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Mysterious small Ford spied in Germany

Our spy photographers have just popped off a few shots of something curious. This little runabout was spotted in Germany out testing with a current-generation Ford Fiesta. We're fairly confident the machine is a Ford, but exactly which Ford model is up for debate. The hatchback could be the next-generation Ka, but we've also heard that the Blue Oval supermini might not get a replacement. Our shooter says the five-door is a bit smaller than the current Fiesta, though there is a chance that this rig is just an engineering mule for drivetrain development. Then again, it could be a model built specifically for the South African market or China, or not a Ford at all.
Whatever it is and wherever it's headed, you can check out in the gallery for a closer look before heading into Comments to weigh in with your best guess.

Ford Fiesta ST gets worked out on the track

We're big fans of the turbocharged Ford Focus ST, and we're plenty excited that the Blue Oval will be offering a similar treatment on the smaller Fiesta here in the United States, too. We first saw the production-ready Fiesta ST five-door at the Los Angeles Auto Show last fall, and Ford has now released this video of a Euro-spec three-door ST being flung around the track.
But not just any track - the challenging Track 7 of Ford's Lommel Proving Grounds in Belgium. The course features 20 turns and plenty of elevation changes along its 2.7-mile loop, and David Put, a vehicle dynamic specialist at Ford, shows just how good the pint-sized Fiesta ST is at handling the lot, even getting the smallest ST up on three wheels every now and then.
It sure does look like a lot of fun, and makes us really eager for our chance to try this ourselves. Scroll down to see the hot little Ford getting busy.

Did a US automaker blow the whistle on Hyundai, Kia fuel economy issue?

In all of the most hotly contested mainstream segments of the motoring universe, the difference of one mile per gallon averaged on a widow sticker can mean the difference between a sale and a walk-off - to say nothing of two or three mpg. So, when Hyundai and Kia were forced to reveal that many of their 40-mpg ratings were actually 38s and 37s, well, it made for big news.
It also, conceivably, made for a competitive disadvantage immediately, when the Korean automakers' products were being shopped versus the guys down the block. And it's that disadvantage that makes a recent story from Automotive News so juicy.
AN is reporting that Margo Oge, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, got a tip in 2010 that Hyundai/Kia were "cheating" to get its impressive fuel economy numbers. The tip, said Oge (who retired from the EPA this past September), came from a senior vice president from a domestic automaker. The source was credible enough for Oge to launch an audit of the Hyundai figures, which ultimately lead to the debacle that we reported on a few months ago, and that the Korean company has been trying to bounce back from ever since.