Had TMG, a German firm that engineers and fields Toyota’s race cars, expanded into a full-fledged go-fast division, it would have created hot-rodded Toyota and Lexus road cars like the 650-horsepower, LS-based TS-650 super sedan prototype.

Instead, the outfit will concentrate on providing development assistance to various Toyota projects, TMG president Yoshiaki Kinoshita revealed to Motoring.

“I don’t think you will find in the next four or five years a TMG car in any dealership,” Kinoshita said. “It will never be our intention to be a road car production company.”

Detailing TMG’s new efforts, Kinoshita said “we are doing a lot of prototyping, we are working on diesel engines, we are working on naturally-aspirated engines, we are working on single cylinders, we are working on simulation tools all for TMC [Toyota Motor Company]. That is starting to increase more and more.”

Intriguingly, Kinoshita said that TMG is also working on a new transmission (likely a dual-clutch gearbox) and a hybrid system for the RC F. The new powertrain components are likely two to three years away from showrooms.

The company has discovered a problem with the steering torque sensor that sometimes fails to properly register driver steering input, causing the system to remove electric power steering (EPS) assistance.

The issue is said to be limited to model year 2008 through 2011, including approximately 33,000 vehicles in total.

Mazda cautions that loss of power-steering assistance increases steering effort at low speeds, potentially increasing the risk of a crash.

Affected vehicles will be brought in for a software update to the power steering control module (PSCM) and instrument-cluster module, and replacement of any faulty parts if necessary.

Mazda expects to formally begin the recall in July.

Sources indicate Mahindra is interested in purchasing a majority stake in NEVS in order to re-launch the Saab brand all around the world. Although Mahindra is a relatively popular company in its home country, its sales are dismal at best in Europe and it has never had a significant presence in key markets such as the United States and China. Purchasing Saab would provide the company with a globally-recognized name and help it transition into a major player in the auto industry.

Interestingly, rumors indicate Mahindra would follow the path blazed by Volvo parent company Geely and move Saab up a notch on the market in order to take on well-established luxury automakers like Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW.

Dongfeng’s interest in Saab is also vague but the company appears to be primarily interested in the Phoenix platform that Saab was developing when it filed for bankruptcy in 2011. Dongfeng could help the Swedish firm bring the Phoenix platform to the market in exchange for the rights to use it in China.

NEVS has confirmed that it is involved in talks with two Asian automakers but it has remained mum about the details of the negotiations. Crippled by financial issues, the company stopped Saab production last May and it is believed to be seeking investors in order to avoid closing the Saab factory’s doors once again.

If NEVS inks a deal with Mahindra and Dongfeng, the alliance will be formally announced before the end of the month.

Scientists found that it is possible to make up to half a gallon of biofuel from 22 pounds of ground coffee beans by extracting the oil contained in the grounds using an organic solvent. 22 pounds is a lot on paper but it pales in comparison to the amount of grounds thrown away every day by the nation’s coffee industry.

Additionally, coffee grounds are billed as more eco-friendly than other substances currently used to make biofuel.

“[Coffee ground] oil also has similar properties to current feedstocks used to make biofuels. But, while those are cultivated specifically to produce fuel, spent coffee grounds are waste,” explained Chris Chuck, one of the scientists who worked on the project.

The team made biofuel using ground coffee sourced from over 20 regions all around the world. They also found that internal combustion engines can run on either regular coffee or decaf, though it is too early to tell what effect burning coffee has on an engine in the long run.

Scientists warn that coffee is unlikely to power the global auto industry in the near future. However, companies such as Starbucks could use waste grounds to power their fleet of delivery vehicles.

Now in its 28^th year, the J.D. Power IQS tracks the number of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) reported within the first 90-days of vehicle ownership. The study assigns a higher quality rating to vehicles with lower PP100 scores.

In the 2014 edition of the IQS, the industry average rose from 113 PP100 in 2013 to 116 PP100. A closer look at the data reveals that all-new or significantly updated models were partly to blame for that rise, with new vehicles averaging 128 PP100. Carryover vehicles averaged just 113 PP100.

“Automakers are trying to give consumers the new features and technology they want without introducing additional quality problems into their vehicles,” said David Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power. “However, almost all automakers are struggling to do this flawlessly with some consumers indicating that the technology is hard to understand, difficult to use, or simply does not always work as designed.”

Porsche was largely able to overcome those technological obstacle to snag its second-straight first-place finish in the IQS with 74 PP100. Jaguar (87), Lexus (92), Hyundai (94) and Toyota (105) rounded out the top five.

The study’s bottom five brands included Mazda (139), Scion (140), Mitsubishi (145), Jeep (146) and Fiat (206). Of note, Fiat’s IQS rating fell by a staggering 52 points from 2013′s study.

Ford was a big mover in this year’s IQS, moving from 10 spots below the industry average in 2013 to three spots above in the 2014 study. Nissan’s Infiniti luxury brand posted one of the survey’s biggest drops, falling from fourth place overall in 2013 to 23^rd in this year’s IQS.

General Motors earned the most segments wins of any automaker with six, followed by Hyundai with five.

The updated second-generation CLS gains a moderately updated front fascia that falls in line with Mercedes’ latest design language. The modifications include a revised single-slat radiator grille inspired by the CLA-Class, a more aggressive bumper and new headlights that incorporate Active Multibeam II technology.

Similar to Audi’s Matrix Beam lights, Active Multibeam II uses 24 individually-controlled LEDs to automatically adjust the lighting pattern so that the high beams can be left on even if a car is coming the other way. Active Multibeam II will not be offered in the United States because the technology is banned by a 1968 regulation.

The CLS’ rear end remains roughly unchanged save for a slightly revamped bumper and refreshed tail lamps. A selection of new alloy wheel designs and exterior colors round out the list of exterior modifications.

Inside, the most noteworthy modification is the addition of a display screen that pops out from the top of the dashboard, a setup that allows engineers to update the screen without having to fully redesign the center stack. Also used in the latest C-Class, the screen runs the latest generation of Mercedes’ COMAND infotainment system.

In Europe, the CLS gains new gasoline- and diesel-burning engines that comply with the strict Euro 6 emission norms set to come into effect next September. Mercedes-Benz has not published technical details about the U.S.-spec 2015 CLS, but it will return better fuel economy than the 2014 model thanks in part to a nine-speed automatic transmission.

The facelifted CLS-Class will go on sale in the United States next fall as a 2015 model. Pricing information and fuel economy figures will be published closer to the four-door coupe’s on-sale date.

Called S60L, the stretched sedan will be built next to its Chinese-spec counterpart in a new factory located in the southeastern city of Chengdu. Volvo has not detailed what market-specific modifications it will make to the sedan.

Geely explains exporting cars from China to the United States makes sense from a business standpoint.

“The dollar and the yuan have the best relationship, a more stable relationship than the euro and the dollar,” said one of the company’s executives.

The long-wheelbase S60 will also be sold in other markets such as Russia as well as a handful of countries in Latin America and Asia. All told, Volvo hopes to export 10,000 examples of the Chinese-built S60L each year.

Geely has not provided a precise time frame for when the S60L will reach U.S. shores, but it will likely debut at a major U.S. auto show early next year and go on sale shortly after as either a 2015 or a 2016 model.