To keep pace with rivals Mercedes-Benz and Audi, BMW will offer an all-wheel-drive option for its flagship model for the 2010 model year. Based on the xDrive all-wheel-drive system in the automaker’s X5 and X6 SUVs, the 7-Series will only offer four-wheel motivation with the 4.4-liter V8 in the 750i and 750Li.

After receiving $1.6 billion in federal loans aimed at creating or retooling factories for green car production, Nissan has confirmed that it will use its chunk of the government’s loan to build a lithium ion battery plant near its Smyrna, Tennessee, factory. Nissan will also retool part of its truck assembly plant to build four-door electric sedans.

Karmann – the Osnabrueck, Germany-based coachbuilder best known for the Karmann Ghia – has officially closed its doors. Karmann was quietly put up for sale about a year ago after a dramatic drop in sales, but was forced to file for bankruptcy in April.

Larry Jutte, senior vice president at Honda of America Manufacturing Inc., has announced he will be retiring from the automaker after a 24 year career. Jutte will use the time to focus on his “health, family, community and other interests”.

Mercedes-Benz is working on a new CL, which will be more appropriately named the S-Class Coupe at its debut, and we have a great look at a prototype roaming around the Nurburgring! The CL’s name change falls in line with Mercedes’ new naming scheme, which also included the E-Class Coupe.

The European motoring press has announced their list of candidates for the 2010 Car of the Year award, which was given most recently to the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia. To qualify for the prestigious award, candidates must be on sale by the end of September in at least five European markets.

Buick’s smallest sedan, the Excelle, has just shown up in Germany and we have the latest photos of it near the Nurburgring. The Excelle will be sold in China but could also surface in the United States. Although little is known about the new model, it will ride on General Motors’ new Delta II platform that underpins the highly anticipated Chevrolet Cruze.

In a bid to boost sales on both sides, Volkswagen and Sirius XM have announced a new program that will offer three months of free satellite radio service to buyers of certified pre-owned VW vehicles. Both companies are looking for a way to boost sales as new car sales in the U.S. hover around record lows.

Echoing comments made by Ford and Nissan, Hyundai has revealed that it believes the U.S. auto market has finally leveled out. U.S. auto sales are down nearly 40 percent this year, but Hyundai thinks the market has finally bottomed out, with a sales increase possible by year’s end.

The Obama administration on Tuesday announced Ford, Nissan, and Tesla have been approved to receive loans under the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program. The news is particularly important for Tesla, because the loan will enable the startup to begin construction of an assembly plant for its Model S electric sedan and it also marks the first time Ford has taken federal funding, albeit not under the same circumstances as the Chrysler and GM bailouts.

Lightning must strike every ten years or so in Dearborn since that was the last time we saw a Taurus SHO roll out of a Ford factory. The polarizing style of the jellybean-shaped Taurus was one that you either loved or hated, but by 1999, the car was merely a shadow of its former self.

Diesel-powered vehicles have long had a negative stereotype here in the United States, but the latest crop of European clean diesels – along with lower diesel prices – is starting to sway American buyers. Diesel sales have increased significantly so far this year, with more sales success expected.

Tesla Motors was believed to be at the verge of bankruptcy just a few months ago but company CEO Elon Musk says he expects the startup EV maker to be profitable by next month. Musk addressed Tesla’s profitability in a blog refuting a lawsuit by former Tesla CEO Martin Eberhard.

If you were hoping to use the 2011 Explorer to put your boat in the water next summer, we’re about to drop anchor on your plans. Ford’s all-new version of their most iconic SUV won’t be ready until the leaves turn orange.

BMW will take the wraps off of a new twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter diesel six-cylinder later this year when it launches the 735d. Set to replace the automaker’s current 3.0-liter diesel seen in the 335d and X5 xDrive35d in North America, the new twin-turbo will crank out 306 horsepower and 442 lb-ft. of torque.

After dethroning Porsche for the first time in three years, Lexus is once again atop the J.D. Power and Associates’ Initial Quality Study. The latest study also revealed that quality at Ford and Chevrolet is now virtually on par with that at Toyota.

The last chapter on Toyota’s Supra sports car may not have been written yet as a new report indicates the program is still alive and well within Toyota. It was believed that Toyota killed its new-age Supra program last year, but the sleek two-could emerge by the end of this year.

The Fiat 500 is slated to be the only Fiat-badged model to be sold in America under the recently inked Chrysler-Fiat alliance, but that doesn’t mean the Italian automaker will limit the MINI competitor to just one model. Fiat today released a new series of 500C convertible images, and with it came a flurry of new reports suggesting the drop-top will soon be available in the U.S.

Based on assumptions that Chrysler, Ford and General Motors will only further reduce the number of cars they build over the next three years, a study released today suggests that by 2012, foreign automakers might build more cars in the United States than Detroit’s Big Three combined.

While Chrysler and General Motors are reducing their dealership count, BMW-owned small car manufacturer Mini says it is going to increase the size of its retail outlet count from 83 to 100 within the next 18 months. The automaker says that the majority of its new stores will be in markets new to the brand.