Hit play for an audio recording of a mystery car’s exhaust note, and then share your guesses or get a few hints from other visitors in the comments below. Be sure to check back on Thursday for the answer!

Earlier this year, we reported that Nissan was going to actually, for real, no joke build and sell a limited number of Juke-Rs modeled after the wild pair of concept cars it created last year. Well, a few months have passed since we last heard anything about the all-wheel-drive, GT-R–powered monster Juke—we drove one in the meantime—but Nissan has announced that it has built customer car #001 and that the completed beast is on its way to its buyer. READ MORE ››

According to Google Maps, Detroit is just less than 615 miles from New York. It’s a pretty familiar drive to a number of our staffers, and generally it takes us about two tanks of gas to get there. But if we were to make that trip in the 2013 Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid, we’d get there in one—just barely—thanks to it’s EPA-rated range of 620 miles. Initially, Ford guesstimated a 550-mile range for its new plug-in hybrid, which was still 10 miles more than the Prius plug-in hybrid. But with the plug-in C-Max’s range being upped by 70 miles, it now betters Toyota’s plug-in Prius by 80 and the Chevy Volt by a massive 240 miles. READ MORE ››

In the 20 years or so that minivans were the preferred transportation device for many families, General Motors never produced one that was worth a hoot. A good chunk of the company’s lost market share during those bad old days came from this failure to deliver what the market wanted. Fortunately for GM, current shoppers looking for roomy family transport are gravitating to large, carlike SUVs.  READ MORE ››

Volkswagen is a brand with a vast spread to its lineup—from simple mobility (represented by the tiny, European-market Up, as well as the ancient, Chinese-market Jetta II and Santana/Quantum) all the way up to the luxurious Phaeton and Touareg. But a new segment has been emerging below even VW’s cheapest offerings: Cars such as the Tata Nano—which has aspirations to come Stateside—and the Dacia Logan provide basic mobility for far less money than even the most meager of Volkswagens. (As will the revived Datsun brand.) What’s more, VW has taken its formerly bargain-basement brands Škoda and SEAT upmarket so successfully that they cannot compete in the low-cost segment anymore without damaging their reputations. It’s no wonder, then, that VW is strongly considering creating another truly low-cost brand. READ MORE ››

Observers still are largely clueless as to what GM actually tried to achieve when it bought its share in French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroën. The ailing French company desperately needed a cash infusion, but what’s in it for GM is less clear. One theory is that having PSA’s engineering capabilities would make it easier to unload GM’s German subsidiary Opel, together with its R&D facilites. But this presupposes that outside investors actually are interested in Opel. Fiat isn’t interested anymore and neither is Magna, the Austro-Canadian supplier juggernaut. The theory that’s making the rounds at the moment, however—first reported by Reuters—is that Opel and Peugeot/Citroën actually might be merged. READ MORE ››

The new Lincoln MKZ sedan has received official EPA fuel-economy ratings, and much like the car, they too are Ford Fusion–based. At pole position, the MKZ hybrid is rated at 45 city mpg and 45 on the highway. Two mpg were shaved off each cycle from the Fusion hybrid‘s scores, perhaps because refinement-oriented materials in the Lincoln add some weight. Even still, the MKZ’s score is enough to top its closest competitor, the Lexus ES300h, which is rated at 40/39. READ MORE ››

No, you can’t have one—not for a while. The seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf will reach European dealers next month in a total of 32 markets where they drive on the right (i.e. correct) side of the road. British-type places where they don’t will get the car next year. But in the unfortunate U.S., the car won’t be here until mid-2014, likely as an early 2015 model. (The same timeline holds for the next-gen GTI, by the way.) READ MORE››