diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index 649961aa..6f5eb63b 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -2,9 +2,9 @@ source :rubygems
 
 gemspec
 
-gem "cucumber", "~> 1.1.0"
+gem "cucumber", "~> 1.1.4"
 gem "rspec", "~>2.0.0"
-gem "rails", "~>3.0.0.rc"
+gem "rails", "~> 3.1"
 gem "compass-validator", "3.0.1"
 gem "css_parser", "~> 1.0.1"
 gem "sass", "~> 3.1"
diff --git a/features/extensions.feature b/features/extensions.feature
index 1f1a979c..a4f15803 100644
--- a/features/extensions.feature
+++ b/features/extensions.feature
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ Feature: Extensions
   @listframeworks
   Scenario: Extensions directory for rails projects
     Given ruby supports fork
-    And I'm in a newly created rails project: my_rails_project
+    And I'm in a newly created rails project: extension_test_rails_project
     And I run: compass init rails
     And the "vendor/plugins/compass_extensions" directory exists
     And and I have a fake extension at vendor/plugins/compass_extensions/testing
diff --git a/features/step_definitions/command_line_steps.rb b/features/step_definitions/command_line_steps.rb
index 8a0eb25b..534bbcec 100644
--- a/features/step_definitions/command_line_steps.rb
+++ b/features/step_definitions/command_line_steps.rb
@@ -42,10 +42,11 @@ Given %r{^I am in the parent directory$} do
 end
 
 Given %r{^I'm in a newly created rails project: (.+)$} do |project_name|
-  @cleanup_directories << project_name
+  dir = File.join(Dir.pwd, project_name)
+  @cleanup_directories << dir
   begin
-    generate_rails_app project_name
-    Dir.chdir project_name
+    generate_rails_app project_name, Dir.pwd
+    Dir.chdir dir
   rescue LoadError
     pending "Missing Ruby-on-rails gems: sudo gem install rails"
   end
diff --git a/test/helpers/rails.rb b/test/helpers/rails.rb
index 12c60c0f..614322a8 100644
--- a/test/helpers/rails.rb
+++ b/test/helpers/rails.rb
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ module Compass
     # Generate a rails application without polluting our current set of requires
     # with the rails libraries. This will allow testing against multiple versions of rails
     # by manipulating the load path.
-    def generate_rails_app(name)
+    def generate_rails_app(name, dir = nil)
       if pid = fork
         Process.wait(pid)
         if $?.exitstatus == 2
@@ -22,7 +22,16 @@ module Compass
         begin
           require 'action_pack/version'
           if ActionPack::VERSION::MAJOR >= 3
-            `rails new #{name}`
+            require 'rails/generators'
+            require 'rails/generators/rails/app/app_generator'
+            require 'mocha'
+            dir ||= File.join(File.expand_path('../../', __FILE__))
+            args = [File.join(dir, name), '-q', '-f', '--skip-bundle', '--skip-gemfile']
+            
+            #stub this so you can generate more apps
+            Rails::Generators::AppGenerator.any_instance.stubs(:valid_const?).returns(true)
+            Rails::Generators::AppGenerator.start(args, {:destination_root => dir})
+            
           else
             require 'rails/version'
             require 'rails_generator'
diff --git a/test/units/sprites/sprite_command_test.rb b/test/units/sprites/sprite_command_test.rb
index 4e4354fb..b1242b66 100644
--- a/test/units/sprites/sprite_command_test.rb
+++ b/test/units/sprites/sprite_command_test.rb
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 require 'test_helper'
-
+require 'compass/exec'
 class SpriteCommandTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
+  include Compass::TestCaseHelper
+  include Compass::CommandLineHelper
+  include Compass::IoHelper
+  
   attr_reader :test_dir
   include SpriteHelper
   def setup
@@ -27,7 +31,7 @@ class SpriteCommandTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
   def run_compass_with_options(options)
     output = 'foo'
     ::Dir.chdir @test_dir
-    %x{compass #{options.join(' ')}}
+    compass *options
   end
 
   def options_to_cli(options)