For the last few days, we've been sitting on spy photos of an camouflaged Lexus IS, seen undergoing testing at the Nurburgring track. We've been unable to figure out what it might be a prototype for, so we're simply going

to share all the possibilities, and leave it up to you, the reader, to decide!

The prototype has the following characteristic: A roll-cageRecaro racing seatsNo SunroofA paint scheme that seems to transition from very light blue to darker blueA hood bulgeA bulge on the trunkLowered suspensionNo GPS Antenna

So far, several theories have been proposed regarding the true identity of this car. They include: A new IS race car (possible — are there decals under that camo?)An IS facelift (unlikely)A turbocharged IS (possible — those could be air intakes on the hood)A hybrid IS (possible — many hybrid prototypes have equipment protruding from the hood)A mechanical testbed for a hardcore IS-FR (possible, but not very likely)A mechanical testbed for the IS Coupe (unlikely)

The upcoming Ferrari 2+2 hardtop convertible has garnered a lot of speculation over the past few months, but all questions should be answered in the coming weeks. On Friday, Ferrari launched a website featuring the new car's exhaust sound, as well as a fewer teaser images.

No details about the new model appear on FerrariGTCountdown.com, but the website does including a timer counting down to the next batch of information — just under 11 days until the Italian automaker gives a little bit more away.

It is expected that Ferrari will reveal the car bit by bit until the car's official unveiling at September's Paris Motor Show.

Cadillac today reported its CTS-V sedan achieved a record 7 minutes 59.32 seconds lap time at Germany's famed Nurburgring test track. The sub-8-minute lap is the fastest ever documented for a production sedan. The new model — which goes

on sale late this summer — was first unveiled earlier this year, and is now undergoing final testing.

One of the objectives the Cadillac team had when it set out to develop the CTS-V was to make it the world's fastest production sedan, according to GM. Output is estimated at around 550 horsepower, although final numbers have not been released.

GM says it will release the car's certified SAE power ratings, acceleration specifications and U.S.-market pricing in the coming weeks, as testing is finalized. We're expecting official word on the car's MSRP in less than 30 days.

GM recently indicated its new Corvette ZR1 would beat the Nissan GT-R's record lap time of 7 minutes 29 seconds, however times have not been released.

Presidential hopefuls Sens. John McCain and Hillary Clinton may be focusing on a 'gas-tax holiday', but another presidential candidate — Ralph Nader — is eying a reform of the National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration. Nader feels the NHTSA has gotten too close with the automakers and calls it nothing more than a "consulting firm" for car makers.

Nader's latest gripe with the NHTSA involves roof strength standards. The NHTSA is considering a new standard that would replace the one that has been in place for the last 37 years. However, Nader feels that even the new standard won't be enough to protect occupants involved in a rollover crash.

Automakers have largely sided with the NHTSA, stating rollover crashes are difficult to accurately replicate and that roof collapse is rarely the cause of death, according to Automotive News. Adding stronger roof supports would also increase a vehicle's weight, which automakers argue could cause an increase in the number of rollover accidents.

Rollovers are responsible for more than 30 percent of all deaths on U.S. roads despite accounting for only 3 percent of all accidents.

Nader played a crucial role in establishing the NHTSA in 1966, but feels the organization has lost its way over the past several years. "It would be better to shut it down and start over," he said.

Nader expects to be on the ballot in 45 states.

In the face of $4 a gallon gasoline and stricter CAFE regulations, General Motors is seriously considering divorcing its full-size SUVs from its full-size trucks. GM has been building its big SUVs on truck platforms since 1965, but changing market

conditions could see the automaker's next-generation of full-size SUVs riding on a car-like unibody platform.

The Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade – among others — are up for a redesign and in 2012, and GM engineers are seriously considering switching the SUVs to a unibody platform. Those SUVs currently ride on GM's body-on-frame GMT900 platform, which also underpins the company's full-size trucks.

The switch to unibody construction would up the SUVs' fuel mileage, but would significantly reduce their towing and hauling capacities.

However, GM is considering continuing at least one body-on-frame SUV to satisfy the needs of those who need a heavy hauler.

But with most SUV buyers only needing a fraction of its capabilities and 35 mpg standards looming, some kind of change needs to be made — especially since SUV sales have fallen off 14 percent so far this year. GM already has a plethora of CUVs, thanks to its Lambda range, but we could see room for larger vehicles as the Tahoe and company will no longer be around in their current forms. GM could also downsize its Lambda CUVs over time to make more room for the full-size replacements.

What ever choice GM decides to go with, it looks like the SUV could be facing extinction.

Hyundai is already planning to launch a luxury brand in China by 2010, and it looks as though the U.S. might not be far behind, a new report finds. The Korean automaker will decide within the next three to four years

whether it will launch a luxury division in the U.S. in the same vein that Toyota launched its Lexus brand.

According to Motor Trend, the decision will hinge on the success of the Hyundai Genesis Sedan. If the car proves successful, Hyundai could launch the Genesis nameplate as its own premium brand, which would likely first include the Genesis Sedan and Coupe. However, don't expect a Genesis convertible to be part of the marque's lineup as those plans have been scrapped due to high costs.

Hyundai vice chairman Dong-Jin Kim acknowledged Hyundai's consideration of a premium brand at a recent event in Korea. "It would cost about a half-billion dollars to set up. It will take at least 13 years to make it break even," Kim told Motor Trend, "and 20 years to cover accumulated losses."

Despite the less than ringing endorsement, that doesn't mean the luxury brand is out. Toyota faced the same odds 19 years ago when it launched Lexus.

With the Genesis Sedan launching later this year, we should have the public's initial reaction to a premium Hyundai by year's end.

Although Fiat was originally eying a U.S. location for an Alfa Romeo production facility, the Italian automaker has now turned its attention to south of the border. Alfa will make its return to the U.S. market in late 2009 and therefore needs a plant

in North America to avoid losses due to an unfavorable exchange rate. However, strong demand from South America has Fiat reconsidering the plant's U.S. location.

According to Automotive News, Fiat is considering a plant in Mexico that would be able to supply North and South America. Demand in South America is out pacing Fiat's supply, so the automaker needs to up its production capacity in that part of the world.

Mexico's central location would allow Fiat to use a plant built there to supply both North and South America.

"Where that [South American] capacity will come from is not yet decided. I think that it may be part of a North American solution, especially in terms of the introduction of the Alfa brand", Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne told Automotive News.

Fiat announced earlier this year that it was looking to work with one of the three big North American car companies to share their production lines or move into one of the companies' shuttered factories. Another possibility is that Fiat could convert one or more of its 11 North American Case New Holland plants to produce its vehicles.

Fiat is expected to announce a location by the end of May.

The all-new Mercedes E Class is still over a year away, but our spies are gathering lots of details –- as well as pictures — of AMG’s E63 model with very little camouflage! Codenamed W212, the official introduction of the new E-Class is expected at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.

Mercedes will abandon SBC in favor of conventional brakes, although they will boast features on all variants such as wet-weather disc wiping and wheel-selective cornering brake control. Optional ceramic-composite discs could be introduced top-down, starting with the AMG model pictured here for the first time, racing down the legendary German NГјrburgring race circuit.

The next E‑Class will ape the S‑class’s wheel-arch extensions, rising character line below the door handles, massive bumpers, and greenhouse. A more sculpted wide-frame grille, the more geometric nasal air intakes, and the wedge-shaped profile should give W212 a sportier stance. Actually, early styling models show a certain affinity for the most recent efforts from Lexus – such as the rectangular quad headlamps, the C-pillar treatment, and the taillights. This is, of course, ironic given that some say the Lexus LS is famous for copying Mercedes, but Stuttgart still has plenty of time to hone the shape.

Driver assistance in general is a major theme for W212. Expect lane-departure warnings, an eye-movement monitor, traffic-sign identification, road-condition sensors, and stability control that accounts for crosswinds, camber changes, and tire wear. We’ll get the usual V6- and V8-engines, plus a normally aspirated, 500-plus-bhp 6.3-liter V8 for the E63 AMG model.

The BMW X6 is undoubtedly a controversial vehicle. Many critics have labeled it an answer to a question no one asked. But, according to BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer, it's already a blockbuster success. At the company's

annual general meeting, Reithofer said the first production of the X6 is already sold out.

"The new BMW X6 is best proof of the popularity of the X model range," said Reithofer. "Evidently, many customers were waiting for such a vehicle. The total 2008 production volume is already sold out." The comments were made during a speech touting the forthcoming X1, among other future vehicles.

While the X6 is "sold out" for 2008, that doesn't mean you can't still get one — it might just be hard. All the X6s are already sold to dealers, and the majority of dealers have a waiting list already. In some markets, it might be possible to find a dealer who still has an X6 available — it's just unlikely, especially in big cities.

Kia announced on Thursday that it has canceled its plans to produce a mid-size pickup for the U.S. market. Kia gave the Honda Ridgeline-esque pickup truck the green light earlier this year, but decided to cancel the project due to rising fuel prices and a sagging pickup truck market.

"Because of high oil prices, the light-truck market is declining significantly, so now is not the right time to produce a pickup truck," Hyundai Motor Co. CEO Kim Dong-Jin told Automotive News.

The new truck was slated to be based on the 2010 Kia Sorento and produced at the company's new plant in West Point, Georgia. The now dead pickup was to be a mid-size unibody truck in the same vein as the Honda Ridgeline, powered by a V6 engine driving the front wheels.