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Wayne Taylor Racing won its record-tying third consecutive Rolex 24 at Daytona, using a new car and a new lineup to beat some of the best racers in the world.

According to the reviews so far, the Toyota GR Yaris is a hot hatch gem while the MINI Cooper John Cooper Works GP is a bit of an unruly beast to drive. However, which is quicker in a straight line?

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. This week, they talk about the cars they've been driving, including the 2021 Volkswagen Arteon, 2021 Kia K5 GT, 2022 Acura MDX and long-term 2021 Acura TLX. In this week's news, they talk about the possibility of a Nissan Xterra return and break down what's going on over at Lotus — the British sports car company is axing its current lineup and replacing the Elise, Exige and Evora with a new car called the Type 131.

The next-generation Nissan Pathfinder is coming on February 4, and Nissan just dropped a teaser for the model today.

Nissan's video above depicts the new Pathfinder pounding down some dirt tracks, making loud engine noises and getting pelted with the elements. Dirt, rain, mud, snow and ice all make an appearance. As for the car itself, Nissan is keeping most of it close to its chest.

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp unveiled its Woven Planet Research Group at a virtual media event on Friday, promising to deliver the world's "safest mobility" as competition heats up to develop self-driving and connected cars.

In the online presentation, dubbed "The Genesis," Woven Planet executives provided few hints into specific features in the pipeline, but said a new assisted-driving system would be mounted on the company's passenger cars by the end of this year.

Hang on to your kidneys, the planet's fastest production motorcycle is on its way back. Suzuki has released a teaser video for a new Hayabusa on its global and UK social media channels. Only a few glimpses of the superbike can be seen, but it's enough to get our adrenal glands pumping.

Debuting in 1999 during Japan's motorcycle speed wars, the Suzuki Hayabusa immediately rocketed to the forefront, nabbing the world record for fastest street bike. Not only has it been clocked at speeds as high as 194 mph, it's held on to that title for for two decades. Notably, the Hayabusa, named after a peregrine falcon known for reaching 200 mph during its hunting dives, did not compromise everyday comfort and handling in pursuit of all-out speed.

BOSTON — A federal judge in Boston on Thursday rejected a last-ditch effort by two men to avoid being extradited to Japan to face charges they helped former Nissan Motor Co Ltd Chairman Carlos Ghosn flee the country.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani cleared the way for U.S. Army Special Forces veteran Michael Taylor and his son, Peter Taylor, to be handed over to Japan, after the U.S. State Department approved their extradition.

General Motors isn't the only car company setting big environmental goals; Nissan is, too. On Wednesday, the Yokohama company provided an outline of its two-step plan. Firstly, Nissan plans to electrify every all-new car it launches by the early 2030s. Then, by 2050, it wants to achieve carbon neutrality not only in its operations, but across the total life cycle of everything it makes.

Does that mean every Nissan will be electric? Not necessarily. Nissan says the 100% electrification plan applies to key markets including Japan, China, the U.S. and Europe. It only applies to all-new models, though. So, if, say, the Nissan GT-R is still being incrementally improved at that point, it won't have to be electric. By the sounds of it, a successor that debuts before 2030 or so will be exempt as well.

Available in the United States since last summer, the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek has crossed the Atlantic Ocean, landing in the United Kingdom as the XV, in right-hand drive and with an identical starting price to its predecessor: £31,665 ($43,427).

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp overtook Volkswagen Group in vehicle sales last year, regaining pole position as the world's top-selling automaker for the first time in five years as the pandemic sales slump hit its German rival harder.

Toyota said on Thursday its group-wide global sales fell 11.3% to 9.528 million vehicles in 2020. That compared with a 15.2 percent drop at Volkswagen to 9.305 million vehicles.

As Nissan prepares to usher its next generation Z car into the world, the last one will be discontinued for 2021.

The 1980s saw Japanese auto boom in the U.S., while at home the "Bubble Economy" of the latter half of the decade swelled corporate coffers. The heady atmosphere lead first Honda, then Toyota and Nissan, to launch luxury divisions, aimed primarily at the U.S. market. Nissan formed a secret task force in 1985 to create Infiniti, and the brand launched (simultaneously with Lexus) at the 1989 Detroit Auto Show. The Infiniti Q45 was the brand's flagship and displayed a distinctly Japanese take on the luxury sedan.

Whereas the Lexus LS400 was like the world's most perfect Cadillac — all silence and smoothness — the more driver-oriented Q45 was something akin to an Asian Jaguar. The Zen-like styling eschewed luxury car clichés such as interior wood trim and a fancy chrome grille. Instead, the nose of the Q45 was adorned with a stylized badge that was suggestive of a samurai shield.

Driving a car fast and well on a tight, twisty road lined with trees on either side takes a lot of skill. It also takes some massive balls, as the Japanese driver of this blue Honda S2000 obviously has.

Toyota has filed a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the name "Celica." While the idea might stir excited thoughts of another sports coupe from Aichi, we think this is rather unlikely, given the extraordinary lengths Toyota has had to go through to build the Supra. What we do know is that the filing, first noticed by CarBuzz, is quite recent, dated January 15.

Another possibility is that it will simply use the name on another car that's already in the works. The upcoming 86 successor would be a natural guess, as it shares many characteristics with early Celicas. Both are lightweight, rear-wheel-drive sports coupes.