All apologies for the pinner photochop, but the Lotus-related rumors are flying so fast and furious today that our art director developed carpel tunnel. Case in point: Lotus Enthusiast is reporting that the supposedly upcoming Dodge Circuit EV (built off the Euro only Lotus Europa) just got the axe. And as they point out, that’s hella embarrassing considering that Chrysler just put out an ad proclaiming that the battery-powered Circuit would be a cornerstone of the new company. Even worse, US taxpayers paid for that ad… While the ENVI conceived Circuit being stillborn ain’t exactly news, it comes at a, urm… awkward time for Chrysler, no? And of course, this could all be untrue. [Source: Lotus Enthusiast]

While the Big Three seem to be leaning toward building extended-range electric vehicles (E-REVs), international competition is slowly leaning towards hydrogen-powered vehicles. The recently revealed Dodge Circuit, Chrysler 200C, and Cadillac Converj are stylish and practical, but the future of the automotive industry may be in hydrogen power. Honda already has the FCX Clarity which was released this past summer and BMW had a limited released of a hydrogen-powered 7-Series back in 2007. Toyota looks to be the next automaker in line to offer an environmentaly friendly hydrogen-powered vehicle. Read the original article here.

VTECnical’s 2007 Honda Civic was taken into the dealership after a local Circuit City installed a Pioneer AVIC Z2 navigation system.  After an inspection and diagnostic, they deemed Circuit City’s wiring a “fire hazard” and told VTECnical that he couldn’t take his car home.  After being quoted by the dealership a whopping $12,119 worth of damage, he is working on getting Circuit City to cover the bill.

This story brings up a few issues that need to be made more clear.  The 8thCivic.com forum thread shows that Circuit City is currently working with him on getting this sorted out.  But in our opinion, if Circuit City really gets smacked with a $12k check, they are the ones getting screwed.  First of all, the bill that was written up is blown out of proportion.  Worse case scenario is they mucked up the wiring, dash, and heater.  If it really takes a shop 40 hours to replace that, then they obviously have no idea what they are doing.  Secondly, a 2007 Civic is only worth about $14,000 according to Kelly Blue Book.  If he wanted site navigation so bad, he should have just paid the few extra bucks for the OEM setup.  On the other hand, he will probably get a new car out of all this, so props to you VTECnical!