Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport

Our buddy Richard Owen over at Supercars.net has revealed that the long-rumored targa-style Bugatti Veyron will officially be called the Grand Sport. We recently learned that the pop-top Bug will make its public debut at the Pebble Beach Concourse d'Elegance in a couple of weeks. What we didn't know was that Gooding & Company will be auctioning the first order slot on August 17th, right after the best-in-show trophies are handed out at Pebble Beach.


While an open-top Veyron will instantly appeal to some, the thought of removing a chunk of aerodynamically essential material from the roofline will have many others questioning their sanity. Have no fear, however, as Bugatti has developed the roof so that there will be no draft inside. Even with its top speed limited to just 217, this will be one of the fastest open top cars around. We'll get you more details as they become available, but for now, get thee to Pebble if this is the the car you've been waiting for. And bring more than $2,250,000, the expected starting price. Bugatti is planning to build just 80 of these Grand Sports.

Worst July car sales since 1990 (U.S)

More bad news for car manufactures and car sales. GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota and Honda have reported slowing sales but on a brighter note, Nissan has reported an increase in sales. GM has reported the largest loss in sales with Honda sales only dipping down to -9.2%.

GM: -31.8%

Ford: - 21.7%

Chrysler: - 34.2%

Toyota: - 18.7%

Honda: - 9.2%

Nissan: + 0.1%

BMW cancels X7 SUV and cuts product availability (U.S)

It was either a make or brake decision for BMW, but the Bavarian car giant has decided to put the X7 project asleep. This was due to a -33% drop in sales in the first quarter of 2008 and high fuel prices.

Alarmingly, the company also said it will divert to more profitable regions as many as 40,000 vehicles that would have been shipped to the U.S. BMW's decision to axe the X7 reflects an overall skepticism that there will be much of a business case in the immediate future for extra-large SUVs and crossovers. Direct rival, Mercedes-Benz recently announced it is cutting back production of the seven-seat GL, ML and R-Class crossovers built in Alabama, and sales for most all premium-brand large SUVs and crossovers are slow. And if you plan to be in the market for an existing BMW or crossover this year, you may find it tougher to find what you want and also tougher to drive a deal. Cutting 40,000 shipments out of the U.S allotment would be more than 10 percent of the total 335,840 vehicles BMW sold in the U.S last year.

But the falling value of the dollar means BMW can shift those 3 Series and 5 Series cars to markets where there's more profit to be made. Overall auto sales in the U.S are expected to take a tumble this year to levels not seen since at least the early '90s, but BMW's call on the X7 most likely reflects the fact its "truck" business is dropping off much like everybody else's. Sales of BMW's "Sports Activity Vehicles" were down almost 15% in June and are down more than 10 percent for the year so far — so adding another, even larger model doesn't look like the smartest strategy.

Via Edmunds.com InsideLine > BMW cancels X7 SUV and cuts back on product availability

Related links:

BMW working on another hybrid

BMW working on a larger SUV than the X5

Volkwagen Golf VI unveiled a bit early

Volkswagen was planning to unveil the sixth generation of its popular Golf model this week, but the internet strikes again with a preview of the new people's hatch ahead of its official reveal. Information is limited so far and comes primarily from bloggers who don't speak the Queen's English, but from what we can tell the next-generation Golf will be larger than the current model. Indeed, it does appear to be a bit wider and maybe even lower than the current model. Might we even see some hints of the Scirocco in its design, as well? Our source indicates that the range of engines available with the Golf VI will include a 1.4L TSI, 1.8L TFSI and maybe even the 2.0L TFSI, while diesels will include the company's 1.9L and 2.0L TDI motors. A manual, automatic and DSG transmission will also be on the spec sheet. Contrary to some reports, VW of America has said that the new Golf will be sold in the U.S., though not until late next year. That's all we know for now, and it's admittedly basic stuff, so stay tuned this week for the official word from Volkswagen.

HUMMER into Bentley

Bentley doesn't make an SUV. Though they've contemplated and toyed with the idea, the boys in Crewe ultimately decided against it. Sure, some of their sedans and coupes are roughly the size of trucks, with engines of similar proportions and torque output, but they hardly fulfill the same purpose as a sport-ute. So what's a guy to do? Well, most would pick up a Range Rover, frankly. Or a Q7 from Bentley sister-brand Audi. Badges aside, even a VW Touareg V10 TDI would fit the bill. But one driver apparently didn't like any of those ideas, so he had his own Bentley SUV made up. Er, sorta.

The abomination you see above is actually based on – yep, you guessed it – a HUMMER. Yes, it's horrible, but don't blame us. We're only the messengers. And just where might you stumble upon such misplaced gluttony? You'd be forgiven for thinking it was in Russia, where that hideous Cayenne/Touareg resides, but only if you couldn't tell the Arabic alphabet from the Cyrillic: this unfortunate embodiment of "too much money, not enough taste" comes straight out of new-money Dubai.