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Over here in North America, we never get our hands on an Opel, at least not directly. The Opel GT Roadster has a strong relationship with the hugely popular Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky, though, so I won't be all that astonished if they translate the recently unveiled Opel Gran Turismo Coupe (GTC) into a North America-friendly model some time in the future. In the meantime, you can waltz on over to the Geneva Motor Show this week to check out the hot new concept destined for the European market.

Gas prices are rising. The environment is deteriorating. People are begging for vehicles that are not only more fuel efficient, but also ones that are a little nicer to poor ol' Mother Earth. Toyota has been at the forefront of hybrids for the past while, most notably with the Synergy Drive found in the Prius, but just about every other carmaker wants in on the hybrid action too. Honda has hybrids. BMW is working on one. Get ready to add one more name to that list, and it's not the one that most people would expect: Porsche.

Or so a recent report from Autoblog seems to suggest.

Whether the truck had a one-star or five-star crash test rating, it fared nearly identical in terms of fatality rates for some pretty nasty crashes. That's not to say that trucks and SUVs are necessarily safer than cars, though; it just means that most of the 4 x 4s on the road are equally safe when it comes to whether a collision will be a fatal one. Does this mean that crash-test ratings are completely meaningless?

Just as several people have made the leap from a Windows-based PC to one from Apple running Mac OS X, we may be the cusp of a grand migration come June when the Apple iPhone hits the American market. It's still a good four months away and plenty of folk are getting a little antsy, lusting over all those cool features and the ultra slick interface. It's not quite a full-fledged iPhone, but "tzywen" has managed to skin his Windows Mobile-based Eten M600 smartphone with an interface that is nearly identical to that of the iPhone. He's even got that clownfish screensaver thing going on.

It seems that the Chrysler Group is the center of attention in the automotive world these days. We still haven't confirmed for certain whether General Motors is going to buy the "C" part of DCX, but here's a number that is just as juicy. Better still, today's news is not just a rumor: it's coming straight from the horse's mouth. Turns out that the Chrysler Group has signed an agreement with Chery Automobile of China that will see Chery build a number of compact cars that will be shipped to Western Europe and North America under the Chrysler banner. What's more, these cars will not have any Chery labeling on them whatsoever: they will all be badged as Chrysler vehicles

And it might be one of the most fuel efficient too.

I don't know about you, but I don't need a big honking SUV for my day-to-day errands. I don't need loads of power or torque, nor do I need a whole lot of cargo space to haul around my laptop and MP3 player. I would appreciate some luxury items, of course, but so long as my basic needs are met, I'm reasonably happy with the vehicle I drive. Well, Mercedes has just unveiled the diesel Vision C220 Bluetec. Although it has a perfectly capable 170hp and an absolutely astounding 295 lbs-ft of torque, it is super stingy at the pump, getting 43 miles on the gallon.

We're still nearly four months away from the launch of the Apple iPhone, but I'm sure you've been bombarded with all sorts of stories, conjecture, opinion pieces, rumors, and so-called "hands-on sessions" with the upcoming must-have handset from Steve Jobs and the rest of the Cupertino crew. Believe me, this media bonanza is nowhere near its conclusion. In fact, it's only just begun. The Apple iPhone received its first television ad spot during tonight's broadcast of the Academy Awards on ABC.

On the one hand, you have the ultra economical hatchbacks on the market that sell you on their safety, fuel economy, and relative utility. Falling into that category would be cars like the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, and Chevrolet Aveo. On the other hand, you have cars that may be small in stature but want to bring a lot more performance to the table. The epitome of this latter philosophy is the Mini Cooper (particularly the "S" variant) from the German folks at BMW. Well, it seems that we're going to have ourselves a good old-fashioned Bavarian battle, because fellow German automaker Volkswagen is said to be working on a performance-oriented compact hatchback of their own and I'm not talking about the Rabbit. What sets this rumored vehicle apart is that it is not only rear-wheel-drive, but it also seems to have the engine in the back as well.

And it seems that I won't have to wait all that long if a report from Apple Insider is to be trusted. In fact, it could be ready as soon as January 2008. That's only about six months after the initial iPhone release, even shorter if you think about the European and Asian markets. Interestingly, this rumored iPhone with 3G is said to be heading to a Swedish wireless carriers. Not Cingular.

There's no denying that I'm a Honda fanboy, especially when it comes to their more performance-oriented vehicles. My brother drove a 1991 Acura Integra, I have a 2000 Integra, my girlfriend's brother drives an Acura TSX, and my girlfriend recently purchased a Honda Fit. That's why we were all somewhat disappointed when the big H went out and unveiled the Advanced Sports Car Concept earlier this year. It was supposed to give us a glimpse into what the 2008 NSX successor would look like and while it was nice and all, it wasn't as breathtaking as we would have hoped. Apparently we are not alone in this sentiment

Remember how we heard that General Motors may be in the process of purchasing the Chrysler Group from DaimlerChrysler for $13 billion? According to Merrill Lynch analyst John Murphy, this could be thought of as a "defensive maneuver". You see, GM may still be the top automaker in the world in terms of sheer volume, but Toyota is quickly creeping up on those numbers. By buying Chrysler, GM is essentially buying their market share, adding it to their own, and setting themselves up to have a very significant lead on Toyota. But you've got to wonder, is this the right move?

It seems that the Apple iPhone has caused just as much bad press as it has good. Everyone is drooling over its super pretty interface and unique multi-touch display technology, but wait.... that's not unique at all! Apple Insider is reporting that Steve Jobs and the rest of the crew in Cupertino could be up for yet another lawsuit surrounding the iPhone because Quantum Research says that they own the patent to that particular touchscreen.

They're not quite ready to unleash the next-generation Audi TT on us, so in the meantime, the German automaker has gone ahead and revealed an all-new model upon us, the Audi A5 coupe. For all intents and purposes, the luxurious 2-door sports car is targeting the same market as the much more well-established BMW 3-Series coupe, whereas some may say that the much sportier S5 is probably a better competitor with its upgraded engine and suspension. The car that I'd be more interested in -- if I could afford it -- would be the RS5. Audi, where's that?

Interested in having a huge piece of the automotive pie? All you have to do is fork out a cool $13 billion, it seems, and the Chrysler Group is yours. According to the Times of the UK, JP Morgan of the United States is "making final preparations before starting an auction of the Chrysler Group on behalf of DaimlerChrysler."

Let's see here. It started with just plain vanilla VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control), or Honda's supposedly special breed of variable valve timing that would provide you with enough torque down-low, while upping the top horsepower when you hit the higher end of the RPM band. Honda fanboys have always enjoyed the thrill of the crossover, wherein the more aggressive lobes kick in and you get an extra jump of power. Then VTEC went to college, got a little more educated, and emerged out the other end as i-VTEC or "intelligent" VTEC.

Seems like the Daimler (i.e., Mercedes) side of the DaimlerChrysler conglomerate is doing a lot better than the other half of the partnership, because there is word floating about that Chrysler is available for sale, and General Motors is seriously interested in buying. Largely conjecture at this point, but this news comes from the well-respected Automotive News trade publication (via Leftlane News).

The market is about to be bombarded with a never-ending supply of Apple iPhone clones and knockoffs, and while LG is adamant that Apple copied them and not the other way around, the Korean manufacturer is already gearing up a successor the iPhone-esque Prada phone. As you recall, the LG Prada features a similar full touchscreen face as the iPhone, as well as a svelte looking casing and very few buttons. The upgraded Prada phone is expected to hit Korean shores as early as April, and it'll come with a few extra toys and niceties that will certainly make it an appealing number to consider.

What do you get when you cross the world's biggest cell phone maker with the world's largest social video sharing site? It seems we're getting the answer to that age old question because Nokia has forged a relationship with YouTube that will see all those user-created movies plunked on over to your mobile phone. No more being tied to your laptop to see the latest movie trailer, lonelygirl15 vlog, or cool stop-motion music video.

According to Leftlane News, Mazda is set to unveil another entry-level vehicle at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. The Mazda2, as you can probably guess, will be placed below the Mazda3 in the carmaker's lineup, giving consumers yet another budget-minded transportation solution. Looking at it, the Mazda2 looks much like the Mazda3 Sport in that both are five door hatchbacks that border on station wagon-like styling. At least, that's the impression that I'm getting.

I know for a fact that Motorola was not the first manufacturer to produce a skinny cell phone. Years and years ago, there as the Sanyo SCP-6000, more affectionately known as Mr. Skinny because of its ridiculously slim profile. This was well before the appearance of the Motorola RAZR. My, how times have changed. Now, just about every phone in Motorola's lineup is a skinny concoction that otherwise doesn't bring anything particularly special to the picture. At the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Motorola unleashed a few more slim wonders. Most notably, they have the MOTORIZR Z8.