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When you think about the Toyota Venza, we doubt the first thing that comes to mind is customization. But that hasn’t stopped Toyota from tapping Street Image, Inc. and long-time partner Five Axis to create a duo of Venza project cars for November’s SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

The two low-slung crossovers (don’t call them wagons) attempt to highlight and accentuate the active lifestyles of the Venza’s core demographic, beginning with the Street Image variant (above) that boasts an upgraded engine and brakes, massive rollers, a lowered ride height, body kit, a black/burgundy interior and a sat-nav-equipped entertainment system. Toyota says the Street Image SportLux version attempts “to give the occupants the feel of a refined sports car while retaining the Venza’s utility and functionality.” We say, good luck.

Five Axis makes a slightly more compelling case for customizing the Venza with a stow-away rack system created by Magna Car Top Systems that can transport everything from bicycles to skis. New front and rear bumpers, wider fenders and pot-hole averse 20×10.5-inch wheels round out the exterior mods on the Venza AS V.

We’ll be checking out both models in Vegas in a few weeks.

Every autumn the naval base on Coronado island in San Diego plays host to dozens of vintage car racers for a festival of speed as part of Fleet Week, the largest military appreciation event in the country. The runways are a natural asphalt playground, and the Southern California weather never fails to provide plenty of sunshine. Nine separate classes of cars run throughout the weekend, from Pre-1941 Sports and Racing cars all the way to 1966-1972 Historic Trans-Am cars. Our particular favorite were the 1955-1960 Sports Racing cars that included a stunning 1957 Ferrari 250 TR, a pair of Jaguar D-Types, Maserati T-61 Birdcage, and a beautiful Aston Martin DBR-2. Spectators could also take tours of the pit area, browse the Meguiar’s car club corral, take Naval ship tours, and explore a display of modern military vehicles and planes. We didn’t stray much from the track, however, so that we could bring you plenty of photos of all the different groups of cars.

Audi made a bit of a splash earlier this year with the announcement that the new-for-’09 S3 would be available in either the three-door style or the more practical Sportback five-door hatch. Equipped with a high-pressure 2.0-liter turbo engine with 265-horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque, the S3 can scoot to sixty in just 5.5 seconds, all while getting nearly 30 miles per gallon. Making the most of that power is the firm’s new seven-speed twin-clutch S-Tronic gearbox, which we’ve had nothing but good things to say about in its past six-speed incarnation. That gearbox will command a £1,450 premium over the standard manual transmission for our European friends. That price will also include twin steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters, another first for the S3. Total cost for the three-door stands at £28,920, while £29,420 will get you an S3 with Sportback. Of course, Quattro all-wheel drive comes standard on both. Sadly, the whole S3 package is available only in Europe.

Well, it wasn’t the Paris unveiling we had expected, but Ford has indeed pulled the covers off its Fiesta Panel Van at the 2008 IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hanover, Germany. Based on the three-door Fiesta hatchback, the new Panel Van is designed for commercial and private users who only need to haul non-human goods and want to use the most economical vehicle possible for the job. Sure, it’s no Super Duty, but it’ll get the job done for a large number of drivers across the pond. Under the stylish hood, buyers will find a choice of gas or diesel engines ranging from a 60-horse 1.2-liter gas unit to the range-topping 1.6-liter diesel outputting 90-horsepower and 150 lb-ft. Europeans will be able to get over 67 miles out of each of their oddly-sized gallons while sending just 110 g/km of carbon out their tailpipes with the most frugal diesel engine option.

Now that Audi has begun production and sales of the new A4 sedan and wagon, it’s time to start rounding out the lineup. At next week’s Paris Motor Show the next generation S4 will debut and marks the introduction of a new powerplant for the S-series lineup: a supercharged 3.0L TFSI V6. The supercharger uses a pair of four vane rotors and sits in the valley of the engine block, with air fed through a pair of intercoolers to the combustion chambers where a direct injection system provides the fuel.

With 333 hp and 325 lb.-ft. of torque fed through either a six-speed manual gearbox or a new seven-speed S-Tronic dual clutch transmission, the S4 sprints to 62 mph in 5.1 seconds. Like the more subdued A4, the S4’s quattro system delivers 40 percent of the torque to the front axle and the remaining 60 percent to the rear. As with previous S models, the S4 get a more aggressive looking front and rear fascia and a new 18-inch wheel design. Inside, the S4 gets more supportive sport seats and the usual assortment of trim upgrades.

Our European friends will be able to get their mitts on both sedan and Avant wagon variants of the S4 starting next March. Here in the U.S. we’ll have to wait until the fall and we’ll also have to make do with the sedan only. Pricing should be similar to the current model at about $48,610.

GM is not going to let the Volt or its E-Flex powertrain get lonely. The first Volt — the one due in late 2010 — hasn’t been finished yet, yet is so popular that GM is publicly theorizing about how far it can spread the technology through the empire. Ideas include a smaller car with a smaller battery pack that could go 20 miles on pure electric, and be much cheaper. A proper wagon, just “a little bit bigger,” could also make the cut.

And those variants don’t all need to be Chevrolets. Other GM brands will certainly be blessed with Volt technology, if not an outright case of brand engineering. Cadillac is one of the wolves thought to be circling the Volt’s henhouse, and using Volt systems in a Caddy might allow GM to make a profit on such a car without tax breaks. If there were a more economical Volt with a shorter electric range, Saturn would seem to be a prime candidate.

It looks like the sole E-Flex powertrain option not planned is an electric-only car, one without a range-extending gasoline engine. GM feels that people would find it too risky to have no backup. But back to that first car, the plain vanilla Chevy Volt that’s still two years away from showrooms – a Volt team member doesn’t appear to have forgotten the prime directive: “You always have to do the first car right and well.” Amen.

Once upon a time, there was a subtle wagon called the V70R who’s meek outward appearance belied the snortiest turbo 5-cylinder Volvo has ever put in a production car. All-wheel-drive helped the power get to the ground instead of immolating the front tires, and the R sat atop the V70 trim-level range. Alas, the R is no more. While it was awesome and amusing, it was also outgunned by the competition, even with 300 hard-breathing horsepower. Still, there are those who desire the look and demeanor of the R, while finding no fault with the lesser powertrains that Volvo offers.

Those buyers can find what they’re looking for with the new V70 R-Design package on the third generation wagon. Since the demise of the R, the V70 has moved up to become the wagon version of the S80, and the R-Line package adds a little visual oomph and chassis verve to the big estate. Ride height has been reduced and thicker swaybars are added, along with higher durometer bushings in the suspension. Like we saw on the C30 R-Design, matte finish metal accents are added to exterior pieces like the mirror housings and grille surround. Sporty-looking exhaust outlets, a rear spoiler and 18-inch wheels round out the exterior changes. The interior gets blue-faced gauges, unique metal trim pieces, and Volvo’s already excellent seats get R-Design logos and sportier bolstering. The R-Design package adds £2,000 or so to the price of a UK V70, a decent price for a handling upgrade and a hunkered look. Volvo hasn’t decided whether to bring it to the United States yet. If it does come to the North American market, the V70 R-Design will be a 2009 model, and we’ll know by early summer if we have to look longingly across the pond for a clean-looking, sporty-driving wagon.

[Source: Volvo]

The rendering specialists at AutoBild have come up with images of the next Passat. It gets a bit more character in the twin swage lines running down the side of the body, a feature that is looking like the next big design thing. The front end continues the tripartite bumper design VW has recently taken up, but swaps the giant headlamps for some sleek, stylized numbers reminiscent of Audi.

We aren’t sure about the sedan design. It looks like it could be a contender with character… or it could be a sedan just trying to be fancy. The wagon, however, looks pretty sexy. We’ll know when we see it in the flesh, but the Passat CC is probably a good indicator in the mean time, so if you like that, then you’ll probably like this.

[Source: AutoBild via German Car Blog]

While we were in Virginia attending the inaugural race of the Jetta TDI cup series, Volkswagen provided us hacks with a some new Jetta Sportwagens with which to make the 45 minute morning and evening commute between the Berry Hill Inn and the race track. Like the last generation Jetta Wagon, the new Sportwagen is branded as a Jetta in North America because Jetta is Volkswagen’s top-selling model here. The rest of the world, however, knows this estate-bodied Volkswagen as the Golf Variant. No matter, because the Golf/Rabbit and Jetta share all their important hardware and are, for all intents and purposes, the same car.

In typical fashion, the new Sportwagen has grown since the previous model was retired and is now nearly as big as the last-gen Passat wagon. My first impression upon climbing into the Sportwagen was how it felt nearly as roomy as the 2000 Passat wagon that resides in half of my garage at home. VW provided an assortment of cars with both 5-speed three-pedal and 6-speed two-pedal transmission arrangements. Unfortunately, all were paired with the base 2.5L inline five-cylinder engine. Check out my impressions of the new Jetta Sportwagen after the jump.

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Volkswagen’s most powerful Passat ever, the R36, which we’ve been hearing about for over a year, is finally on sale in the U.K. in both sedan and wagon versions. Featuring a 4MOTION all-wheel-drive system to put the 300 horses and 258 lb. ft. of torque to the ground, VeeDub claims that the sedan can get to 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) in 5.6 seconds. The wagon is a few hundredths slower in the sprint to sixty, but both boast a top speed limited to 155 mph.

Besides the powertrain updates, the R36 gets a unique body kit, Bi-Xenon headlights and a new grille. Chassis enhancements include 18-inch rims, new brake calipers and most importantly, a 20mm lowering of the ride height. A blindingly bright turned-aluminum dash applique matches the new allow pedals and sill plates, while new seats promise a snug fit. The £30,990 base-price is encroaching on Audi territory, though not one featuring 300 horsepower. Now that Volvo’s V70R is no longer available, the £32,150 estate model (that’s wagon to us yanks) offers lots of performance and utility in a much more refined manner than your typical SUV. No word on a Stateside offering as of yet, but we won’t give up the hope.

[Source: Volkswagen]