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One lap of the Web: Lost childhood cars, the Jeep Wagoneer at 50 and Airstream's rental service goes live

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. -- Hooniverse poses a poignant question: What family car do you wish your parents had held on to?

GM exec sees room for Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S fighter

Chevrolet unveiled two stylish concepts at the 2012 Detroit auto show. One, the Tru 140S, was a bit of a poser -- its exotic looks belied its hypothetical low price point and its front-wheel-drive underpinnings. The boxy red Code 130R, on the other hand, had the potential to be dynamite.

Maserati looking at LaFerrari for MC12 successor

Maserati is looking into building a successor to the MC12 Stradale supercar based on the Ferrari LaFerrari, according to a report from Autocar. Maserati boss Harald Wester didn't confirm it to the British magazine, but admitted there is an opportunity. The new car would use the chassis and suspension components from the LaFerrari, but not its electric motor and KERS system.

High Country trim tops out 2014 Chevrolet Silverado lineup

The Chevrolet Silverado lineup has expanded for 2014, adding a High Country trim that tops out the pickup's lineup with a chrome exterior and premium engine option. Pricing hasn't been released, but the current Chevy Silverado tops out with the Z71 and LTZ trim, which can carry prices in the mid-$40,000 range. The High Country Silverado will be slotted above those trims, but below the 2014 GMC Sierra Denali, the top-of-the-line offering from Chevy's sister brand.

Crafting the Ferrari LaFerrari

Ferrari's limited-edition supercars are special. They appear about once a decade, cost a small fortune -- which has never hurt sales -- and often become the benchmark for next-generation supercars at Ferrari and in the industry. Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo says the new LaFerrari is no exception because of features such as the supercar's gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain, its Formula One-inspired carbon fiber cockpit and its state-of-the-art active aerodynamics.

Seat Leon Cup Racer revealed

Volkswagen’s Spanish daughter company, Seat, has unveiled the new Leon Cup race car. Set to get a public airing at this week’s Woethersee fan meet in Austria, the new front-wheel drive hatchback runs a heavily tuned version of parent company Audi’s EA888 turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder petrol engine developing about 325 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque. In standard guise, drive is channeled through a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

Terrafugia's next flying car to be a tiltrotor?

It took Bell, Boeing and the United States military decades to get the V-22 Osprey from idea to deployable platform. But with one flying car in the final stages of development, Terrafugia's looking to the military tiltrotor for inspiration. With their Transition model slated to begin deliveries in 2015 or 2016, Terrafugia's TF-X has hit the drawing board.

65 years of Land Rover

If there's any marque to which the overused “iconic” applies, it is Land Rover: A snapshot of a weathered Series I in the Serengeti never fails to trigger dreams of adventure. Since production began in 1948, Land Rover has evolved from a postwar workhorse into a plush but capable luxury SUV. Still, it's reassuring to know that your Landie will have you covered if you decide to take the wild way home.

Reuss: GM considering 'something really fun' for Buick

Buick dealers still salivating over the Riviera concept that General Motors unveiled at last month's Shanghai auto show should take a deep breath: There's little chance that the flashy coupe will ever grace a Buick showroom. But they should view the Riviera -- which GM says points to the brand's design direction -- as a signal that GM is serious about adding pizazz to the Buick lineup now that the 110-year-old brand, which barely survived GM's bankruptcy four years ago, is getting comfortable in its born-again skin. "We've very carefully built Buick back to a brand that has respect," GM North America President Mark Reuss told Automotive News.

Microsoft increases stake in auto industry

Having reshaped a big piece of the world's economy around its Windows software, Microsoft Corp. now wants to do the same thing in the car business. What the Seattle giant sees there says as much about the future of cars as it does about itself.

Seat Leon Cup Racer and Ibiza Trophy racers set for 2013 Wörthersee show

Seat will show off two new racing cars at the 2013 Wörthersee tuning show, the annual event celebrating hot hatches from the VW Group. The Leon Cup Racer is our first look at Seat’s plans for a touring car version of the new Leon, while the Ibiza Trophy is the latest version of the track-ready supermini, boasting more power than the road car, and the facelifted styling. Tell me about the Seat Leon Cup Racer Visually, it’s a Leon turned up to 11.

Is the Ford Fiesta ST more powerful in the US than the UK?

And although the Fiesta ST manages to undercut the new 208 GTI by £2k, it doesn’t need a hair shirt approach to equipment to achieve it, but comes equipped with AirCon, 17″ alloys, a bit of a body kit and lowered suspension. Throw another £1,000 in the pot for the ST2 and you’ll also get Keyless, leather and Climate. A decent offering.

New Range Rover & 2014 Range Rover Sport diesel hybrid at Frankfurt 2013

But Land Rover did tell us the 4.4 litre TDV8 will be joining the range later in the year and that a diesel-electric hybrid would be on offer too. And now we know that the diesel hybrid Range Rover Sport – and a Range Rover Hybrid – will both debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Stuart Frith, LR’s head programme engineer for the new RRS, has confirmed to Car Sales in Australia that the hybrid Range Rover and Sport will arrive in September – as will the TDV8 RRS – but that the 2.0 litre EcoBoost petrol engine for the RRS is still a way off, even though Land Rover are already running it and believe it still offers all a real Range Rover Sport should.

Jaguar Crossover could be the Q-Type or XQ

The fastest growing segment in the car market is the Crossover / SUV, especially the more compact crossovers. So if Jaguar are going to compete in the big league they’re going to have to tap in to Land Rover’s expertise at some point and come up with their own Crossover (NOT a Jaguar SUV, as Ian Callum made clear). That could perhaps be getting closer with the news that Jaguar has registered both the Q-Type and XQ monikers after Pistonheads played Sherlock and dug the details out from the bowels of the European Union trademark database.

Ferrari plans ‘Super’ LaFerrari – quicker, lighter and MUCH more expensive

Update: Ferrari has been on the phone to say they are NOT planning a ‘Super’ LaFerrari and that the story is as a result of a misunderstanding. We did wonder, when Ferrari revealed LaFerrari – complete with stupid name – if the only way to go in the future would be a LaLa Ferrari. It seems we won’t have to wait long to find out.

Is the Volkswagen BlueSport Roadster back on?

There was talk that VW needed at least three of its brands to take the BlueSport project in to production, and there was talk not just of a VW Bluesport but also a SEAT BlueSport, one from Skoda, another from Audi and even a Porsche BlueSport. But in the end, not a single part of VW’s vast group seemed enamoured enough with the BlueSport to take the project forward. But it now looks as though the idea of the BlueSport is far from dead, with VW’s design boss, Walter de Silva, declaring that he’s a big fan of the BlueSport project, and he’s far from the only one in the VW Group who feels the same.

Alfa Romeo SUV heading for Alfa showrooms – one day

We’ve heard it all before – and from some well placed people at Alfa Romeo – but an Alfa man has now stuck his neck out and confirmed publicly: There will be an Alfa Romeo SUV in the next two to three years. Damien Dally, who is Alfa’s Brand man in the UK, was speaking at the Telegraph Festival of Motoring this week and was quite happy to confirm the arrival of Alfa’s SUV although, just like all Alfa’s plans, it seems to be a few years behind what they were planning. Back in 2011 – two years after Alfa revealed it planned an assault on the US market, Alfa’s plan was to have an Alfa SUV ready by 2013 to spearhead their return to the US market.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage ends & big changes afoot at Aston Martin

Launched as a limited edition V12 Vantage in 2009, by 2010 Aston decided there was enough demand to make the V12 Vantage a proper part of Aston’s standard offerings, and since then it’s been the same. The V12 Vantage has also spawned a Roadster version (which, we think, stays in production – at least for now) and the slightly bonkers V12 Zagato, which conspired to look a bit too extreme for an Aston and cost an arm and a leg. We know that AM sold around 1200 V12 Vantage Coupes, around 100 V12 Vantage Roadsters and a handful of V12 Zagatos, but now the run is at an end and we do wonder if there will be a replacement?

Lincoln shoots for a happier ending after troubled MKZ launch

How far off track did the launch of the redesigned Lincoln MKZ get? The car, whose chassis bears the burden of a once-thriving luxury brand now trying to prove it's still relevant -- originally was supposed to start arriving at dealerships last fall, around the same time Steven Spielberg's movie Lincoln was hitting theaters around the country. But by the time many customers who had ordered an MKZ actually got their cars, Lincoln already was out on DVD.

International Engine of the Year Awards to focus on fuel efficiency

Like the Oscars of the Otto cycle, the Grammys of gasoline, the International Engine of the Year Awards are a big deal in the industry. For 2013, the awards will continue to focus on green technology, pitting gasoline, compressed natural gas (CNG), hybrid and all-electric powerplants against each other for the title of "international engine of the year." Ford's 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine took top honors last year. Besides the top award, other categories include best green engine, best new engine and best performance engine, each voted on by journalists from around the world.

McLaren mysteries: Some things you might not know about the P1 and its maker

The McLaren P1 is one of the most spectacular supercars in the world, and it's been an object of fixation for enthusiasts since it debuted as a concept last fall in Paris. The basics are well known: a 903-hp hybrid powertrain, carbon-fiber for almost everything, and taut, curvaceous styling that introduces McLaren to a fresh generation. The P1 grew out of a somewhat hokey mission statement that McLaren produced back in 2009.

One Lap of the Web: Vintage racers, a 1961 Jaguar E-type and Warren Buffett '...in the house'

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. -- Whoopsies.

Students prepare for Coventry University's annual degree show

Students of Coventry University's Automotive and Transport Design course are getting ready for their annual degree show, dubbed ‘Discover ID'. Already the largest show in Europe, this year's exhibition will be the biggest ever, with 107 BA and MDes students showcasing their design talents. Aside from automotive projects, the exhibition will feature projects including two full-size motorcycles, a Rolls-Royce yacht, a Pacific cruise airship and arctic tourism vehicles.

Concept Car of the Week: Ford Forty-Nine (2001)

Over 1.3 million orders were placed for the 1949 Ford before it even went officially on sale. The revolutionary post-war design with slick slab sides and semi-covered wheels became a symbol of American optimism. "The inspiration for the Forty-Nine concept comes from the passion and excitement of the original, combined with the imagination of people across America who customized the car and turned it into what they thought a really great car should be," said J Mays, Ford's vice president of Design at the unveiling of the retro-futurist coupe back in 2001.

Jaguar F-Type Coupe revealed – sort of

But, as expected, Jaguar are heading full tilt towards a production F-Type Coupe that will follow the lines of the appealing CX-16, as evidenced by the patent image filings (above) acquired by Auto Motor und Sport. The show an F-Type Coupe that delivers almost all of the style the CX-16 did – just as Land Rover managed when they turned the LRX in to the Range Rover Evoque – which will disappoint no one. In fact, the coupe – with its roof line flowing down from the A-pillar right to the tail – is better looking than the Roadster and more evocative of the E-Type.

1961 Jaguar E-Type ‘Barn Find’ sells for £110k

Rarity is all in the classic car world, which is one of the reasons why the early, pre-Fiat Ferraris command huge prices (there were only 33 Series 1 Ferrari 250 GTOs built and you would now have to pay north of $40 million for one) and why the E-Type – glorious and desirable though it is – commands a fraction of that. In fact, you can pick up a very decent E-Type in good condition for as little as £50k, and even E-Types that have been fully restored and with low mileage don’t often break the £100k barrier. So why has this tatty 1961 flat-floor E-Type sold for £119,020 at Bonhams auction at the RAF Museum in Hendon?

New 2013 Porsche 911 Turbo & Turbo S revealed: UPDATED with Video

This time there’s no waiting for the Turbo S to follow the Turbo, with both models on offer straight out of the gate. The 911 Turbo gets the 3.8 litre flat six with 513bhp and the Turbo S gets an even more fulsome 552bhp, enough to get to 62mph in just 3.1 seconds and on to 198mph. And, with its four wheel drive, it’ll feel even quicker in the real world.

First Sight: Toyota Me.We concept

Hot on the fluorescent heels of Renault's recent Twin'Z reveal in Milan, Toyota revealed its own industrial design collaboration, the ME.WE, at a private event at the its upscale showroom Le Rendez-vous Toyota on the Champs Elysées in Paris last week. Designed jointly by Toyota's ED2 studio in the south of France and renowned French architect and industrial designer Jean-Marie Massaud, the ME.WE is a polyvalent 4-seat electric vehicle to "combat the crisis". It is designed to be simple and functional, yet also project an image of intelligence for our modern times.

McLaren launches P1 'Designing by Air' online experience

McLaren has developed a new online experience, 'Designed by Air' to tell the story of the car's design and development. Designed by Air is the first of a two-part series and gives users the chance to hear in detail how the car was created, as the car appears from raw metallic and carbon elements and is crafted by airflow. The P1 is eventually formed inside a wind tunnel, designed to emphasize the car's aerodynamic qualities.

Honda plans plant for CVT builds

Honda Motor Co. plans to build a $470 million factory in Celaya, Mexico, to assemble continuously variable transmissions. The factory will operate alongside a plant under construction that's scheduled to build the next-generation Fit hatchback and a Fit-based crossover.