By Mark Rechtin, AutoWeek

"A woman's place is the garage" was the rallying cry for this group of female designers and engineers that modified a Ford Mustang for the SEMA show.

The High Gear team of 40 women created this one-off Mustang, featuring matte-black paint, rose-gold exterior and interior trim, suede seating areas and a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine.

The car will be auctioned, with proceeds going to the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Super Storm Sandy has caused unimaginable amounts of damage and chaos along the Eastern half of North America, including leaving most of coastal New Jersey and New York State under 13 feet of water. Parts of Manhattan Island, including the MTA subway tunnels, underground parking garages, and even the streets, were completely flooded, leaving people stranded and cars and trucks abandoned like old toys. 

While we'd expect most of those to quickly head to the nearest scrap yard and replaced by insurance, there are some concerns about what happens to a small percentage of cars that slip through the net and end up on used-car lots in states far, far away from Sandy's path.

Our U.S.-based colleagues at MSN Autos are on the case here with a great look at how to protect yourself from things like 'title washing', which effectively rids a soaked car's official paperwork of any notion it's been in a flood.

For those whose cars have spent some time under water, Popular Mechanics has a good step-by-step guide on how to clean it up. Much of the advice has to do with how quickly you can start cleaning out all the water and mud. However, one sentence in the story really applies for Sandy's victims: "Frankly, if the waterline is as high as the dashboard, you will probably be better off talking the adjuster into totaling the car and getting another... Double that for salt water."

Jalopnik has a great article on how to spot formerly soaked vehicles that end up back into the 'system' without the proper paperwork. Using all your senses - including smell - to investigate all the areas where water can hide, or finding evidence that it had been there before. The biggest problem - besides rust - is that so many systems on newer vehicles are controlled by computer and electronics, and we know how well your phone works after you drop it in a puddle, right?

Finally, here's a piece by Click and Clack - car-advice gurus Tom and Ray Magliozzi - not only discuss how to spot water damage and why it's pretty much 'death' for most vehicles, they also offer tips for those who aren't in the position to get rid of their only set of wheels. 

Have you ever dealt with a flooded vehicle before? We'd love to hear your stories in the comments below.

Photo courtesy Scrapman @ sxc.hu

By David Menzies for MSN Autos

This time it would be different. This time I wasn’t going to lose my car.

You know the deal: immense parking lot plus wonky memory equals a Seinfeld episode. But this time I would not be reduced to a Jerry or a George or a Kramer, aimlessly patrolling a motorcade mausoleum looking like some poor displaced refugee-claimant.

So it was that I entered the multilevel, 8,000-space parking lot at Toronto Pearson International Airport, a structure that has all the architectural flare of a Borg mother ship. But here’s what I did differently prior to getting on a southbound airplane: I made absolutely certain to jot down my parking space’s alphanumeric designation (C-42.) And it would be jotted down right on the parking slip I’d require to exit this concrete cavern. And that slip of paper would be promptly entombed within my wallet.

So, just for argument sake, let’s say a coconut fell on my head and I lost all memory function during my seven-day hiatus to Parts Unknown. Well, it would matter not a whit upon my return to Hogtown’s humungous airport parking garage. For I’d have proof – in writing! – pertaining to the exact location of my parking spot. Thus, I would not spend an hour lugging suitcase, carry-on bag, and laptop around this shrine to cement searching for the place where I had plunked precious Prelude. No more suitcase straps carving indentations into shoulder blades. Because as previously stated, I knew my car was parked in space #C-42. What could go wrong?

Here’s what went wrong: would you believe that the romantically named Terminal 1 Garage at Pearson Airport has several parking spaces labeled “C-42”?

By Greg Migliore, AutoWeek

Three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart and celebrity chef Guy Fieri unveiled customized versions of two of Chevrolet's most famous sports cars Monday night in Las Vegas at a preview event on the eve of the SEMA show.

Stewart showed a Camaro ZL1 powered by a 580-hp supercharged V8 styled in tribute to his nickname, "Smoke." The Camaro had tinted headlamp lenses with red halo outlines, a custom gray metallic exterior and jet black interior.

It also had embroidered Tony Stewart signatures on the headrests and a suede leather-wrapped steering wheel.

By Rory Carroll, AutoWeek

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers sent out a press release earlier this month in which they claim that by 2040 75% of the vehicles on the road will be autonomous.

As much as I love driving, I have to admit that I won't bemoan the death of the traffic jam.

I'll happily give up the crowded freeways and city streets if it means cheaper gas and abandoned back roads. I don't fear the automated car, because I don't anticipate that my legal ability to drive a non-automated car will go away--at least in my lifetime.

But, the dawn of the self-driving car seems like a good time for driving enthusiasts to ask a question that will shape the experience of driving for the sake of driving in the years to come: Is driving still about going faster?

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

After months of speculation, including a has-he-hasn't-he release from the supervisory board, Randy Bernard (right in photo) has been fired as the IndyCar series CEO. Depending on your feelings towards the series, you may find this to have been extremely disappointing and distasteful, as Robin Miller from SPEEDTV does, or as the Toronto Star Wheels editor Norris McDonald feels, which is that Barnard shot himself in the foot by introducing double-header race weekends in places like Toronto.

Now he leaves behind a series that's noticeably improved from its state almost three years ago when he took over. The new cars have put on a great show, he now has genuine competition in the engine department with Chevrolet and Honda, and was still learning about the series and its personalities.

Someone with plenty of clout with the big team owners - probably ex-CEO and owner Tony George - got things moving behind the scenes to facilitate Bernard's exit. And despite George's terrible handling of the IndyCar Series after he orchestrated its split from the old CART back in the late '90s, he'll probably get another kick at the can.

On a side note, the people putting together the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am merger are probably breathing huge sighs of relief because they'll have one less natural competitor to worry about...

What do you think? Did Bernard simply fail to right the ship quickly enough? Can IndyCar ever get things right without blowing itself up every couple years? Let us know in the comments.

Photo courtesy INDYCAR/LAT USA

By David Menzies for MSN Autos

In the comic book world, Ghost Rider has his Hellcycle and the Green Hornet likes to commute behind the wheel of a slightly-modified ’66 Chrysler Imperial. But when it comes to the best superhero ride you can name, only one word springs to mind: Batmobile.

And Holy Hardcover! A text chronicling the Batmobile in its various incarnations – from the pages of comic books more than 70 years ago to this summer’s The Dark Knight Rises – is now available just in time for Christmas (or Halloween for that matter.)

Batmobile: The Complete History (Insight Editions) is a gorgeous tome that would even make the villainous Bookworm crack a smile. And it indeed lives up to its lofty title.

Penned by Mark Cotta Vaz, the 142-page tome is an obvious labour of love. The book is as gorgeous as many of the Batmobiles parked between its covers. And it certainly has the heft of a bona fide A-list coffee table book worthy of stately Wayne Manor thanks to its thick stock oversized pages.

Indeed, while licensed drivers and comic book geeks alike would love to sit in the cockpit of a Batmobile, leafing through this anthology might be the closest most of us will get (assuming you don’t have a spare US$150,000 to purchase a Batmobile replica from Fiberglass Freaks.) In this regard, the Canadian cover price of $40.50 makes this book a steal (not that Batman condones such lawbreaking, mind you.)

By Jake Lingeman, AutoWeek

We know that at least four Mustang will join the F-150, Focus ST and Fusion displays at the Ford stand during SEMA. They were designed by four customizing outfits, Ringbrothers, Stitchcraft, DSO Eyewear and a joint effort by Mothers, Autosport Dynamics and RTR.

The Ringbrothers Mustang GT starts with a 5.0-liter V8 and six-speed manual. To that Ringbrothers adds a supercharger, suspension upgrades, Baer brakes and a carbon-fiber body kit. It uses waterborne paint for the exterior, which is better for the environment and meets new standards for low volatile organic compounds. Big wheels with rubber-band tires complete the look.

Stitchcraft, a California-based company that reupholsters boats, RVs and cars, started with a V6 Mustang convertible for its show car. Stitchcraft bolted on a nitrous-injection kit, FlowMaster exhaust, Hotchkis coil-overs and Wilwood brakes. The sleek bodykit was done by 3dCarbon while Stitchcraft took care of the interior.

By Dale Jewett, AutoWeek

The 2014 Chevy Corvette will be powered by an all-new 6.2-liter V8 that combines direct fuel injection, continuously variable camshaft timing and cylinder deactivation to make the sports car both powerful and fuel efficient.

General Motors unveiled the new V8 on Wednesday, and said it will produce at least 450 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque. It will power the new Corvette, set to be unveiled in January at the Detroit auto show, from 0 to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds.

The engine is also expected to help the new Corvette get better fuel economy. The current Corvette is rated at 26 mpg on the highway.

By Greg Kable, AutoWeek

Senior Volkswagen officials have confirmed plans to reveal a seven-seat SUV concept at the 2013 Detroit auto show.

Speaking to Autoweek at this week's Sao Paulo auto show, a Volkswagen manager who asked not to be identified said the German carmaker was preparing to take public a new concept that presages an upcoming Passat-based SUV to be produced at the company's Chattanooga production plant in Tennessee.