
As far as cars went, the Frankfurt Motor Show was the proverbial glut of riches, and the Tokyo Motor Show proved that you can't live life at the top all the time. Tokyo did, however, still provide plenty of aesthetic beauty, much of which had nothing to do with the automobiles. We won't call it a consolation prize, but it's certainly not something we're upset about.
Have a look at what arguably might have been the finest aspects of the Tokyo Motor Show in the gallery below – and the woman with the stuffed car on her head (it is still Tokyo, after all...). (*Translation: "The beautiful women of Makuhari Messe").

You like Minis? Comedy? All things British? Well mark your calendars for September 18-20, as comedian Rowan Atkinson will be appearing in character as the bungling Mr. Bean during the UK's Goodwood Revival. Not only that, but to celebrate 50 years of Mini, Mr. Bean will be driving his pea-green and black-hooded Issigonis-penned Mini around the Goodwood Motor Circuit each day of the festival – sitting on the roof! Turns out it's a well known Mr. Bean gag. Ahem.
Atkinson, a well known car buff (and McLaren F1 owner), will also be bringing his Jaguar Mk IV to help celebrate 80 years of Sir Stirling Moss. One more thing, Atkinson will field a 1965 Austin Mini Cooper S during an all-Mini St Mary's Trophy saloon car race. We wish him the best of luck with that last one, despite our blood-boiling jealousy.

It's fair to say that since April of 2005, we've all paid a bit more attention to Mercury. While the marque's products have steadily improved along with those of parent company Ford, it's been the brand's spokesmodel that has made us sit up and take notice. Quite simply, we have put Mercury 'on our list' because the Blue Oval has put actress Jill Wagner out in front of its wares.
A Winston-Salem, North Carolina southern belle at heart, we had heard through the grapevine that Mercury's stunning spokesmodel was also something of a down-to-earth car gal. We wanted to find out for ourselves, so Jill was kind enough to make some time to speak with us as she geared up to start filming another round of ABC's Wipeout, where she is in her third season as co-host of the obstacle course reality tv series.
AB: We wanted to ask you some questions that are perhaps a bit different than your usual Hollywood entertainment publication interviews since we're more car-related. We understand you've got some auto history in addition to your Mercury campaign? JW: Right – my father has a tire shop in North Carolina – he was always kind of a wheeler and a dealer. I'd come home and he'd have old Cadillacs that he'd bought – cars that he'd fix up and sell. He'd always have a new car every week that he was trying to sell. I was always at the tire shop answering phones and stuff, messing around with the cars, so yeah, I have a love for cars. AB: So the Mercury campaign was a natural fit for you then? JW: It was funny, because in the audition, they have this chair, and they sat it in the middle of the room, and they were like, 'Okay, that's your car – walk around and talk about it.' And I think by the end of the audition, the woman was like, "Okay, I have no idea what a carburetor is, I don't have any idea what you're talking about, but it sounds good." It was meant to be.
To continue reading our interview with Jill Wagner, click on the jump, and be sure to check out our high-res gallery of Jill below (as if we had to tell you that!).







