By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Pardon us for drooling a bit... You might be more willing to forgive after checking out these latest photos of Porsche's upcoming 918 Spyder hybrid supercar decked out in the infamous Martini Racing livery. The tie-up between the two companies came at the height of Porsche's racing dominance in the mid-to-late '70s. Victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Sports Car World Championship and one-offs like Targa Florio all came at the hands of Porsche 908, 917, 935 or 936 draped in the double-blue-red stripes and prominent logo.

By Jake Lingeman, AutoWeek

After teasing the silhouette of the 2013 Lexus LS 460 on Facebook last week, the company has revealed the entire car.

It's actually the F-Sport version of the Lexus halo sedan, and it will wear the corporate, aggressive, angular front end seen on the GS model. The body looks more muscular than before, with a sportier set of wheels to go along with the new look.

By David Menzies for MSN Autos

Before any aspiring legal eagles heap scorn upon your ever-sensitive correspondent, I will admit unreservedly that according to the nitty-gritty fine-print regarding parking enforcement, YES, the police officer (whom I am about to heap scorn upon in the paragraphs ahead) was indeed correct and I was indeed wrong.

And yet...

Allow me to cut to the chase: I thought checking out the Beaches Jazz Festival in Toronto last weekend would be a blast. But before Queen Street East was closed to traffic and before the first musicians took to their makeshift sidewalk stages, I discovered that one of the festival’s biggest financial beneficiaries would surely be the legion of parking enforcement officers writing tickets on sections of streets suddenly labelled: “Emergency: No Parking On This Side of Road.”

Indeed, amber-hued tickets were being dispensed like so many supersized pieces of confetti at a tickertape parade. Idling nearby: a platoon of tow trucks, ready to clear the decks.

I scare easy when it comes to tow-away zones, so I decided to play it safe and go to a Green P parking lot located at nearby Ashbridges Bay. Alas, the lot was jammed tighter than Oprah Winfrey’s thighs in a pair of Lululemons.

However, the Parking Gods smiled upon me: a woman had returned to her Honda Odyssey and indicated she was leaving. Hallelujah. Better yet, she offered me her Pay & Display dashboard ticket which was valid until midnight. She said she’d let me have it for $4; a sweet deal indeed given the cost of the ticket was $7.

I gave her two Twonies; she pulled out of the space; I backed in, eager to enjoy an afternoon at the beach and some groovy jazz tunes in the evening. Not so fast. A police officer approached me and said, “I saw what you did” in a fashion that reminded me of the film, I Know What You Did Last Summer.

I looked at him quizzically.

“You can’t buy someone else’s ticket,” he declared, urging me to read the slip.

Sure enough, a small line noted: “Ticket not transferrable.”

“What difference does it make if her Honda Odyssey or my Ford Adrenaline occupies the spot?” I pleaded. “The city has been paid in full for the space, right?”

“Sir, those are the rules, and if you put that slip on your dash, I’m going to give you a $105 [one-hundred-and five!?] parking ticket.”

I couldn’t believe what was happening. I had heard of this non-transferrable jazz before, but always reckoned it to be the stuff of urban legends.

“Officer, with all due respect” – yes, you’re correct: this is indeed the phrase uttered when one person is about to disrespect someone else – “I just can’t believe you’d be that petty.”

“Not being petty, sir, just doing my job,” he responded (although if he had done his “job” when the transaction was going down, there would be no issue.) “You’ve been warned” and he drove off.

And I said (to myself): “To hell with that! If he comes back and tickets me, I’ll take this case to the Supreme Court!” And I defiantly slammed the ticket on my dash.

He didn’t come back so I was spared the $105 ticket. But in the back of my mind, I kept envisioning Robocop would return to that lot and write me up that three-figure fine.

Bottom line: I didn’t get dinged with a ticket. But in terms of psychological torture, this cop did far more damage than $105. And truth be told, I’m still seething over the cosmic inanity of it all.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Only a few hours before the opening ceremonies - and two days after competition started (how weird is that?) - the 2012 Summer Games in London are looking more and more like they'll be a success. All the pre-event planning and training is done; all that's left is for the athletes to do their parts.

However, making the Games run smoothly is no easy task, and transportation is certainly one of the biggest and most complex parts of that effort. BMW is the official vehicle sponsor of the London Olympics and handed over the keys to over 4,000 different BMW and Mini vehicles to be used by nearly 7,000 volunteer drivers to shuttle athletes, VIPs and dignitaries around the already congested city.

In keeping with the theme of what's been dubbed the 'Austerity Games' thanks to the United Kingdom's tight financial situation, BMW claims it's provided the most efficient fleet of vehicles ever to an Olympic Games. The combined fleet values of 64.5 mpg (Imperial) and - perhaps more importantly in Europe - only 120 grams CO2 per kilometre is pretty impressive.

While there are a few halo vehicles to capture attention (electric versions of the Mini Cooper and BMW 1 Series, plus the new 5 Series Active Hybrid), those only make a small percentage of vehicles in use. The bulk of the fleet will be diesel-powered 320d (1,550), 520d (700) sedans and Mini Countryman (200) crossovers. There are also a handful of X3 and X5 SUVs around for support and medical roles, along with 25 R1200RT motorcycles.

Perhaps the most intriguing is that BMW includes the 400 Streetcruiser bicycles for coaches and officials in rowing competition. How do calculate human power into an official fuel-economy equation.

Previous games sponsors include General Motors (Vancouver, 2010; Salt Lake City, 2002; Sydney, 2000), Volkswagen (Beijing, 2008), Fiat (Turin, 2006) and Hyundai (Greece, 2004).

By David Menzies for MSN Autos

Remember Nineteen Eighty-Four – the book authored by George Orwell, that is – not the calendar year that saw Ronald Reagan re-elected, the Edmonton Oilers win their first Stanley Cup, and the introduction (finally) of an all-new and improved Corvette generation?

Well, if you’re like me, 1984 (the year) brings back fond memories (although what the hell were we thinking with those leg warmers?) However, the book by the same moniker is nightmare-inducing for anyone who cherishes freedom and democracy. After all, the novel depicts a dictatorship wherein everyone is under surveillance by government agents and snitches; it is a dark society lorded over by the ominous catchphrase, “Big Brother is Watching You.”

I had Nineteen Eighty-Four on the mind recently upon coming across a story emanating out of the San Francisco area that has the potential to give every motorist the chills.

Recently, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments approved going forward with further study of a possible Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) tax for a region comprised of nine counties. Drivers would be legally required to have GPS-like devices installed in their vehicles so that Big Brother could track the number of miles driven for taxation purposes.

The San Jose Mercury News notes this scheme could end up costing drivers in the area about US$1,300 per year in mileage taxes if implemented. Imagine that: going to the mall? That’ll be a buck-fifty, please. Commuting to work? That’s $5.75, please.

Graham Kozak, AutoWeek

Ever walked out of an auto show distraught because the cutting-edge design language on display lacked a certain pharaonic flair? Were the extreme angles of the Lamborghini Reventón simply not extreme enough for your tastes?

If so, you'll love the pyramid-shaped Dream Car 123.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Kia's approach to introducing the Rondo consisted of just putting them into showrooms with little or no promotion and let word of mouth bring potential customers through the doors. It seems to have worked, especially in Canada where the Rondo is one of only three offerings in the mini-minivan segment, the others being the Mazda5 and the Chevrolet Orlando.

And while it's certainly hard to make a one-box design attractive, the Rondo is certainly the homeliest...

No more, though. Kia released a couple images of its upcoming redesign that'll break cover at the Paris Motor Show this September. Based on the renderings, it appears to be lower, sleeker and prettier, taking design cues from the most recent Kia family additions, including 18-inch wheels.

We can certainly expect the option of five or seven seats, a family-friendly layout and storage cubbies and cup holders galore. We'd bet heavily on an all-four-cylinder direct-injection engine lineup; probably the Forte's 1.8-litre as the 'base' cars with a 2.4-litre with around 200 horsepower as an option?

We'll give you full details and better photos when the Rondo makes its official debut.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

The Mazda6 is an entertaining and good-looking sedan, but it's aging quickly, especially in the face of newer competition from the rest of the mainstream automakers. It's the only offering that hasn't had a serious update in the last couple years. 

However, a new Mazda6 is coming soon enough and we finally have photos to drool over in the meantime. Gone is the grinning grille of the last generation, replaced by styling cues taken from the production CX-5 and Shinari Concept from 2010. It looks like a pretty athletic design, and we can only assume that the 6 will drive as well as it looks.

More complete details on the sedan will be announced when Mazda makes its official reveal at the Moscow International Auto Salon on August 29, while the rest of the bodystyles (five-door hatch and wagon, presumably) will be shown at the Paris Motor Show in September. 

What we do know, though, is that the 6 follows Mazda's new SKYACTIV product engineering philosophy that focuses on refinement, balance and serious weight loss. We also know that the Mazda6 will have the 2.2-litre SKYACTIV-D turbodiesel engine with 173 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque as an optional upgrade. 

The Russian-spec model shown here uses the 155-hp 2.0-litre SKYACTIV-G four-cylinder engine and six-speed automatic transmission we get in the Mazda3 and CX-5, and it'll come with a capacitor-based regenerative braking system that aims to improve fuel economy by as much as 10 per cent. As nice as the two-litre engine is, we're not sure it'll be suitable for North American customers given it feels pretty overwhelmed in the CX-5...

Given what we know so far, would you put the Mazda6 on your shopping list? Or do you think it doesn't stand up to the latest from Hyundai, Kia, Ford, Honda, Toyota, Nissan and VW? Speak up in the comments.

By David Menzies for MSN Autos

Only in Hogtown...

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford recently acquired a new set of wheels. You are correct: that should not be newsworthy.

But in a city inundated with “progressive” left wing car-phobic councilors and numerous like-minded critics, Mayor Ford driving a conveyance with an “infernal” combustion engine is indeed news. And it’s bad news.

You see, if Ford’s new set of wheels had been a Toyota Prius, he would’ve received a pass. And hey, if the Mayor had snagged an electrified Chevy Volt or a Nissan Leaf, well, even his enemies might offer praise.

But alas, Mayor Ford is now driving a – wait for it – sport utility vehicle. Oh, the horrors! And not just some garden-variety SUV, but a supersized, luxury-laden chariot: the Cadillac Escalade, GM’s big and bodacious land yacht. That’s simply not sitting well with some critics.

The back story: Ford celebrated his forty-third birthday and his two brothers bought him the Caddy which is more than $90,000 off the lot. Doug Ford said his brother reacted to the gift with considerable discomfort.

“He was humming and hawing, he didn’t feel comfortable at all when we pulled up with it. [Rob] said, ‘I don’t want that!’”

But Doug Ford notes it’s the right vehicle for the mayor because he has two kids, and often goes up north with the whole family.

By Julian Rendell, AutoWeek

The range-topping 2013 Bentley Continental GT Speed is the fastest production model ever from Crewe, England. Barely. Capable of 330 km/h (with a little rounding) it noses out the Continental Supersports by less than two km/h.

Still, it is the fastest, and it's a formidable entry set to face off against another British rival, the Aston Martin Vanquish, and, to a lesser extent, the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. At the heart of the Speed is a significantly more powerful twin-turbo 6.0-liter W12 making 616 hp and 590 lb.-ft. of torque. It works with an eight-speed automatic and permanent all-wheel drive and can sprint to 100 km/h in four seconds. All of this muscle allows the Speed to nose out the 328 km/h top speed of the Continental Supersports, Bentley claims.