Daily Drive-Thru: The Mitsubishi Eclipse returns, Lexus adds hybrid option to LS 500 flagship, Smart goes electric, and more

Can you feel the love in the air? We certainly can, if by love you mean a bunch of auto news of course.

Oh, you mean Valentine's Day? With like chocolates and flowers and stuff? Sounds lame.

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Our Valentine today happened to be a ton of headlines, ranging from the return of an old nameplate to the addition of a hybrid powertrain to Lexus' flagship sedan. Plus, Smart is going fully electric, and two of the world's biggest automakers are petitioning for looser autonomous car testing rules.

All that and more in the Valentine's Day Drive-Thru, let's roll up.

NEWS: Mitsubishi Eclipse returns as crossover SUV

Some interesting and unexpected news dropped early this morning from Mitsubishi, which still in fact exists. The Japanese automaker is resurrecting its Eclipse nameplate, but not as its old version. The former 2-door sports coupe will be coming back as a, wait for it ….. crossover?

A new day is dawning indeed, and the Eclipse Cross is set to debut at next month's Geneva Motor Show.

Read more about the return of the Eclipse here.

Lexus adds hybrid option to LS 500

At last month's North American International Auto Show, Lexus unveiled its first-ever twin-turbo V6-powered LS sedan, making history in Detroit.

It appears the luxury automaker is not done after news broke today that Lexus will add a hybrid powertrain option to its flagship sedan. The 2018 Lexus LS 500h will debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

Read more about the new hybrid option here.

Smart will transition to electric-only vehicles in U.S. and Canada

Smart, known for its microcars and subcompact cars, will soon be known for another reason. A decade after the German automaker developed its first-ever electric car, the brand has announced that starting in the 2018 model year that it will only produce electric vehicles.

The announcement ties in with Daimler's announcement of the new generation Smart ForTwo electric drive models, which will launch this summer. Production of gas-powered models will cease in April.

Read more about Smart's transition to electric-only cars.

GM, Toyota petition for more lenient safety rules in autonomous testing

Convincing people self-driving cars could one day be the norm is no easy task, and I would imagine it is even harder if automakers aren't able to test their products on public roads. General Motors and Toyota are taking this issue head on and made the case in front of a U.S. House panel today.

The two automakers are petitioning for more lenient safety regulations that allow more self-driving cars to test on public roads in the interest of greater public safety.

Read more about GM and Toyota's case here.

GALLERIES: The 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport

13 photos view gallery

Photo Review: 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport

Earlier I said the cornucopia of auto news was our Valentine today. I misspoke.

The auto news was very nice, don't get us wrong. But there was just one thing we sent our "Will you be mine?" card to today, and that thing is the 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport.

Contributor Michael Harley was lucky enough to do a photo review of this absolute stunner, and eloquently described it as Chevy's mix and match of the Stingray and Z06. He also called it "just about perfect." With 460 horsepower, 465 lb.-ft. of torque, and a top speed of 175 mph, we are prepared to remove the "just about" and just call it "perfect." But other than that, Michael kills it in this review and you should immediately drop what you are doing and go read it.

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Source: Daily Drive-Thru: The Mitsubishi Eclipse returns, Lexus adds hybrid option to LS 500 flagship, Smart goes electric, and more