Looks like McLaren is pretty serious with its new, in house, MP4-12C sportscar. Announced scant weeks ago, the McLaren MP4-12C is the grand prix teams second entry into building road cars that people like you and I could buy if we were super rich. Their first road car, the F1, was pretty much a smashing success by every measurement. So calling the MP4-12C a successor is a bit of a misnomer. But one thing we can call it is “inbound”, because McLaren says they’re going to sell the car here in America.

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Looks like McLaren’s obsession with beating Ferrari is taking to the roads again, although this time with a less ambitious offering than their highly impressive F1 three-seater of yore. That’s an artist rendering you see pictured here, and although it has some of the styling cues of the F1, a lot of commenter on various message boards have slammed the car as looking derivative; some see a lot of the Porsche Carrera GT, others see various Japanese influences.

Those are just random people with opinions (in most cases) but perhaps the most damning criticism comes from within.

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Here’s something you don’t see down at the used car lot very much: A McLaren F1 GTR Long Tail, that would be the racing version of the Gordon Murray-designed, BMW-powered three seater that redefined what the concept of “supercar” is. Not only is it the race version, but it’s all laid out in Gulf Oil colors.

Sa-WEET!

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You could start by saying something biblical, like the lord giveth, and the lord taketh away but it’s actually more prosaic than that. McLaren/Mercedes has been having a hell of a season (in a bad way) in this year’s grand prix competition. And this past weekends race at Turkey is one of their worst in memory.

A lot of people are scratching their heads, but the actual reason as to why things are so bad and why they’re getting whopped is a little more easily understood and prosaic.

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Sometime last year, a few Photoshop gurus got together and made some very funny “mini” versions of their favorite cars. The trend caught on, and soon lots of people were taking their favorite cars, and through the process of image manipulation, made them mini versions of themselves.

Below, you will find a photo gallery full of these micro machines, in all of their hilarious glory. If you have any you’d like to share, please leave a comment.

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The Detroit auto show has come and gone, and has left the automotive industry with a little more to chew over. As a final wrap-up to quite possibly the most important auto show in America, we chose 10 cars that summed up the best of the show. We chose based on significance and looks, which is why you will see Honda’s Insight on the same list as the Fisker Karma. After much deliberating, here are the 10 we think are the best.

10) Volkwagen BlueSport Concept

Starting at the No. 10 spot, the BlueSport made this list because it is an honest effort to make a sporty car by a company whose most engaging vehicle to date is the Golf GT1 (no, the Bugatti Veyron does not count). It’s not the sexiest roadster available, as the Saturn Sky debatably holds that spot (key word: debatably. Check out the comments at the link above, and add your own opinion). While not terribly exciting to the eyes, it does feature that solid, reliable look that has come to define VW’s “German Engineering”. 57 miles to each gallon of diesel just adds to the charm.

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