Autoblog UK

If you're looking for an unusual Christmas decoration, Porsche Gelderland in the small Dutch town of Heteren could provide you with some inspiration. The local dealership has had a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S completely coated in chocolate. Master chocolatier Jan Blancken melted 175 kilos of the stuff and used it to covert the bodywork of the Porsche. For good measure, he spread a few kilos of white chocolate onto the headlights. The photo gallery shows each stage of the creation of this masterpiece which is set to decorate the showroom in the run-up to Christmas. The Porsche has 385 horsepower tucked away under its sweet bonnet. The technical specification of the brown racer will now presumably have to be supplemented with its calorie count.

Since 2004, Zenvo Automotive based in the small Danish town of Viby have been developing an incredible supercar. The Zenvo ST1 can compete effortlessly with the big names such as the Bugatti Veyron, Maserati MC12 and Pagani Zonda. There aren't many vehicles with an output of over 1,000 horsepower but you can now add the 1,104bhp Zenvo ST1 to the list. A 7.0-litre V8, turbocharged and supercharged engine sees service in the Zenvo ST1 to produce a staggering amount of grunt. Around 1,430nm of torque haul the rear-wheel drive car from 0 to 100km/h (0-62mph) in a breathtaking 3.2 seconds.

Since 2004, a string of muscle cars from the sixties and seventies have been making a comeback. Mustangs, Challengers and Camaros can again be found in places other than America. Iconic names bristling with new technology sell well. All that's actually still missing is a retro version of the Firebird, Pontiac's last great cult car.

In 2009, General Motors announced Pontiac's demise due to the worldwide economic crisis. Unfortunately for fans, there won't be a successor to the Firebird. But in the USA, there's one customizer itching to turn dreams into reality. For many years, drag racer John Lingenfelter has belonged to the cream of the US tuning scene. At the SEMA show in Las Vegas, the Indiana-based tuner displayed a Pontiac 455 T/A built on Chevrolet Camaro underpinnings. Lingenfelter intends to gauge the public's response before finally deciding whether to put the Firebird into production. One thing in favour of this relaunch must surely be the performance of the V8 engine under the shaker scoop that should put out 655bhp.

Organisers of the Los Angeles Auto Show invited design studios based in Southern California to set out their vision for Mobile Teens in 2030 (Youthmobile 2030). Studies were drawn up by design studios at General Motors, Audi, Honda, Nissan, Mazda and Toyota. 2009 is the sixth year that this Design Challenge has been held. The winner will be announced on Press Day at the Los Angeles Auto Show, 2nd and 3rd December 2009.

Car Hero by General Motors can drive itself and is steered by mobile phone (that's if they are still around in 2030). Audi designers submitted two very bold design studies, the eSpira and the eOra, that are guided to their destination by hand movements (not a good idea for those of us who are not at our best in the mornings but nevertheless need to get to work). Nissan's V2G is an eco-friendly electrically powered car. This e-car has an aerodynamic egg shape and six wheels. In Mazda's Souga, the car's two occupants sit diagonally behind one another. According to its designers, buyers of the Souga will configure the car to suit their needs. Both Nissan and Toyota designers believe that, in 2030, vehicles travelling in the rush hour will often be joined together in groups of two or more. The Toyota's appearance can be digitally altered and tyre friction converted back into energy.

Formula One continues to make the headlines. Mercedes are taking over a majority holding in championship-winning Brawn GP and will be lining up on the 2010 grid under their own name. In a telephone conference today (Monday 16th November), Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche announced that Mercedes will have their own team from the start of the 2010 season. It will contest next year's Formula One championship under the soubriquet of Mercedes Grand Prix. The Stuttgart-based automotive giant are taking a 75.1% share in the team that Ross Brawn rescued in a management buyout in March of this year following Honda's decision to quit the sport. Mercedes will be purchasing 45.1 percent themselves and a further 30 percent indirectly via Daimler shareholder Aabar. At the same time, former F1 partners McLaren will be buying back Mercedes' 40% holding over the next two years but still continue to use them as a supplier of engines.

Iconic tuning brand Gordini is set to return. French manufacturer Renault announced in Paris that the Gordini name will be reintroduced for a new series of high-powered small cars. Renault Sport is to develop these models. First car in the new Gordini line-up will be a converted 133bhp Twingo Sport. Model launch is scheduled for late November and sales will commence in spring 2010. A second 201bhp Gordini-badged car will be unveiled in 2010, based on the Clio RS.

The current wave of nostalgia should increase sales for the French marque. The Gordini name has been synonymous with fast cars from France since the Thirties. Amedee Gordini, born 1899 in Italy, even built Formula One racing cars. Gordini's biggest success came in 1964 with the Renault R8, which secured four out of five top places on the Tour de Corse rally.

Apart from souped-up cars, the SEMA Show in Las Vegas has, of course, the hottest girls of any motor show in the world. Some of the girls' body bits are far superior to any of the cars. This is Part 2 of Motor Show Girls in Las Vegas...

Two cars shared this year's eco prize – the Toyota Prius and the VW Blue Motion. Toyota's most fuel efficient hybrid car and Volkswagen's world-beating fuel economy car took the honours for this award, which has been in existence for only three years. The two winners beat the other finalists, the Ford Mondeo LPG, the Mercedes-Benz S400 hybrid and the Smart Car2Go, to the prize.

Advertising should attract attention but you can go too far. In a new advert on TV, Volkswagen shows a man who kills himself simply because he didn't get to own the new Scirocco.

The main character in the British Volkswagen commercial has lost everything. At the casino, he put his money on black and red came up. He moved into gold just as the clever money moved out, and now he's ruined both financially and mentally. He decides to end his miserable life.

That's a summary of the storyline of a new VW Scirocco commercial broadcast on the famous British motoring magazine show Top Gear. The message is clear: if only the man had waited for the launch of the new Scirocco, things would have gone better and he wouldn't have topped himself. To quote from their ad: "Life is not so bad!" The producers of the commercial think that their work is plain and straightforward. Tasteless and provocative, say many British viewers about the depiction of suicide on screen. Find out for yourself. Take a look at the new Scirocco TV clip. Should something like this be broadcast? Top Gear presenter and humorist Jeremy Clarkson seems to think so...

At the SEMA Show (Specialty Equipment Market Association) from 3rd - 6th November, the focus was on gas guzzlers – muscle cars, hot-rods, souped-up compact cars, mainly Japanese, and refined luxury European motors. But of course, there were also other highlights, sporting high heels. Here is Part One of Girls in Las Vegas...