We obsessively cover the auto industry…

It's only been two years since the Chevrolet Volt first when on sale, but Chevrolet is saying that owners of the car have driven a collective 100 million all-electric miles in this short period of time. Like any other alternatively powered car, owners are finding ways to maximize efficiency, and Chevrolet states that Volt owners are traveling under electric power more than 65 percent of the time leading to a savings in gasoline expenses to the tune of $1,370 per year.

In terms of gasoline, Volt owners are spending $1,370 less per year, but on the bigger scale, this represents a total savings of five million gallons of gas. With regular charges, Chevy says that the Volt can drive almost 900 miles on average before needing more gasoline, and one driver, Andrew Byrne of Los Angeles, said that he was able to drive 1,900 miles between fill-ups.

Scroll down for Chevy's press release.

At the 2012 LA Auto Show, Fiat brand chief and recently crowned marketing genius, Olivier François, attempted to distance the Fiat 500e from other electric vehicles, asking rhetorically, "Isn't ugliness the worst kind of pollution?" Nissan has apparently taken issue with these comments, feeling slighted for what it considers digs at the Leaf's styling. In a recent interview with Automotive News, Nissan's marketing chief Simon Sproule shot back, "Let's face it, Fiat has not shied away from controversial styling themselves," he continued, "many would describe many of their products as visual pollution." Ouch.

Sproule says that while the 500e is a "me-too" product, made only to appease US emissions regulations, the Leaf is a serious effort at producing an EV. The Nissan marketing boss points out that the Japanese automaker has invested billions in EV development and production facilities, while Fiat will lose $10,000 on every 500e sold.

However sales of the Leaf in the US are down five percent. Nissan sold just 8,330 Leaf's so far this year, but Sproule contends that it has less to do with styling, and more with the charging infrastructure. Sproule also thinks that Nissan hit a balance between styling and practicality with the Leaf: "It's still very recognizable as a five-seat hatchback, fully functioning, absolutely competitive with the packaging of the Golf of any other mainstream vehicle." For a segment where efficiency is king, isn't that what matters most?

Volkswagen is run very differently than every other automaker. Actually, its corporate structure looks more like General Motors did from 1920 to 1970. In other words, VW now looks like the GM that was once the largest and most profitable corporation in the world.

VW is not in any danger of having other automakers copying its corporate structure. Most are unaware of VW's modus operandi, and besides, by traditional business school metrics, VW looks like a productivity basket case.

Any efficiency expert would tell you that VW is too vertically integrated, has too much overlap and duplication, and has way too many brands. VW, meanwhile, keeps growing bigger, stronger and more profitable.

The give-away that Volkswagen Group is run differently from every other car company lies with the fact that it employs a staggering 549,300 people globally. Fortune magazine lists it as the eighth largest employer in the world, behind giants such as Walmart and the Chinese post office. VW has almost as many full-time employees as General Motors (213,000), Ford (164,000) and Fiat-Chrysler (197,000) put together. While those three behemoths collectively built 19 million vehicles last year, VW "only" built 8.5 million.

---

---

Consumer Reports is calling out Ford, saying the new C-Max and Fusion hybrids don't get anywhere near the 47 miles per gallon the automaker claims.

Several automakers have faced backlash after consumers discovered their cars don't quite hit the lofty fuel economy figures promised by the companies, and Ford may be the newest casualty of all this pesky fact-checking by critics and watchdogs.

The magazine drove the cars 2,000 miles and consistently got around 39 mpg for the Fusion and 37 mpg for the C-Max. Jake Fisher, director of auto testing for Consumer Reports, said this is the largest discrepancy between what automakers MPG claims and the actual real-world driving results.

"It's not to say these are bad cars at all; they still get excellent fuel economy," Fisher said. "But we've been doing this for a long time, and we've never seen such a difference between the EPA estimates and our numbers."

Ford said its figures were certified by the EPA, but the EPA only tests about 10 to 15 percent of the cars on the road. Ford said some early reports from customers showed the cars getting even better fuel economy than 47 mpg.

"This reinforces the fact that driving styles, driving conditions, and other factors can cause mileage to vary," said Wes Sherwood, a spokesman for Ford. For customers who want to optimize their fuel economy, the cars come with different driving coach software to help drivers get better fuel economy, he said.

Scroll down to watch the video report from Consumer Reports.

When not salivating over the prospect of the forthcoming C7 Corvette, GM Performance enthusiasts are busy speculating over the Chevrolet SS. The Holden Commodore-based performance sedan recently made its debut in NASCAR form, with the production model slated to launch on the weekend of the 2013 Daytona 500. Part of the rumor-mongering for this rear-wheel-drive V8 sedan was talks of US-bound translation of the Holden Ute – also the artist formerly know as the Pontiac G8 ST (pictured).

Australian outlet Adelaidenow.com cites GM Authorty's findings that General Motors filed to renew its trademark the "El Camino" name. GM Authority also points to the recent filing of the "Nomad" name, connecting it to speculation that both ute and wagon variants of the SS would follow the sedan.

Holden spokesman Sean Poppitt was rather ambiguous about about the potential for a US Ute: "We haven't made a decision on the next generation Ute to its presence in export markets outside Australia," said Poppitt, "However there is the free trade agreement between the US and Australia which means we are not precluded from selling Australian-made light commercial vehicles in the US market."

So, while it is no confirmation of future product, one need only connect the dots, from the groundwork laid by the G8 ST, to the new SS, to this patent filing, and the possibility becomes very real that we could finally get the ute for which we've been pining on our shores.

As Buick currently claws and scratches its way back into relevance to compete against luxury brands like Lexus and Acura, it's hard to believe that not too long ago, the brand had a car that was mentioned in the same breath as Corvette, Lamborghini and Ferrari. That car? None other than the Buick Grand National. All black with a turbocharged V6 and some of the quickest acceleration of its time, the Grand National, in today's standards, is along the lines of a 2013 Shelby GT500 with both cars essentially being a working man's supercar.

The last Grand National rolled off the assembly line in Flint, MI on December 11, 1987, and to mark the silver anniversary of that somber occasion, Black Air is a documentary of the Grand National from the perspective of the enthusiast, the collector, the media and even from those at General Motors responsible for creating such a sinister legend. Like the car itself, Andrew Filippone Jr. shoots the documentary in a raw fashion, and it definitely helps to show why a low-volume muscle car from the 1980s is still the object of obsession for many automotive enthusiasts to this day.

Sales of plug-in hybrids tumbled to nearly half their level from September and October.

The optimist would be likely to note that sales of the Chevrolet Volt were up 30 percent in November, at least when compared with year-ago numbers. But pessimists, of which there are many, would be more likely to point out that sales of the plug-in hybrid tumbled to nearly half their level from September and October.

The Volt was toppled from its throne as the nation's top-selling electric car by both the Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius Plug-In. But even those vehicles slipped a bit during what was otherwise the best month the US auto industry has had, overall, since March of 2008.

There's no question that demand for battery-based vehicles has increased this year, but here again it's a case of half-empty or half-full. Most products have fallen well short of expectations. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has already acknowledged Leaf will miss its 2012 target and Volt will be lucky to get halfway to its original US goal of 45,000. For its part, Mitsubishi had hoped to nail down 20,000 units of its tiny i electric car this year, but it has only sold in the hundreds, not thousands.

---

---

A cargo ship carrying 1,400 Mitsubishi vehicles from Japan and Thailand collided with another vessel off the coast of Belgium and the Netherlands yesterday. The 485-foot Baltic Ace was carrying cars from Zeebrugge, Belgium to Kotka, Finland when it collided with the 439-foot Corvus J. While the Corvus J sustained damage during the incident, it is not in danger of sinking, and its 12-man crew is currently still on board.

The Baltic Ace, meanwhile, went under. Three ships from the Royal Dutch Sea Rescue Organization, two navy vessels, four helicopters and one coastguard aircraft spent the evening searching for survivors, but rough seas and high winds hampered the effort. Eighteen of the Baltic Ace's crew, including the captain, were rescued after being found in life rafts, but six remain missing. The search for survivors has officially been called off.

The collision occurred in one of the busiest shipping lanes in the North Sea, and the managers behind the Baltic Ace said they believed human error was to blame for the incident. Dutch police are currently looking into whether or not they can investigate the sinking despite the fact that the collision took place outside of the country's territorial waters.

In the picture above it is clear that a guy is holding a misshapen beer can to his lips – he's not drinking from it, he's using it to help him recreate the sound of a V10 engine. That's right: one man, one can, and the wail of one ten-cylinder motor.

But we cannot stress enough that this is not your average beer-can trick. In the nearly seven-minute video demonstrating how to do it yourself, he turns into Bill Nye the Science Guy, providing a waveform of the sound of a V10 with high, mid, and low frequency breakdowns and glossal interactions with the can, plus aural relationships to "a third major chord" that he replicates with a keyboard. Science class and fun, you'll find them in the video below.

No one was comparing the IS to the BMW 3 Series, and for Lexus that was a problem.

At the beginning of 2011, we rocked up to the parking lot at Southern California's Santa Anita Raceway to test the 2012 Lexus GS. This was the first sedan in the luxury brand's lineup to reset its intentions on the balance of sport and luxury. The previous GS had blanched into mute tepidity, and the new generation we drove on an autocross course and on a canyon road corrected just about everything; we liked its looks, and the Variable Gear Ratio Steering- and Adaptive Variable Suspension-equipped car moved its abilities into the realm of a true sports sedan, and it was great to drive. They absolutely nailed it.

In our review of that car, we wrote that the only other sporty Lexus was the IS, and that our favorite among its rank and file is the IS 250 with the six-speed manual. Specifically, we called it "a spirited little weakling of a car." Down on power but also on weight, it rewarded commitment and skill – it didn't have the gumption to compensate for missed shifts and bad lines, and because it was so easy to get wrong, the momentum carried through right to the smiles when you got it right.

Yet no one was ever seriously comparing the IS – Lexus' third-best-selling car – to the BMW 3 Series, and for Lexus that was a problem. You can't have your entry-level sports sedan omitted entirely from the conversation. So now, finally, it is time for the IS to get its dip into Lexus' spindle-grille-and-F-Sport-performance bath.

In the world of advertising, it's the equivalent of the Chicago Cubs winning the pennant or a Republican carrying Massachusetts in a presidential election. American Honda Motor Company has decided to hold a review of its $700 million ad account, which has been held by Santa Monica-based RPA agency (formerly Rubin Postaer and Associates) since 1986.

That is an eternity in the ad business. And ad industry professionals who have long slathered over the prospect of handling Honda never thought it would budge from the agency. The move is clearly being pushed by Michael Accavitti, who joined Honda as vice president of national marketing operations last year after a several years at Chrysler. Perhaps it's not a coincidence that Accavitti is the first outsider to take on the role at Honda in many years.

RPA had been churning out fairly forgettable advertising for Honda and Acura for a decade, until last year

"Both the Honda and Acura brands are rolling out incredibly strong new products. In the face of a changing media landscape and a hyper-competitive marketplace, our challenge is to create dynamic marketing campaigns that connect and engage consumers with our products and our brands," said Accavitti in a statement. "The review we have initiated will lead to a strong, long-term strategic plan for our brands."

RPA had been churning out fairly forgettable advertising for Honda and Acura for a decade, until last year when the agency seemed to wake up and create two pretty high-profile, high-energy ads for the 2012 Super Bowl. The Honda ad, for the new CR-V featured actor Matthew Broderick spoofing his iconic Ferris Bueller's Day Off role. And the Acura ad, for its not-yet-produced NSX sports car featured Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno.

The timing may seem a bit odd as Honda has bounced back from last year's sales falloff due to the Japanese tsunami, and also posted its best November ever; though lots of automakers are posting best Novembers because of buyers in the Northeast rushing out with insurance checks to replace cars ruined by Hurricane Sandy.

It remains to be seen whether Honda will look at having two ad agencies, one each to represent Honda and one to handle Acura. RPA is being invited to pitch to keep the account, which it must do as the car account represents almost all of the agency's billings.

Let the Mad Men start ordering the pizza and washing down the white boards.

Our friends at Translogic get to have all the fun, whether that's cruising around on battery-powered skateboards or in solar electric vehicles. Luckily, they are also people who like to share, and are currently offering readers (well, technically, people who "like" them on Facebook) the chance to ride away in a Pedego Classic Cruiser electric bike.

We don't spent too much time (just a little) covering electric bikes here on the Autoblog and AutoblogGreen, but we're certainly big fans. The bicycle is already the most efficient vehicle we know of, and adding a battery – in this case, a 36-volt rechargeable pack – and motor to the package can easily encourage more people to push pedals in circles instead of just up and down, if you get our drift. Plus, the forward-set pedals of a cruiser bike always make us feel like we're headed to the beach, which is impressive for some metal tubes and rubber tires.

If you'd like the Pedego bike for your very own, go ahead and try your luck. There's no cost to enter, other than clicking here and showing Translogic some Facebook attention.

We began to salivate when we saw the Bentley Continental GT3 up close and personal at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. The thought of a track-going Continental GT conjured up notions of the Bentley Boys, the original gentlemen racers, tearing down the Mulsanne straight. Well, according to AutoGuide, it appears our wistful ponderings will be realized in the form of an international spec racing series.

Similar to the Porsche Carrera Cup or the Ferrari Challenge, this will be a one-make series, and Bentley seeks to run races in Europe, North America and Asia. As for the latter, Bentley Board Member for Marketing Kevin Rose suggested that China will be the likely host of an Asian race. According to Rose, sportscar racing is of interest to Bentley's Chinese customers. He also says that there will be participation by dealers. "Our dealers are by definition car nuts," claims Rose.

While the Continental GT3 is being developed for pro-level use, Bentley is apparently working on a turn-key car for gentlemen racers. According to Rose, "We want to make it as easy as possible." While that doesn't sound like the devil-may-care Bentley Boys of yore, it's likely better to attract participation. The first trials are expected for 2013, and Bentley is even considering making vehicles available for privateer teams.

Like it or not, you're thirty times more likely to die in a motorcycle accident than in an automobile crash. There's little wondering why. As a rider, you're bouncing around at high velocities in close proximity to stationary objects and machines many times your mass. In a best-case-scenario, going off-bike will see you vying with pavement, other vehicles and your own bike with nothing protect you but some Kevlar, a little leather and a bit of Styrofoam.

According to the Government Accountability Office, 82,000 riders were injured in motorcycle accidents and a 4,502 individuals were killed in crashes. All told, the immediate cost of those downs was $16 billion or more. On average, a fatal motorcycle crash costs around $1.2 million, with non-fatal incidents carrying a price tag of anywhere from $2,500 to $1.4 million depending on rider injuries.

So, what's the solution? According to the GAO, the only measurable way to cut those costs is to mandate helmet use. Helmets reportedly cut the fatality rate of motorcycle crashes by 39 percent, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration claims helmets prevented 1,550 deaths in 2010. Likewise, the Center for Disease Control says the lids saved the economy a total of $3 billion in those crashes. Seems like cheap insurance to us.