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There are all sorts of cliches for a situation like this. Phrases like "out of the frying pan and into the fire," or "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" all seem apt. We aren't exactly sure where the video below comes from, but in it, a front-end loader successfully rights a tipped-over dump truck. It's what happens after the fallen hauler puts its wheels to the pavement that things get messy once again. We won't ruin the surprise for you, but we will say the clip is a good advertisement for planning ahead. You know, in the event you happen to participate in some heavy-machinery salvage of your own.

You can take a look at the quick video below.

Let's face it, even when they go well, partnerships rarely go as planned. Almost eight months after General Motors spent $423 million to snag seven percent of Peugeot, we on the outside are still wondering what the plan is. When the tie-up was announced, the main benefits were listed as purchasing power and platform sharing, and only a month after that, a deeper collaboration was discussed that would involve development of a dual-clutch transmission and a small car for Latin America.

We don't know what's come of it other than a potential write-down and Peugeot continuing to take a beating, but Reuters reports that the first phase of the venture is complete and now the two companies are working on more involvement for the second phase. A French newspaper report says one option for advancement would be the two companies becoming 50-50 partners, with GM kicking in more money for the privilege of doing so. Neither side would comment, but according to one Reuters source, the options on the table have also included "selling Opel to Peugeot, buying Peugeot's automotive business or putting them all together in a new entity."

If Peugeot bought Opel or vice versa, that would make sense – but only for the seller, who could wash his hands of the misery. The buyer would then have two poorly performing brands with deep structural problems, huge cash requirements and two national governments chaperoning its moves. We're not sure how the other possibilities mentioned could help Peugeot or Opel out of their quandaries, but we know something has to happen so it's likely we'll hear more soon enough.

All automakers test for noise, vibration and harshness (or NVH) during the development of new vehicles, but Ford Motor Company uses a portable "environmental chamber" that it can take to a specific plant to pull production vehicles from the assembly line for testing. In the case of this video, the portable machine was at Louisville Assembly Plant to test the 2013 Ford Escape during its early launch, but Ford also sent one to Mexico during the early build of the new Ford Fusion.

These mobile testing facilities are housed inside of semi trailers, and in addition to having four posts that can be positioned under each wheel to simulate driving over various roads, the chambers can also vary in temperature from 20 degrees below zero Fahrenheit to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. All of this can be changed and controlled using computers. During the tests, technicians and engineers sit inside the vehicle and listen for any squeaks or rattles. The benefit of having such a device on hand rather than sending the car to Dearborn is that problems can be detected earlier and resolved sooner.

Check out the video below to see how Ford's mobile quality control system works.

Isaac Mizrahi's clothing collection "inspired by the all-new 2013 Chevrolet Malibu" will hit the LivingSocial Shop in less than a week. Pitching the Malibu to women, Chevrolet announced in August that the fashion designer would create a line with cues taken not just from the Malibu, but also from the kinds of women who "embody the persona of the new car."

The six-piece "capsule collection" is therefore a mix of the "ice-blue ambient lighting," leather seats, "crisp lines" and the "smart, stylish woman who likes nice things." The Malibu Collection is a blouse, skinny jean, leather jacket, driving moccasin, tote bag and "oversized boyfriend watch."

The curtain goes up on LivingSocial on Oct. 16. Antsy fashion types can check out the collection in the gallery above or scour for info in the press release below, at the Malibu Collection site, or on Facebook.

When you purchased your first copy of Crazy Taxi for your Sega Dreamcast back in 2000, you probably didn't realize that it would go on to be a huge franchise. Actually, that's overshooting by a little bit, but Crazy Taxi proved to have a lot more staying power than most of us would have thought.

You might not realize (we had to look it up), but Crazy Taxi has already seen five major releases including the original arcade version, as well as a ticket-redemption game, a themed remote-controlled car toy, and no fewer than two aborted attempts at movies. (No kidding. We read that the first go failed because due to an "absence of plot elements." You can't make this stuff up.)

Anyway... Sega is now preparing to port its golden goose over for iOS users to enjoy, potentially meaning that a whole new generation of gamers will be exposed to that wacky Axel, and that darn crazy taxi of his. Scroll down to watch the video while we park our wayback machine.

All other things being equal, motorcycle racing isn't meant to be a contact sport. Sure, the well-used saying 'rubbing is racing' applies here from time to time, but that's the exception, not the rule. And even in that case, it's the bikes making contact, not the riders.

All of that makes the video below all the more worth watching. Here's the scene: Tyler O'Hara is in second place behind Michael Barnes, both pilots mounted on Harley-Davidson XR1200 motorcycles, on the last corner of the last lap. The race couldn't be closer... until, that is, O'Hara decides to reach out and touch Barnes in an effort to complete the pass.

It worked. O'Hara slowed Barnes down just enough that he was able to push past and take the win. At least for a little while. The American Motorcyclists Association retroactively gave the victory to Barnes, punishing O'Hara all the way into last place. If you live in the US, you can watch the action unfold in the video below.

This isn't the first time we're writing about an answer to a question that no one asked. In this case it's Auto Express with the query "What happens when you compare the 2013 Porsche 911 and a Morgan Plus 8 around the UK's tight, technical Anglesey track?"

To give you the context, the Porsche is the definitively modern yet rear-engined coupe with 350 horsepower getting kicked out of its 3.4-liter, six-cylinder flat six to move 3,080 pounds. The Morgan is the definitively retro, front-engined roadster with with 370 hp at its disposal from a BMW-sourced V8 motivating just 2,420 pounds.

The answer is more engaging than you might expect. In the UK, they both go for about the same price, £80,000 ($128,000 U.S.), and even though the 'winner' is no surprise, the feelings each car creates couldn't be more different. And the Morgan does earn an accolade that hasn't been heard about a 911 in more than two decades: "It's a proper manly car." All the action is in the video below.

Organizers for the Tokyo Motor Show have a problem on their hands. Ever since the financial crisis, the biannual auto show has been enduring a downturn. Though 2011's attendance of 842,600 visitors was an improvement of 37 percent over 2009, the overall trend is downward from 1.43 million visitors in 2007. The height of attendance for the show was in 1991 when the 15-day exhibition ushered in 2.02 million patrons. The show later shrunk to 13 days, then to ten, in response to shrinking demand.

So what's an auto show to do? According to an Automotive News report, the answer is to remake itself. The theme for Tokyo Motor Show 2013 has been announced as, "Compete! And Shape a new future." According to the press release provided, "The theme represents the desire to have visitors experience a future that doesn't yet exist anywhere and is shaped by vying values, such as beauty, technology, and dreams."

Part of that effort is the Smart Mobility City project, displaying high-tech methods of how cars can connect to one another. Japanese carmakers are looking to be the leader in the interconnectedness of cars in the future. Features like smart electric grids and interactive infotainment systems are among these technologies. According to the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers (JAMA), "Passions that thrive on cars, motorcycles, and their technologies, are brought together in a friendly competition to shape the future."

Perhaps this direction is the one the Tokyo show must take in order to regain relevancy, in the midst of shows like Shanghai and Beijing increasing in popularity. The Tokyo expo has been struggling for relevance not just with show patrons, but also with foreign automakers, who have been increasingly unwilling to debut concepts and new models – or even buy displace space at all – in a market where consumers don't buy many foreign-branded autos.

The 43rd Tokyo Motor Show will be held November 22 through December 1, 2013.

We expected the successor to the Ferrari Enzo, for now a model referred to as the F70, to be the showstopper of the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. Finally seeing the real car will be good news whenever it happens, but even better news is that Inside Line has just reported that the F70 will be revealed at the Detroit Auto Show in January.

We have no idea what the gigundously powerful coupe will look like – the rendering above is the work of KGP Photography, whose spy shooters have shot quite a number of prototypes hidden under enormous amounts of camo. We do know it will have a carbon fiber chassis with a Formula One-style build developed by one of the key players in the F1 team – the chassis will be 20-percent lighter than the Enzo's, yet stiffer. Within it will be something like 900 horsepower unleashed from a mid-mounted V12 assisted by an evolution of the energy-regenerating HY-KERS unit. Weight for the whole car has been rumored to come in a snort-inducing 2,500 pounds.

Suddenly, January in Detroit isn't looking quite so bleak.

The engineers at BMW's M Division have their magical finite element analysis machines working on the next-generation high-performance version of the company's popular X5 crossover, and they've taken a disguised X5 M prototype to Germany's Nürburgring to run the numbers. According to forum user Jason at Bimmerpost, the impetuous BMW CUV will begin the trend of M vehicles arriving more quickly after their progenitors. A pedestrian airbag and iDrive Touch Controller could be inaugurated with this model, too.

The production model is expected to utilize the same 560-horsepower S63Tü engine found in the M5, and blasting around the 'Ring in the video below, it's the X5 M's sepulchral bellowing that gets our attention well in advance of what looks like some ridiculous handling chops (note the tripod action in the corner above).

According to an Autoblog reader with access to Volvo's internal dealer site, the Swedish automaker has officially notified its dealers that North American production of the C30 will cease in December. It's not exactly a surprise – the C30 disappeared from Volvo's Swedish website months ago and C30 forum users have been discussing the end of the hatch in various markets all summer. This only makes it official that Volvo is pulling the plug on a car that only sold about 4,500 units per year for the six years it was here.

The bulletin notes that while the "C30 successfully achieved its goal to attract new customers to the Volvo brand, pulling a high percentage of customers from brands like Mini, Mazda and Volkswagen," its end is necessitated by the need to develop "high volume products to better sustain our brand health and network viability moving forward," presumably in the U.S. market. Autoblog reached out to Volvo for comment, and they confirmed the news, remarking "...we have made the decision to discontinue C30 production to better position Volvo for the future and the next stages of our model portfolio." (Their full statement is available by scrolling below).

We've been hearing about this transition for years, but frankly, we still don't know what those products might be. The effacing of the C30 leaves the S60, S80, XC60, XC70 and XC90 in the U.S. lineup – the C70 convertible is expected to bow out early next year. From everything we've heard out of Volvo, we're not getting the excellent new V40 or V40 Cross Country, but there have also been rumors of a C90 and an S100 luxury flagship that aren't anything like high volume. We've also heard that company CEO Stefan Jacoby is contemplating a Mini rival, but isn't that what the C30 was supposed to have been?

Perhaps the C30's biggest problem is what it costs to get in one. According to the company's consumer website, there are only two models offered, the base T5 starting at $25,500 and the R-Design at $27,850. The C30s were well equipped, but the Mini Cooper starts at $20,400. For those volume buyers fixated on the bottom line, that stat led to some open minds slamming shut on the C30. The little hatch also could have used a lot more advertising. While we wait for something to take a spot under the S60, the dealer bulletin suggests that the C30 Polestar Limited Edition promised for the U.S. will figure into dealers' final allocations.

Here's hoping that an eventual C30 successor will make a better go of it.

Ariel Motor Co. has announced a new version of its stripped-down Atom track star, the Atom 3.5. Following up on the existing Atom 3 model, both the numeration and the spec sheet call this out as an upgrade, rather than a totally new model from the British builder.

Cosmetic changes may be hard to spot for the casual observer (and the fact that Ariel doesn't have much quality photography available doesn't help, either). The 3.5 has new a new lighting system front and rear, with twin projector headlamps and LED turn signals and taillights. The car's front "hood" has been revised, as well.

Mechanically the Atom 3.5 boasts chassis tweaks that are products of the development of the hardcore Atom V8 and Mugen models, which allow this new Ariel to be stiffer, with more torsional rigidity than ever. Revised engine mounts and dampers propose a more livable Atom ride quality, too.

Power for the 3.5 still comes from a Honda 2.0-liter four-cylinder, in both naturally aspirated and supercharged flavors. The NA motor stays steady with an output of 245 horsepower while the supercharged motor gets bumped up to 315 hp.

Follow on below for the Ariel Motor Co. press release. Please note: we've got a couple calls in to Ariel, hoping for more in the way of photography of the Atom 3.5, too – we'll be sure to update this post if we get a response. We've also placed a call to Virginia-based TMI Autotech, which is licensed to manufacturer and sell the Atom in our market, to see if North American customers will be able to take advantage of the 3.5's developments as well. We'll update this post as word becomes available.

Everyone has to have a niche, we suppose. That would explain Colin Furze. The UK man claims a Guinness World Record for largest bonfire (2006), longest motorcycle (2008) and fastest mobility scooter (2010). So it seems that Furze is set on knocking off obscure world records, and his latest attempt might be the most creative yet.

Furze has built a muscled-up and modified pram (Yankee translation: baby stroller) that reaches speeds previously unfathomable in the world of infant transportation. The stroller has a 10-horsepower motor and four gears, and it looks mighty fast. It is all in the name of setting a new world record for, you guessed it, the fastest stroller.

Thankfully, the YouTube video's description provides a safety disclaimer, "Just for the nob heads no i haven't put a real kid in at speed and no its not road legal hence why i had to film this on private road." If only corporate disclaimers could be so eloquent.

This Sunday, Furze will make his world record attempt at Avon Park Dragstrip in the UK. The record is 30 mph. From the video below, it's apparent that the previous record should be soundly dispatched. The real question is, will Furze hit the promised 50 mph? We'll just have to wait to find out. Oh, and might we recommend a helmet?

A lot of companies are making (or at least trying to make) money these days selling devices that improve drivers' odds of beating traffic cameras. As it turns out, though, having a Florida license plate on the back of your car could be the best defense against paying traffic fines like red light camera tickets and toll violations. According to new reports, some Florida plates are proving hard for traffic law enforcement cameras to read. With as many specialty license plates as the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles offers, it's even more surprising that the state's standard white plate with raised green letters and numbers is actually the culprit.

As the story goes, there's something about the coloring of the license plates and the similarity of some of the characters thereon – or probably a combination of the two – that have made about 2.8 million automated traffic violations go unpaid since the offenders' plates were difficult to capture in the automated photographs.

The remedy for the situation is apparently a redesigned license plate that does away with the raised lettering and prominent display of oranges. The plates in question are to be replaced by a flat plate with white background and black, block lettering for optimal contrast. Some of the proposed plate designs are pictured above. According to the Associated Press report on ABC Action News, there are about 18 million vehicles registered in the state with most of them licensed with the standard plate.

It sounds like the State of Florida could make a decision on a new plate design soon, but rollout will likely not occur for another couple years. The switch to new license plates could cost the state an estimated $31 million, but this cost would theoretically be offset by the additional revenues brought in from increases in traffic and toll violation citations.