Dammit! It's all over the internet this weekend that Bentley, Ferrari (along with its sister company Maserati), and Lamborghini aren't going to be at the Los Angeles Auto Show in early December. Did they not hear that I'll be there? That About.com readers are waiting to see real, live images of the Ferrari 458 Italia? or the new Maserati GranTurismo convertible?

That leaves, according to Autoblog, Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Fisker, Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, and Spyker. That's still a pretty good lineup, but seriously -- no Bentley Continental Supersports?

Aaarrrr, mateys. Or, actually, just the one R. As in Jaguar XKR or XFR. Anyone who purchased a 2010 Jaguar XKR or XFR, pirate or no, will be able to participate in the R Performance Academy at tracks across the country for free.

If you've got one of the R edition Jags, each of which has 510 hp, there are few places to really run the horses. So beginning with the December 1 at Homestead Miami Speedway, Jaguar will invite owners to gather for dedicated track time. Activities include track-day classics like maximum acceleration, autocross, and hot laps with racing drivers. There's also real-world practice, like complete ABS stopping and emergency lane changes.

The R-types had to be purchased by September, so if there's not one in your driveway, you're out of luck, matey. But you can live vicariously through my review of the 2010 Jaguar XKR convertible, which, sadly, I had during a week of rain. There are even pictures of the very wet R-type.

Remember that happy July day when the sun was shining, the Dodge Viper was given a reprieve, and all was right with the world? Well, the short winter days are getting to the guys in Detroit. Production of the Dodge Viper will end by July 2010.

Autoweek reported that the final 500 vehicles of the run will be special editions, but no details were given on just how special they might be. A new sports car is set to debut in 2012. Can we expect to see cooperation from fellow Fiat partner Ferrari? Fingers crossed ...

About.com readers are nothing if not informed. They also love to be in the loop far in advance and plan their summer schedules far in advance. And that is why I'm telling you now, in November 2009, about two cool events in the second half of 2010.

• Concorso Italiano will host the Ferrari F40 owners convention on Friday, August 13, 2010, in addition to its already staggering array of Italian autos. How many F40s might show up? Probably about 40. Maybe a few more. It's not like there were thousands of these things made, you know.
• Exotic Rally SoCal is three days of driving and fine dining on the famously twisty roads of Southern California, September 23-25, 2010. The catch? It's BYOE -- bring your own exotic. But if you've got a Gallardo sitting around with nothing to do, this could be the event for you. Or you could let me borrow that lonely Gallardo, and it could be the event for me. Just saying.

If you've taken the Windows 7 plunge and left Vista in the dust, you're in luck: Ferrari and Porsche have whole themes you can download for W7. The themes include clean, crisp studio shots of cars from the Italian and German automakers, plus color schemes to match.

(And for any stragglers from the About.com Motorcycles site, Ducati has put together a theme for Windows 7, too.)

And here's the video proof. It's about three and a half minutes long, this clip, and it's of the recovery, not the crash. But I think it's safe to assume that the level of the lake the car ended up in was raised significantly by the owner's tears.

New cars like the Devon GTX and Plethore LC-750 got a lot of press at SEMA 2009, but everybody's favorite exotics were on hand with new wheels, paint, and more. Check out the new pics of the Ferrari California, Ferrari F430 Scuderia, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, and Rolls-Royce Phantom in the image galleries.

SEMA 2009 is humming along, and I've got pictures to prove it. Check out the super spendy supercar from Japan, the Lexus LFA. Images are up right now; details will come as soon as I've had some lunch.

What do you think of Lexus's entree into the exotic car market? Let us know in the comments.

Luxury car maker Lexus has officially entered the exotic car realm with the Lexus LFA, a V10 supercar with a carbon-fiber reinforced polymer body. Production begins in December 2010, with finished cars limited to 500.

The engine is a 4.8-liter V10 with 552 hp and 354 lb-ft of torque, pushing the LFA to a top speed of 202 mph. All those Lexus hybrids are going to have to sell like hotcakes to make up for this kind of power, which just screams, "Come and get me, greenie!" It's really hard to hug trees at 200 mph.

There's a special web site set up for the Lexus LFA, should you want to configure one on your coffee break today.

The 2009 Tokyo Motor Show saw the debut of the Lotus Exige Scura, a special edition kitted out in matte black and carbon fiber. When you're used to seeing candy-colored Lotuses on the streets, the Scura ("dark" in Italian) is like an evil twin. Even the Lotus press release says the car allows you to "indulge your dark side."

The car is limited to a run of 35, which will be sold globally. There are three high-gloss "Phantom Black" stripes that run the length of the car, with carbon fiber bits like the air scoops and rear spoiler adding to the black-on-black theme. The interior gets in on the game with carbon fiber seats and console, and black anodized hand brake and gear shift knob.

The Scura has the 260-hp engine, with a 0-62 time of 4.1 seconds. The dark side is fast.