridiculously stupid things people have done, it would appear that drivers everywhere have lost their minds.

Among those drivers not behaving erratically, though, some seem inexplicably confused, others justifiably frustrated, and at least one more alive than has been recently reported.

If you’re a Toyota Camry driver in Portland, Oregon, you can start driving your car again, as local authorities have finally arrested a drug-addled misfit appearing to suffer from O.C.D. (Obsessive Camry Driving).

We’ve located Wonder Woman…she’s a Ferrari mechanic! Or, well, at least we may have located her latest ride.

If she can’t save the struggling automotive industry, though, maybe Steve Jobs can! Here’s an app that can drive your car.

If you’ve ever had the urge to decorate your vintage Mercedes in a covering of bones, then you’re very likely this guy. Currently, there is no app for that.

If Mazda’s design chief has his way, there could be a new RX-7 soon. Honda, meanwhile, has revealed the EV-N concept, challenging the notion that “barriers loom” for plug-in cars.

Over at Chrysler, though, there is nothing new at all.

Looking at the car industry at large (which is apparently knee deep in spam), it seems that the Tokyo Motor Show, normally a hotbed of automotive excitement, is relatively uneventful this year.

At SEMA, anything is possible. Manufacturers have been known to get pretty wacky at the aftermarket parts show where over-the-top tends to be just another day in the life, so in reality we probably should have seen this coming. But still…

We wouldn’t call it a proper debut in the sense that this isn’t a production model, but regardless this ‘34 Ford 3-Window coupe will be the launching point for the first rear-wheel drive EcoBoost setup. Built in cooperation with Experi-metal, in this guise the 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V-6 has been tuned to churn out 400 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque. And we like the sound of that.

So when can we expect a rear-wheel drive EcoBoost drivetrain in a production vehicle? Late next year, when Ford will equip the F-150 with 3.5-liter EcoBoost mill, albeit probably with less power than this one. After that, the Aussies take their turn, cramming a 2.0-liter turbo into the supercool Falcon sedan that’s not sold in North America. Sounds good, but all things considered we’d hate to see the Aussie V-8 Supercars go the EcoBoost route in lieu of that sledgehammer of an exhaust note.

[Source: Ford]

A few months ago, the Hyundai Genesis Coupe blazed onto the scene and changed many enthusiasts’ perceptions of the company. With a potent 3.8-liter V-6 and a spunky 2.0-liter turbo variant, the car has mass appeal. Hyundai has decided to appeal to the hardcore turner culture with the Genesis Coupe R-Spec.

The engine in the R-Spec is the same one that powers the track package Genesis Coupe 2.0T. 210 horsepower and a six-speed manual transmission move the coupe down the road. Also carried over from the track package Gen Coupe are the suspension components, brakes, and limited-slip differential.

To give the Genesis R-Spec credibility with the passionate tuner, some accessories have been removed. There will be no Bluetooth, chrome trim, cruise control, automatic headlights or steering wheel-mounted controls on the R-Spec, thus lowering the MSRP by nearly $3,000. A handy trick indeed during a recession.

[Source: topspeed.com]

There is drifting and then there are epic hero drifts, borderline spins that defy convention and rewrite the rules. This would be the latter. We don’t speak Japanese but it’s pretty obvious that the announcers are quite pleased with this bit of sideways action.

[Source: YouTube via Autoblog]

Ford is in the process of moving away from it curiously undefined U.S. lineup and inheriting the smaller, more efficient European Blue Ovals (hello, Fiesta). Due to an increasingly weak dollar, Ford is likely to begin producing the Ford Kuga in the United States instead of the current choice of Western Europe.

Ford has been eying Louisville, Kentucky as the Kuga’s new home starting in 2011 where costs could be as much as $10 an hour cheaper than at the current location. Sounds like a no-brainer to us. [Source: Left Lane News]

Oh, we’re not lying – that would just be mean. Volkswagen is indeed giving away six brand new 2010 GTIs! And if you’re thinking that you have to sign away your first born child or give up the sweet taste of chocolate for a year to enter, you’d be wrong. Just download their Real Racing GTI game for the iPod and iPod Touch and you’re entered.

Don’t fret, people who don’t have that fancy-schmancy technology (cough, us, cough), you can still enter. Phew.

Toyota has been absent from the performance world for some time now while they focused on green products and messaging. However with the unveiling of the Lexus LFA, the company is clearly back in the game. They’ve showed us their $375,000 supercar, which is great if you did something like invent the Internet. But what about the normal people?

Well, this is the Toyota FT-86 concept car – built in conjunction with Subaru, a rear-wheel drive sports coupe with a proposed price tag of just 20K.

The FT-86 will get its power from Subaru’s naturally-aspirated 2.0-liter Boxer engine, which should produce an  estimated 200-250 horsepower. A six-speed manual built by Japanese transmission specialist Aishin (the company responsible for the LFA’s transmission) will keep the coupe moving forward. Supra fans rejoice, though we’re wondering if Toyota will start to alienate its hybrid devotees. [Source: Road and Track]

Now on display at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show is Honda’s CR-Z concept car. The CR-Z is the rebirth of the much loved CRX, the tiny pocket rocket that propelled Honda into the performance game with U.S. buyers. Although a CR-Z concept was already unveiled two years ago at the Tokyo Motor Show, the new version looks closer to a potential production version.

The CR-Z will be powered by a pumped up version of the Insight’s 1.5-liter hybrid powertrain. No word yet on engine output for this particular model. To keep this little car scooting down the road is a six-speed manual transmission and a sports tuned suspension. But will it get the same incredible mileage the early CRXs saw? [Source: Road and Track]

After years of rumors, speculation, spy shots and even a few runs at the Nürburgring 24 Hour race, Toyota has finally unveiled the Lexus LFA supercar. And the headline figures are quite spectacular: 10 cylinders, 9,000 rpm, well over 500 horsepower, a production run of just 500 and a nauseating $375,000 price tag.

The soul of the LFA is a feral sounding 4.8 liter V-10 with 552 hp and 354 lb.-ft of torque, which can propel the car to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 202 mph. Transferring the power to the rear wheels is a special Automated Sequential Gearbox (ASG), providing the LFA with six forward speeds and lightning-quick shifts. Race developed aluminum alloy suspension and carbon ceramic brakes keep the car firmly planted on terrestrial soil, while an electric-assist rack and pinion steering system helps to achieve epic oversteer, we’re guessing.

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) is used for the chassis and much of the bodywork, keeping the curb weight to a minimum. CFRP has allowed the LFA’s design team to create bodylines and shapes that would be impossible to create using metal.

Lexus is only making 500 LFAs at a price of $375K, which means that the majority of Lexus and Toyota fans will only be able to dream about this car. Better pick up some Lotto tickets on the way home from work.

“Generation Y,” according to J.D. Power, isn’t nearly as smitten with the automobile as their predecessors. Not surprising when so many cars need artificial engine sounds. What such cars lack in noise, however, they clearly make up for in efficiency (even if that efficiency can sometimes be difficult to accurately quantify).

With the emphasis clearly being placed on alternative fuel platforms, carmakers are beginning to move beyond novel ideas, like collapsible cars, instead focusing on the kind of  performance-oriented concepts that elicit genuine car lust.

If you’re in California, keep an eye on your insurance company; it looks like they might finally be coming to their senses.

Futuristic tricycles and modern adaptations of LeCar not withstanding, alternative fuel vehicles are more exciting than ever, though apparently it has little to do with the car industry getting smarter (hat tip Around The Sphere).

If you’re a golfer, or just like golf carts, let the government subsidize your new golf cart!

Of course, not everyone in the car industry is getting smarter, as evidenced by former Ford engineer Xiang Dong Yu, accused of stealing trade secrets from Ford. Maybe he wanted the secret to the Ford F-150’s success.

Car seats save little lives (in more ways than the obvious).

Electrics, hybrids, conversions and even the battery business may be big news these days, but there are a couple amazing internal combustion models that make our hearts beat a little faster:

• Toyota’s new Subaru-powered sports car concept will implement the classic Subaru boxer engine.
• The new Volkswagen Golf MkVII has been leaked.
• Lotus’ new Exige Scura reminds us that there’s still room in the world for a good old-fashioned bad-ass sports car.

Watch out for trains. Seriously, racing the train is a really stupid risk to take.

Oh, and make sure you drive one of these six roads before you die!