Danica Patrick entered her debut season in NASCAR without setting specific goals or expectations. But when asked last December whether she could handle racing as hard as she could just to finish 20th, she had a typical racer response: “I hope to go out there and win every single race and we’ll see what happens from there,” the JR Motorsports driver said. @Funkmasterflex

Mazda will sell its six-passenger 2012 Mazda5 van for a base price of $19,990, including shipping, when it goes on sale in January 2011. The 2012 Mazda5, which Mazda calls a multi-activity vehicle, saw its North American debut at the Los Angeles auto show earlier this month. @Funkmasterflex

British constructor Perry Watkins sits in his ‘Wind Up’ mini car on a street in Essen, Germany, Monday, Nov. 8, 2010. The car is listed in the Guinness book of records as the world’s smallest car with a license to drive on public streets. Just 41 inches high, 51 inches long and only 26 inches wide the mini always finds a parking space. It can drive 60 kph and even has security belts. The car will be shown at the motor show starting Nov. 27 in Essen. -AP

The gang at CarScoop has stumbled upon this diecast model of a CR-Z convertible, giving us a glimpse at what an open-top version of Honda’s two-seat hybrid could look like. It certainly isn’t the prettiest of scale models, and we dread to think about what the cabrio’s rear end looks like with the roof (and hatch) lopped off, but it might be enough to stave off your hybrid/coupe/convertible pangs. @FunkMasterFlex AB

Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of Fiat SpA and Chrysler Group LLC, outlined plans Friday to build cars and SUVs for the Jeep and Alfa Romeo brands at a plant in Turin, Italy. The $1.3 billion venture, whose cost will be split between the two carmakers, marks a further step in the integration of their product planning and manufacturing. @Funkmasterflex