By Dale Jewett, AutoWeek

Kia is exploring what might happen if you turbocharged the dancing Hamstars with the Track'ster concept car for next week's Chicago auto show.

The Track'ster is based on the Soul. Changes include bigger wheels and a narrower, sporty window opening along the side.

By Jake Lingeman, AutoWeek

The Chevrolet TrailBlazer made its return at the Dubai International motor show. The show vehicle is a precursor to the production version but is very similar, according to General Motors.

The seven-passenger TrailBlazer looks a lot like GM's recent SUV and crossover entries, with a rounded body, curved headlight housings and LED accents. You can see hints of the Chevy Traverse, Equinox and Orlando in the shape.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Why no other company has done this, who knows? But reading about the Indiana-built VPG MV-1, the world's first vehicle designed from the ground-up to cater to disabled drivers and owners, makes you realize that this is a potential gold mine. All we hear is how our population is aging, and more and more people are going to be needing specialized care. 

Sure, the MV-1 is, well, kinda ugly, but give it time. There's a mock-up on the VPG Autos site showing an up-level version with larger five-spoke wheels and some blacked-out details up front, and it looks pretty menacing. Anything has to be better than the customized minivans with their rear-ends jacked up into the sky when empty. 

The MV-1 uses a fully-boxed ladder frame, a proven 260-horsepower 4.6-litre Ford V8 and a four-speed automatic transmission. The interior has wide-opening doors with low-angle access ramps, room for six, and there's space next to the driver for a wheelchair-bound passenger. There are wheelchair restraints, anti-slip floors, self-leveling rear suspension, and more. Apparently, it's the only vehicle to meet all of the American with Disabilities Act requirements straight from the factory.

Also, pricing is set at around $40,000 US, which might seem kinda steep, but converting a minivan can be nearly double that for a smaller vehicle that's more compromised. VPG is looking to make them available in Canada too.

Brilliant.

By Dale Jewett, AutoWeek

General Motors will work with its joint-venture partner, Chinese carmaker SAIC Motor Corp., to develop parts and vehicle platforms for electric cars, the companies said on Tuesday.

The automakers will use their existing joint venture in Shanghai, the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center, as the home base to develop the electric car--aimed primarily at the Chinese market.

GM says it plans to use the platform, components and technology from the project to build electric cars around the world for various markets.

By Rick Kranz and Diana T. Kurylko, AutoWeek

The sleek Volvo concept unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show is headed to production, said Volvo Chairman Li Shufu.

"The board has approved production of the concept, known as You, but the timetable has to be finalized,'' Li said during an interview at the Frankfurt auto show. He said it will be "somewhere around 2015."

It's part of the plan by Chinese owner Zhejiang Geely to move the Volvo brand upscale.

By Justin Couture, MSN Autos

There’s no doubt about it: When it comes to throwing a pre-motor show bash, Volkswagen Group certainly knows how. After all, the Frankfurt show is on VW’s home turf, so if there’s any show to pull all stops out at, it’s this one. It certainly doesn’t hurt that it’s also the world’s largest.

By Michelle Koueiter, AutoWeek

The car-airplane-motorcycle fusion on display at Opel's stand for this week's Frankfurt motor show is actually a tandem-two-seat electric-car concept.

The battery-powered EV gets 100 km for $1.36 (or 100 kilometers for one euro). Opel says the concept--it hasn't disclosed a name yet--is one-third the weight of a modern small car. It reaches a maximum speed of 120 km/h.

By Greg Kable, AutoWeek

Audi has officially confirmed plans for a lightweight, electric successor to the A2--six years after the first-generation model ceased production.

Previewed by a four-seat concept car set to make its world debut at the Frankfurt motor show this month, the four-door hatchback retains the distinctive one-and-half-box silhouette, short overhangs and shallow greenhouse treatment of the original A2--still considered one of the most advanced small cars ever put into large-scale production because of its lightweight aluminum spaceframe construction and 1,973-pound curb weight.

By Greg Kable, AutoWeek

Following an initial reveal in a series of sketches earlier this month, Audi has now provided Autoweek with detailed computer-enhanced photographs of its radical Urban concepts - the compact two-seat city cars set to bow in September at the Frankfurt motor show.

Constructed in both coupe and spyder guise, the urban concept is described by Audi as a developmental study being used by a team of in-house designers, engineers and electrical experts to explore new avenues in styling, small-car packaging, ultralightweight construction and driveline efficiency.

By Greg Migliore, AutoWeek

Eldorado. De Ville. Cadillac convertibles once meant something. And with a concept revealed on Thursday evening ahead of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the brand that once purported to be the "Standard of the World" is again signaling its intention to retake that mantle of sport and luxury.

Called the Ciel, or pronounced C-L, which translates from French as “sky,” the four-seat, four-door concept is an open-air demonstration with rear-hinged rear doors, a hybrid driveline and 425 hp from a twin-turbo V6 engine that displaces 3.6 liters.