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This ultimate Aston Martin will go on sale later next year at an impressive price of £1 million (around $1.9 million). Who said Veyron is expensive? For that kind of money owners get to customize each the car to their individual tastes, and they also get to know that they are part of a very exclusive club of owners. Production will be limited to only 77 units (from where comes the name).

The Aston Martin One-77 is powered by a 7.0-liter V12 engine and will get a handcrafted aluminum body and a carbon fiber chassis. As a result it is likely to do 0-60mph in 3.5 seconds and have a top speed in excess of 200mph.

Due to the positive feedback received from the UK and different European markets for the i-MiEV, Mitsubishi decided to raise the production to 10,000 units(from 2,000 ) for the electric city car which is scheduled for release in 2009 in the Japanese market and 2010 in Europe. The company finalised a joint venture with Lithium Energy Japan in order to build a new plant in Japan, this being an imperative to be capable of supplying the increasing demand.

According to the company’s officials, the new plant will be ready for use by next April and will initially produce 1 million palm size lithium-ion cells a year, considered enough to power the 10,000 vehicles. They also plan a second new plant by 2012 making another investment of 10 billion yen. It seems that the UK subsidiary of Mitsubishi already made a demand for the first 2,000 units produced in order to make a launch in London in 2009. The company still has to decide whether they will support this request.

First rumors about a F-100 were revealed back in May. It was supposed to be a smaller version of the F-150 based on a mid-sized truck from South Africa that uses the Ranger name. Now it seems Ford decided to put aside those plans. The new truck was to have been built at the facility in Wayne, Michigan, but Ford will now retool that plant to produce small cars. The funding for the F-100 will now be utilized to further the EcoBoost technology that extends fuel economy. Rumors are going around that Ford is hoping that the fuel savings from EcoBoost will eliminate the need for a truck like the F-100.

It could still build the F-100 at one of its other truck plants if it later determines there is a need for the product. Ford has also taken steps to ensure that it can quickly change its mind if it decides it needs to bring the South African Ranger to the United States.

Though sales have collapsed in the face of rising fuel prices, Ford’s F-series remains the best-selling vehicles in the United States.

Toyota Motor Corp. said that pricing of the 2009 RAV4 crossover will start at $22,245, with a slightly larger four-cylinder engine that gets an extra 1 mpg each in city and highway driving.

Other than a $60 increase in shipping, Toyota said it will leave prices unchanged on all base RAV4 models.

On average, the entire RAV4 lineup will increase by about $350, which includes the shipping increase. It will arrive at Toyota dealerships early next month.

The base 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine will get 22 mpg city/28 mpg highway. The engine also produces 13 more hp than the 2008 model’s 2.4-liter engine, Toyota says.

A 3.5-liter V-6 also will be available, but the EPA-estimated 19 mpg city/27 mpg highway for that engine is no improvement from the 2008 RAV4.

Ford Motor Co. said the 2009 Ford Edge crossover will go on sale this fall with a blind-spot mirror that will be standard for the upcoming model year–a year earlier than planned.

The mirror has an added convex spotter mirror in the corner of the side-view mirror, which is designed to give a better view of the driver’s blind spot.

The decision to bring the mirror to market earlier may have been in an effort to put the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse crossover in its rear view. The Traverse will have a similar blind-spot mirror as standard in the higher-level LT and LTZ models.

Production of the 2009 Traverse is scheduled to begin in September.

“The blind-spot mirror is the latest example of our strategy to move fast and to be industry leaders in enhancing the ownership experience,” Ford’s product chief Derrick Kuzak said in a statement.

Ford said it tested the mirror with focus groups and found that three-fourths of participants reported that it “improved their confidence while driving.”

Similar mirrors are available in the aftermarket, but Ford said its mirror trumps those offerings because it is designed for its vehicles.

Ford said it will offer the mirror as standard in several future Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles.

Infiniti is adding a convertible to its G series lineup and will unveil it in November at the Los Angeles auto show.

For those who can’t wait that long, Infiniti is doing a photo reveal on Aug. 16 at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Here’s what we know: It will be called the G37 convertible, it will have a retractable, three-piece hardtop and powertrain configurations will be in line with the rest of the G lineup.

Pebble Beach attendees also will get a look at the G37 sedan and coupe, which get moderate updates for the 2009 model year.

The sedan, formerly called the G35, gets a 3.7-liter, V6 powerplant rated at 328 hp. It can be paired with a new seven-speed automatic or a six-speed manual gearbox. Other updates include sport brakes, a new 18-inch wheel design and scratch-resistant paint.

The coupe gets an all-wheel-drive model, the G37x, and the new seven-speed automatic. It has the potent V6, and the coupe’s powerplant is rated at 330 hp.

Expect pricing to be announced in the next month or so for the coupe and sedan; more details on the convertible will appear closer to the L.A. show.

Electric cars from Mitsubishi are getting a test run in the United States.

The automaker has signed a deal with two California utility companies to begin testing the i MiEV, an electric car based on the “i” mini cars Mitsubishi sells in Japan. Tests will start late this year.

The i MiEV uses a 330-volt lithium-ion battery pack to power a 47-kilowatt electric motor. That powertrain promises zero emissions and a range of 80 miles or more on a single charge.

The four-passenger electric car has been tested during the past two years by seven utilities in Japan. It is to go on sale to consumers there next summer. Mitsubishi expects about 1,000 units to be sold in the first year.

The California utilities, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric Co., will test the car’s drivetrain, durability and usage on the power grid.

It is unclear whether or when the i MiEV will go on sale in the United States, but a Mitsubishi spokesman said the testing will have a large impact on future plans.

“It’s going to depend a great deal on what we see here,” the spokesman said.

Mitsubishi showed an i MiEV sport concept at the New York auto show in March, where it first discussed testing plans.

The 2009 BMW 7-series is a welcome sight. While not an entirely handsome design–the large, pedestrian-friendly front end, with its jumbo kidney grille, can look bulbous from some angles, and the taillights are downright ungainly–the new 7-series retires the overwrought design of the car and is much easier on the eyes overall.

Powering the ‘09 model is a tuned version of the 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 in the X6, turning out a maximum 402 hp, 42 more horses than produced by the 4.8-liter V8 in the ‘08 750i. Its 442 lb-ft of torque eclipses that available in the 4.8-liter by a whopping 82 lb-ft. All told, BMW says the new engine will propel the car to 62 mph from a standstill in 5.2 seconds.

The car also sports a standard Dynamic Driving Control function that allows for various levels of stability-control intervention and shock settings, from the softest comfort mode to a more aggressively damped and tail-wagging sport-plus setting.

There’s also an optional rear-wheel steering system, called Integral Active Steering, which aids in both low-speed maneuvers and high-speed cornering. At parking-lot speeds, the rear wheels turn up to three degrees in the opposite direction from the front wheels, which BMW claims shaves 28 inches from the car’s turning radius. At higher speeds, however, the rear wheels turn in the same direction as the fronts, making the car more responsive on curvy roads.

Perhaps the most exciting development is that BMW totally revamped its much-maligned iDrive system, throwing out everything familiar to the system but the jog wheel. Menus now flow intuitively from one to another, allowing for quick and easy access to stereo and navigation controls, while redundant shortcut buttons sit around the main controller wheel–including a much-needed back button.

Information is displayed on a large, 10.2-inch screen sitting at the top of the center stack, near eye level, and climate controls have been moved out of iDrive completely and are housed in a separate area on the center stack.

Look for the ‘09 750i and 750iL to begin rolling into showrooms early next year, with stickers starting in the mid-$80,000s range.

Volkswagen has resurrected plans for an affordable, mid-engine coupe and roadster tandem as part of an image-building campaign aimed at highlighting the company’s design and engineering prowess.

VW chairman Martin Winterkorn is planning to unveil a concept version of the lightweight two-seater at the Los Angeles show in November. If public opinion is positive, the new car could be in showrooms by 2011. It’s been styled under Walter de’ Silva and borrows from VW’s vast parts bin to keep development costs low.

“We are working on a mid-engined concept for the Los Angeles motor show,” a source revealed to AutoWeek at VW’s Wolfsburg headquarters. “It is the fifth time in as many years that we have created such a car, but this time, more than any other, the signs are looking good that we will get a production green light.”

The new roadster is described as a cut-rate Lotus Elise, designed to be stylish and lightweight while offering genuine sporty performance in combination with class-leading fuel economy. Among the four-cylinders said to be under consideration for the new car is a 170-hp, 1.4-liter Twincharger TSI gasoline engine and a new 125-hp, 1.6-liter TDI common-rail diesel powerplant, both transferring drive through a seven-speed, double-shift gearbox.

This hints at a sub-2,200-pound car serving up Golf GTI levels of acceleration–0 to 62 mph in 6.9 seconds–and the sort of economy offered by the Polo 1.4 TDI BlueMotion.

Unlike its hot hatch and frugal super-mini siblings, the new coupe and roadster are based on a mid-engine layout with rear-wheel drive. To keep weight down and performance strong, VW is said to have tapped Audi for expertise in aluminum-spaceframe construction.

This link is driving rumors of a possible Audi version of the new coupe and roadster, a so-called R4. This car, which has been rumored for almost two years despite official denials out of Ingolstadt, is described as a cut-priced R8 and likely would run more powerful four-cylinder engines than the VW derivative, with Audi’s new EA888-based 211-hp, 2.0-liter TFSI gasoline engine and an upcoming 204-hp, twin-turbocharged 2.0-liter TDI common-rail diesel highly likely.

In another development, VW majority shareholder Porsche is said to have shown interest in the new project, opening the way for a possible resurrection of the 914.

VW first hinted at plans for a mid-engine coupe and roadster with the Peter Schreyer-designed Concept R back at the Frankfurt motor show in 2003. It was followed up by the spartan Eco Racer (an R&D exercise rather than a full-fledged design concept) wheeled out at the Tokyo show in 2005.

Two other concepts have been created but were never revealed to the public, according to AutoWeek sources, who suggest that the production version of the car to be shown at the Los Angeles show could be assembled in Germany by longtime VW partner Karmann.