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Looking for cheap wheels? Here they are — the least-expensive 2010 cars on sale in America. (All prices are MSRP (sticker price) plus destination charge.) The Cars test team has driven all of these cheap cars, and this list will tell you which are the real deals — and which are the real duds.

Last year, Hyundai chopped the price of the Accent to undercut Nissan’s Versa (see below) by $20, but you had to buy a more expensive model in order to get any options. The price is unchanged for 2010, but you can now add air conditioning for an extra $1,000, although you’ll still have to buy the pricier Accent GS if you want a stereo or automatic transmission. Hyundai has tweaked the powertrain for better fuel economy — hence the name change from “GS Base” to “Blue” — but they’ve also limited color choices to blue (of course), white, and shades of gray. The Accent is good fun to drive in a back-to-basics sort of way, but the lack of advanced safety features and mediocre crash test scores make it difficult to justify.

Renault has provided the first glimpse of its new D-segment sedan, the Renault Latitude. Set to be revealed at the Moscow motor show at the end of August, the new car features balanced proportions and generous exterior dimensions.

The Latitude’s elegant exterior aesthetic is underlined by a strong shoulderline that runs the length of the car. A new front face blends into its scalloped clamshell hood, while bi-Xenon headlamps flank the contours of the revised grille. A chrome DLO surround contributes to an impression of dynamism and status when viewed in profile, while the rear end features taillamps that bleed onto the rear fenders. Based on the same – A34R – architecture as the new Samsung SM5 recently launched in the Korean market (which spawned the Renault Safrane model sold in the Gulf states), the Latitude measures 4890mm in length, 1830mm wide and 1490mm high.

Though photos of the new Latitude’s cabin are not presently available, the French automaker promises an emphasis on innovation and travelling comfort, including a host of luxury appointments designed to cosset its occupants.

General Motors Co. has reassigned dozens of product development executives and appointed new heads of global product planning, powertrain engineering and quality in its latest departmental shakeup.

Responsibility for global product planning moves to CEO Ed Whitacre from Vice Chairman Tom Stephens. Stephens retains control of product development, including design, engineering and purchasing.

GM announced the changes Friday in a memo to employees obtained by Automotive News. Spokeswomen Sharon Basel and Katie McBride verified the memo’s authenticity and said the moves didn’t involve any employees leaving the company. The shakeup follows major changes in sales and marketing in March.

As part of Friday’s changes, Steve Carlisle has become vice president of global product planning, reporting to Whitacre. Carlisle, who had previously served in product planning outside the United States and in GM’s truck group, had been vice president of U.S. sales operations since March.

He replaces Jon Lauckner, who had led product planning since August. GM said earlier Friday that Lauckner would head its new venture capital unit, reporting to Vice Chairman Steve Girsky.

Carlisle’s role in sales has gone to Don Johnson, who will report to Mark Reuss, president of GM North America.

Dan Hancock, GM’s vice president of global powertrain engineering since 2005, has moved into the newly created position of vice president of global strategic product alliances. He will focus on joint ventures and report to Stephens, who heads global product operations.

Jamie Hresko has replaced Hancock and will report to Stephens. Hresko, an electrical engineer by training, had been vice president of global quality since September 2008 and held a variety of manufacturing positions before that.

Dan Nicholson, formerly executive director of electronic integration and software, has replaced Hresko. He will report to Stephens.

Another BMW Art Car has been created and it’s a stunner in the tradition of Andy Warhol and Frank Stella. It was revealed on Wednesday in Paris.

There are two things you need to know about this car–it’s fast and it looks crazy.

Artist Jeff Koons has been collaborating with BMW since 2003. His Art Car has a blend of bright and vibrant colors. It’s a one-off wonder and will race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Koons’s palette is an M3 GT2, and it’s race-ready for the French endurance classic.

This is the 17th Art Car that BMW has commissioned. It wears No. 79, in tribute to Warhol’s Art Car from 1979. That car saluted Frank Stella’s 1976 racer. They both competed at Le Mans.

BMW takes racing and art quite seriously.

Dell has introduced a new, 5-inch, capacitive touchscreen device in the UK that is a cross between a smartphone and a tablet computer, the Dell Streak. To be available in the U.S. later this summer, the Streak runs on the Android operating system, and comes loaded with features for mobile business and recreational use. The list includes an integrated GPS chip driving Google Maps Navigation for free turn-by-turn directions, multi-touch control, 5-megapixel camera and a front-facing camera, and built-in WiFi, 3G, and Bluetooth. The Streak functions as a phone as well, but may be used without phone service or a carrier contract. Price and carrier options for the U.S. have not yet been announced by Dell.

Sized between a 10-inch-screen iPad, and a typical 3.5-inch smartphone screen, the Streak will clearly provide a much more easily visible screen for GPS turn-by-turn navigation than a smartphone, without the bulk of a bigger tablet device.

The Streak is venturing into the same, in-between territory that Garmin hopes to occupy with its Garminfones, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Work on the new Civic has begun! Our spies caught a prototype of the next-generation Honda hatchback out testing in the Italian mountains.

The current model made its debut back in 2005 but has continued to look fresh thanks to its radical design touches, a feature the new car promises to carry on when it arrives early in the spring of 2012.

Because it’s such a long way off, the prototype snapped here looks very similar to the old car, and the wheelbase is unchanged, but it does have a slightly wider track overall dimensions won’t differ much from today’s model. this tis

The test car was disguised with a fake front suggesting we’re looking at the old Civic, but one closer look reveals the front bumper is actually mounted yet in front of the real piece that is therefore hidden underneath.

Power will continue to come from four-cylinder petrol and turbodiesel units delivering between 80 and 140 hp. The current 1.3-litre, 115-hp hybrid motor will be carried over for the new model, too.

Carlos Ghosn: “You also must be in every market--and it's not just Japan, Europe and the United States anymore but also Brazil, Russia, China and India."

Size matters in auto company survival, Renault and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told an audience in Detroit on Tuesday.

To cope with the escalating costs and scope of a global industry, successful automakers must complete a trifecta–be able to compete in every technology, every market and every segment, Ghosn said during a luncheon speech at the Detroit Economic Club

“No 3 million-unit carmaker can make it,” Ghosn said, explaining why his Renault-Nissan alliance forged an alliance with Germany’s Daimler AG.

Competency in one or two of the three skills is not enough, and only very large companies can afford all three, he said.

Technology is getting more expensive. Automakers must simultaneously develop gasoline, diesel, hybrid and electric vehicle technology because they can’t predict which technologies will prevail, Ghosn said.

“You also must be in every market–and it’s not just Japan, Europe and the United States anymore but also Brazil, Russia, China and India. And you better be in Indonesia, too,” he said.

“And you can’t be viable as a niche player, so you need to be in the upper, lower, 4-by-4 and crossover segments.”

‘Technologies are expensive’

France-based Renault and Japan’s Nissan do not consolidate their financial results and in some ways remain separate companies, but they cooperate on platforms and powertrains and some manufacturing. Through a holding company, Renault owns about 42 percent of Nissan.

That type of alliance is more flexible than a conventional merger, Ghosn said. He also cited the new alliance with Daimler–initially to cooperate on developing a replacement small platform for Daimler’s Smart division–as a better way to cooperate.

“Technologies are expensive and you need a partner because nobody can afford to do it all alone.” Ghosn said.

Major players … someday

He predicted that as the Chinese auto market develops, domestic Chinese automakers eventually will emerge as major players.

“Right now, there is not one global Chinese automaker,” he said. “Not one has the scope of a company like Renault-Nissan or Volkswagen.”

But soon, a Chinese automaker–or perhaps an Indian company–will “buy something nobody else wants” and become a worldwide force, Ghosn predicted. “It could happen much faster than everybody expects.”

Much like the Koreans did in recent years, emerging-market automaker powerhouses can develop by constantly “benchmarking and copying best practices,” he said. “Nothing is ever unchanging in our industry.”

German-based engineering specialist Xenatec has plans for a limited-run Maybach coupe

German-based engineering specialist Xenatec has announced plans for an exclusive new Maybach coupe to rival the Bentley Brooklands and the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe.

The new two-door, which will ride on the same underpinnings and draw power from the same engine as the Maybach 57S, is planned to be built in a limited run of 100 cars at the company’s workshop in Weinsberg, Germany, all with the blessing of Maybach parent company, Daimler. Daimler has carefully followed the car’s development and will supply built-up 57S chassis from its nearby Sindelfingen-based manufacturing headquarters.

Depicted here in a series of official sketches issued by Xenatec, the Maybach coupe is set to receive a bespoke body that, while retaining its sedan sibling’s 5,730-millimeter length, has been widened considerably to 2,180 millimeters and lowered to about 1,480 millimeters.

Secrecy surrounds the originator of the new car’s design, although Daimler does not deny that its in-house styling department–headed by Gorden Wagener–has had a hand in its contemporary appearance.

The recently reworked grille and front-end styling of the facelifted Maybach 57S revealed at the recent Beijing motor show remains, but the rakish new coupe boasts more heavily angled windscreen and a B-pillar that has been moved back by 200 millimeters to accommodate longer doors. The C-pillar also extends further back to provide the coupe with a more sporting air.

Powered by the same twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12 engine as the Maybach 57S, the new coupe will pack a sturdy 612 hp and 737.5 lb-ft of torque. No performance claims have been made for the new car, though Xenatec hints that the Maybach coupe won’t give anything away to its more formal sedan sibling, which is claimed to hit 62 mph from standstill in 5.0 seconds and to reach a top speed of 171 mph.

Supporting the new car is a returned air-sprung suspension featuring wider tracks and 20-inch wheels aimed at providing the car with a more sporting character than today’s Maybach models.

The sixth generation of BMW’s 5-Series mid-sized sedan arrived in Australia this week with the usual array of new features, mechanical improvements and the revival of some old badges.

There’s also new driving technology – including four-wheel steering – designed to keep the 5-Series as the dynamic benchmark in the luxury four-door class.

BMW has also pared back the model range, deleting two six-cylinder models – one petrol and one diesel – to simplify the four-model range.

All four engines are teamed to an eight-speed automatic transmissions that helps make them more efficient than those they replace, while bringing more power and better performance.

The new 5-Series is also 9 per cent more expensive in entry-level form, with the four-cylinder diesel model jumping by $#### to $83,300, plus on-road costs.

The new 5-Series looks like a smaller version of the flagship 7-Series limousine, and even borrows some of that car’s mechanical components, including the aluminium suspension.

Like the 7-Series, the new 5-Series has grown in size, stretching 44mm longer and 14mm wider. Its height, however, has dropped by an insignificant 3mm while the wheels have been placed closer to the corners of the car in an effort to improve driving dynamics and give it a bolder stance on the road.

While BMW has increased the use of lightweight materials on the 5-Series – the doors and bonnet, for example, are aluminium – the overall weight has increased slightly.

BMW has thrown more equipment at its executive five-seater in an effort to offset the price rises. The standard key has given way to a sensor key that can be left in the driver’s pocket, while the cruise control can now automatically brake the vehicle if the traffic banks up ahead.

Other standard features include Bluetooth connectivity, satellite-navigation, leather trim (the rival Mercedes-Benz has fake leather trim on volume selling models), multi-zone climate control air-conditioning, front and rear parking sensors, automatic wipers and whiter, more efficient xenon headlights.

The controversial runflat tyres – which can be driven on when punctured but generally can’t be repaired – are also standard again on the 5-Series.

All new 5-Series also get six airbags, stability control, whiplash reducing front headrests and a bonnet that can pop up to protect pedestrians in an impact.

The base 2.0-litre diesel four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine in the 520d makes 135kW (5kW more than the outgoing model) and 380Nm. Fuel consumption has been reduced to a claimed average of a miserly 5.2 litres per 100km (L/100km).

The 528i ($99,900, plus on-road costs) effectively replaces the old 530i that was more expensive. Its 3.0-litre six-cylinder makes 190kW and 310Nm and uses an average 8.0L/100km.

The 528i also gets xenon headlights and 18-inch wheels.

Stepping up in price is the 535i, which sells from $128,900, plus on-road costs. Its 3.0-litre six-cylinder picks up a turbocharger to make 225kW and 400Nm. Fuel economy is a respectable 8.4L/100km.

Additional equipment for the 535i includes a reversing camera, headlights that turn around corners, automatic high beam lights, sports steering wheel and a better sound system.

The flagship of the 5-Series range – for now – is the 550i ($178,900), which gets a twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8 good for a potent 300kW and 600Nm. Fuel use, though, has actually increased over the model it replaces, using 10.4L/100km.

OPTIONAL ADJUSTABLE SUSPENSION

As expected in a flagship it comes loaded with equipment, including 19-inch alloy wheels, heated seats, four-zone air-conditioning, voice control, sunroof, rear sunblind, alarm and a more advanced navigation system.

As with all BMWs there’s a range of options, including the ability to choose interior trims and finishes, allowing customization.

BMW has also added an optional four-wheel steering system to the 5-Series – it’s teamed with the now optional active steering system that varies the steering ratio depending on speed – allowing the rear wheels to turn up to 2.5 degrees.

Up to 60km/h the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction of the front wheels, reducing the turning circle and improving tight corner agility.

Between 60km/h and 80km/h the rear wheels remain in the straight ahead position.

Over 80km/h the rear wheels turn in the same direction as those in the front, reducing high speed cornering nervousness and helping reduce steering inputs, even with lane changes.

BMW says it will consider the six-cylinder turbo-diesel model down the track, while the wagon – or Touring – should arrive here before the end of the year.

A high performance M5 model – the V10 M5 was recently discontinued – is expected within two years.

Victor Nacif started his new role as Vice President of Design at Nissan Design Europe last month, having recently relocated from San Diego, California. Car Design News caught up with Nacif, an avid racing fan, at last weekend’s FIA GT1 World Championship race at Silverstone, in which a Nissan GT-R piloted by team Sumo Power garnered the win.

Nacif comes to NDE following a six-year stint at Nissan Design America where he held the role of Vice President of Design Business Aspects. During his tenure he was responsible for managing support, improving processes and creating an effective business for the company’s design initiatives. He was instrumental in improving the efficiency of NDA as well as introducing the Mexicali mill operations in Mexicali, Mexico. “The brief was to make [NDA] a good operation from a business standpoint,” Nacif told CDN.

Born in Mexico City, Nacif moved to Detroit at the age of nine and later attended CCS. Upon graduation, he joined Ford Motor Co. as a designer, but was lured away by an enticing proposition from PSA. Nacif returned to Ford as a Senior Designer in 1988 and eventually earned the role of Design Manager before again returning to Peugeot as Chief Designer in 1997. He became Design Director at the French brand in 2000, a position he held until he joined Nissan in 2004.

In his new role as VP of Design at NDE Nacif will have to stimulate the creativity of the designers on staff, but he doesn’t deem that to be an issue. “This team is really, really good,” Nacif said. “They’re productive and winning programs. My role is to find ways to continually advance NDE, but also the business.”

Nacif’s educational background is interesting when it comes to accomplishing that task: he has studied business management at both HEC in France and Stanford University in the US. But his placement at what is arguably the core of Nissan’s design operations will be essential as well. “I sleep only three hours a night,” Nacif confesses. “With the difference in time zones I’m able to communicate with Alfonso [Albaisa] in California at night and exchange emails with Tokyo in the morning. The rest of the time I like to read. I read a lot.”

Like many of his colleagues at Nissan, Nacif is passionate about sports and classic cars. He currently owns a Lotus Europa and an Exige S (that he’s saving for his son), but had to sell his Ferrari Maranello before coming to the UK. “I’ve got a Lotus 2-Eleven and a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera on my wish list,” he told CDN. “But I’ve driven a few GT-Rs and I really like them. I may be able to negotiate some sort of deal,” he added coyly.