Feel free to read that headline as many times as necessary, but yes, it’s true: Clarkson-san wrote “Out of nowhere, my car of the year,” the Corvette ZR1. The man who pooped on the spearhead of electric cars has given an American high horsepower pushrod V8 the gold and glory. And this is after comparing the ZR1’s predecessors to Big Macs: “Cheap, plastic and at the right time, and in the right place, sort of just what you want.”

Not only that, but to put the ZR1 on its pedestal, Clarkson went so far as to remove the Caterham 500 he had previously placed there. On the show, he said that the Caterham was the best of the year, but in his article writes, “However, if you broaden the search engine and look simply for the best car of the year, the Caterham isn’t in with a shout because it’s ugly and geeky and I wouldn’t have one even if the option was the loss of my right testicle.”

And so the ZR1 reigns, even though “it’s not built very well.” In Clarkson’s words, it is “both docile and extraordinarily savage,” looks good, goes fast in a straight line and around corners, “most of the time bumbles about like a forgetful uncle,” and costs “lots for a Corvette” but is a bargain for the performance. His only lament about the car was this: “unless the healthcare and pensions company that makes it can be turned around, it will be the last of the breed.” The ZR1 - winning hearts and minds… Hat tip to Pdexter!

Lawrence Tomlinson bought historic British car maker Ginetta in 2005, and in just three years his team has hit it over the wall with the maker’s first car under his tenure: the Ginetta G50, has taken Autosport’s number one slot in its Top 10 Cars of the Year.

The G50’s attractions are obvious: It is light (1,750 lbs), powerful (300 horsepower six-cylinder), and relatively inexpensive (£35,000-or around $51,000 USD). It comes in three flavors for now: Roadgoing coupe, G50 Cup Car, and a GT4 model for the FIA GT4 series. The Cup Car had its own one-make race series in Britain, and that was so successful it also won an award in Motorsport News. Coming in 2009 for Ginetta: a G50Z for GT3 competition, an electric Ginetta G50, and expansion onto the Continent with a one-make series in Spain fielding the Ginetta G20.

Jeremy Clarkson finally got his chance to thrash a Tesla Roadster on the Top Gear test track during the most recent episode and things definitely went better than his time with the G-Wiz. Clarkson pitted the Tesla against its chassis progenitor, the Lotus Elise and the results were… mixed. The Roadster, with the new drivetrain 1.5 featuring the final version of the single speed gearbox and torquier motor, ran away from the Elise in a drag race. However, when it came to going around corners, the extra 1,000 lbs of lithium ion batteries didn’t help. As good as the Tesla handles, weight is always the enemy and the Lotus easily beat the Roadster around the corners. On the straights though, the electric torque won the day, for a while anyway.

As we all know, the range of electric cars depends on driving style and the EPA cycle doesn’t evaluate a car like the Roadster the way it’s meant to be driven. When we tested the Roadster last January, we estimated the range on our drive to be about 120-130 miles. Clarkson managed to exceed the G-Wiz’s 40 mile range, but not by much. He got a mere 55 miles before the battery was flat. See it all in the video after the jump.

We started our monthly calendar of events last month and learned almost immediately that we will never be able to make it as comprehensive as everyone would like, but that’s where you come in. Take a look at the list we’ve put together for December after the jump, and if you see changes that need to be made or events you’d like to add, leave a comment with event info and a link. Once again we’ve used two of our favorite resources: the New York Times automotive calendar for national and international stuff, and for local stuff here in Southern California, our buddy Dave Lindsay’s SoCalCarCulture pages. Dave’s photos from these local events are fantastic.

So check out the December event calendar we put together for you after the jump and start adding to it. And please note the large number of Toys 4 Tots drives being put on by local car clubs. With tough economic times it’s important to remember that every child deserves a toy. Happy Holidays everyone!

Reports suggest it would likely have a folding soft top instead of a collapsible tin roof like the upcoming Z4 replacement and a small trunk capable of swallowing just a weekend bag. Sources also hint that the Z2 would come exclusively with four-cylinder power, which could discourage BMW from bringing the vehicle to the United States where the assumption is that customers are not prepared to pay for premium cars with four-bangers. However, the development of new four-cylinder turbos potentially destined for American shores could make the Z2 a reality. Still, with the 1 Series cabrio available with the twin-turbo six, the Z2 could have its legs cut out from under it before it even materializes.

Behold, friends, the 2009 Pontiac G3 Wave. Yes, that’s an Aveo5 with Poncho nostrils, and it reeks of product strategy that’s more 1989 than 2009. Why not just call it G3 Le Mans? You know, in honor of the last Daewoo-sourced trashback that helped turn that whole “We Build Excitement” thing into a punchline. By comparison, this makes the equally distressing Pontiac G5 look like a Corvette ZR1 on the cool meter — and trust us, this is the only scenario in which you’ll ever see those two models mentioned in the same sentence again.

The press release after the jump explains that, “More than ever, fuel economy is an important factor in Pontiac’s formula of style and performance.” In the G3 Waveo, “performance” means red gauge lighting and 106 horsepower channeled through a 5-speed manual or cutting-edge 4-speed automatic. It also gets over 30 mpg highway, so we’re supposed to bust out the Veuve Clicquot and celebrate this new era of efficiency at the Pontiac division. Thanks, but we’ll skip this party.

The G8 and Solstice are genuinely exciting, desirable cars that had restored some luster to the Arrowhead, but this…

The defining line between each category has been muddled this year by a bunch of crossovers that could be considered either car or truck, though most were placed in the Truck category except for the new Toyota Venza. There are also two diesel-powered models being considered: the VW Jetta TDI and Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTec.

The jury that decides the winners is comprised entirely of automotive journalists, two of which are part of the Autoblog family: John McElroy who writes a weekly editorial called Autoline on Autoblog and Gary Witzenburg who writes a weekly editorial called At Witz’ End on AutoblogGreen.

While the 2009 TOTY award is likely to go to either the new Dodge Ram or Ford F-150, this year’s coveted COTY award will be the most hotly contested one in recent memory. Seriously, which one would you choose? The giant-slaying GT-R? The class-busting Genesis? The Hail Mary pass XF? The techno starship MKS? The Grade-A retro Challenger? You get the idea.

In fact, by finishing first and fourth at Silverstone with two Audi R10s, Audi takes the driver’s title (Alex Prémat and Mike Rockenfeller), the manufacturer’s title, and the team title. It’s only real competition was Peugeot, which walks away empty handed even though it won four of the five LMS races, had two cars on the podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and had pole position for every race. Next year’s battle for Franco-German supremacy should be even better. Make the jump for Audi’s press release.

According to Audi RS6 project manager Jens Koch, the twin-turbocharged V10 sedan won’t be coming to the U.S. in its current iteration. Originally, Audi thought that the four-door body style would be more appealing to Stateside consumers rather than the Avant, but apparently there’s too much energy and expense involved in making the V10 powerplant pass the more stringent sniffer standards here in the U.S.

On the upside, the third-generation RS6 is being developed for the global market, so the next iteration should arrive on our shores in 2012. Koch hinted that the RS6’s weight problem and 5.0-liter V10 wouldn’t carryover to the 2012 model, and that the next RS6 will be more “revolutionary” and “far more RennSport than anything previously developed.”

Meanwhile, Audi will take the wraps off the RS5 this January in Detroit, with the next RS4 debuting shortly thereafter.

Audi plans to further its goal of taking on BMW’s M division and Mercedes’ AMG lineup with more Quattro-branded vehicles positioned above run-of-the-mill Audis, along with more clearly defined R-, S- and RS-derivatives. “S” badged variants will also be sportier than current S models, while the “R” lineup will be “significantly souped-up” and “RS” will be reserved for lightweight, track-friendly models.