One Lap of the Web: A Bentley reborn, goldRush shenanigans and squirrel-dodging in a BMW

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about.

-- At first glance, this 1953 Bentley R-Type Special Roadster looks like a typical old-school British drop-top. But first glances can be deceiving: This car actually started its life as a large, heavy sedan before a fairly recent series of modifications saw it reborn as something far sportier. It's headed to auction, where it could sell for less than $80,000.

-- This year, the goldRush rally saw well-heeled -- no, make that extremely well-heeled -- auto enthusiasts stretch their exotics' legs between Chicago and San Francisco. Many supercars were present, along with many creative/questionable matte vinyl wraps and paint jobs. Here's a selection of photos from the Dallas-to-Memphis leg. There are cheesy Rolls-Royces with blacked-out trim and lots of stickers,but there's also a Gulf-liveried Aston.

-- First, robots displaced automotive line workers. Now, they're working on making test drivers redundant. As Automotive News reports, Ford is using robotic drivers for some of its endurance tests. These bots can't yet provide the feedback that human evaluators can, so our jobs as auto journalists should be safe -- for now.

-- A BMW sedan may not be cheap, but its value pales in comparison when compared to the life of a squirrel. At least, that's what a pair of nature-loving drivers who planted a BMW in San Diego's Mission Bay are claiming. They said they swerved to dodge a squirrel. We're sure high speeds and poor judgement had nothing to do with it.

-- Hooniverse once again reminds that there's no need to break the bank at a collector-car auction just to put classic American muscle in your driveway. This week's (relatively) obscure muscle car pick: the Oldsmobile F-85 Jetfire. The combination of a turbo engine and a name cool enough to make Soviet MiGs drop from the sky out of fear might make this rare car a great choice for you.

By Graham Kozak