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We won the 11th annual North American Concept Vehicle of the Year Award for our BMW i8 Concept Spyder! If you are as excited about this news as we are

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2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee under NHTSA investigation

The 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee has been in the spotlight lately, with Teknikens Värld claiming that the vehicle failed their Moose test (or Elk test) miserably. Chrysler called "bullshit" on that claim, but it’s not going to be so easy convincing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that their latest safety concerns are bogus.

The NHTSA is investigating the SUV because of two complaints they received from Grand Cherokee customers. Apparently, there have been some under-hood fires that have caused the destruction of both vehicles. The sources of the fires are unknown at this point, but one customers stated that a hose ruptured when the vehicle was traveling at low speeds: "Mechanic received directive from Chrysler on a fix. He made the fix as directed, but the new hose quickly burst on him during testing," the owner wrote to the agency. The other owner’s complaint was that he "glanced in the rearview mirror and noticed smoke outside the vehicle. He pulled over and exited the vehicle, when suddenly massive flames erupted from under the hood."

We’re not very sure how this investigation will affect the Grand Cherokee, but if these claims lead to a recall, there will be almost 107,000 Grand Cherokee units affected

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2012 Range Rover Sport "Burberry" by Carlex Design

The last time we heard from Carlex Design, they were busy putting in some shiny new digs on the Rolls Royce Ghost "Save the Queen". Now, the Polish interior specialist has set its sights on another British vehicle, the 2012 Range Rover Sport. Keeping up their reputation as one of the most unique interior stylists in the business, Carlex Design found inspiration from one of the fashion world’s most iconic high-end brands: Burberry.

The design of the interior, which we assume is targeted to the ladies, is replete with odes to Burberry, particularly the "Burberry tartan" design that has come to be associated with the luxury British brand. The tartan pattern you see was even densely backstitched horizontally while the patterns on the headrest come with white embroideries in leather. Meanwhile, the headliner was designed through serigraphy and comes with a pattern that’s made of Alcantara. Other touches on the interior include decorative trims that have been varnished in deep piano black and juicy cherry with a matching white stripe that only adds to the high-class feel of the entire interior.

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BMW Bringing OnDemand to the U.S.

The Europeans get all of the cool stuff first, as BMW allows them to rent various BMWs, including M-Series models, hourly, daily, or weekly, as opposed to shelling out the $40,000+ required to buy one. Well, after successfully testing in the Euro market, BMW is finally bringing this system, called OnDemand, to the U.S.

Initially, the U.S. Launch will be isolated to only one dealership, BMW of Manhattan, and to one model, the 328i. BMW of Manhattan will offer up a total of 100 328is for people to rent to impress their boss, friends, or date. This system is also great for fleet companies deciding if BMW is right for them or prospective retain customers looking to take an extended test drive prior to lumping down thousands of dollars. It is pretty safe to assume that given this is the initial launch is in Manhattan, booking a rental 328i won’t be as simple as booking a Taurus from your local Avis dealer.

Given this is all successful, we will see the available lineup slowly expand. Some of the models to be added to the available rentals include the new 7-Series, X5, X6, M3, and even the M5. According to the report, however, to get premium rides, like the M3 and M5, the renter has to go through a more rigorous qualification process.

Pricing for renting the initial 328i will not be known until about August, but you can rest assured that it will not be a $20 per day rental and we bet insurance is not optional. We’ll update you once pricing is released on this new system.

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Spyker looking for additional investors for future survival

The past few months haven’t been easy for Spyker. After ending its affiliations with Saab, and changing its name back from Swedish Automobile to Spyker, the company fell on hard times. CEO Victor Muller confirmed a few months ago that investors were needed and once found, production could substantially increase.

Unfortunately, those investors never materialized and, as a result, the economic viability of Spyker has continued on its downward spiral. Spyker was recently in serious investment talks with CPP Global Holdings and North Street Capital, but both firms have gone quiet in the past few months and Spyker’s future is looking very bleak yet again.

De Telegraaf recently reported that Spyker Cars posted a net profit of $154 million in just the first 6 months of the year and consequently, one would think that finding a large investor would be a walk in the park. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

In saying that, however, Victor Muller’s statement that the company is “virtually debt free” doesn’t leave us with a great deal of confidence, as it’s clear that the firm’s undisclosed debt levels are dissuading investors from picking up the exclusive marque.

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McLaren JetSet could preview future minimalist supercar

McLaren made their intentions on creating a small, stripped-out supercar clear when they announced a design contest asking students enrolled in the Royal College of Art’s vehicle design course to imagine a minimalist McLaren supercar. Now, the winner of that contest has been chosen and may just be a starting point to McLaren’s future model.

The McLaren JetSet designed by Marianna Merenmies uses an electric motor and uses extensive amounts of carbon fiber on the chassis, body, and wheels. The concept measures just 3.7 meters long and 1.03 meters high, and has a proposed drag coefficient of 0.20.

When asked about the future model, McLaren Design boss Frank Stephenson said: "It’s about making more of less. It’s our job to push automotive technology — to make the car safer, lighter, more powerful, more efficient, eco-friendly and more fun to drive."

Expect to see the new supercar launched in 2015 with an intended price of £50,000, or about $78,000 at the current exchange rates.

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2017 Lamborghini Urus

With Porsche introducing an SUV in 2003, it was only a matter of time before the other premium sports car and supercar manufacturers joined in the fun. After years of rumors, whispers, and planning, Lamborghini is the next to cross over into the high-performance soccer mom world, AKA the SUV realm, with the oddly named Urus.

Though the name sounds odd, it is very appropriate for the model. The urus, also called the aurochs, is an ancient ancestor of the modern day cow, which went extinct in 1627. These things were massive, ranging from 61 to 71 inches tall at the shoulders and weighing in at 1,500 lbs – phew, that’s a lot of quarter pounders. This makes the urus one of the largest bulls ever recorded, which is appropriate, considering the Lamborghini Urus is almost certainly going to end up being the largest to boast the raging bull emblem.

Now that we have turned off Animal Planet, we can continue with the Lamborghini Urus and not the extinct cow relative. There is some debate as to whether Lamborghini can actually support an SUV, especially after the LM002, the original Lambo SUV, fizzled out in 1993 with only 328 models ever produced.

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