General Motors has submitted trademark applications that hint at a Buick Regal wagon.

The company has filed to protect the terms Regal Tourx and Tourx, categorized as vehicle nameplates, according to filings spotted by AutoGuide.

Previous rumors have suggested the redesigned 2017 Regal will be built in Germany via GM’s Opel division as a rebadged version of the next-generation Insignia.

The current Regal, introduced for the 2011 model year, is already related to the current-generation Insignia, which is offered as a Sports Tourer wagon (pictured) in certain markets.

The Tourx application suggests the next-generation lineup could include a wagon for the US market, though specific details are unclear and many trademark nameplates never make it to market.

In any case, Opel in 2013 announced that its Rüsselsheim will eventually build Buick-badged vehicles. The comments were interpreted as confirmation that the Regal would no longer be built at GM’s Oshawa, Ontario, factory.

It’s officially winter and Lexus has made a seasonally-appropriate modification to its NX crossover. Going where no tire company has gone before, Lexus has created a set of ice wheels and tires for its compact utility vehicle.

No, these aren’t your typical snow tires, but an actual set of wheels formed totally of ice. Lexus says the idea for its take on winter tires was inspired by the company’s mission of “creating amazing.”

Although it only takes an hour or so to make an ice cube in a freezer, Lexus’s ice wheels took substantially longer. It took a team three-month to research, design and test the NX’s frozen-water wheels. It then took an additional five-days to deep freeze the car at -22 degrees Fahrenheit. Lexus notes that the chilled NX started on the first try. To enhance the look, Lexus also included in-wheel LED lighting.

The Lexus NX and its ice wheels were successfully taken for a test drive somewhere in London. Lexus didn’t mention how long the ice wheels lasted before conventional rubber had to be put back on.

Though admittedly pointless, there is something cool about seeing a crossover riding around on essentially on four blocks of ice.

Mazda has appointed a new chief executive for its North American operations, as current CEO Jim O’Sullivan plans to retire.

O’Sullivan is said to be the company’s longest-serving president, taking the reins at MNAO in 2003. He is a 40-year industry veteran with 13 years at Mazda, including a role as managing executive director.

“I could not be more sad to see Jim leave Mazda,” said Mazda chief Masamichi Kogai. “Over the years, both MNAO and Mazda itself have been through some difficult times, but Jim has consistently shown strong leadership throughout. With a focus on creating a strong relationship with dealers, he built the sales network we have today in the U.S. and Mexico and led MNAO to increase both sales and profitability and raise the image of the Mazda brand.”

O’Sullivan will be succeeded by Masahiro Moro, currently the company’s global marketing chief. He joined the company in 1983 and previously served in several marketing roles.

While overseeing Mazda’s North America operations, Moro will keep his responsibilities as managing executive officer for global marketing strategy.

Volkswagen’s future advertising campaigns will no longer center on the ‘Das Auto’ slogan.

The company plans to simplify its branding to simply ‘Volkswagen’ alongside the iconic VW logo, a spokesman confirmed to Reuters. The revamped marketing will be rolled out in stages globally.

No explicit reason was given for dropping the catchphrase, which translates to “The Car” and hints at the VW’s pride in German engineering, however the decision is presumably associated with the diesel emissions scandal. Executives are said to have worried that it could be interpreted as arrogant as the company works to repair its image.

Previous reports have blamed the TDI fiasco on an arrogant culture within VW’s engineering and management ranks. Workers have been accused of scoffing at US emissions regulations, though unattainable demands from uncompromising upper management may have been a more powerful factor. In any case, some potential buyers may wonder why the automaker cheated for years without apparent concern that regulators would eventually catch on.

Aside from the renewed focus on humility to restore VW’s core brand image, the company has also vowed to invest more in electric vehicles. The ‘Clean Diesel’ slogan is now viewed as disingenuous, and EVs provide a chance for the automaker to gain back some green credibility. In light of the shift, ‘Das Auto’ may not mesh with the desired connotation of innovation and flexibility.

The company has not yet publicly disclosed full details of its internal investigation, nor the proposed fix for US-market four-cylinder TDI vehicles. Both announcements could bring more public-relations trouble as the rebranding efforts move forward.

Nissan announced Tuesday it will discontinue is World Endurance Championship (WEC) and Le Mans campaign after only a single season, effectively ending development of its front-wheel-drive GT-R LM Nismo LMP1 cars.

The GT-R LM Nismo race cars were introduced to the WEC circuit in 2015, where they struggled to keep up with the established teams in LMP1. It appears the team was unable to overcome the complications of implementing a hybrid system while simultaneously pioneering a front-wheel-drive architecture in the highly competitive LMP1 class.

“The teams worked diligently to bring the vehicles up to the desired performance levels,” Nissan said in the announcement. “However, the company concluded that the program would not be able to reach its ambitions and decided to focus on developing its longer term racing strategies.”

Nissan announced in August that its WEC effort was being suspended indefinitely in order to focus on the complications that arose during the cars’ first Le Mans outing in June. Only one of the three factory cars finished the race, and none of them ran with their hybrid systems fully functioning, which severely limited their power output.

The cars under-performed so drastically in qualifying at Le Mans that they were all issued penalties for being too slow relatively to their class, relegating them to the back of the prototype grid before the race even began.

Nissan will continue to participate in WEC as an engine supplier, but no factory-backed race cars will be developed.

Google has finally found the automotive partner it’s been seeking for its autonomous vehicle technology. According to a new report, Google will announce a vehicle partnership with Ford next month.

Citing three un-named sources with knowledge of the plans, Yahoo Autos is claiming that Google has inked a deal with Ford that will see the Dearborn-based automaker using its self-driving tech in future vehicles. The two companies will form a joint-venture for the autonomous car endeavor, which will reportedly be announced at next month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Google previously stated that it had no intentions of creating an auto company of its own, citing the high costs and complexity of the requisite infrastructure. Ford, meanwhile, will be able to lean on Google for its years of research and millions of miles logged in the field of autonomous vehicles. Ford announced earlier this month that it will begin testing autonomous vehicles in California in 2016.

Interestingly, the new joint venture is said to be legally separate from Ford, which could be a tactic to shield the automaker from the liabilities of self-driving cars. Companies like Volvo and Mercedes-Benz, and even Google, have said that they would take full responsibility for any crashes involving their autonomous cars.

It remains to be seen when the first self-driving Fords powered by Google might hit the road, but several automakers have pledged to have autonomous tech available to consumers by 2020.

Ford is celebrating a record year for new patents, filing applications for nearly 6,000 inventions so far this year.

Many of the submissions are focused on autonomous vehicles, connected vehicles, wearable devices, electric bicycles, ride-sharing platforms and other next-generation technology.

Engineers have tripled their filings for electrification innovations in the past five years. Following Tesla’s lead, many of Ford’s 2,000+ electrification patents have been opened to rivals, though, like traditional arrangements, interested competitors must license the technology.

The company has not ignored its gasoline engines, however, with 275 patents awarded for EcoBoost mills and another 200 pending.

“Ford has more US patents on gasoline turbocharged direct-injection technology than any other automaker today,” the company boasts.

Notable innovations include a bike system that can detect bike lanes and alert cyclists of path deviations, while another dynamically recommends safe speed based on nearby infrastructure and GPS data. Engineers also developed a front brake light to improve vehicle-to-vehicle communication and serve as a signal to pedestrians.

A large number of the patent submissions are unlikely to ever enter production, however Ford has highlighted its growing number of applications as evidence of its commitment to innovation as the industry moves toward self-driving and electric vehicles.