Information and pictures about Lotus' "dawn of a new era" to commence at this year's Paris Motor Show are just seeping out all over the Web. Following Lotus' official preview of the Evora S and IPS and a report that identified the four concepts that Lotus will be showing at the show, grainy pictures of two of the concepts have leaked.

Thanks to the success of the BMW X6, BMW-owned Mini may offer an off-road-capable coupe for those that crave something a little smaller. The company is currently beginning design work on a coupe version of its recently released Countryman five-door crossover. The new model would be a coupe aimed squarely at Range Rover's new Evoque, which will make its world debut at the Paris Motor Show in late September/October. If approved, the new Mini could hit the market as soon as 2013.

According to an Autocar report, Mini is currently considering several possible designs for the new concept. A four-door variant with no B-pillars and rear suicide doors is one direction under consideration, and a more traditional two-door model is the other. The car will feature a sloping, coupe-like roofline similar to that seen on the Evoque.

If Mini goes through with the Countryman coupe, it's expected to offer a car that undercuts the pricing of the Evoque while boasting better overall fuel economy and improved city driving. Speculation indicates a price of as low as £20,000.

The Range Rover Evoque, which was unveiled in July, will make its world auto show debut at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. It will be offered in both two-door and four-door varieties and will be the first Land Rover to offer a front-wheel-drive configuration. It will be Land Rover's smallest, lightest model, but will cost more than the Land Rover LR2 due to its sportier, more luxurious build.

The Countryman coupe is just one of several models that Mini is considering. The company is also developing a city car concept in the vein of the Smart ForTwo. That model is expected to feature a two seat or 2 + 1 layout and debut next year. Autoweek reported last month that that concept might debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.

Toyota Division U.S. sales fell 34% in August resulting in 1% down so far in 2010, but and are now down 1 percent for the year to date but Toyota’s  General Manager Bob Carter states he “isn’t panicking,”  according to a recent automotive news article.

During last year’s “cash for clunkers” program, Toyota sold more cars than any other automaker with 50% more in sales.  That resulted in the Japanese automaker having a difficult goal to reach this year in order to post a sales gain for 2010.

Regardless of the challenge, Toyota has maintained the number one ranked automaker for retail sales in August, and the Camry remained the top selling car (as it has historically).  According to Automotive News; fleet sales were less than last years’ sales at 6% of total sales volume, compared with 9% for the year in 2009.

Toyota Manager Bob Carter stated; “The numbers don’t look very pretty, but August was a fair month for Toyota.” Carter also made mention to the fact that August sales were just slightly below July numbers for 2010.

Toyota reports spending on incentives was at about $2,200 per vehicle, Toyota notoriously has not had a history of offering lucrative sales incentives to customers, but drastic times require drastic measure and the Japanese automaker has stepped up to the plate.

Two sources have recently announced that the long awaited General Motors’ initial public offering is planned to price on November 17^th and debut on the 18^th of November. The dates are not set in stone and are subject to change, depending on the stock market.

GM plans to begin pitching its IPO to potential investors on November 3^rd, after the congressional elections. Waiting until the end of the year allows the company to report profits from the last quarter, although GM has already forewarned that the second half of the year will show an expected decline in sales as compared to the first half.

This is perhaps one of the biggest initial public offerings in U.S. history (since 2008 when Visa’s IPO transpired), as GM has listed the company as being worth as much as $20 billion. Although the government has not yet announced how much of its GM stock will be sold, analysts are projecting that the common stock will sell for as much as $12-$16 billion with the preferred stock (that would convert to common stock under a mandatory provision) going for up to $4 billion.

The U.S. government invested $50 billion of taxpayer money into the automaker and subsequently owns a 61% stake. The stock offering will reduce the governments’ stake in the company, but no one knows for sure just how much.

Just a week after announcing that it was looking into fire issues on its 458 Italia, Ferrari has identified the problem at the heart of some of the fires and intends to issue a recall to repair it. The news comes as media sources have reported at least 10 fires and accidents involving the 458 in the past three months, leading some to go so far as to speculate that the model is jinxed.

The problem that Ferrari identified as the cause of the fires is an adhesive that binds the engine heat shield to the wheel arch assemblies can overheat, smoke and catch fire. Ferrari says that the problem happens in hot ambient temperatures and when the car is driven aggressively (read: driven like a 458 Italia).

A Ferrari spokesperson explained the issue to Autocar: "When the car is driven to high exhaust temperatures, in hot ambient temperatures, the adhesive used in the wheelarch assemblies can overheat and allow the rear wheel housing heat shields to move around. In extreme cases, the glue can begin to smoke and even catch fire."

We've known for some time that the Chevy Volt will be hitting the market this November, but the exact date when the assembly lines would begin churning out Volts has been a mystery until this week. According to an exclusive on AOL Autos, Chevy will ramp up production on Veterans Day. That's November 11 for you unpatriotic folk.

A national holiday seems like an odd day to begin production, but according to GM it's merely a coincidence. GM spokesman Rob Peterson is quoted by NY Times Wheels as stating: " “We’ve said our target of mid-November is tied to many things — suppliers, engineering, production facilities. It’s definitely not tied to a holiday.” That's good, because Veterans Day didn't seem to have a whole lot to do with Chevy's buzzed up range-extender.

The Volt is scheduled to be a gradual release vehicle beginning in California. GM plans to produce 10,000 Volts this year, but has not yet indicated how many Volts will be going to individual dealers. The company plans to do that on November 17 after production begins. Other initial markets will include New York, Michigan, Connecticut, Texas, New Jersey and Washington D.C.

Chevy plans to build between 30,000 and 45,000 Volts next year. GM reportedly intends to make numerous headlines around the time Volt production begins, engaging in a concentrated media blitz. The company may tie the Volt launch media campaign in with its upcoming IPO offering.

The Volt is a range-extending plug-in hybrid that uses a 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine to boost the 40-mile range of its 111 kW electric motor to over 300 miles. Owners will be able to charge the lithium-ion battery in about 10 hours via regular 120 V outlets or in about four using a dedicated 240 V outlet. The car carries a base price of $41,000 and will be available for lease starting at $350 per month.

Initially, Chevy advertised fuel economy numbers for the Volt as high as 230 mpg, but has since abandoned those claims as the EPA restructures the way that economy ratings are calculated for hybrids and electrics.

Given the amount of buzz that has been surrounding the Volt for years, GM has a lot riding on a successful launch.

If the average person had to guess how Toyota's sales have been over the past year, I'd imagine he'd guess that they've been rock bottom. Toyota's public persona has been one of an embattled automaker struggling desperately with dire safety problems and government investigations.

In reality, however, things haven't been that bad for Toyota. In fact, according to the company's numbers, U.S. sales for the first half of this year actually increased by about 10 percent year-over-year from 2009. And after its fiscal year ended in March, Toyota reported a $2.25 billion profit. Not only does that figure make the $16.4 million fine imposed by the NHTSA over recall delays look paltry, it represents a significant leap forward from the previous year when Toyota actually lost money.

Sales incentives, both from programs like Cash for Clunkers and from Toyota itself, played a major role in keeping U.S. sales strong despite ongoing image problems. Now the automaker faces a new set of hurdles in Japan, where the impending end of government incentives is expected to cause a major sales decrease in auto sales. Toyota and the greater Japanese auto industry are bracing for the hard times to come.

Chrysler has always had trouble unloading SUVs that don't carry "Jeep" badges. Remember the Ram Charger? Chevy sold five C/K Blazers for every Ram Charger. Ford sold seven Broncos for each Ram Charger. Yikes, not good! The numbers get worse for the Durango. The Ford Explorer absolutely trounced the Durango in every calculable sales statistic during the nineties and early 2000s.

Dodge is rebooting and revamping its mid-size contender for 2011, and just like its Jeep cousin, the Grand Cherokee, the Durango is completely new. In many ways, this Dodge represents the first in a string of new products designed to shed the Ram brand's poor reputation for out-dated styling and technology. You can't glean too much from pictures and descriptions, but on paper this well balanced ute might be a winner. It looks pretty good as well.

Slab sided, proportional body panels converge on muscular headlights and a complicated chrome grille. This grille, I'm sure, can be ordered in flat-black. It marks the first time I have been taken aback by a Chrysler design that wasn't packing ten cylinders. The Durango is attractive in the way Gina Gershon is attractive; rough around the edges but still a solid knock-out. Some of that appeal may come from Gina's ability to knock you out, and that trait may also extend to the Durango. This is an impressive machine, on the outside. Like any good Corvette, the worst part about Chrysler products is their cheapo, Little Tykes interiors . . . how does the Durango look from the driver’s seat?

In automotive news today, Motors Liquidation Co., the former General Motors, has announced that it plans to come out of bankruptcy. The plan was submitted and but not yet confirmed in U.S. court. Over a year ago, General Motors was in bankruptcy court struggling to exist. Now, the automaker is laying the groundwork to sell stock to the public once again with the eventual goal of ridding itself of government ownership as it creates an exit strategy to come out of bankruptcy. It’s been quite a haul for the Detroit Big 3 automaker.

General Motors Co. filed the initial paperwork required to hold an IPO last month. The 700-page document submitted to SEC regulators laid risks for potential investors considering buying GM stock. GM didn't disclose exactly how many shares would be offered or the precise date, although experts say the IPO could come as early as October. The company also failed to mention how many shares the government (GM’s majority owner) plans to get rid of.

Such a sale would eventually lead to the government reducing its stake in the automaker. Ed Whitacre, the company’s former CEO, said government ownership has damaged GM's public image and adversely affected sales. However, GM warned in its filing that the U.S. Treasury would continue to own a "substantial interest" in the automaker following the IPO. In the plan to release itself from bankruptcy, the company will transfer all of its assets and liabilities into 4 different trusts and distribute its stock and warrants to unsecured creditors through its upcoming IPO.  

According to Automotive News.com: “Motors Liquidation is the shell of General Motors that retained all of GM's old unwanted assets and liabilities after the "new GM"—renamed General Motors Co—emerged from bankruptcy protection last year by completing a sale of its best assets, such as Chevrolet and Cadillac, to a new company funded by the U.S. Treasury.”

Motors Liquidation Co. is a 10% owner in GM stock and it “warrants exercisable for a further 15 percent of General Motors common stock on a fully diluted basis,” according to Reuters.

The 1st quarter of 2011 is the target date for Motors Liquidation Co. to receive confirmation of the plan by the court system; by then the company anticipates that much of the unsecured claims will be resolved. 

Toyota will be unveiling many new models at the Paris Motor Show this fall, including the Verso-S, a "small, spacious and smart" vehicle. While details are limited, the model will have iQ-inspired styling with many options for interior features. Toyota is keeping most of the specs of the Verso-S silent until the Motor Show press release on September 30th, but the company has revealed that the Verso-S is likely to go on sale in the UK early in 2011.

Measuring less than 13 feet in length, Toyota says the Verso-S will be the most compact B-segment MPV in Europe, but points out that the Verso-S has been designed and engineered with comfort and practicality in mind, offering the maximum use of the seating and cargo space that the vehicle does have. Toyota also plans to introduce many other new and refreshed models at the Paris Motor Show including a revised interior for the compact iQ, and the launch of the Prius Plug-in Hybrid, and the Auris HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive). 

Other highlights of the show that Toyota is planning include the Hybrid Synergy Drive Gallery and the FT-CH concept, which originally debuted at the 2010 North American International Auto Show.