We obsessively cover the auto industry…

Despite tight budgets at all levels of government, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is still giving local law enforcement agencies military vehicles. According to a report in The Huffington Post, a small town in New Hampshire was set to receive an armored personnel vehicle before one local resident launched a petition drive to block the acquisition.

The Keene, NH, police department was going to get its own Lenco BearCat, a vehicle the town's mayor reportedly described as a "tank." However, citizens in the town of 23,000 revolted, according to the article, with nearly 100 of them packing a city council meeting in opposition. Critics said the vehicle promoted violence, and cited a promotional video for the BearCat that shows gun-wielding cops using one of the armored trucks to knock down the door of a house and spray tear gas inside. The issue is scheduled to come up again at next month's meeting.

A $285,933 grant from DHS would pay for the eight-ton military truck. The Huffington Post cites a report from the Center for Investigative Reporting stating that $34 billion of similar grants have been issued since Sept. 11, 2001.

A Lenco spokesman criticized some of the citizens who spoke out against his firm's vehicle, calling them "crazy" and saying, "When a Lenco Bearcat shows up at a crime scene where a suicidal killer is holding hostages, it doesn't show up with a cannon. It shows up with a negotiator. Our trucks save lives," according to the article.

Click past the jump to watch the Lenco BearCat promotional video, featuring AC-DC's "Thunderstruck."

Now that the 991-series Porsche 911 has been unleashed on the world, it's time for the other twenty-ish variants of the company's halo car to be unveiled. We've seen the 911 Cabriolet, and our spies have caught the Turbo out testing. Now, the even hotter 911 GT3 has been caught in its early stages of development (read: before it gets it's big ol' wing out back).

Mum's the word on exactly what sort of insane power the GT3's flat-six will produce, though reports have suggested numbers as high as 450 horsepower. That said, there have been conflicting reports about just how that power will be sent to the wheels – recent news suggests that both a manual and dual-clutch setup are being tested, but that only one will make it to production. (There can only be one!) Porsche officials believe that the PDK will win, though we'll wait until we get final confirmation before cutting off our left feet. In any case, we'll wait for more details to roll out throughout the year.

The luxury vehicle aficionados at Robb Report have chosen the Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 as their 2012 Car of the Year. This is the 19th time the magazine has announced a COTY award, and any vehicle introduced in the previous year (in this case, that'd be 2011) is eligible.

The Lamborghini was one of a dozen vehicles singled out by Robb Report for consideration, and it managed to edge out such competitors as the Maserati GranTurismo MC, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster and Audi A7 (listed in the order they finished).

Robb Report praised the Lamborghini Aventador for the ease with which it allows drivers to access its prodigious performance and for its technically sophisticated seven-speed gearbox. Two-thirds of the 100 voters chose the Aventador as their first-place pick, making it the runaway victor. Feel free to read the press release after the break.

Chevrolet's fire-breathing, Nürburgring-shredding Camaro ZL1 can now be custom configured for your very own garage – at least your virtual one.

The 580-horsepower, 6.2-liter V8-powered Chevrolet won't come cheaply, starting at $54,995, and choices are limited. Major options include paint (we're kind of fond of the $325 Rally Yellow scheme shown above, though perhaps it's a little too Transformersque), transmission choice (six-speed manual or automatic), wheel finish, sunroof and faux suede interior bits. Given that this is a small-volume model with serious performance intentions, we're not bothered by the limited decision tree offered by the configurator, and it helps tamp the bottom line down.

Build your own by checking out the link below, or compare and contrast builds against the ZL1's nemesis, the Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 by checking out the latter's configurator here.

Apparently, being the Official Automotive Marketing partner of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit property was just the excuse Lexus needed to get in touch with swimsuit model Tori Praver. And we can hardly blame them.

But what could Praver's statuesque body and perfectly feminine features have to do with cars, you ask? That's a very good question, and it's one we're sure the Lexus marketing team spent hours considering. The answer, interestingly enough, is all in the curves.

Following up on the video Lexus brought us showing two racers drifting a 2013 Lexus GS F Sport around a makeshift track drawn around the gigantor-size body of Ms. Praver, the luxury wing of the Toyota conglomerate has delivered a video game of similar intent for Apple's ever-popular range of iDevices.

The TORI 500 racing app allows players to pilot GS sedans around digitized 3D renderings of Praver's body. Sounds... curvy. Check out the official press release after the break, where we've also reposted the video of Praver and the (real-life) racing drivers.

This past December we reported that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had found traffic fatalities in 2010 were at their lowest level since 1949. Unfortunately, another study released yesterday by the Governors Highway Safety Association reveals that the number of 16- and 17-year-old driver deaths is headed in the opposite direction.

While NHTSA has yet to release overall numbers for motor vehicle deaths in 2011, projections for the first six months have overall fatalities declining 0.9 percent. The number of teen driver deaths during that time, however, increased 11 percent from 190 the year before to 211, according to the report. The study is based on preliminary data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia that counts the number of drivers in this age group who died behind the wheel during the first six months of 2011. The states with the highest increase in teen driver deaths during that time were Florida, Texas and North Carolina.

While data for the last half of 2011 wasn't included in the report, if the trend continued through New Year's, it would mark the end of eight straight years of decline fatalities for this age group. As for why it's happening, the researchers behind the study specifically cite the benefits of Graduate Driver Licensing laws, which have been around in many states since the '90s, finally leveling off.

We'll be honest: We miss drifting. Not the polished, sponsor-laden, energy-drink soaked Formula D. We miss the seedy internet shaky-hand cam videos of Japanese drivers slinging their hand-built machines up the mountain side in the middle of the night. Poland, of all places, has sought to marry the worlds of professional, sanctioned drifting with the thrill of taking on a public road. The pairing of a hill climb with drifting may seem odd, but trust us when we say it works. With fans lining the course and drivers all new to improvised track, anything can happen.

Disrespect the mountain, and you'll wind up on your roof. That didn't stop drivers from giving it all they had, however. Fortunately for those of us who aren't within a train ride of Eastern Europe, camera crews documented all the action for the world to see. Hit the jump to check out the high-definition video antics for yourself.

There's little question that Caterham is on the rise. The British automaker may still be known primarily for building continuation models of the classic Lotus Seven, but under the new ownership of AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes, it is expanding in a big way.

The company teamed up with Lola for the SP/300.R, one of the only vehicles Caterham has ever made that was not based on the Seven. Caterham now also has its own F1 team, and has promoted the team's technical director Mike Gascoyne – a longtime F1 engineer and chassis designer – as chief technical officer for the entire group, overseeing the road car division, the advanced composites operation, the new R&D center and the motorsport division.

That's not all, though. Caterham has been rumored to be working on a new model line – to be developed and built in-house completely separate from the Seven and SP/300.R – details of which are just beginning to emerge. Although Caterham has reportedly considered going mid-engine with its new model, it is likely to stick with the traditional front-engine, rear-drive setup, with a monocoque chassis built around an F1-style tub, but likely not made of carbon fiber.

Caterham is reportedly intent on keeping both price and weight to a minimum, but the new model is being designed with more creature comforts than its existing stablemates. Both coupe and convertible versions are envisioned from the outset, and while powertrain is still being negotiated with potential suppliers, a supercharged version could be in the cards as well. Discussions are repprtedly also underway with various design studios, but one thing's for sure: this one won't be designed by Colin Chapman.

We have to imagine it's easier to fight the law and win when you're a judge. Reuters reports Magisterial District Judge Kelly Ballentine of Lancaster, Pennsylvania has been charged with a number of crimes associated with dismissing her own traffic violations. According to Attorney General Linda Kelley, the 43-year-old judge faces charges on conflict of interest, tampering with public records and obstruction of justice.

Ballentine was issued two parking tickets in November 2010 when her BMW was parked illegally in front of her home, followed by a third citation for an out-of-date registration. The judge failed to pay the tickets on time, and summonses were mailed to her home. Ballentine then allegedly went onto the online court system and dismissed the tickets with a waive of her judicial wand.

The judge has since been arraigned and released on a $25,000 bond, though she has not commented on the situation.

It's been a good long while since we visited the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot spy photography department. Our favorite snappers at CarPix were busily watching over a supplier test facility when the curiosity you see above inched its way out of hiding to perform one quick lap of the snow-covered track before retreating back from whence it came. The sign on the door clearly marks the vehicle as electric (well, "clearly" if you speak German), though details beyond that are conspicuously scarce. From the looks of things, the car has a significantly wider track up front than it does out back, though it's difficult to say exactly what that means.

Which manufacturer is behind this machine? What kind of drivetrain does it boast? Is it actually headed for production? Is it from a major automaker or a niche proposition? The short answer is we haven't the faintest idea. Place your bets in Comments.

Trail Rated? We'll See About That...



We've been tracing trail 16 through the ridges and hollows outside of Oliver Springs, Tennessee for the past five hours, inching along through rocker-deep mud, crawling over differential-busting rocks and clamoring up and down slopes made slick with two days' worth of torrential rain. Our wanderings have led us here – facing down one of the steepest climbs of the day. Through the mud-speckled windshield, I can see the path make a quick right turn before bolting up the side of the ridge. Walls of red clay littered with jagged roots and jutting rocks tower to either side of the deeply-rutted path, waiting to open our sheetmetal like maniacal can openers. You'd be hard-pressed to walk the route we're about to take, let alone drive it.

The two-way radio in the center console crackles to life.

"Trail's clear up top. You've got it."

I drop the five-speed automatic into Drive, kick the transfer case into Four High and turn the traction control off before taking a deep breath. Fortune may favor the brave, but so do body shops. My spotter in the passenger seat repeats the word of the day, "momentum," and takes hold of the grab bar on the dash as I plant my foot on the accelerator.

We're boldly going where no bone-stock 2012 Jeep Wrangler Sport has gone before.

As much as we love the 2012 Hyundai Veloster, it's the 2013 Turbo model that really gets our juices flowing (especially in matte gray, for the record). It takes that unique three-door (four-door?) configuration one step further with the addition of some more aggressive aero bits, a revised front end and new wheels; not to mention a potent 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-four underhood, good for 201 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque.

The Veloster Turbo goes on sale this summer, and while official pricing hasn't been released, the folks at Inside Line have apparently confirmed that the car will start at $21,500 – $22,280 when you factor in the $760 destination charge. That's $4,205 more than a base Veloster, but in addition to more power, we expect that some of the base car's optional features will be fitted as standard kit on the Turbo.

What's really interesting, however, is Inside Line's report that the Turbo model was never even part of the original Veloster product strategy here in the United States. No big deal, because we're still getting the forced-induction hatch regardless. But the real reason why this is important is it explains why the Turbo is being offered with a six-speed automatic (in addition to a six-speed manual) rather than the dual-clutch unit found in the base car. Guess that in-house dual-clutch unit can't handle the full 195 lb-ft of the Turbo.

We expect Hyundai to release official Veloster Turbo pricing closer to the car's on-sale date this summer. And if this $21,500 base MSRP stands true, then the affordable end of America's hot hatch pool just got a lot more interesting.

Where would you expect to find the largest BMW dealership in the world? At BMW headquarters in Munich? Somewhere in Texas, perhaps, where everything is bigger? Or maybe in California, a state that represents one of the automaker's largest markets? If you're shouting, "No! It's in Abu Dhabi!," you're (A) good at reading headlines and (B) correct.

The Persian Gulf emirate is the location of a new showroom that was just opened this week after a three-year construction project that cost 300 million dirhams – equivalent to over $80 million. All in all, the showroom measures a massive 35,000 square meters. That works out to some 377,000 square feet or 8.6 acres of space, allowing BMW to lay claim to the largest showroom in the world. That's a whole lot of elbow room for the company's 7 Series range, the company's most popular model line in the Middle East.

If you're wondering how even BMW's expansive model lineup could possibly eat up that much room, consider that the location represents the products of the entire BMW Group, including Rolls-Royce, Mini and BMW motorcycles as well as the Bavarian automaker's cars and crossovers. Follow the jump for the full press release and scope out the images in the gallery for a closer look.

General Motors stock is down 45 percent over the last year, which would lead the uninformed to think that the automaker is still losing money by the bucketload. On the contrary, The General pulled in a healthy $7.6 billion in 2011.

Does that mother lode of cash make GM a buy for 2012? Capital research Global Investors seems to think so. The Detroit News reports that the investment firm has purchased 5.8 percent of the Detroit automaker. That's 92 million shares, which translates to about $2.3 billion at $25 per share.

The investment firm claims GM stock is a strong buy even though its European sales are lagging. David Kudla, CEO of Mainstay Capital Management LLC, points out that there are a lot of automakers selling vehicles in Europe, adding "everybody who does business there is struggling." The Capital Group also points to continued growth in the U.S. market due in part to pent-up demand as a reason for the big bet on GM stock.