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It's no secret that automotive designers build large clay models of their cars while working out a final design. But let us axe you something: What happens when a design is approved and the car is put into production? Deconstruction. And boy, it sure looks like fun.

Jaguar gave its XF sedan an updated skin for the 2012 model year, and now that the car has been on sale for many months now (we've driven it, in case you forgot), it's time for the sculptors who built the original life-size clay model to take it apart in the most violently awesome way possible. That's right – with axes. Is this the way they do it in England all the time? We have no idea, but it sure seems like a good stress reliever.

Scroll down to watch a trio of identically dressed Jaguar engineers hack a full-size XF model down to just scraps in a matter of edited-for-video minutes.

BMW has invited itself to a party that Porsche started. Someone trolling through patent filings found drawings submitted by BMW for two slightly different takes on a seven-speed manual transmission. The first take is a more conventional setup that provides an honest clutch pedal. The second variant uses a shift-by-wire system to swap gears through an electromechanical actuator. To prevent drivers from accidentally engaging an engine-damaging gear in such a closely spaced pattern, both rely on an electromagnetic fluid inside a shifting module that can change viscosity to prevent the 'lever' from making a shift.

According to the filing, the system can work with up to eight(!) gears. It isn't clear if, even in the system with the clutch, the gear lever is actually attached to any of those gears.

What's also notable about the drawings is the shift pattern. Porsche's seven-speed shift pattern in the 991-series 911 places reverse and the odd gears above, the even gears below. But the BMW pattern in the drawing places reverse and seventh gear in opposing positions at the ends of the axis that is normally, entirely, neutral. Also, the shift pattern is drawn on what looks more like an iDrive-shaped stick, not the usual BMW manual transmission knob, nor the stubby dual-clutch stick as found in the BMW M6 whose reverse gear is still located above neutral.

Who knows if or when we'll ever see it, but it's encouraging just to know that advanced, row-your-own transmissions are still on drawing boards somewhere.

We've seen this sort of thing before – a group agrees to adhere to a common standard at some determined date, then when the date arrives, one or more parties in the group figures out how to 'adhere' in a completely new way. When the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) laid out its J2807 tow-rating guidelines a few years ago with input from domestic and Japanese truck makers and tow suppliers, the standardized testing regime was applauded as a way to provide reliable comparisons between manufacturers. Even though it would mean lowering their tow ratings, all of the truck makers agreed to use the J2807 protocol as of 2013.

Toyota moved to the new ratings two years ago, resulting in tow ratings for its Tundra dropping anywhere from 400 to 1,000 pounds. When it came time for General Motors to announcing its 2013 trucks, it released towing specs based on the new standards, sending some ratings up and other down by hundreds of pounds. Ford, however, has decided that it will move to the J2807 standard when it's "all-new models come to market," which means The Blue Oval gets at least another year, probably more, to use its current figures. Predictably, GM not only cried foul, it took back the SAE numbers – even though they've been revealed – and has reverted to the pre-SAE ratings. A GM statement read, in part, "For example, key competitors are continuing to use their existing ratings for 2013 model year pickups. Retaining our existing rating system will reduce confusion for dealers and customers."

Ram hasn't disclosed its plans yet, but information on its 2013 models is expected at the end of this month and we'll know where it stands. Concerning GM, the truth is out there, you'll just have to go looking for it. Concerning the clarity everyone was hoping to find this year, well, that's still a ways off.

Reuters reports Volkswagen has upped its stake in Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg – better known as MAN – from 73.76 percent to a full 75 percent. While that may seem like a slight jump, the move allows Volkswagen to ask for a domination agreement, which would give the automaker full control over the commercial vehicle company. Volkswagen and Audi currently share a similar understanding. MAN shares increased by around 9 percent on the news, with some investors believing Volkswagen could pay as much as $118 per share in a takeover bid.

Technically, Volkswagen hasn't made a decision on either a takeover or a domination agreement, though the company says it's keeping all of its options open at the moment. CEO Martin Winterkorn says the larger stake in MAN "marks an important milestone for achieving our joint goals in the commercial vehicles business as elsewhere through close cooperation." Just how close that cooperation will become in the near future remains to be seen.

Volkswagen has been slowly increasing its stake in MAN for the past year.

What else could Roger Penske say? As the promoter and most public face of the Detroit Grand Prix, what else could the man do besides promise that the miserable track surface will be fixed before next year's race? Oh yeah, he could have made sure that the Belle Isle circuit was properly prepared for last weekend's event, which most certainly did not happen.

What was supposed to be the triumphant return of open wheel racing to the streets of the Motor City turned into a near calamity – and a very public and high-profile reminder of the crumbling infrastructure in Detroit and the rest of cash-strapped Michigan – when synthetic rubber patching came loose from the road surface, delaying and shortening the race. Penske told Mlive.com that the race officials had anticipated the situation, but their pre-race preparation "wasn't enough," continuing to say that, "we'll address that in 2013."

According to the report, James Hinchcliffe, the driver that crashed after hitting a piece of debris from the crumbling road described the race as akin to "playing Russian Roulette." Penske was partial to another analogy, comparing the delayed race to a rain delayed baseball game.

Except that nobody needlessly risks their life when the grounds crew gets out the tarp.

Ford designer Jennifer Seely's "High Gear" Mustang concept will debut at the 2012 SEMA show this fall after collecting the most online votes out of three female-created Mustang concepts.

The SEMA Mustang Build Powered by Women, a partnership between Ford Motor Co. and the Specialty Equipment Market Association, will begin transforming a 2013 Ford Mustang GT into the High Gear concept with an all-female team.

The car features rosegold trim, satin black body, quilted suede seats and will arrive with additional modifications to the engine, suspension, drive train and sound system. Seely also added "angel eyes" to her concept, which are the horizontial lights across the headlamps to give it a distinctive daytime appearance.

The build begins in July by a group of aftermarket specialists. After the car is shown at the SEMA show, it will be auctioned off on eBay to raise money for the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Scroll down to check out Seely explaining her design in a video put together by Ford.

German magazine Sport Auto got its mitts on an Audi A1 Quattro, then tested the limited-edition hot hatch for high speed and gravel prowess. With 252 horsepower and 258 pound-feet underhood from its 2.0 TSFI engine, it's slightly down on gumption from the 500-horsepower A1 Clubsport that Audi showed off at the Wörthersee and Le Mans last year, but the bewinged A1 Quattro will still get from standstill to 62 mph in 5.7 seven seconds and onto a GPS-indicated 257 kph (159 mph).

The A1 Quattro is a little longer than the traditional A1 and it will come packed with enhanced trim, a 456-watt stereo and metallic-white paint, but we're still awaiting the small detail of pricing. Only 333 examples are to be produced, and you can see one of them in the video below.

We noted yesterday that some 2012 Tesla Model S buyers have already received their cars even though deliveries won't officially begin until June 22. Now we've got video proof.

The very first Model S, decked-out with license plate TSLA S1, left the Fremont, CA factory this past weekend, Green Car Reports believes, in the hands of venture capitalist – and Tesla board member – Steve Jurvetson. Now that the U.S. government has fully homologated the car, people who invested early are getting their just desserts. Jurvetson is one of those and made sure he would get the first Model S during a board meeting back in 2010. "Regular" deliveries will reportedly start in two weeks. The entire first batch of Model S vehicles is made up of the sold-out Signature Series that offers the best performance (0-60 in 4.4 seconds, a top speed of 130 miles per hour) and range (up to 320 miles).

The video of the first key handover, available by scrolling below, is unfortunately filled with low-quality audio, but it does offer pretty enthusiastic evidence that scribe Dan Neil is a big step closer to owing $1,000 to charity. We expect there will be a lot more of this sort of excitement as Tesla's new premiere EV makes its way market.

In 2004, Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra began courting U.S. auto dealers to build a network of outlets for its trucks and SUVs. Eventually, the company had accumulated $9.5 million in fees from prospective dealers itching to sell Mahindra-branded vehicles.

Mahindra promised to have trucks for sale in the U.S. by 2008 and SUVs by 2009. Fast-forward to 2012, and there are still no Mahindras for sale in the U.S.

Now, Miami-based law firm of Diaz Reus & Targ has stepped in to represent dealers in New Hampshire, Florida, California, New Jersey and Washington in a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.

"Mahindra told the dealers that its light trucks and SUVs were ready for delivery to the U.S. market," maintains Diaz Reus in a press release. "However, Mahindra intentionally delayed certification of its vehicles after obtaining the dealership fees and trade secrets, and began pursuing other partners in the U.S. and elsewhere in clear violation of their commitments."

"Through their false representations, the defendants lured the U.S. dealers into making investments and promoting Mahindra's brand name," said Diaz. "Mahindra is going to learn that trying to outsmart the dealers was a serious mistake, as we will aggressively seek justice for our clients."

This is not the first lawsuit tied to Mahindra's fortunes in the States. Last year, Global Vehicles USA, the firm looking to be the brand's distributor in the U.S., lost a British arbitration ruling that effectively squelched any hopes of bringing the TR20 and TR40 pickups to this market any time soon.

Kia is warning owners of its 2009 Borrego (all 21,912 of them) that the SUV's brake pedal mounts could present a problem.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall action, the mounts are made of a "fiberglass composition" that could fracture in an accident. This could render the brakes unusable and require the driver to use the emergency brake or, in the wise words of the NHTSA, "experience a possible second impact."

Kia says it will contact owners of its short-lived SUV with instructions on how to get the part replaced free of charge. Scroll down for further details.

So many things can go wrong before a wedding that a entire movie and reality television genres have been created because of it. An unintentionally exploding side-curtain airbag is probably low on the list, put that's the unlikely snafu that caught out driver Brad Doerr.

Doerr was, though, doing an unlikely thing just a couple hours in advance of his wedding: autocrossing his Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon. Doerr was also an unlikely victim: he's a General Motors engineer, who, with his now wife, was crossing the country in the Cadillac with the Hot Rod Power Tour. The inadvertent deployment happened at the end of the run when Doerr said he was doing about 1.9 G 0.92 G, but having not suffered an accident, he still has no idea why it happened. The deployment even triggered an OnStar emergency call. We're guessing it has something to do with the stability control

A local dealer loaned the now-married Doerrs a Chevrolet Impala to continue their trip. He'll probably think twice before autocrossing it. Scroll down to check out the video.

No, that's not a Type 991 Porsche 911 Cabriolet – look closely and you'll see the first true Targa since the model variant disappeared from the Porsche 911 line in 1995. Oh yes, we know Porsche has been selling one in the interim, but to purists, the giant sunroof models of the past 17 years have been Targas in name only.

While we don't exactly know how Porsche plans to package this blast from the past, it's pretty clear from the spy photos that this car has a top with a removable center section that leaves the B-pillar intact. While the convertible disguise doesn't allow us to discern much more, could it be too much to hope that the rear window is also removable?

The other big question is whether this new true Targa will be available in both rear- and all-wheel-drive, or continue the recent Porsche practice of being offered only in the latter configuration.

Speaking of which, our spy shooters have also captured the soon-to-be-introduced 2013 911 Carrera 4 and 4S. You can see from the widebody rear haunches that these are the all-wheel drive 911 models, and the reflective strip that connects the rear taillights of the 4 and 4S is merely covered with tape. While Porsche has yet to officially announce these cars that everyone knows are coming, fuel economy numbers are already posted on the U.S. government's website.

The automatic 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 is EPA-rated at 20 mpg city, 28 highway, and 23 combined. Opting for the heavier Cabriolet model will reduce your fuel economy to 20/27 and 22 mpg combined. Seven-speed manual versions lose a single digit from each number in both coupe and convertible trims. The Carrera 4S automatic is rated at 19/26, and 22 mpg combined, while the manual is at 18/26 and 21 combined. The convertible 4S with an automatic is still at 19/26, but drops to 21 mpg combined, while the manual convertible fuel economy is unchanged from the coupe.

Expect to see more official news on the Carrera 4 and 4S very soon, and we'd expect Porsche to make a big stink about the Targa model at one of next season's big auto shows.

Check out all the high-res spy shots of the Targa prototype in this gallery, and the 2013 Carrera 4 in this one.

There's been a bit of scuttlebutt lately over just how much the 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo will cost when it goes on sale later this month. It's time to put all of the rumors and reports to rest, though – the numbers have just been released, and the turbocharged Veloster is officially priced at $21,950, not including *$775 for destination.

That represents a $2,500 increase over a naturally aspirated Veloster with the manual transmission and style package – a $19,450 car. As we reported earlier, the turbocharged engine itself represents a $1,600 price increase, and the rest of the added cost comes from a host of standard equipment including heated leather seats with power lumbar support, a ground effects kit, LED taillamps, and of course, that unique front fascia.

A six-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters is available for an additional $1,000. And that awesome matte gray paint? That'll be $1,000, too (contrary to what we were told previously). If you want the Ultimate Package – which includes a panoramic sunroof, backup warning sensors, automatic headlights, a navigation system with rearview camera and a 115-volt power outlet – be prepared to shell out an extra $2,500, regardless of transmission. All-in, a fully loaded Veloster Turbo with the automatic transmission will set you back a cool $25,450 (not including destination).

The 2013 Veloster Turbo uses a new 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-four, good for 201 horsepower and 194 pound-feet of torque. Hyundai says that when equipped with a manual transmission and running on regular unleaded fuel, the Veloster Turbo will achieve fuel economy numbers of 26/38/30 miles per gallon (city/highway/combined). Stay tuned for our full driving impressions in the coming weeks.

UPDATE: Hyundai's official release has been added below.

Inside Line took the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, together, on a field trip: to Westminster, California where where they were both tested on the same dyno at MD Automotive, run the by same operator on the same day. In case any memories need refreshing, the specs run thusly: the ZL1 has a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 belting out 580 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 556 pound-feet of torque at 4,200 rpm, for a 0-60 time of 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 184 miles per hour. The Shelby GT500 rocks up with a supercharged 5.8-liter boasting 662 hp and 631 lb-ft, for a 0-60 time of 3.7 seconds and a top speed in excess of 200 mph. Both get the power down via six-speed manual transmissions.

All things being equal, the dyno returns should have them split by something like 82 hp and 75 lb-ft. But good luck with equality, at least on this day: the Camaro charted 497 hp and 497 lb-ft, a the kind of 15 percent drop you might expect due to driveline losses, and just 11 percent of its torque sapped.

The GT500 would have none of it, charting 595 hp and 603 lb-ft. That leaves an on-the-road gap of 98-hp to the ZL1, and even though it loses more torque percentage-wise, it still comes out at an absolutely insane 603 lb-ft.

This latest info gives a new round of ammo to the armchair testers until the comparos start rolling in. But as numerous folks have commented on the dyno tests, what's really important is this: this is a great time to be a car enthusiast in America. Scroll down to check out the video.