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2012 Lamborghini Aventador completes a mad trio of supercars headed to market

If you thought the struggling global economy or high fuel prices might be hurting the world's supply of top-notch supercars, think again. Since March, AutoWeek editors have taken the wheel of not one, not two, but three of the most insane superperformers on the planet: the McLaren MP4-12C, the Ferrari FF, and most recently, the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4. We see a few common threads: lots of lightweight aluminum and carbon-fiber materials, engines punching out more than 590 hp, automated-manual gearboxes, and prices that put them up against the average price of a three-bedroom home in most markets.

Ford builds it, you test it

Only a select few usually get the opportunity to test out upcoming vehicles. Ford is bucking that trend by allowing customers to sign up at BuiltToughTest.com, and get the chance to explain how they would put the aluminum reinforced 2015 Ford F-150 to the test. Product development does extensive testing to the extremes, going as far as disguising the F-150 and running it through the 2013 Baja 1000.

Nissan Qashqai: UK 2011 changes

The Nissan Qashqai n-tec 2011 with its posh new alloys We reported last week on the changes revealed for the 2011 Nissan Qashqai in Japan (the Nissan Dualis), and speculated that some of these, and perhaps others, would spill over to the Nissan Qashqai in the UK and Europe. So it was no huge surprise to get an email from Nissan this morning detailing changes to the Qashqai for 2011 in the UK. Stop/Start turns up as an option for the first time on the 1.6 litre petrol Qashqais (for £200) which, if you can get in to the habit of sticking the car in neutral and foot off the clutch every time you grind to a halt in traffic, can yield decent fuel savings.