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Unbeknownst to us, observers of Holden, General Motors' Australian subsidiary that has helped The General make some of its finest product, have wondered if the austral brand's identity would get swallowed up in the push to create a cohesive, global Chevrolet. Three products headed to the antipodes have aroused the question: although the Colorado pickup (pictured in Holden concept form) and SUV wear Holden badges, both have the Chevrolet twin-bar grille, and the Holden Volt has the twin-bar grille and a mashup of the Holden and Chevy logos.

The brand's CEO, Mike Devereaux, gave quizzical explanations for the styling choices, saying of the Colorado that "having one huge front grille on a truck this big, I am not sure it works," and that a new Volt grille wouldn't be cost effective. However, the Colorado certainly wouldn't be the first truck to feature a huge, unbroken grille, and the addition of the Chevrolet Bowtie surround to the Holden badge on the Volt cannot be a matter of cost.

Nevertheless, Devereaux did assure anyone concerned that Holden will remain proudly Holden. He wouldn't specify how, but alluded to "smart ways" of figuring out, from a design standpoint, how "to have an efficient way of giving us what we need from a Holden." That could mean new front and rear clips for Holden vehicles, or something else entirely. Even now, it's not all Chevy: the Holden Trax and Malibu will have bespoke Holden faces.

The Datsun 510 will always hold a special place in enthusiast's hearts. The anonymous little coupes and sedans quickly established themselves as willing performers on the nation's race tracks in the early '70s. But while the goons at BRE were busy embarrassing other manufacturers in the Trans Am Challenge, scads of 510 Wagons contented themselves with family hauler duty. These days, the unloved wagons are easily outpaced by their two- and four-door compatriots at car shows, but the guys at Depth of Speed managed to find one very well-executed long roof 510 to hang out with for an afternoon.

Unlike most tin top examples, this particular model came with a port-installed vinyl roof. The owner saw the ratted vinyl as an excuse to install a Volkswagen-style canvas sunroof and went to town. Years of tinkering later, the wagon now rides on a lowered stance with some sharp wheels. The machine isn't perfect by any stretch – the paint doesn't exactly match and there are dents and dings – but this one gets driven on its original engine. And that's good enough for us.

Oh, there's also a bonus Toyota Hilux, too. Check it out below.

The numbers are in, and they're looking good. According to the EPA, the Tesla Model S gets a miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) rating of 89 (combined), 88 (city) and 90 (highway). MPGe is defined as the distance a vehicle would travel on the energy contained in one gallon of gasoline, though of course the Model S runs on electrons, not gas.

To compare, other pure electric cars on the market include the Honda Fit at 118 combined MPGe, the Mitsubishi i with 112 MPGe, the Ford Focus Electric with 105 MPGe and the Nissan Leaf with "just" 99 MPGe. Even at the bottom of this particular list, these are impressive numbers for the Model S, meaning it makes efficient use of the energy available in its battery.

Tesla says the range has been declared to be 265 miles using the EPA's five-cycle testing procedure, which makes it the long-range mileage champ of the production electric car world. Using the EPA's older two-cycle testing protocol, the Model S would score more than 300 miles per charge – significantly greater than the 244 miles managed by the older Tesla Roadster. Still, that range figure only applies to the top-of-the-line version with the 85-kWh battery that starts at $69,900. There will be Model S sedans available with considerably less range and a smaller price tag, as well as a Performance model starting at $84,900.

We're on the lookout for more information from Tesla, and we expect it'll come before the first deliveries take place this Friday at the company's Fremont factory in California.

Audi of America has announced that Scott Keogh will take over as the company's President effective immediately. Keogh has spent the last six years serving as Chief Marketing Officer at Audi of America, so he's certainly familiar with the ins and outs of the brand and its positioning in the U.S.

Keogh takes over the position left by former Audi U.S. President Johan De Nysschen, who vacated his post to take the title of Senior Vice President of Nissan Motor Company in charge of the Infiniti division.

Considering that Audi has posted 17 consecutive months of record sales, Keogh will be under some pressure to continue the brand's U.S. marketplace success. The U.S. unit posted 117,561 sales in 2011, but parent company Volkswagen AG has an oft stated goal of Audi selling 200,000 vehicles a year by 2018.

Perhaps the biggest challenge ahead for Keogh will be reaching that goal while Audi begins building vehicles in North America for the first time. The German luxe brand is charting a plan to build the Q5 SUV locally to mitigate the pricing disadvantage it has with U.S. dollar-Euro conversion rates. Having local production will pressure Audi to sell in greater volumes than it ever has before.

Eyes will be on who Keogh taps to be his chief marketing officer. That job will be tough for anyone since Keogh has such strong positions and opinions himself on marketing. A former Mercedes-Benz and Smart communications and marketing executive, Keogh has made a name for himself in part by tweaking the more established German brands Mercedes-Benz and BMW, including in Super Bowl advertising.

Says Rupert Stadler, Audi AG Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: "Gains in the U.S. are truly a strategic pillar for the brand and we are confident that the leadership provided by Scott Keogh will continue the momentum at Audi of America."

with David Kiley

Feel free to read through the official press release below.

Back in the late 1970s, several Formula One teams were experimenting with six-wheeled F1 cars. The idea was to reduce drag and increase downforce while improving traction – they did, after all, manage to increase the contact surface of rubber to road while decreasing the height of the individual wheels. They showed considerable promise, but as with many developments in F1, they were quickly banned.

Tyrrell, March and Williams all toyed with the formula, and the results varied. But not since they raced have they all been in one place at the same time. And now they will as the organizers of the Goodwood Festival of Speed are bringing them together for this year's drive up the hill.

Spectators will be able to see the the Tyrrell P34 (pictured above), the Williams FW08B and the March 2-4-0. While the former two have been at Goodwood in previous years, this will mark the first time that the March will be there for the event – fitting since Goodwood is the seat of the Earl of March, patron of the event. Check out the official announcement below.

Putting E15 (a mix of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline) on sale in the U.S. has been all but official since April, when the Environmental Protection Agency approved the first applications to make E15. Now, "all but official" has become official, with the EPA giving approval for retailers to start selling the biofuel. Just because stations can, though, doesn't mean that drivers will be able to get E15 right away. It will take time for the increased biofuel blend, made from corn ethanol, to make it to market, even though most gasoline sold at pumps across the U.S. today is E10.

Also unsurprisingly, there remain critics of the shift to making E15 available. The EPA, which doesn't require any fuel station to sell anything in particular, admits that E15 should only be used in model year 2001 and newer vehicles. In response to the sales approval, the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute released a statement calling E15 "dangerous" and that it might "destroy or damage generators, chain saws, utility vehicles, lawn mowers, boats and marine engines, snowmobiles, motorcycles, ATVs, and more." The EPA does not approve using E15 in these sorts of devices.

Read more on the E15 discussion here, here and here, and feel free to peruse the press release below.

The city where your car is most likely to be stolen is in California. In fact, the top three cities are in California, and of the top 10, six are in that state. So says a report by Forbes that compares the number of stolen cars per 100,000 population.

Using that ratio, Fresno, California, with 808 stolen cars per 100,000 people and a total of 7,621 stolen cars in 2011, ranks number one in the nation. In second place is Modesto; third is occupied by Bakersfield.

For fourth and fifth, we have to travel north to Spokane and Yakima Washington. The remaining cities are all in the Golden State except for Anderson, S.C. at number eight. With a population of about 27,000, Anderson (nickname: The Friendliest City in South Carolina) had 911 cars stolen in 2011, giving it a score of 483.32.

See the full list of cities below.

Subaru and Scion dealers are having no trouble finding homes for BRZ and FR-S models. The sport coupes are ranked one and two on the list of cars that spend the fewest days on dealer lots. According to Edmunds, the BRZ takes just four days to turn, followed by the FR-S at five days. On average, it takes dealers 53 days to move new models. Both machines are surrounded by a halo of buzz and plenty of pent-up demand. Subaru began selling the BRZ in the U.S. at the end of April, while Scion gave the first 86 FR-S buyers the chance to come to California for a little track time in their new purchases.

Then there's the issue of low supply. Toyota will only sell 10,000 Scion FR-S units in the U.S. this year while Subaru will only offer buyers 6,000 BRZ coupes. That number will increase in 2013, but that's a long time from now. According to The New York Times, in Japan, the initial interest in the BRZ was a full four times higher than Subaru anticipated.

Why are the production numbers so low while demand seems so high? Subaru based its production predictions on WRX sales, and estimated a rear-wheel-drive model would see lower interest. Turns out, at least initially, Subaru was a bit too conservative.

We didn't even know there was a Computer History Museum, but that didn't stop the Mountain View, California institution from inducting Ford's SYNC infotainment system into its permanent collection. The seven-year-old in-car technology, first made available as an option on the 2008 Ford Focus for $395, has since found more than four million takers and is expected to add five million more over the next three years as it gets offered worldwide.

The museum officially added the first-generation SYNC module, which is little more than a green, circuit- and module-laden board, but we'd expect there to be a touchscreen console for visitors to actually discover what it can do. Scroll down for a presser on the accolade and a video illustriously titled, Ford SYNC: How It All Started.

Toyota is getting serious about building performance versions of its current models. The manufacturer hopes to turn Toyota Motorsport GmbH, the crew behind the Toyota Le Mans effort and the automaker's now defunct Formula One team, into a factory-backed tuner. TMG currently handles almost everything motorsport related for Toyota with the exception of engine building, and the group is currently hard at work on what could develop into a World Rally Championship entry in the near future.

TMG is shooting for a WRC debut in 2014 with a turbocharged 1.6-liter Yaris, and buyers will be able to purchase an FIA version of the model for around €25,000. According to Yoshiaki Kinoshita, president of TMG, the organization will also prepare high-performance versions of Lexus vehicles. That helps explain the Lexus LS460 TMG Edition our photographers spotted at the Nürburgring last year. When asked about the LS460, Kinoshita said every part of the vehicle had been substantially reworked by his team, including the engine, suspension and bodywork. The model could be confirmed for production in as little as six to nine months.

Well now, it looks as if we know what Hot Wheels has planned for its next big stunt. As you may remember, the toy company recently released a video suggesting it planned to take on another public stunt. The last time the company put on a spectacle, Tanner Foust set a world-record jump at the Indianapolis 500. This time around, two drivers will tackle a massive double loop. How massive? Try 60 feet in diameter. Unlike the loop that the Top Gear crew recently dominated, this ramp design puts two drivers side by side before funneling them together onto the same track.

Sounds hairy.

Drivers will take to their cockpits during the 2012 X Games in Los Angeles. Those of us who can't make it to the West Coast can watch the action on either ABC or ESPN on June 30th. The Hot Wheels Green and Yellow teams will hit the track at around 11:20. Check out the teaser video below.

Father's Day was this past weekend, and in case you're a dad who didn't get what he really wanted, Autoblog is holding a whole week's worth of giveaways to make up for it. You can of course enter to win even if you're not a dad (the childless and females are also eligible), but winning will be all the more sweeter if you spent your Sunday pretending to like that tie your kids got you.

Day 3/5: Win a Flow Wall System Garage and Hardware Storage Set!

The Prize: A Flow Wall System Garage and Hardware Storage Set valued at $499.99, because you're going to have clean the garage at some point; might as well do it right.

Provided by: Flow Wall System
URL: http://www.flowwall.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/FlowWallSystem
Twitter: twitter.com/FLOWWALL




The Rules:

• Click here to enter. Requires that you Like the Autoblog Facebook page. Five additional entries each are offered for choosing to Like the prize provider's, AOL Autos and AutoblogGreen Facebook pages.
• Contest is open to all residents of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec), 18 or older!
• The winner will be chosen randomly. One winner will win a Flow Wall System Garage and Hardware Storage Set valued at $499.99.
• If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
• The full list of rules can be found here.
• Entries can be submitted until June 21, 2012 at 2:59PM ET.

Despite an overall increase in overall quality of five percent, automakers are continuing to struggle with in-car technologies, says J.D. Power in its annual Initial Quality Study. Owners reports of problems with factory-installed hands-free communication devices has increased 137 percent since 2009, when such infotainment solutions were offered mostly in high-end models only.

But first, some good statistics: 26 out of 34 brands represented in the study posted improvements this year over their 2011 scores, with 65 percent of the 185 individual models boasting higher scores than last year. Even brand-new nameplates are performing well in 2012 – 11 all-new or redesigned models scored better than average, equaling a 12-percent improvement from 2011.

Coming in first place for 2012 is Lexus, the second year in a row Toyota's luxury brand has taken top honors. Second place is shared by Jaguar and Porsche, with the former leaping an impressive 18 positions over its 2011 score. Fourth and fifth are grabbed by Cadillac and Honda, respectively. Fourteen different brands earned accolades for individual models, "A positive indication of how widespread high quality is among automakers," says David Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power and Associates.

Ford, which was hit hard in 2011 due to problems with its MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch systems, came in at a lowly 28 out of 35. Bennie Fowler, Ford's group vice president of global quality, had said the automaker expected to "be about the same or slightly better" than last year's 23rd. Not quite... but it could be worse: Last place is shared by Fiat and Smart.

Continuing with the frequently heard technology gripes, Sargent says, "Automakers and suppliers are working hard to ... make the driving experience safer, more convenient and more entertaining. However, the most innovative technology in the world will quickly create dissatisfaction if owners can't get it to work."

We would add, though, that this study polls users after just 90 days with a new car. We wonder if the scores might improve once owners get more familiar with their in-car technology. In any case, feel free to peruse the press blast below, which includes graphs comparing each individual automaker.

Just as our Quarter Pounder is a European's royale with cheese, our Camaro Coupe is their Camaro Coupé – as in, "Coo-pay." As far as we can tell, there are two Continental affectations bestowed on Chevrolet's WTCC safety car, one being a set of LED taillights; otherwise it speaks a universal pony car language. The second is that the Euro Camaro gets the 6.2-liter LS3 V8 with 432 horsepower in six-speed manual trim, a six-hp bump over our version, and the 6.2-liter L99 V8 with Active Cylinder Management is detuned to 405 hp, fitted with the six-speed automatic.

If the press shots are anything to go by, though, the Camaro over there has a sharper image than its American cousin: among other tableau, it is posed with a woman with a boomerang, an angel with a whip, and El Mariachi. Those pics and more are in the gallery, you'll find more further details in the press release below.