Concept Cars

Since 1954, Mercedes-Benz has sold a car badged as an SL model. That "SL" designation originally meant "sport leicht," or sports lightweight in English. But in recent years with the base Mercedes-Benz SL550 roadster ballooning to more than two tons, it carried the SL name in spirit only. Fortunately, Mercedes-Benz seems to ...    Read more

The 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show was a madhouse this year at Automotive.com, with more than 30 debuts to cover over a scant two days period. Thankfully, we were prepared and covered such big reveals like the 2012 Cadillac XTS, 2013 Ford Escape, and the 2012 Hyundai Azera—just before ...    Read more

Yes, it's true. Nintendo and West Coast Customs have built an electric vehicle: Two EV's, in fact, and unveiled them today at the Los Angeles Auto Show. While speculation for the past few weeks centered on Nintendo's first-ever foray into the auto show circuit, the unveiling today had little to do ...    Read more

Volvo has a goal. The iconic Swede wants to sell 800,000 vehicles globally, per year, by 2020. But an ambitious sales goal is only half the story: It wants to do it with four-cylinder engines. It's a bold statement, and a bolder strategy, especially for a brand competing in a premium ...    Read more

What's New BMW may be labeling the i3 a concept car, but take away all of the glass in the doors, and imagine it with solid, painted carbon fiber there instead. It’s a car that will be making it to production; BMW’s just priming you for it. As BMW’s first foray ...    Read more

BMW has a tradition of staggering the debut of its coupe and sedan models, with the sedan usually coming before its two-door siblings. That means even though the next-generation 3 Series has now been uncovered for month, the 4 Series, what BMW will call its next-gen coupe, is still covered ...    Read more

What's New The going-green initiative spans far and wide enough that even German auto maker BMW is getting into the mix. The BMW i8 concept is making its first appearance stateside and is on display at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show. Everything about BMW's latest attempt to be more eco-friendly ...    Read more

At the Frankfurt Motor Show and once again in Los Angeles next week, Kia is showing its GT concept, a slick, sleek four-door that apes the shape of exotic grand tourers and is Kia’s first sports sedan. With, and perhaps because of, its debut, speculation has run rampant as to ...    Read more

The Tokyo Motor Show, like the rest of Japan, is one of those unfathomable affairs that seems at once completely insane and entirely earnest—where otherwise straight-laced manufacturers come out with anime-faced ball mice on wheels, single-seater commuter pods that resemble vacuum cleaners, and something called the ...    Read more

There used to be a notion when Detroit iron still ruled the road that you’d buy a Buick because the Cadillac badge seemed far too ostentatious. Buick gave up little in the way of luxury, but it appeared a far more prudent purchase. That Buick business model of yore looks to ...    Read more

Men, as smart women know, have a low tolerance for extended flirtation. Yeah, quips laced with possibility, innuendo punctuated with wet lips, or a teasing remark followed by a smoldering glance are fine once, twice, thrice, but get old real fast, especially if there's no alcohol involved. If Subaru hasn't already ...    Read more

Automakers have recently begun downsizing engines and employing turbocharger technology to provide more power, similar to a bigger engine, while allowing the engine to retain the better fuel economy of a smaller powerplant. With the recent focus on turbo technology, it should go without saying that turbo technology has become ...    Read more

The Design Challenge is a unique aspect of the Los Angeles Auto show, showcasing the latest trends in automotive design, technology, and even fashion. Now in its eighth year, this year's challenge is for automakers to design “Hollywood’s Hottest New Movie Car.” Daimler submitted three entries, one from each of its ...    Read more

This is really, finally it. The front-engine, rear-wheel drive sports-car collaboration that everyone has been waiting for is really, finally going to be unveiled. Almost. The Subaru BRZ will actually be unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in late November. Before that, though, Subaru will be lifting the cloak from this--the very ...    Read more

In 1967, Mattel co-founder Elliot Handler started the Hot Wheel line which debuted its first 16 die cast replicas a year later. One of the most popular and sought-after models is the 1:64 scale "Custom Camaro." Well, Hot Wheels, in collaboration with General Motors, has built a full-sized version ...    Read more

Tesla, the electric car startup, has sold out of its entire 6500-unit model run for the first year of its Tesla Model S sedan and looks to reach profitability by the end of 2013. Or so company founder and ...    Read more

If you’re in New York City tomorrow through this Saturday and have a chance to go see the new Nissan NV200 “Taxi of Tomorrow” for yourself, go for it—especially if you’re a frequent rider. But if ...    Read more

The autosphere is tumbling all over itself over what may be images of the production version of the Toyota FT-86 concept car. Considered by most fan boys as the successor of the late, lamented mid-80's Toyota Corolla GT-S—the cool kids call it "hachiroku," in honor of its internal AE86 chassis designation—the ...    Read more

This is the performance question of the season, for what is, admittedly, an enthusiast's dream car pairing. Reports indicate that Toyota's FT-86 (to be sold as the Scion FR-S here in the U.S.) will make around 200 horsepower from its Subaru-derived 2.0-liter 4-cylinder. But according to the UK's Autocar, Subaru ...    Read more

Let’s start with the fun part: Nissan Tech Center for Europe dropped a 478-horsepower, twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6 engine from the Nissan GT-R into a compact Nissan Juke body. Creating what the company has dubbed the Juke-R, it is a monster of performance and a key example of the “Why? Why ...    Read more

Chrysler's Mack Avenue facility in Detroit may live to see the light of another day. In a recent move to sell more vehicles Italian auto maker Maserati will be relocating the installation of interior, engine, and trim of its new SUV to the facility. One of the Mack Avenue facilities ...    Read more

Following Mercedes-Benz’s performance division, AMG, BMW’s M division wants to make a unique sports car model of its own. In an interview with Autocar, BMW M’s chief product developer Albert Biermann said he’d like to have the M division branch off from simply making the high-performance versions of existing BMW products. ...    Read more

The staff here at Automotive.com loves cars. We'd have to, seeing as how we cover the autosphere twenty-four seven. But we have moments, usually stuck in traffic, when even we wish someone else was in the driver's seat. Unfortunately, such public transportation is limited. Thus we were more than a ...    Read more

The iconic Defender, Land Rover's durable, never-say-die off-roader, has gotten another chance at life after the European Union amended emissions regulations. With the changes in place the Defender will now stay on the road until at least 2017. The DC-100 concept is slated to take the Defender's spot in 2015 ...    Read more

When the Lexus LS hybrid first went on sale in 2007 as a 2008 model, both the public and the press gave Lexus-owner Toyota more than a little ribbing, asking why offer such a vehicle. Lexus owners, they reasoned, do not prioritize fuel economy. Worse, the Lexus LS hybrid's mileage ...    Read more