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Workers outside of Austin are still hammering away on the new Circuit of the Americas Formula One track, but race fans and gamers will get a shot at driving the course before the first tire hits the tarmac. Codemasters' "F1 2012" will feature the track in all of its pixelized glory. The game will officially hit the market this September, but players will get a chance to grab the controller for the first time at E3 early next week. Codemasters has been kind enough to slip the world a few screen shots of 2012-specification F1 cars prancing around on the new course.

Players will be able to command every official team from 2012 on all of the official courses. Look for the game on multiple platforms, including Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft xBox 360, PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS. Head over to the game's site for more information.

Cars.com has evidently taken issue with a Consumer Reports video review featured on Autoblog advising consumers that they would be better off buying a used "regular" Prius instead of a 2012 Prius C.

Consumer Reports shouldn't have passed on recommending the Prius C, Cars.com argues: "CR's low testing scores for the Prius C stand in stark contrast to our impressions of the hybrid."

Indeed. Cars.com gushes over the tiny hybrid, saying it might even pick the C over the regular Prius. Furthermore, in attempt to poke CR just a little more, Cars.com notes that used Prius prices are the highest they've been in six months, so looking for a deal there might not make for smart consumer advice.

In a final twist, Cars.com says it didn't name the Yaris-based C as one of its Best Bets, in part, because it relies on Consumer Reports reliability surveys as one metric to qualify any vehicle as a Best Bet. The 2013 C doesn't have enough data to say how reliable it will ultimately be.

It looks as if Honda may be working on a new Civic Type R for the European market. Photographers spotted this creation poking around the Nürburgring during test runs. With a prominent rear wing, larger exhaust outlets and more pronounced front aero work, the hatchback clearly has some sporting intentions. Odds are engineers have worked in a stiffer set of springs and dampers along with a more powerful four-cylinder engine. How powerful? Early estimates put the machine at between 220 and 230 horsepower, though there's no official word on the figure.

The car is clearly still in the early stages of development, so there's no telling what Honda may come up with in terms of styling, handling or performance. Even so, we have to say what we see here lacks much of the visual menace of the last-generation Civic Type R, so let's hope that Honda finds a bit more aggression for their hottest Civic.

In one of the more bizarre and macabre accidents we've ever seen, a truck carrying 400 sheep turned on its side on an overpass in Australia yesterday, ripping the trailer open and tossing the hapless livestock onto the traffic below, according to reports.

One car rolled over four times and a number of other vehicles had the animals fall through their windshields as they drove through the downpour of sheep, which can weigh more than 100 pounds each.

"We looked up and we could see the truck flip on its side and then the next minute, we were underneath and yeah, raining sheep doesn't happen everyday," said Kristy Davis, a witness, talking to reporters.

No people were seriously hurt during the incident. But the sheep were not as lucky. A final tally by reporters said that fewer than 10 sheep survived. The chaos caused some nine hours of delays on the roads.

Scroll down to see the video. Warning: The footage may be a bit graphic for some.

Looking at the outside of a Formula One race car is all well and fine, but apart from its aerodynamic elements, it really doesn't tell you very much about how it works. The secrets, as with a great many things, are hidden inside. And that's not a place many F1 teams – hard as they've worked on developing their cars and keeping their inner workings secret – would be eager to show to the world.

However most teams, in this instance, would not include Sauber. The Swiss squad founded by Peter Sauber has given starts to such notables as Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Nick Heidfeld, Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen. And now the engineers in Hinwil have taken one of their cars and split it in two – lengthwise right down the center-line – to show us the juicy bits inside.

The endeavor could not have been as easy as taking a chainsaw or even a Goldfinger-style laser and cutting it in two. In fact, the task took the team two years to complete, and all you have to do is scroll down and watch the video to see the results.

According to the Toronto Sun, General Motors will be shutting down one of the lines at its Oshawa, Ontario plant, putting 2,000 workers out of a job. As of yet, no official notice has been given to the employees or the Canadian Auto Workers union that represents them, though an official announcement is reportedly coming within the next couple of days.

GM will be closing the line that currently builds the Chevrolet Equinox and outgoing Impala models. Recently, we reported that the automaker would be adding Equinox production to its Spring Hill, Tennessee facility, but this news of a line closure in Oshawa likely means that GM's compact crossover will now be built exclusively in the United States. The 2014 Impala will move to GM's flexible line in Oshawa, where it will be built alongside the Buick Regal, Chevrolet Camaro and Cadillac XTS. The Impala will also be built at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck facility, which is currently responsible for the Chevrolet Malibu and Volt.

Another report from The Globe and Mail suggests that a third shift could be added to the flex line when production of the Impala and XTS fire up. If that's the case, employment on this line would rise from about 2,000 to 2,500 workers, and the laid-off employees from the consolidated line would have first crack at these jobs.

Automakers are buying and selling zero emission vehicle credits ahead of more stringent ZEV mandates in California. The state now requires larger automakers to increase the number of zero-emission vehicles they sell, including electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen models. Manufacturers that manage to exceed their ZEV goals are awarded credits, which they may sell then sell to other automakers. Not surprisingly, Nissan has an abundance of credits on its table thanks to its Leaf EV, though the company has been tight-lipped about whether or not it plans to sell credits to its rivals. According to Automotive News, Tesla has already sold credits to Honda, though neither company is saying how much compensation was involved.

Automakers who fail to sell enough ZEV models or obtain enough credits face a number of penalties, including fines and limits on the number of units they can sell. A total of 11 other states adhere to California's ZEV mandate, and Automotive News reports automakers are expected to sell around 60,000 zero emissions vehicles by 2014. Regulators want that number to be 1.4 million by 2025.

Less than a month ago, Hyundai announced it would be adding a third shift at its Alabama assembly plant, resulting in an additional 877 jobs. You'd imagine with Alabama running a 7.2-percent unemployment rate in April – ranking right in the middle of the 50 states – competition for those jobs would be pretty serious. But nobody, least of all Hyundai, expected this. As of May 22, the automaker had received some 18,500 applications, according to the Montgomery Advertiser.

To put that into perspective, the Montgomery metropolitan area has an adult population of just over 282,000, meaning the applicant pool at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama represents more than six percent of nearby residents. Hyundai was so flooded with applicants that it temporarily shut down the process on May 18, warning job seekers that any applications it received after that date would likely go unprocessed. Hyundai only expects to screen between 6,000-7,000 applicants according to the report.

The company began seeing applicants on May 14, and by working 13-hour days, it has been processing roughly 200 each day. Applicants are asked to take a multiple-choice test during the 90-minute interview and those that get asked back will be given a six-hour training course, according to the report. Hyundai expects the hiring process to be completed by mid-July, in advance of launching the third shift after Labor Day.

We've already heard word that Volkswagen may be considering a new Alltrack version of its Jetta for the North American Market, but TheDetroitBureau.com reports the automaker is also looking at other high-riding options. Jonathan Browning, Volkswagen Group of America CEO, says a new mid-sized SUV may show up in the lineup alongside the next-generation Tiguan (which itself is likely to get a trio of variants). The unnamed model would fit below the Touareg in size and price and would likely be co-developed engineers in the U.S. and those in another part of the world. So, when can we expect to see the model? Development is currently in its earliest stages, which means we'll have to wait until 2015 at the earliest.

Meanwhile, Browning makes it clear Volkswagen is also keen to flesh out its lineup with other new models, including a new mid-sized sedan. A sub-Golf offering may also show up from Europe, which means the automaker may bring over either the Polo or the new Up! micro car. The blossoming stable is part of an effort to keep the company's recent sales growth on track. Volkswagen has made it clear the company wants to triple its companywide sales by 2018.

Robb Report has released its annual Best of the Best issue, and the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 has been awarded top honors in the automotive category. No surprise there – the Italian supercar was chosen as the magazine's Car of the Year earlier in 2012.

Prefer to go topless? In that case, Robb Report suggests you have a look at the Ferrari 458 Spider. The BMW M5 took top honors in the sedan category and the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque was the winning SUV. We approve of the nods given to the Morgan 3 Wheeler and Icon Bronco, too.

If all those options are still too tame for your tastes, perhaps the Ducati 1199 Panigale, the mag's motorcycle of choice, is more up to speed. Have a gander at the full list of winners in the press release below.

It takes less than two feet of moving flood water to carry off a vehicle, and while that's a disturbingly small amount, the number drops to just six inches when it comes to sweeping an adult off of their feet.

A handful of residents in Barranquilla, Colombia recently discovered this fact the hard way when flood waters made local streets impassible. As one woman tried to navigate her car away from the swift water, the engine stalled. When it became apparent she was unwilling to abandon her property, a group came out to help. That's when things went downhill.

After a good fight, the group was forced to let go of the car, which slid to a side street. Three of the good Samaritans lost their footing and wound up floating father down the street. While two of the men were eventually pulled from the water, it's unclear what happened to the third.

What's the lesson here? Don't risk deep water, and if you are foolish enough to do so, be smart about when to let the car succumb to Mother Nature. Scroll down to take a look at the video.

Like it or not, we're all guilty of falling into the traps laid for us by stereotypes. For example, if we were to say the phrase "Porsche owner," odds are you'd have a very specific type of individual in mind... and that individual would likely look nothing like Magnus Walker.

Walker is a thoroughbred car guy with an incomparable passion for the 911. As a clothing entrepreneur, he's about as far from the typical 911 owner as it gets. When he isn't racing or designing, he's piecing old Porsche models back together for another shot at life.

His stated goal is to collect one of every 911 between built between 1964 and 1973, and so far, he's only missing the youngest of that group. Walker says he's owned over 40 of the cars in his time as a collector, and it's clear he has the kind of passion that keeps this industry spinning.

Tamir Moscovici has worked up a short film on Walker called "Urban Outlaw." Scroll down to check out the trailer for yourself.

If you're tired of the usual shiny paint job that appears on 99-percent of the cars on the road, a matte finish could be just what the proverbial doctor ordered. But while matte black is the common choice among the anti-gloss set, to our eyes, it can often look like someone simply forgot to apply the primer. That's why many of us around the virtual Autoblog watercooler like matte color wraps – such as those displayed by Alfa Romeo with the red 4C Concept and Ferrari with the green 599 HY-KERS prototype.

Once the strict purview of aftermarket mod-jobs, matte finishes are growing more maintstream as select manufacturers have begun offering them direct from the factory. Notable examples include Mercedes-Benz (which we checked out in Detroit this year), Hyundai (which is launching the Veloster Turbo in matte gray) and Maserati (which launched the GranTurismo S Limited Edition in flat blue). But few have embraced the anti-glare approach like BMW has with its recent succession of special edition M3s. The Bavarian automaker dubs them "Frozen," and is now coming back with an array of special editions of both the M3 coupe and its newer, bigger brother, the M5 sedan.

BMW is launching the M Performance Editions of both the M3 and M5 in Frozen Red, Frozen White and Frozen Blue. Black leather interiors with accent stitching color-keyed to match the exterior – along with Alcantara-wrapped steering wheels and piano black trim – come as part of the package, as do matte black alloys. Both models also come packaged with buckets full of additional equipment to make the specials even more so.

Only 30 such M3s and another 30 M5s will be made, and made available, unfortunately, exclusively in the UK. But if past Frozen editions are anything to go by, BMW is likely to find more than enough demand to make the matte red, white and blue editions available in the USA soon enough. In the meantime, you can scope 'em out in the high-res image gallery above and the press release by scrolling below.

Italy is unfortunately no stranger to earthquakes, thus neither is the exotic automaker and racing team whose logo bears the country's flag. When disaster struck in Abruzzo, Ferrari launched a special-edition F430 to raise funds for its relief, and has been contributing to rebuilding the stricken region ever since. When the tsunami hit in Japan, Ferrari contributed millions to its aid. Now another earthquake has hit Italy – in the same part of the country that hosts Ferrari's headquarters in Maranello. The company immediately halted operations to let its employees be with their families, and is now preparing for an online auction to raise funds for relief efforts in the region.

The auction will be hosted at FerrariStore.com, and will of course include all manner of Ferrari-branded merchandise – including racing helmets and suits worn in grands prix by Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. But there are some bigger items as well, including a V8 engine from one of the Scuderia's F1 cars, and, at the top of the list, a 599XX Evoluzione. The most advanced of the company's developmental track cars, the 599XX Evo is worth over $1.6 million, but will likely raise far more than that – and help the disaster relief efforts that have forced the new Italian federal government to raise fuel taxes – when the bidding starts next week. Check out more details by scrolling below.