Wow, who’da thunk that making a model car phone of an iconic sports car could look so damn stupid? Probably anyone with an IQ over 75. This bulging piece of pocket trash is a Chinese cell phone modeled after a Bugatti Veyron. As if that idea wasn’t bad enough, they chose to paint it bright yellow.

If you don’t like the Bugatti styling, don’t worry; the phone packs plenty for you tech hounds too–FM radio, video player/recorder, Bluetooth, games and e-reading are all included within the cabin of this special Veyron. All that for the I-simply-don’t-believe-it price of  €145 (around $200). Stellar.  More shots after the leap.[via Jalopnik]

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Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez has been talking about the Cygnet, stating that it is exactly what the company needs in face of growing environmental and economic concerns.

Bez explains: “We have many customers who live in London, Paris, Rome or Milan, and who would like to drive their Aston Martin more often, but with a V12 sports car, it’s just not appropriate. They tell me that they want an Aston Martin that fits better into their urban lives. And it is our job to give them what they want.”

Fair enough. But have they really been that hungry for an ugly, little Toyota iQ with Aston Martin grille? Is that the logical evolution for the V12 sports car owner? We’re still answering with a huge, bold-faced NO, but there’s still a long ways to find out for sure. [via Carscoop]

Wealthy car enthusiasts that aren’t fully content with the three Audi R8 models already on the market will soon have two additional choices to look at. The more intriguing of the two is an extra sporty version of the R8 that pulls some influence from the R8 LMS race car. Reports indicate that the Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera’s recently boosted V10 provides a bit of foreshadowing of what’s slated for the new R8. The new model will also shed weight with the addition of new carbon fiber pieces.

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In a move that should help strengthen its image a little more, Toyota has selected former Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater to lead a new panel that will assess quality and safety issues for North American operations. The panel will have access to an unlimited budget and will be tasked with investigating the electronic throttle system thought by some to be the cause of recent unintended acceleration issues. The panel will work with Toyota’s North American leadership and will have access to Toyota President Akio Toyoda.

Slater served as Transportation chief under President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001. [via Automotive News]

Yesterday, we reported that Toyota was planning on recalling 2004 to 2009 Priuses for the acceleration problems that have been making headlines from coast to coast. The information was based upon a Wall Street Journal report, which was apparently erroneous. Today, Toyota came out and stated that it has no plans of issuing a new recall in the face of some well-publicized incidents of unintended acceleration. The Prius was part of the voluntary floor mat recall issued in November.

Toyota offered: “There is no new recall being planned for the Prius to address this issue. To be clear, the 2004-09 Prius was part of Toyota’s November 2, 2009, announcement of a voluntary safety recall campaign to address floor mat entrapment in certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles.”

Toyota’s PR reps are clearly earning their paychecks this year. [via Inside Line]

It must be difficult to establish yourself as a premium, luxury brand when you’re luggin’ around the much less attractive, more boisterous good ol’ boys in the back seat. Like a teenager trying to impress the most popular girl in school with his goofy, school-dufus cousin in tow, Cadillac has realized that the best way to convey the image that it envisions for itself is to distance itself from the family.

A report yesterday in Bloomberg details Cadillac’s efforts to shy away from GM, and all the baggage thereof, by changing its emails from xx@gm.com to xx@cadillac.com, removing the GM name from marketing and dealerships, and discontinuing GM-wide events like Red Tag Event. Cadillac will run its own marketing and promotional events aimed at luxury buyers.

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While Mazda hasn’t suffered from the devestating recall issues that Toyota has, it is still taking heed. The automaker plans to begin installing brake override systems on all of its new models. While the entire Mazda fleet will eventually benefit, Mazda did not state exactly when the upgrade will begin. The new system will cut the zoom-zoom and give brakes priority if both the accelerator and brakes are engaged at the same time.

Mazda is holding the polite line that the change is not related to any news of braking/acceleration issues, but that’s a little tough to swallow. [via egmCarTech]

We respectfully disagree with BF Performance’s contention that “the Gallardo is too innocent and neither dynamic nor individual enough”, but we’ll take a look at its tune anyway.  The tuner’s GT600 package is available for either the coupe or Spyder and centers around a carbon body kit with side skirts, rear diffuser and rear spoiler. The tune also gets wing doors “for the special appearance” and carbon ceramic brakes.

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Chevy has detailed a new limited edition Corvette Z06 designed to further close the gap between the track and the streets. The 2011 Corvette Z06 Carbon Limited Edition pays tribute to the 50th anniversary of Corvette’s first 24 Hours of Le Mans race. The car is designed to meld the light weight and naturally aspirated 7.0-liter Z06 engine with the road holding and braking of the ZR1. Toward the latter end, the car features Magnetic Selective Ride Control and Brembo carbon ceramic brakes. And for the former, the car earns its name in carbon with carbon fiber raised hood and carbon fiber rockers and splitter.

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