Dakar Rally 2012 Day 2 update

The first major motorsports event of the year, the 2012 Dakar Rally, began its two-week trek across South America on Jan. 1. Four hundred and sixty-five vehicles (171 cars, 185 motorcycles, 33 quads and 76 trucks) with drivers representing 50 nationalities will attempt to cover 9,000 kilometers (more than 5,500 miles) over 14 days throughout Argentina, Chile, and Peru.

One Lap of the Web: Key chains, Jay Leno and the Ford Fiesta

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. -- Speedhunters.com gives us a sneak peek of some photos in its #MaximumAttack book.

SsangYong Korando 4×4 gets cheaper with arrival of the Korando SX

SssangYong has dropped the entry price for its 4WD C-Segment SUV Korando with the launch of the Korando SX. SsangYong is the Korean car maker that hasn’t yet quite managed to drag itself out of the bin marked ‘Oh, dear’, but the takeover of SsangYong by the deep-pocketed Mahindra and the launch of the seemingly convincing SsangYong Korando Crossover/SUV last year auger well. The Korando is aimed at cars like the Hyundai ix35 and Kia Sportage, and it seems a decent enough offering in a slightly generic way (even if it is penned by Giugiaro), with a 2.0 litre turbo diesel with a decent enough 173bhp and with a choice of auto or manual, FWD or 4WD.