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(photo by these guys at CafePress.)   Stability control is mandatory on all cars as of 2012. Mandatory computer interference on all cars--think about it. Stability Control goes by many names DSC, VSC, VDC, stabilitrak but they're all essentially the same: They detect your steering angle, wheel speed, and some figure out your slip angle and gauge what you're doing to fix it, then it jabs the brakes in a controlled manner to keep you on track, facing forward and facing right-side-up. It sounds great until it bites you....try accelerating from a stop while turning right...

Here's some spy photos of the upcoming Mini crossover SUV, shown in swingin' 60s psychedelic camouflage paint job. Groovy man. The tailgate looks to have Clubman-like dual barn doors, but I'm guessing that's just a sticker...

Chrysler Recalls 2009 Sebring, Dodge Avenger, Caliber, Journey, Jeep Compass and Patriot. If you were Chrysler, wouldn't you too? -James Riswick

This is the Lexus IS350C, or rather the retractable hardtop version of the IS. Pretty it most certainly is not. Compared to the 3 Series drop-top, the Lexus looks like it was put together by Pimp My Ride. It has the same, awkward pinched roofline as the Pontiac G6, which makes the cabin look too small compared to the rest of its body. The tail end has been expanded so much even Kim Kardashian's going "Damn, now that's a big ass." It contrasts horribly to the low and sleek front end...

Our esteemed Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed into law bans on talking on cell phones while driving (unless with a wireless device) and recently texting while driving. Both are excellent measures for road safety and to prevent idiots from swerving in their lane in front of me while drifting between 45 and 15 mph as they discuss today's One Life to Live with Becky and Stef. So, good job...

As reported by Inside Line yesterday, the Chevy Volt's small gasoline engine will not replenish the batteries as originally described. Instead, after the 40-mile battery range is tapped out, the gas engine will essentially replace the battery as the electric motor's power source. This is different from what GM originally said, but technically consistent with their statement that said "a gasoline/E85-powered engine generator seamlessly provides electricity to power the Volt's electric drive unit while simultaneously sustaining the charge of the battery." Sustaining therefore means that no additional power is drained from the already drained batteries...

Well, I already know one of our "Cons" for the 2011 Chevy Volt: Only Four Seats. According to Dan Pund's take in Inside Line, the Volt's large T-shaped battery pack slices through the car's center. Placing a seat on top of it would either force occupants' heads into the roof or force engineers to raise the roof -- and not in a "my dad's trying to be hip but doesn't realize that went out in 1997" sort of way...

I've never been a Mustang fan. Let me rephrase that, a modern Mustang fan. I used to have two classic Mustang posters hanging in my room when I was a kid, spurned on by the fact that both my mother and grandmother used to own them...

Man, this leaked image shows that the 2010 Saab 9-4X is one sharp-looking SUV. If it drives as good as it looks and the interior looks as good as the exterior does, Saab could finally be coming out of its decade-long rut. I really like Saabs, but it's nearly impossible to make a case for them...

Why does the Chevy bowtie have to gold? Up until very recently Chevy used a whole heap of different logo variations: it was silver, or blue with a silver outline, or a red outline of a bowtie. Or, it was a more subtle, silvery, metallic gold (which I greatly prefer to the yellow gold). There's two main issues I have with today's yellow bowtie...