Now you can rent practically any car under the sun, from an E30 BMW M3 to a 1970 AMC Javelin to the Acura NSX Concept that’s not even out yet. The only catch is, you’d have to go to a Europcar store in France and the car will be in 1:64 scale.

In an ingenious marketing campaign, Mattel teamed up with Europe’s largest car rental agency and created the Hot Wheels Car Rental. Using select Europcar locations across France, parents who rented an actual car could sign their kids up to rent a toy car at a station inside the store.

Just like a real rental experience, children could select from a catalogue of vehicles, ranging from a Delorean DMC-12 to the Batmobile. Both online and at-the-counter booking were available. The planners made the process as authentic to the real rental experience as possible, with contracts and even a loyalty points program. No word on whether random Hot Wheels were engulfed in cigarette smoke or rented to other kids when you had clearly made the reservation months in advance and just gotten off an overbooked six-hour flight that taxied inexplicably for an additional 35 minutes.

If the toy cars were damaged or lost, Europcar charged the parents’ credit cards. Forty-five percent of them were kept and paid for. The campaign also served as a survey for Mattel to determine which models were most popular with kids. Presumably, more Lamborghini Sesto Elementos were pocketed than 1986 Monte Carlos with flame paint jobs.

You can watch the video describing the program at Advertising Age. Someone, however, should tell its producers the differences between a Bentley versus an Infiniti G37 and a Camaro versus a 1970 Ford Torino Talladega.

An updated version of Honda’s popular and adorable premium super-compact, the N-One, went on sale in Japan on Friday.

Unlike traditional mid-generational refreshes, the N-One’s does not come with a facelift. That’s because the car trades primarily on its exterior design, a throwback to the 1967 Honda N360. The retro body shares Honda’s N-series kei car platform, which also underpins the more conventional N-Wgn and the high-roof N-Box. Instead, the N-One’s update adds more safety features, better fuel economy, and mod cons.

The new N-One adopts Honda’s City-Brake Active System, basically a rear-end collision warning that alerts drivers to an impending crash. If the driver fails to respond, brakes are automatically applied. The system also controls engine output to prevent unintended acceleration if the driver mashes the go pedal while there’s obstacle within four meters of the front of the car. Side curtain airbags are also now standard.

The city car now also gets 67 mpg, thanks to reduced friction and improved thermal efficiency from its 660cc DOHC three-cylinder. Output is still capped at 67hp per kei car standards, and the engine is mated to a CVT on both front- and all-wheel-drive models. Curb weight ranges from 1,852 to 2,028 lbs depending on options.

The glass now boasts both UV and infrared blocking technology, the latter to reduce heat transferred into the cabin by sunlight. Sharp Electronics’ Plasmacluster air filtering system, which claims to reduce allergens and sterilizes mold, is now standard as well.

Lastly, two new colors, Fresh Lime Metallic (available with an optional white roof) and Horizon Turquoise Pearl (available with an optional silver roof), are now available, bringing the color combo count to 25. Sadly, Honda has no plans to export this stylish city runabout to the US.

China-based Volvo parent company Geely has announced the Swedish automaker will move up a notch on the market in order to go head-to-head against well-known players like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi.

“We will make Volvo cars more luxurious and high-end. Volvo will strive to become one of the dominant players in the luxury car sector,” affirmed company chairman Li Shufu during a press conference held in China.

Shufu did not reveal details about Volvo’s future product plans but he has previously indicated the automaker will develop a large, range-topping luxury sedan aimed at the BMW 7-Series and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Tentatively called S100, the flagship will ride on a lengthened version of the modular Scalable Platform Architecture (SPA) that will underpin the next S80 and the upcoming second-gen XC90.

The S100 is expected to enter production in Volvo’s Chengdu, China, plant in the next couple of years. Shufu has not commented on whether the sedan will be exported to other markets such as Europe and the United States.

In addition to boosting profits, moving Volvo up a notch on the market will make it possible for parent company Geely to sell a full lineup of aggressively-priced mainstream models built with technology gleaned from the Swedish automaker’s R&D department.

“Geely and Volvo are like brothers, not father and son,” explained Shufu, adding that he would like the two companies to operate like Volkswagen and Audi.

Volvo is hoping the popular V40 hatchback will help it sell 80,000 cars in China this year, an ambitious goal that would make China its largest global market. Last year, the automaker sold approximately 61,146 cars in China (up 45.6 percent from 2012) and 61,233 cars in the United States (down 10.1 percent from a year earlier).

A small Kenyan company called Mobius Motors has announced it has secured the necessary funding to start production of the Mobius Two, a boxy two-door vehicle designed specifically for the rough roads of rural Africa. The bulk of the funding was provided by a New York-based private investment firm called PanAfrican Investment Company.