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UK specialty car manufacturer Trident Performance Vehicles says it is all but ready to begin selling its new diesel supercar, the Iceni. According to company officials, the Iceni can reach 60 miles-per-hour in less than four seconds and crest 200 mph. Further, through the use of torque multiplication, the company is claiming that the car has achieved 68.9 miles-per-gallon at a steady 70 mph during a test at the Millbrook Proving Ground. All-in, the company suggests that the composite-bodied, stainless-steel chassis’d grand-tourer will have a bladder-busting range of 2000 miles. Needless to say, we will believe all of this when we see it.

It’s a tale laced with lies, sabotage, and a few dozen #10 envelopes.

Issue 37 of Winding Road Magazine is now live on the web. Here is a small glimpse of what you can find inside our latest issue.

- A Guide to Small Cars, 2008-2012
- Seven Great Global Pocket Rockets
- Reviewed: 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
- Reviewed: 2009 Alfa Romeo MiTo
- Reviewed: 2009 Mazda6
- Modern Classic: 1992 Mazda Miata

Click here to read the latest issue of Winding Road.

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—Ann Arbor, Michigan

Even though the original Fit debuted in 2001, we Americans were deprived of the little Honda that could until it finally arrived Stateside in 2006. After years of successful sales in Japan and Europe (where it sold as the Jazz) the folks at Honda decided to see how the diminutive hatchback would do in the bigger-is-better United States auto market. At that time, a gallon of regular unleaded still cost less than three dollars and consumers were lined up for miles waiting for new crossovers and sport-utilities to hit dealer lots. Not even Honda had anticipated that the Fit would sell roughly 80,000 units each year in America.

If this revamped Fit is to continue as the class-leader in a segment that is more important than ever, it must not only trump the outgoing model, it will need to have quality and refinement standards that one-up other small car offerings.

(Click through the post to read the full review.)

Chinese automaker Brilliance has officially announced that it will show cars at next year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The company says that it would like to start selling cars in the United States sometime in 2009, however, their cars have not yet passed the U.S. government's tests for emissions and safety regulations. Reportedly, company vice president He Guohua said that Brilliance has hired the engineering help of Porsche AG to work on crash test safety, and FEV Inc., a Stateside engine technology company, to reduce emissions.

According to Automotive News, a spokesperson from Brilliance says that the automaker will be showing four models at next year's Detroit show: the FRV hatchback, BC3 coupe (pictured above), BS4 compact car, and BS6 mid-sized sedan.

We like the idea of more Chinese automakers showing their products Stateside, and only time will tell if Brilliance's hopes to sell cars in the U.S. will play out. We'll be sure to give you the full scoop on Brilliance's auto show display this January.

+ Automotive News: China’s Brilliance to show cars at Detroit show

With both the Woodward Dream Cruise and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance festivities having taken place this past weekend, we want to know: What is your favorite type of classic car event? Is it historic racing, a particular concours event, a swap meet, or just a cruise-in at your local ice cream shop? Recount your favorites in ‘Comments.’

The latest metric illustrating how hot small cars are in America? 35. That’s the number of days that the analysts at J.D. Power say that “compact basic” models are sitting on dealer lots, and it’s the shortest turnover of any of firm’s 27 vehicle segments.

According to the Power Information Network’s June-July 2008 findings, compact cars are, on average, leaving showrooms about two weeks faster than compact and midsize crossover vehicles. For comparison’s sake, leading compact crossovers like the Honda CR-V sat on lots for 52 days, and the Ford Edge, 58 days. Nameplate-wide, the segment averaged 60 days.

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Could this be the long-rumoured Boxster RS, or is it just an appearance package? That’s the question our spy photographer posed to us after following this black beauty track its way around the Nurburgring this week. If his lens does not deceive us, we’re leaning toward RS status.

In these photos you can see a large, fixed rear wing as opposed to the Boxster’s standard retractable unit. To keep weight down, polycarbonate windows are used in place of glass. Visually, there’s evidence of revised lights in front and rear as well as new bumpers.

Tesla plans on launching all-electric city cars in 2010 in collaboration with several manufacturers, reports the UK’s Car Online. The experience and know-how Tesla gathered from the development of its Roadster (seen above) is playing out well in its mission to become more than just an independent car company—in fact, it appears Tesla will become something more like a Tier 1 supplier as well as a manufacturer.

We’ve heard of manufacturers offering some pretty hefty discounts during the end of a vehicle’s model year, but this just seems ridiculous. Dodge is offering some pretty serious savings for the 2008 Ram and Durango in hopes that this will move some extra vehicles off of dealer lots, but in a market where $4.00 gasoline is the deciding factor for a lot of consumer’s choices, pickups and SUVs are no longer of highest priority.

Dodge is advertising savings of up to 40 percent off the base MSRP of the Ram 1500 pickup, which translates to just over $9000 from the base Ram’s sticker price. Additionally, the Durango can be had with a 28 percent discount, or almost $7900 in savings. Combined with other, lesser discounts on other Dodge vehicles, we’re wondering how long it will take before we start seeing advertisements that read, “Buy a Ram, Get a Free Caliber!”

What do you think? Is a 40 or 28 percent discount enough incentive to head to your local Dodge dealership and pick up one of these vehicles? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.