Cadillac teases Detroit 2013 concept at Pebble Beach

Cadillac teased a new concept car at the weekend at Pebble Beach to be unveiled in the steel at an unnamed American auto show early next year. We'll see you on the GM stand in Detroit then. During a press event Cadillac's Global Design Director Clay Dean said it was time for the brand to "reflect back not for nostalgia, but what made us great at the time." There were no further details about what we can expect from the concept but from what we can see from these renders is what appears to be a further move away from the geometry of the Art and Science form language towards a more sculptural surface treatment intersected by sharp, precise creases.

NHTSA unveils new safety ratings; BMW and Hyundai first to get five stars

The 2011 BMW 5-series and the Hyundai Sonata were the first two cars to achieve five-star ratings under NHTSA's revised safety ratings announced on Tuesday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will rate a total of 24 cars, 20 SUVs, nine pickups and two vans for the 2011 model year. The federal agency has significantly modified its rating process and will now grade side-pole testing and crash-prevention technologies such as lane-departure warning and electronic stability control.

Build your Mini Cooper Hardtop

We suspect that your initial inclination upon the discovery of a new model's configurator is to throw gobs and gobs of equipment at a car to see just how high the price will go. After all, that's what we tend to do. It's especially satisfying with German automakers — notably Porsche and BMW — who seem to have turned option pricing into something bordering on absurdist theatre.