Just what exotic lovers have always wanted - a vehicle that actually has cargo space. The Lotus Group produced its first light commercial vehicle today, a small truck deemed the "Load Lugga". The dream of a sports car based pickup truck is now a reality!

Aston Martin has created a different flavored Vantage; a convertible to prospectively take on the Porsche 911. The British firm has yet to confirm production of the car, but there is strong sentiment it will happen.

Jaguar may have a design change in store for its best-selling X-Type, which currently comes in sedan or wagon forms. "Shooting brake" serves as a term used to describe the idea of a fashionable sport wagon, likely to become the car's new appearance. Design work is already being composed on the successor to the X-Type, with the sedan model being eliminated from the picture. "Work has been held back for some time now," a European distributor executive said." They are studying what sort of model the next X-Type should be. But it won't be a sedan again." The X-Type's successor is not planned to be a crossover, but will likely have all-wheel drive.

Part of the Volkswagen 5-year plan will include a new roadster, to be based off the mid-engine Concept R (pictured above). Wolfgang Bernhard's (VW Chairman) plans for 20 new vehicles over the next several years include the roadster as well as a coupe-style sedan. The first attempt at the VW roadster was nixed in 2005 when it resulted in competition with Porsche Boxter pricing. The next round will likely have a lower MSRP, making its debut sometime in 2009.

Rolls Royce has confirmed that they will indeed build a coupe and a convertible. These cars are based on the 100EX and 101EX concept cars first debuted at the 2004 Geneva Auto show.

Last Monday, a DaimlerChrysler AG (DCX) spokesperson stated the importance of determining the future of its money-losing Smart division and may consider still launching the brand in the United States. "Based on current figures, we're convinced that Smart will achieve a break-even by 2007, as previously announced," said DaimlerChrysler Chief Financial Officer Bodo Uebber. He also added that the next generation two-seater model is to be launched during 2007 in Germany, then introduced to penetrated markets afterward. One of those proposed markets will be in North America.

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Building on the success of the Mini Cooper, Mini is one step closer to releasing a new stretched wheelbase model. The Mini Traveler concept, shown here, should soon make its way into production as a 2008 model. Mini has not released production information, but this is the fourth showing of the concept, so the final production model should not be too far off base.

Lamborghini's new and show-stopping Miura concept resurrects the glory of a legendary name, designed by Walter de' Silva, head of Lamborghini Design. The principle behind the concept was to remain simple and straightforward: invoke a retrograde appearance quite similar to one of the most famous automobiles in the world, the Miura.