Maybe you want a Volkswagen Beetle that does more than merely get noticed. Maybe you want a Beetle that… provokes. If so, you need to give German tuner ABT Sportsline a call.

Tweaks are made to the 2.0-liter turbo that add 40 horsepower. A front spoiler, wheels anywhere from 18 to 20 inches, and oval tailipes boost the aggression. Headlight covers make it look mean, and the “carbon-look deco set” with red trim makes it unforgettable.

The result is the Beetle Limousine 5CO, and if you’re a configurating kind of guy, then ABT will let you toy around with the options. Otherwise there’s a press release if you scroll below and a high-res gallery above.

Chevrolet, which, after the failure of the Aveo, is returning to its goal of creating a competitive subcompact, has created a car with an original look, the specifications of a Chevy Cruze and the room and features of a luxury vehicle. What makes this car so roomy? It may be that it just feels bigger because the features in it are so typically reserved for big cars—features like 10 standard airbags, rollover sensing software, hill-hold assistance software and a secure interior that is relatively silent in action.

The Chevy Sonic sedan is available in three versions. The Sonic Sedan LS has a well-equipped price tag of $14,495, which gets you 15 inch alloy wheels, traction and stability control, auxiliary stereo, power locks, and the ‘big car’ luxury features listed above. It also comes with six months of OnStar with a tilt/telescoping wheel. The Sonic Sedan LT adds 16 inch aluminum alloy wheels, an MP3-ready CD player, six speakers, SiriusXM satellite radio and premium interior and exterior features such as heated mirrors. Rounding out the triumvirate is the LTZ, which adds perforated leather surfaces and steering wheel, heated front seats, USB and Bluetooth capabilities, cruise control, the ability to start the vehicle remotely, and an additional inch on the wheels.

All three of these models are beasts on the road too, sporting a 1.4 liter turbo-charged engine, 138 horsepower, excellent torque, and either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission which can get you 40 mpg on the highway. This is about the most power you’re going to find in the subcompact class and makes for a vehicle that can perform excellently in herky-jerky city traffic while garnering serene fuel efficient miles in rural settings.

Chevrolet now looks to challenge its competitors, Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai, and prove to the automotive world that General Motors is ready to hit the ground running again in the subcompact market once so dominated by foreign cars.

You’re forgiven if you’ve already forgotten the Vygor Opera, a crossover coupe that makes the BMW X6 andAcura ZDX look sensible. Now, the Tuscany-based operation has unveiled a second take on the concept: the Opera.2.

It’s not an early replacement for the Opera.1. The Opera.2 offers buyers (at whatever stage of psychotherapy they might currently stand) a slightly different design that does away with the previous version’s hideous cartoon-bunny front end in favor of a (relatively) more subtle treatment. So now it looks like a moderately restrained Chinese concept car instead of a hilariously ugly one.

In addition to the new front end, we get more details on the Vygor’s mechanicals, which are borrowed from the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. The turbo four is reportedly available with 300, 350 or 420 horsepower, propelling this 3,500-lb mess to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.9 seconds and on to a 155 mph top end. The car has all-wheel drive (obviously), and a tubular steel frame draped in aluminum and composite bodywork.

This is where we tell you that pricing starts at the Euro equivalent of around $192,000. Once you stop laughing, you’ll also be thrilled to know that a third design is apparently in the works to give Vygor’s theoretical customers an even broader range of style choices.

According to NHTSA, the airbag might not adequately protect a fifth percentile woman – that is, a woman around four-foot, 11-inches weighing 108 pounds. The New York Times indicates that the anomaly was found during a crash test conducted by GM’s Australian branch, Holden, which was testing the G8′s twin (read: Commodore) for head injuries. According to that report, the test in question is specifically tailored to simulate injuries to females, so the results do not apply to men or children.

The issue has been blamed on a seat position sensor that governs airbag deployment rates. NHTSA indicates that when the front passenger seat is moved all the way forward, the faulty sensor may inappropriately trigger a 30-millisecond delay between airbag stages, potentially leading to greater injuries.

With the Pontiac division closed, other GM dealers will reprogram the sensor module of models covered under the recall at no cost to vehicle owners. GM says that no injuries have been reported as a result of this issue. For more information on the recall, click past the jump for the official notice.

You just can’t catch a break in this world if your name is Maybach. The superlux Daimler division has had trouble selling enough vehicles to seriously challenge the likes of Bentley and Rolls-Royce – divisions of arch-rivals Volkswagen and BMW, respectively. It can’t seem to broker a viable deal with Aston Martin to produce a new range. Even that one-off Exelero wasn’t paid for in full after being purchased by a certain hip-hop artist. Now the last ambitious project by the double-M marque appears to have floundered, too.

As you may recall, a German coachbuilder called Xenatec recently launched an initiative, with Maybach’s blessing, to produce a series of hyper-exclusive million-dollar Maybach coupes. The idea stemmed from Xenatec’s existing business producing armored luxury cars for those with the means. Unfortunately, the program doesn’t seem to have attracted enough buyers to make it viable, and the associated costs have reportedly now bankrupted the company.

All-in-all, eight or so Maybach Cruiserio Coupes are reported to have been sold, with another three in various states of build seeking buyers. We’re not sure who would complete them even if they were sold, however, as the bulk of Xenatec’s workforce has apparently either quit or been laid off.