Auto Show Headlines
2012 Lexus LF-A: Toyota's First Supercar Hits the Stage
Posted: Oct. 21, 2009 10:10:58 a.m.
Toyota is known for many things, but soul-stirring Ferrari-like supercars with V10 power aren't on the list. The folks who brought you the Camry, however, think they can do that trick, too.
After nine years in development, they're finally ready to show us their attempt. Autoblog reports, "It seems like the Lexus LFA has been around forever. In reality, the first concept version was unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in 2005, but that's a long time ...
2011 Honda CR-Z: Driving Enthusiast's Hybrid Coming to U.S.
Posted: Oct. 21, 2009 10:10:27 a.m.
At the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show opening today, Honda has unveiled the first affordable hybrid car built with driving enthusiasts in mind. The 2011 Honda CR-Z is a long way from the practical-but-sluggish Prius. This thing even comes with a six-speed manual transmission.
Edmunds Inside Line reports, "Compact and sleek, the 161-inch coupe, which has been two years in the making, is now reportedly ‘95 percent' representative of the final production product which is set to be unveiled at the ...
Report: Nissan May Build One-Seat Car That Leans Into Turns
Posted: Oct. 20, 2009 10:10:43 a.m.
On one hand, concept cars are often wacky vehicles that rarely see production, built to test the limits of what automotive designers can do. On the other hand, a lot of the cars currently in American showrooms, or scheduled to reach the sales floor over the next few years, are a little strange by old-school standards. Perhaps we should have seen the day coming when an automaker might decide to build one of its more bizarre concepts, and offer it ...
Toyota Tries To Get Its Mojo Back With Sporty FT-86 Coupe
Posted: Oct. 06, 2009 10:10:51 a.m.
It's been a while since Toyota has brought out a product that really excited the blood of car enthusiasts. In fact, Toyota's new president Akio Toyoda has spent a lot of time apologizing for the state of his company's cars lately, telling several interviewers that the company's current lineup tends toward boring cars. Apparently, he has a few tricks left to show us. An amateur race car driver in his spare time, Toyoda has hinted that ...
Bad Ideas From The Frankfurt Auto Show
Posted: Sep. 17, 2009 10:09:33 a.m.
The automotive industry is gathered in Frankfurt, Germany this week, showing off its most exciting new ideas - and a few of its worst. Alongside the heartbreakingly beautiful Aston Martin Rapide, the absurdly powerful and emissions-free Audi e-Tron and the practical, affordable Ford C-Max, for instance, we have such gems as a $900,000 ride for Darth Vader, the rebirth of communism's worst car, and a car that looks like a fetus.
The headline at Jalopnik captures the Brabus E ...
Frankfurt Auto Show: 2011 Saab 9-5 Unveiled
Posted: Sep. 16, 2009 10:09:04 a.m.
Maybe they've still got it at Saab. The first hint of a post-GM Saab can be seen now on the floor of the Frankfurt Auto Show, and the automotive press seems to think it's promising. It's a new 9-5, due out next year.
Once known for quirky cars that had some indescribable appeal to a certain type of shopper, the Swedish automaker was bought by General Motors in the early ‘90's. Rather than design its own ...
Frankfurt Auto Show: BMW Shows A Pair Of Hybrids
Posted: Sep. 16, 2009 10:09:16 a.m.
Hybrids are slow. BMWs are fast. Hybrids are sluggish off the line and numb in the corners. BMWs actually want to accelerate, and will force your right foot down hard at stoplights even if you try to ease it down gently (trust us, we've done the test). They're designing hybrids now that actually push back when you try to mash the pedal down.
These two things are incompatible.
They're coming together anyway, on the floor of the ...
VW to Build 158 MPG Car By 2013
Posted: Sep. 15, 2009 10:09:21 a.m.
Volkswagen thinks the world will be ready for a radical re-think of the car in about four years. That's when the German automaker says it plans to begin production of a 170 mpg two-seater, which looks more like a wingless aircraft than a Jetta.
Autoblog reports, "Ono of the numerous cars that will be shown by Volkswagen this week at the Frankfurt Motor Show is the latest edition of the 1-liter concept. The name represents the amount of fuel ...
2012 Ford C-Max: Mini Minivan Coming to U.S.
Posted: Sep. 15, 2009 10:09:04 a.m.
Ford is slowly bringing its highly successful European lineup to the United States. The latest Euro-Ford to make the ocean crossing is a small minivan, similar to the successful Mazda5. The U.S. will get a seven-passenger version of the car, currently sold as a five-passenger vehicle overseas, where it is known as the C-Max. We expect it to be re-named for the U.S. market.
The Detroit News reports, "The seven-passenger car, built on the same platform as the ...
Audi Unveils e-Tron Electric Supercar
Posted: Sep. 15, 2009 10:09:02 a.m.
If you ever need to distract a pair of gearheads for an hour, tell them that torque is a more efficient measurement of badass than horsepower - or tell them the opposite. Either way, you'll start an argument that will hold their attention for as long as you need.
Ultimately, of course, it's a pointless diversion. There is a relationship between horsepower and torque, you don't get one without the other, and the measurement of one in any ...
