Factory-Customized Chrysler 300 Headed to 2012 Chicago Auto Show

A highly customized Chrysler 300 sedan — designed and engineered by Mopar to achieve better acceleration times than the regular 300C — will be unveiled at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show in early February.

The factory-built model, called the Mopar '12 300, will offer the same styling enhancements as the Chrysler 300S but with additional performance enhancements.

Additions include a boosted final-drive ratio on the rear differential, which helps to increase acceleration times to the low-five-second mark. It's still slower than the 300 SRT8 version, but presumably this model goes after a different demographic. The Mopar '12 300 features 42% stiffer front and 23% stiffer rear spring rates compared to a regular 300, and it also comes with high-performance all-season tires and beefed-up brake linings for better stopping power.

Seinfeld Begs, Bribes Way Into Acura NSX

Automakers are rolling out the big names for their Super Bowl XLVI ads. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is the latest star to endorse a car during a game-time commercial.

Unsurprisingly, the spot is funny, and true to form, it's an uncomfortable funny. Jerry wants the new Acura NSX, but finds out he’s customer No. 2 on the waiting list. In response, he launches a campaign to be the first in line to get Acura's new sports car.

Chevrolet Sonic Free-Falls into Super Bowl Coverage

Here's an interesting tidbit about the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic: Until this point, it hasn't received any traditional TV ads as a part of its launch campaign, according to GM. That's about to change in a big way with the minute-long spot that'll air during Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday. The ad highlights some of the cool things Chevy has been doing with the Sonic to get the attention of young car buyers.

Some stunts include shoving a Sonic out of a cargo plane, kick-flipping a Sonic and making a music video for OK Go that features the Sonic. Check out the amalgamation above.

Cars.com News Briefs: Jan. 31, 2012

Here’s what we have our eye on today:

• Analysts expect January’s new-car sales to increase 6% over January 2011, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 13.4 million, Bloomberg News reports. That would fall short of the final months in 2011 — November and December saw a 13.6 million SAAR — but outpace the SAAR for the first 10 months of 2011. Why? Bloomberg cites familiar reasons: pent-up demand, declining unemployment, rising consumer confidence and higher credit availability — in essence, the factors expected to drive car sales through 2012. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect Chrysler and Hyundai-Kia to post the largest sales gains among major automakers, while Honda and GM may see modest declines.

• The consumer-confidence spin doesn’t add up, however. New York’s Conference Board released this month’s widely regarded Consumer Confidence Index, which stands at 61.1. That’s down from December’s 64.5 and January 2011’s 65.6, and it adds more static to this month’s otherwise upbeat economic news. Though unemployment has decreased month-over-month since last August and new-car sales have improved over the same span, new-home sales have also dipped, the Census Bureau reports.

• Honda built fewer than 3 million cars worldwide in 2011, leading the Japanese automaker to slash profit expectations 65% for the fiscal year that ends in March, Automotive News reports. Hammered by natural disasters in Asia and a strengthening Japanese yen, Honda’s profits plunged for the final quarter of 2011. U.S. sales fell 7% in 2011, well below the industry’s 10% sales improvement.

• In a widening investigation among automotive suppliers, Japanese companies Yazaki Corp. and Denso Corp. pleaded guilty for price-fixing on various car parts. Automotive News reports Yazaki will be fined $470 million — the largest criminal fine ever awarded for a Sherman Act antitrust violation — for fixing higher prices on two parts. Denso was fined $78 million.

• Citing a decline in GM stock, the U.S. Treasury increased its loss estimate for its 2009 autos bailout to $23.77 billion, The Detroit News reports. That’s higher than the $23.6 billion forecasted earlier but far lower than previous estimates. The government initially projected losing $44 billion of the $85 billion package.

SRT (Sort of) Teases New Viper

After a lot of hype, Chrysler's SRT Viper reveal turned out to be a dud. The group announced a Viper sneak peek on its Facebook page and then unveiled just a partial sketch of the forthcoming 2013 SRT Viper. 

The drawing doesn't say too much about the new performance car, but we do know that the Viper trades the Dodge name in for the SRT brand for 2013. It's going into production later this year in Detroit.

The new Viper will meet the public at the 2012 New York auto show in April.

Tesla Model X Crossover Teased

We still have to wait until July for the first Tesla Model S sedans to go on sale. Even so, that's not stopping the automaker from announcing a new model that the company has been working on, alongside the Model S, called the Model X.

Based off the Model S, the Tesla Model X is a crossover. It will be unveiled to the public via the company's website at 8 p.m. PST on Feb. 9, according to a tweet from Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The vehicle will officially debut at the company's Los Angeles Design Studio park. No word on if the new model will also be shown at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show, which will be underway at the time.

According to Tesla, the Model X combines the functionality of a minivan with the design of an SUV. Since the crossover features the Model S' powertrain and platform, Tesla believes it can get the Model X out quickly. With development already underway, the company expects a late-2013 delivery.

2012 Jaguar XJL Video

We've covered the Jaguar XJL before, but this time we try out a new 2012 XJL Supersport. The trim comes with tons of additional features, including power reclining rear seats, black leather headliner and gloss trim. Despite all the niceties, the XJL Supersport might be a little too opulent for its own good, according to Cars.com Executive Editor Joe Wiesenfelder.

2012 Mitsubishi Lancer: Car Seat Check

The 2012 Mitsubishi Lancer is a small sedan that takes an aggressive stance with its forward-leaning grille. For parents trying to hold onto their carefree past, the top-of-the-line Lancer Ralliart trim adds some excitement with a gaping grille, hood scoop and turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The Lancer seats five.

For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide 30 rear-facing infant-safety seat, a Britax Roundabout convertible child-safety seat and Graco high-back TurboBooster seat.

Study Finds Carpooling Parents Forgo Kids' Booster Seats

More than 50% of carpooling parents allow the 4- to 8-year-olds in their car — even their own kids — to skip booster seats, according to a national survey published in the February 2012 edition of the journal Pediatrics. Nearly half of the survey's 1,612 respondents said they didn't know their state's booster seat law.

The web-based survey also found that one-third of the respondents said getting a carpooling child's booster seat in advance was too much of a hassle.

Booster seats are the next step for children who have outgrown a forward-facing child-safety seat. A booster elevates a child and helps a car's seat belt, which is designed to fit adults, fit properly across the child's chest and lap. A booster seat is more than twice as effective in reducing a child's risk of injury when compared to seat belt use alone.

Nissan CEO Talks New Cars, Sales Expectations

By any account, Nissan had a good year. Despite challenges in Asia and weakening consumer confidence in debt-ridden Europe, the Japanese automaker outpaced analysts' expectations for profits over the first half of its fiscal year, which ended last September. By year's end, Nissan's U.S. sales, including its Infiniti luxury division, improved 15%. Toyota and Honda ended 2011 with sales down 7% apiece, but they were greatly impacted by last year's tsunami in Japan, leading to far less dealership inventory than Nissan.

Ask CEO Carlos Ghosn to characterize Nissan's smooth sailing, and he tempers expectations: "If people are not upbeat, it's good," he said. "The company is moving into the right direction, even [though] there are a lot of headwinds."

Ghosn, 57, has been Nissan's chief executive since June 2001; he also oversees French automaker Renault, which has been allied with Nissan since 1999. He discussed Nissan's outlook for 2012 during this month's Detroit auto show, as well as at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit the same week.

Major products like the Altima and Sentra — Nissan's first and third best-sellers in 2011, respectively — are set for redesigns this year. Both cars have been in their current guise since late 2006, and both are part of a global barrage that will include a new product every six weeks on average through 2016, Ghosn said.