By Davey G. Johnson, AutoWeek

While the official line from Christophe Georges, Bentley Motors president and COO is, "We are exploring the potential, but the vehicle has not been approved," we hear that Bentley is scrambling to ready its new SUV for an unveiling at the Geneva motor show next month.

While Bentley is keeping mum on the new ute's moniker for the moment, we're going to go ahead and suggest that the company call it the Bentley John o' Groats.

Our pie-in-the-sky naming wishes aside, we have word that the new machine reportedly will ride on the same wheelbase as its Audi Q7 corporate cousin, will feature a W12 powerplant and will have "legitimate off-road capability." The potentates of nations with janky infrastructure wouldn't have it any other way, after all.

By John LeBlanc for MSN Autos Canada

If you want to buy a compact station wagon in Canada, new car buyers only have one choice: the Volkswagen Golf Wagon. And if you also want your small hauler to be powered by a diesel, once again, the VW wagen is the only game in town.

Now, just imagine if buyers had a choice? And if that choice was available at their local Chevy dealer? Those are the questions posed by the announcement this week that a station wagon variant (above) of the popular Chevrolet Cruze compact will debut at next month’s Geneva auto show.

By John LeBlanc for MSN Autos

Did you really expect all those Chrysler dealers, who spent loads of dough creating all-new Fiat facilities, to get by with just selling one model, the lone 500 city car? Of course not. So without much surprise, Fiat has formally released images of an all-new 500L—as in “Large”—due for its world debut at next month’s Geneva auto show.

By Nick Gibbs for AutoWeek

Mitsubishi will debut an all-new vehicle at the Geneva motor show in March, but won't confirm that the model will be the next Outlander SUV.

A teaser picture of the vehicle shows a similarity to the PX-MiEV II SUV concept unveiled at the Tokyo motor show last November.

Mitsubishi general design manager Hiroaki Ohtsuka told Automotive News Europe at the Tokyo show that the design of the PX-MiEV II was "70 percent" that of the new Outlander.

By Jake Lingeman, AutoWeek

Fiat will look to gain more traction in the U.S. market with a wagon version of the subcompact 500. Fiat brand chief Olivier Francois said the company will introduce a five-door model at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

Fiat sold less than 20,000 copies of the 500 last year in the United States, well below its initial target.

"We thought we were going to show up and just because of the fact people like gelato and pasta, people will buy it," CEO Sergio Marchionne told reporters. "This is nonsense."

By Greg Kable, AutoWeek

Fresh from revealing the latest 911 cabriolet at the Detroit auto show, Porsche has issued these first official photographs of its third-generation Boxster.

Set to get its first public airing at the Geneva motor show in March, the thoroughly re-engineered roadster gets a lightweight aluminum body, a roomier 911-style interior and the choice of two heavily upgraded versions of the German carmaker's classic horizontally opposed six-cylinder--both now boasting direct injection, slight gains in power and, thanks to a host of new fuel-saving features, impressive reductions in combined-cycle fuel consumption.

By Dale Jewett, AutoWeek

The Geneva motor show is still four months away. But Infiniti is alerting us now that it is taking a hybrid sports car concept.

Nissan's luxury division on Thursday released a couple of teaser photos of the car and a video of Infiniti chief Andy Palmer talking about the project.

Infiniti also disclosed that the car will use a range-extending powertrain, mating some type of internal-combustion engine with electric power to find the balance between environmental friendliness and driving joy.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

It's been an exciting few days of Geneva Motor Show reveals, and after discussing some of the less than thrilling introductions in previous posts, today's will be much more positive.

I'd give a lung for a Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Wagon, but we'll only see the sedan and eventually coupe in Canada. So my money has to be on the new Kia Rio. As mechanically impressive as the 2012 Hyundai Accent that debuted in Montreal in January, but with looks that aren't far removed from the old Seat Leon Cupra R.

Which out of the near 40 or so 'production' cars revealed in Geneva are you looking forward to the most? Which one has you checking your credit - or for some of the pricier ones, your lottery numbers? Ferrari FF? Audi RS3? Toyota Prius+?

By Jim Henry, AutoWeek

Subaru is proud that Toyota picked a Subaru boxer engine for the rear-drive sports car the brands will share starting next year.

"Form follows function," said Toshio Masuda, Subaru's senior project general manager for the Subaru-Toyota joint venture. "The boxer engine is lightweight, compact and has a low center of gravity," he said at the Geneva motor show.

Masuda said the boxer engine's flat profile allowed the partners to place the engine's center of gravity "this high," gesturing at his knees.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Day 2 of the Geneva Motor Show press preview is in the books and there's an interesting blend of production models and far-out concepts. Cars like the Ferrari FF, the Jaguar XKR-S, Morgan trike, and even the Hyundai i40 Wagon are early show favourites, but others like the Smart ForSpeed we discussed yesterday, the yawn-inducing Mitsubishi Global Small and Toyota Prius + leave us shaking our heads.

But no other image launched so many questions as that of a Rolls-Royce plugged into a wall socket. It's an experimental electric version of the world's most ostentatious automobile called 102EX. Gone is the near 7-litre gasoline V12, replaced by a battery featuring 96 separate cells that the company says can be recharged through inductive charging.

Why would this ever make sense? Every ultra-luxury brand is seeking more inroads into Russia, India and the like. Rolls-Royce owners don't care about fuel prices - usually because they sell those fuels to someone else. It's nearly as ridiculous as Bentley's claim that its Super Sports line are 'green' because they're tuned to run on ethanol. Six hundred horsepower? Irrelevant. 

So, for? Against? Insulted? Intrigued?