Via dinosaursandrobots.com come pictures of what may be the most predictable conversion ever… and it looks like this particular Kia owner went the full Amanti with it.

Long-wheelbase Benzes have a long and proud history, having been owned by such icons of cool as John Lennon and Hugh Hefner, as well as infamous villains like Pol Pot, “Baby Doc” Duvalier and Jeremy Clarkson. And, as Auto Motor und Sport informs us, the decline of other glandular vehicles like the Suburban has not prevented a new round of six-door Benz models. In fact, something about this picture indicates that vehicular size inflation is not completely a thing of the past… can you spot it?

BMW has M, Mercedes has AMG, and what does Volkswagen have for the person that wants more (factory-approved) oomph under the hood? This is going to change. Except for quietly lending tech support to the odd private team Volkswagen has been avoiding the racing circuit. This is also going to change.

A few days ago, we reported that a limited edition of 500 hopped-up Ford Focus RS was sold out within 12 hours of its announcement. Ford just had to utter “Ford Focus with 345BHP, a torque of 339lb/ft, 0-62mph in 5.6 seconds” and they were all spoken for. Judging from the stats coming off the TTAC server (the story was the most accessed that day,) interest in the hot hatch far outstrips the measly supply of 500. Help is on the way. You don’t even have to buy a new car.

When I met Uwe Gemballa the first time, he looked like he could be the manager of the local strip club down the road: Shoulder long bleach blond hair, a flashy watch, a suit to match the watch, the shirt unbuttoned down to the chest. I then found out that he had brought a Porsche 911, that made upward of 750hp, to a friend of mine, to make it street legal. Gemballa had one of the hottest tuner shops in Germany. His mods to the Porsche Cayenne produced the fastest SUV in the world – at least that’s what Uwe told me. Last I heard from him was some two months ago. He wanted to import Gemballas to China, and could I help him? Then it became quiet. Now I know why.

Oh how quickly things change! Just weeks ago, if you’d asked the average well-informed consumer what Toyota needed to change with its strategy, you’d have been treated to a treatise on how Toyota’s quest for quality and mass-market appeal had reduced its brand to signifying snooze-inducing appliances. Indeed, Toyota’s new CEO has emphasized enthusiasm as an area for improvement, waxing eloquent about the “splendid flavor” of the sporty vehicles Toyota doesn’t offer. Accordingly, Toyota is launching a sporting sub-brand àlá BMW’s “M” or Volkswagen’s new “R” line of high-performance vehicles according to Inside Line. Thanks to Toyota’s descent into recall hell however, boosting the brand’s sporty credentials is suddenly of highly debatable utility.

As a kid, I remember playing a little game to help pass the time on road trips: every time something low, wide and red drove past I’d shout “Ferrari!” and laugh as the other kids in the car got whiplash trying to catch a glimpse of the Corvette, Trans-Am, or 3000GT I’d purposefully misidentified. Perhaps Hofele had that game in mind when it designed this R8-alike-ish bodykit for the A5. Of course, it’s also possible that they just though it looks good. You never know with tuners.

7tune is celebrating the shockingly unnecessary with a look into the world of Prius tuning. And AMS’s first-gen Prius “Terra” bodykit is by far the pick of the litter. But hold onto your comments until you see the front end….

Well, they didn’t kill the Corvette, but GM’s iced its performance tuning division. Automotive News [sub] reports on the car-nage.

GM today disbanded High Performance Vehicle Operations, which is based at the company’s suburban Detroit technical center, and redeployed its engineers, said spokesman Vince Muniga.

“All high-performance projects are on indefinite hold,” Muniga said. “The engineers are moving into different areas of the organization, and they will work on Cadillacs, Buicks, Chevrolets and Pontiacs.”

To: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, HUMMER and Pontiac (including MD)

DESCRIPTION:

GM Performance Parts is pleased to announce the availability of our new 2009 LS9 6.2L supercharged engine. This engine is the latest in the LS Series of crate engines from General Motors. It is the engine from the 2009 ZR-1 Corvette with over 630hp @ 6500 rpm & 600 lb-ft of torque @ 3800 rpm.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

Immediately

ORDER INPUT:

Available to all GM Dealers under normal order processing

According to SEMA, legislation has been introduced in the Oregon House of Representatives at the request of Governor Ted Kulongoski to ban aftermarket parts if alternatives are available that “decrease greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.” In reality, Oregon H.B. 2186 (pdf) merely states that the “Environmental Quality Commission may adopt by rule the following to help this state achieve the greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.” The specific option that SEMA is steamed about states that “Restrictions and prohibitions on the sale and distribution of after-market motor vehicle parts, including but not limited to tires, if alternatives are available that decrease greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles,” may be enacted.

Blown+440+big+block+brutal+burnout

OK, so I’ve changed the video. Doctor V-8 pointed out that the Avalate conversion debuted back in the 1940’s. The new video raises a more interesting question: why make these things even more powerful? Why not you say? Yes, I know: God bless America. If Corvette modifiers didn’t exist, Massachusetts wouldn’t have a warehouse Italian restaurant chain called Vinny T’s. And a damn fine spaghetti vongole they make too. Still, you gotta wonder. What’s with the gloomy music? Didn’t muscle cars come of age with Doo-Wop? Just sayin’.

Warning: you might want to turn down your volume when that Audi TT with a new turbo upgrade hits full boost. The last time I heard a whine like that was when the Pratt & Whitney engines on my jet spooled-up, developing 21k lbs of thrust apiece; and it only does 0 – 60 mph in about 15 seconds (and then 60 – 250 mph in another 15). Which brings me to my question. I've seen many a car "tuned" beyond belief, many with ridiculous body kits to emphasize the fact. How much tuning on a car it too much? When does the tuning destroy the car's original character and turn it into a peaky, unreliable mess? I like it when people modify cars, especially when it builds upon the car's strengths and tones down its weakness (like the above Audi). But looking around me on Friday nights, sometimes I think it gets a bit extreme. What say you?