By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

While we've already seen the next-generation NASCAR Sprint Cup racers from Ford and Toyota (and Dodge too, but they're not answering the bell come 2013) and are very impressed with the revised regulations that allow stock cars to be more 'stock'. The only manufacturer we've been waiting on - until now - is Chevrolet, but the company finally took the covers off its new machine and we certainly like what we see.

Up until the end of this season, Chevrolet's been using the Impala nameplate in the Cup series, but for 2013 plans to base its racer on its upcoming SS production car. The 'real' SS - which everyone pretty much understands will be based on the Australian-sourced Caprice police car, the Chevrolet Camaro and in previous iterations was sold here as the Pontiac G8 - is a rear-drive V8-powered sport sedan and will be revealed during the NASCAR season opener at Daytona in February.

The Sprint Cup SS has undergone some serious bouts of testing to make sure it's not only safer than the 'Car of Tomorrow' that debuted back in 2007 but also handles better on the mile-and-a-half tracks that make up the bulk of the NASCAR schedule.

In an interview with SPEEDTV, team owner and driver Tony Stewart said, "The new SS looks awesome. That’s the great thing. It’s back to looking like a production car again. It’s a design that I really like. It’s got the perfect blend of having a race car look but a street car look at the same time; and that’s hard to do. No matter what you’re a fan of, you’re going to be able to pick out your favorite brand of car and see it from the stands."

Now that all the next-generation racers have been revealed, which one is your favourite? Do you think NASCAR is headed in the right direction with these or have they not gone far enough? Let us know in the comments!

By David Menzies for MSN Autos

When Grodd invented the wheel millennia ago, I wonder if he even considered for a moment that eventually someone would have to invent that acreage of asphalt known as the parking lot in order to contain all the wheels to come. And that something as simplistic as a parking lot would actually turn out to be such a source of trauma.

Oh, parking lot trauma is true. At least for me it is.

And it’s not what you’re thinking. I’m not that guy at the mall who desperately craves a spot mere metres from the front entrance, and, realizing that all the “good spots” are gone, resorts to an orbiting pattern around the mall’s perimeter, gnashing his teeth until someone in a good spot decides to vacate.

Rather, I encounter a different kind of parking lot trauma. In an admittedly lame attempt to incorporate some exercise into my daily routine, I tend to park in the spot situated furthest from my eventual destination.

So you can imagine my shock and surprise when I return to my vehicle – which had been the lone occupant in a sea of space – only to notice that another parked car has not only invaded my “sector” but is situated RIGHT beside my vehicle. Again.

How can this be?

By Steve Mertl for MSN Autos

The question has to be asked: Was Honda hearing hoofbeats when it decided to refresh its bestselling Civic barely 18 months after introducing a completely redesigned model?

The Japanese automaker says no and it’s hard to quarrel with the numbers.

Despite lukewarm reviews for the 2012 Civic, it broke a record in the U.S. market as the bestselling compact. In Canada, where it’s been the top compact for years and the No. 1 overall passenger car so far this year, Civic sales to the end of October were almost 43,000, up 24.5 per cent from 2011. The Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Corolla were second and third in the compact segment.

Civic remains on top year-over-year while the runners-up trade positions, says Honda Canada product-planning manager Hayato Mori.

By Andrew Stoy, AutoWeek

It's official: The new 2014 Mazda 6 sedan is getting a diesel engine for the North American market.

Finally coming clean on one of the worst-kept secrets of the year, Mazda officially announced the Skyactiv-D version of the Mazda 6 at the Los Angeles Auto Show yesterday. When it goes on sale next summer, the 2.2-liter turbodiesel 6 will become the first non-German-powered diesel sedan in American showrooms since the late 1980s.

Make no mistake: This is a big deal. But why?

It's not even a concept and no one outside Acura has seen it before… until now

By Mark Vaughn, AutoWeek

Design studios build all kinds of things all the time and the vast majority of them never see the light of day. In many cases that's a good thing. But occasionally there's a really cool-looking styling exercise that gets into the public eye one way or another. Such was the case with the Acura Sport.

Built five years ago by Honda's Advanced Design Studio in Pasadena, the sporty NSX-looking coupe was never intended to be seen outside the opaque walls of that high-security building.

“It was totally an internal advanced design concept,” said Dave Marek, director of advanced design for Honda R&D Americas.

Join us as MSN.ca Autos hits the auto show floor November 28th, during the press preview day! Get expert updates and opinions on vehicle announcements throughout the press days. You can also submit comments on what you'd like to see and share your thoughts!

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Still in shock that Lexus, purveyor of quiet, numb, boring cars and sport-utes, decided to make a performance-oriented F-Sport version of its new LS limo? We are too. But the bigger wheels and tighter suspension of the official model has nothing on this: the TMG Sports 650 Concept. TMG stands for Toyota Motorsport GmbH, which is the company's official European racing arm, and its been fiddling around with the idea of a hotted-up street-ready product for a few years now.

But this concept is seriously wild. Based on the pre-facelifted short-wheelbase LS, TMG have made substantial changes not only to the body, but to virtually every system and component underneath. The engine is a twin-turbocharged version of the IS-F's 5.0-litre V8, and apparently delivers 650 horsepower and 524 lb-ft of torque while somehow revving to a 9,000 rpm redline. The eight-speed automatic transmission remains, but we'd guess it's suitably beefed up for track duty. Enormous wheel-arches are stuffed with gigantic BBS wheels wrapped in sticky Michelin performance tires that in turn hide substantial brakes and a radically retuned suspension.

Visual changes are dramatic, including hood vents to help with engine cooling, and TMG claims everything was optimized in a wind-tunnel to aid in handling. Front and rear spoilers should help with downforce, while the quad pipes out back play on the aforementioned IS-F's controversial design. Nothing on this car is pretty, but you have to respect its functionality.

Apparently, TMG will show off the Sports 650 Concept at the upcoming Essen Motor Show - kind of like Europe's version of SEMA - in Germany next week and we're hoping they'll announce at least a short production run.

Would the idea of a Japanese performance limo scare the German luxo-car makers into action, just like when Lexus mopped the floor with them when the original LS debuted in 1989? Or is this simply a hopped up pretender to hi-powered six-figure monsters from Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz? Let us know if the comments.

By David Menzies for MSN Autos

Well, it happened again, this time at the arena parking lot. Meandering over to the Menzoid-Mobile, my eyes were greeted with numerous minivan/SUV rear windows displaying an assortment of stylized stick-figures meant to resemble men, women, children, and pets – all clustered in such a way so as to presumably reflect the demographic makeup of the family travelling within each vehicle.

Question: What’s driving this trend?

Indeed, are these stick-figure window stickers meant to be a statement of fertility or virility? Have to admit: when I see that Honda Odyssey rear window festooned with five kid stickers and three animal stickers, I do kind of feel emasculated given buddy has more than doubled my bambino output and animal menagerie. OK, pal, we get it already: you’re a genetic jackhammer. If you’ve got it, flaunt it, eh?

Then again, I happened upon one collection of stick-figures in which the female figure embraced the form of a curvy femme fatale, the sort who might make use of a brass pole at her place of employment. I was so intrigued that I thought about hanging around the minivan to see who would show up to drive it away but immediately discarded the idea on account of the creepiness quotient (high).

That’s when I began to pine for the good old days of car stickers – you know, the basic bumper variety that would proclaim how your Chevy Impala climbed Mount Washington (even though nobody gives a rodent’s rectum) or the de rigueur anti-distracted driving battle-cry of the ardent feminist (namely, the sticker admonishing us all to “Keep your eyes on my car’s rear end not HERS!”)

On second thought, bumper stickers tend to be quite garish and that faded baby-blue sticker proclaiming “McCain/Palin ’08” just seems so incredibly sad as we head into 2013, no?

By Greg Kable, AutoWeek

BMW has provided the clearest hint yet that its lineup of i-brand electric vehicles will expand beyond the three models already confirmed for production with the unveiling of a three-door version of the i3 for the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Lower and wider than the five-door i3 due to go on sale late next year, this version is officially billed as a concept.

However, senior BMW officials say cost and feasibility studies are already being carried out on the new car with the view to adding it to the i lineup, which also includes the futuristic i8 coupe and roadster.

By Jake Lingeman, AutoWeek

The high-performance Ford Fiesta ST will make its American debut at the Los Angeles auto show this week. The five-door Fiesta ST will get 197 hp and 214 lb.-ft. of torque from its 1.6-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine. The most impressive part is the car's expected 34-mpg highway fuel mileage rating. A six-speed manual is the only transmission available.

The Fiesta ST and Focus ST cars are the result of combined efforts from Ford's Europe and American performance car teams.