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Here's one Korean scoop our pals over at CNN are wishing they had. Our crack South Korean reporter filed this picture of the new Hyundai Veracruz, coming to the Detroit show in January and U.S. showrooms next year. Standard stuff on the Honda Pilot-sized vehicle will be a stowaway third-row seat, a 3.8-liter V-6 engine, and a six-speed automatic transmission, as well as staility control and side curtain airbags. Stick with us for more pictures and specs as the Veracruz comes to light - and to Motown.

“Financially prudent” rather than Rabbit meets Bunnies is how Volkswagen explained its decision to unveil four Limited Edition models at the Playboy Mansion October 4, but prudent is hardly the word to describe the recent shenanigans involving the iconic Playboy trademark.

During a week when the new Playboy Club opened in Las Vegas and bratty heiress Paris Hilton was downed by a knockout punch from former Playmate Shanna Moakler, Volkswagen brought its own bunny Rabbit to Hugh Hefner’s Beverly Hills romper room. Just as well. There was nary a Playmate in sight, and the 22-room home for Hugh Hefner and his three girlfriends was closed up tight as a drum. Hugh had fled, it seems, to Sin City, taking every cottontail with him.

Not to worry. With rows of white stacking chairs under a white tent on the front lawn, as if for a wedding, the black crepe-shrouded Wolfsburg Edition Jetta, Fahrenheit GTI and GLI, and the Triple White New Beetle convertible that matched our chairs, gamely substituted. The lone bunny, albeit a mechanical 2007 Rabbit, reposed discreetly nearby.

It was difficult to focus on the unveiling of the dazzling new special edition Volkswagens because the mansion’s blinds were primly drawn, its leaded-glass windows blank, and the crenellated roof and corner towers loomed overhead, leading one to wonder: Had Jane Austen moved in?

But then the guitar music started rocking and Volkswagen’s mojo was back. The guitarist’s electrical cord snaked inside a Rabbit and plugged in to the car’s auxiliary jack. Nice gimmick. Must have woken the whole neighborhood.

But wait! There’s more! VW is giving every buyer of a 2007 Rabbit and Jetta model during the last quarter of this year, which is like, right now, a free electric First Act GarageMaster guitar. Result: you can play the instrument while parked in your garage, or, indeed, parked anywhere, using the car’s audio system. Each guitar is engraved with the VIN number, while the car’s steering wheel is engraved with the Limited Edition number, from 1-1,200. So it was a wedding of sorts, a collaboration between music and mechanics, turning Volkswagens into mobile amps.

Appealing to the youth market with a guitar that boasts an analog modeling technique to emulate vintage amplifiers, a V-dub inlay, VW logoed picks, and switches to create a clean, dirty, or lead guitar sound, each car becomes a concert hall you can drive to the desert, mountains, or beach.

The Playboy Mansion’s zoo and aviary are still in full working order but the famous grotto out back, the koi ponds, and the mammoth futon, which we were warned not to touch, were deserted. Left to their own devices were a parade of pale pink flamingoes, dozens of peacocks, and exotic birds.

Exotic, too, are the colors of two of Volkswagen’s Limited Editions: the startling orange Fahrenheit GTI and the searing yellow GLI. The GTI high-performance hatchback has a European sport-tuned suspension, 18-inch alloy wheels, heated leather sports seats, a sunroof, and DSG boot, brake handle, and steering wheel. On sale in November, the price is $27,665. The GLI is similar, with a manual transmission version for $27,880, and the automatic priced at $28,995.

The Wolfsburg Edition Jetta with manual transmission is the lowest-priced of the four specials editions, coming in at $19,360. With a sun roof, leatherette seats, a cold weather package and what Volkswagen calls ‘monster floor mats,’ the Jetta offers automatic transmission for an extra $1,075.

Costing $25,990, with automatic transmission only, is the Triple White New Beetle limited edition convertible. Approximately three thousand will be in showrooms April 1, just in time for the bunny hunt. Maybe this time there’ll be a few two-legged versions around.—Jill Amadio

Damn, is it the holiday season already? Nope - it's just Neiman Marcus reminding us that we don't make enough to buy a trip into space, or a BMW M6 Convertible. We're hoping to scrape together the cash for Chick Fil-A today, 'cause we're in need of nuggets.

So the grand alliance is off, and GM can focus on its own recovery. Does this mean Ford will have to sit through six months of speculation before it can open its own can of Ghosn Be Gone?

Meanwhile, Toyota slammed one out of the park in September, boosting its sales about 20 percent. And even Ford got in on the good vibrations with strong car sales. Maybe if gas does drop under $2 the whole idea of more auto alliances will seem silly.

Chilling thought or dark reality: Quentin Tarantino could do for Kurt Russell and cars what he did for John Travolta and Burger King.

Rolls is getting smaller while MINI is getting bigger. In other news, TCC is fielding a basketball team of Oompa-Loompas and donating our house Isetta to Manute Bol.

Volkswagen's new special editions remind us that our lives really don't have enough electric orange in them, although there was that Chinese take-out we ordered last week and can still taste.

Well, it's good to see VW and its unions can agree on something, and they can get back to those grueling 35 hours of work this week.

And finally this week, we bid a final adieu to Paris and its auto show - yes we know it's a week old but the jet lag just left us this morning, okay? Have a little patience for our creaky biological clocks.

This year brought you Pixar’s Cars, a sappy kidfest lowlighted by an animated Larry the Cable Guy. Next year the car world gets considerably more adult fare tossed its way at the Cineplex via Grind House, a double-bill splatfest coming your way from Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) and the hyperspoken Quentin Tarantino. It’s Tarantino’s half of the project that play to gearheads: in Death Proof, he directs Kurt Russell and Rosario Dawson (Rent) through the story of a stuntman who uses his musclecar to stalk and terrorize women on the streets of a fictional town. Filming now in Austin, Death Proof shares the double bill with Rodriguez’ Planet Terror and some fake movie promo reels. Details are leaking out all over the great movie sites like Ain’t It Cool, so click here to see some great pics of the Death Proof car and prep yourself for a spring release that could be as cool as Steven Spielberg’s Duel—or maybe as turgid as Tarantino’s Four Rooms. Either way, it’s better than the next Harry Potter, right?

Grind House on IMDB

On EverythingTarantino.com

See the Death Proof car

George Michael has a penchant for cars—not for fast ones, nor for fancy ones, but mainly for parked ones. For the fourth time Michael’s been arrested in London for problems behind the wheel of his vehicle— this, the third time for being found on a public road asleep at the wheel. Michael was arrested on Sunday for possessing pot after being found at 3:22 a.m., passed out behind the wheel of his Mercedes, reports the Sun tabloid. This time instead of making his own apologies, Michael let partner Kenny Goss inform the press that all was fine, and that his appetite for foreign chemicals had been satisfied by eating at McDonald’s. So there’s another endorsement deal he’s out.