The Good Oil: Super hot and raring to go

The Fiat 500 will cause a stir in the US. Photo / Supplied

America's latest Fiat 500
The love affair Americans are having with the Fiat 500 will hot up when the go-fast Abarth version lands Stateside. Colorado outfit Scagliarini Motorsports has already come up with its own version of the Abarth. It is called the Scagliarini Motorsports Fiat 500 Coupe Zagato Elaborata - or Fiat 504cze for short - and has filled-in rear windows and an all-wheel drive powertrain, carbon fibre accents in the Alcantara-covered front seats and Brembo brakes. The all-wheel drive bits were pulled from a Fiat Panda. The car will be built at Scagliani's Italian design studio and will be dressed in the searingly hot Lamborghini orange paint, otherwise known as Arancio.

Plexiglass show-off
Pontiac built a Deluxe Six with a Plexiglass body for the 1939 World's Fair. It was the first transparent car and designed to show off the versatility of new materials such as Plexiglass, invented in 1933 by Rohm & Haas. The 72-year-old see-through sedan has sold at auction in the US for US$308,000 ($356,700).

Fuel rules prompt US turbo boom
The use of turbochargers on light vehicles in the United States will reach 82 per cent by 2020 from just 5 per cent in 2009, says Honeywell Turbo Technologies engineer Steve McKinley. McKinley said the boom was being driven by tougher fuel-economy regulations, rising fuel prices and consumer appetites.

The Obama Administration is raising average fleet fuel economy to 5 litres/100km, or 54.5mpg, by 2025. "Optimising every ounce of fuel economy is going to be absolutely critical," said McKinley.

Honeywell is a leading global supplier of turbochargers with Borg-Warner.

Testing trust
The US Department of Transportation wants to know how much faith motorists can have in an autonomous vehicle, now that cars are equipped with all sorts of safety gadgets. Researchers are going to the racetrack to gauge driver and passenger reactions to safety equipment designed to intervene when necessary. The custom vehicles contain electronic equipment that enables them to "talk" to each other. This relay of data lets one car know what the other is doing. If one car sees it is on a collision course with another, it can make a panic stop and avoid an accident. The department wants to find out how motorists react when their cars take independent action to save the day.

US$5m sex claim against octogenarian
US automotive legend Carroll Shelby has been accused of sexual assault by a former receptionist. In a US$5 million lawsuit filed in Los Angeles, Angelica Smith claims Shelby ran a "pervasively hostile work environment" and that "Shelby himself sexually battered [Smith] by groping her". Smith also claims that another Shelby employee drugged and raped her at his house in December last year and that Shelby took no action when she reported the incident. The lawsuit names Shelby, his companies and the accused rapist. Smith began working for Shelby in 2005. Shelby is in his late 80s.

Super-luxury sedan touted to replace Bugatti's Veyron
What will Bugatti do next, now that the supercar Veyron is nearing the end of its production cycle? If reports from Europe are accurate, the Volkswagen-owned carmaker is planning a production version of the four-door Galibier concept it unveiled two years ago. Germany's Auto Motor und Sport magazine reckons the super-luxury sedan will appear next year, powered by the Veyron's W16 engine. The magazine claims Bugatti expects to sell up to 1500 of the cars, 1200 more than the Veyron. The likely price is around $2 million.

Clarkson in hot water over cancer joke
Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson is in hot water again, firstly for parking in a handicap spot on TV and secondly for joking he had a cancer scare. Colleague James May also parked in a disabled space while the two were discussing two electric cars. The shot drew sharp criticism from awareness groups. Clarkson's cancer comments came from his newspaper column, on the heels of BBC disc jockey Chris Evans announcing he'd had growths removed from his bowel. Clarkson joked his doctors had found cancer in his bowels, too, but he hadn't had time to have the growths removed. Evans' father died from bowel cancer.

Evoque-ing hints of a soft top
A soft-top version of the Range Rover Evoque is looking likely after a company spokesman said: "A convertible Evoque wouldn't be the maddest brand extension. It isn't a totally crazy idea. All I can say is watch this space. We've got lots of ideas for the Evoque." Land Rover says an important part of the Evoque's appeal is that buyers can have it anyway they want. A special edition, with an interior designed by Victoria Beckham (pictured), has also been confirmed for release early next year. A cabriolet model would broaden the vehicle's appeal even further. The Evoque goes on sale in New Zealand in November.