Honda Civic Emblem on 2040-parts.com

Qashqai fanatic nets limited edition number 0001

IF EVER there was someone who was fond of the Nissan Qashqai, it’s this man. Frankie Hipwell-Larkin, founder of the Qashqai Club online resource for owners of the popular crossover, has just taken delivery of a special new model of the car. He was fastest out of the blocks when the order books opened for the limited-run Qashqai Premier Limited Edition, and netted himself number 0001 of a planned 2007.

Mini Paceman (2012) first official pictures

This is a controversial one. It's the new Mini Paceman, a coupe version of the Countryman SUV, which itself is an upsized take on the Mini hatch. If that leaves you dazed and confused, angry even, as to why anyone would want to own such a thing, this isn't the car for you.

One Lap of the Web: Packards -- Ask the man who knows way too much about one

-- For some light Wednesday reading, here's more information than you ever wanted to know about Packard. It includes the horrible neoclassics that plagued the 1970s, and the 1995 revival of the Packard name that attempted to stick a shortened rendition of the famous Packard grille in front of a 440-hp V12, all wrapped in a shape that looked like a melted Twix, as shown above. Our august associate editor Graham Kozak owns a Packard, so he could have filled us in on the details.