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Scotsman James Wright is one of the most watched car guys in Europe right now. That is because he is facing what he calls one of the toughest challenges in his 18-year career: the European launch of Infiniti.

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Everyone’s at it these days: passing off different bodystyles as new models in their own right. Seat is the latest to jump on the bandwagon - it will market the three-door Ibiza as the SportCoupe, hoping that the sexier tag rubs off on buyers. Make no mistake, it’s really just a three-door supermini.

We saw the five-door Ibiza a few weeks back, and it was heavily trailed by the Bocanegra SportCoupe concept car from the 2008 Geneva Motor Show. And - no prizes for guessing - it’s the Bocanegra that donated part of its name and most of its styling cues to the production three-door version.

It’s a rakish supermini, not without hints of the Mazda 2 and Ford Fiesta in its wedgy profile. Strip away that disguise, and you’ll be in no doubt that it’s a Seat Ibiza, but insiders claim it has a strong identity of its own. We somehow doubt it will be quite as distinct as the three- and five-door Astra, though…

Where’s the Bocanegra’s black snout? I rather liked that…

Sadly, there are no plans - yet - to introduce the comic strip-inspired front end for production Seats. Bocanegra translates as ‘black mouth’ and the front end was wrapped in black perspex, giving the car a broody, moody air.

Design boss Luc Donckerwolke told CAR that he was purely experimenting with the black nose; it’s extremely unlikely for production, although he admitted he was looking for a way to make the Cupra models more distinctive.

Click here for the full story on the Bocanegra.

Click ‘Next’ to learn more about the Ibiza SportCoupe

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Texas Motor Speedway announced Wednesday that Cameron Branch has been named general manager for Lone Star Legends and the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track. Branch brings an extensive background in shorttrack racing with him in his new role at TMS. Branch, a 41-year-old Haynesville, La. native, has made several trips to TMS with his company, J&J Motorsports. The Haynesville-based company has become the leading “one-stop shopping” supplier for all dirt track racing needs. With J&J Motorsports serving as the official tire distributor for the Southern United Professional Racing (SUPR) dirt late model series, Branch has become familiar with the TMS Dirt Track. The SUPR late model series has been competing annually at the TMS Dirt Track since 2004 and Branch has served on the officiating staff during several of those events.

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Dallas is a far cry from Detroit, where I first encountered the 2009 Honda Pilot. I hate to bring the word up, but when I first saw the Honda Pilot I was kind of … bitter. It was all amped up on steroids with an angular design aesthetic, which was not what I was anticipating. So I was really hoping that Honda would make it up to me with a smooth ride and comfortable interior.

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If you are not familiar with it, I made a post about USJDM Style last summer . This past weekend was the 2008 USDM Jam held out in Mie Prefecutre, which is the biggest gathering of USJDM style cars in Japan.

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A Brown University business professor once told me that one of America’s greatest strengths is its ability to assimilate anything. While Bill O’Reilly rants on and on about our capitalistic society’s moral degradation– like one of those nose hair-infested codgers who starts every sentence with “Back in MY day”– our profit-driven culture is actually extremely healthy. It takes the worst possible elements, sanitizes them and sells them into the mainstream. White suburban teens listen to gangsta rap while studying for their SATs. The gangstas end-up on Cribs, showing the world what’s in their closet-sized Sub-Zero. SUVs are following a similar pattern. These planet-killas are gradually being domesticated into CUVs. The new Honda Pilot’s obvious visual reference to its “no gallon of gas left unguzzled” SUV ancestors is just window dressing. I’m sure it’s suitably frugal and considerably cleaner than Bill O’Reilly’s phone calls. Of course, that opens a hole in the market for something “real;” a car that appeals to the street cred set. SUVs are done. Muscle cars are Avenged. What’s next? Combat-styled EVs? Whatever it is, TTAC will be here to share the love. Whatever love is.

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In yet another salvo in the UK’s ongoing war on speeders, the British government is considering installing motorway cameras which track the average speed of individual vehicles. The move is aimed at those sick, twisted individuals who slow down for cameras only to speed up again after they pass the eyes in the sky. The new cameras would track the speed of a vehicle, and then compute its average velocity between two cameras on a given stretch of road. Although simple in conception, the new approach would be far more effective in convincing Britain’s drivers that the smallest violation of speed limits would be instantly caught and penalized. The cameras have already been deployed for testing at road construction sites, and apparently can’t be fooled by lane changes and other “evasive techniques.” 

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