Car shows

It was love at first sight when Alfa Romeo debuted the 4C concept car at the 2011 Geneva auto show. At that time, Alfa Romeo said it would put the car into production, but it has been an excruciating two years waiting for any news of the car.

Now the wait is over, as Alfa Romeo announced it would not only show the production car at the 2013 Geneva auto show, but will also sell this beautiful little two-seater in the United States.

The 4C is a mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive car, a perfect formula for excellent handling. The production vehicle will … Read more

Oft-criticized for its appearance, something about the Nissan Juke appealed to gearheads, enough so that the company created the Juke-R, a high-performance, and costly, version of the compact SUV using the GT-R's engine. For those of us lacking the funds for one of those custom-built rocket sleds, Nissan comes out with the Juke Nismo.

The Juke Nismo was first shown as a concept at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show.

Nismo is Nissan's sport brand, which in the retail market covers performance parts and a version of the 370Z. The introduction of the Juke Nismo should be the first … Read more

The trend for crossover vehicles grew over the last five years, so it is not surprising that Kia's newest concept, set for an unveiling at the Chicago Auto Show, bears the name Cross GT. The big surprise from this concept is that Kia says it is bigger than the 2014 Sorento.

The Cross GT bears a little resemblance to the concept Kia will unveil at the Geneva auto show. It uses similar slim headlight openings and a hatchback-style body. However, the Cross GT's grille looks more like those on Kia production cars and the roofline extends all the … Read more

Following Rolls-Royce's announcement of its new Wraith model for the upcoming International Motor Show in Geneva, Kia offered up relatively clear pictures of, but few details about, a concept car it will put on display.

The body style looks like a three-door hatchback, similar to the European-market Pro Cee'd. In a press release, Kia refers to it as a "provocative and racy new urban concept car." Among concept cars, "Urban" often refers to a compact SUV. However, Kia's new concept, despite some resemblance to Nissan's Juke, appears to sit at hatchback height, … Read more

The 2013 North American International Auto Show -- simply, the Detroit auto show for those familiar -- was the stage for quite a few debuts that ran the gamut of vehicle types, classes, and feasibility. Chevrolet pulled the wraps off of the next great American supercar, a dueling pair of luxury sedans were debuted by Infiniti and Lexus, Ford showed off a very thinly veiled look at the future of one of the best selling vehicles in the world, and glossy concept sedans and crossovers could be found around every corner.

Among this wide range of vehicles, one theme was shared: fuel efficiency. Of course, it's no surprise that the next generation of vehicles will need to sip less fuel than the last, but we found the variety of fuel-saving techniques for these concepts and production cars to be almost as interesting as the cars themselves. We've rounded up a few highlights below:… Read more

Infiniti says it will unveil a new sport sedan, called the Q50, at the upcoming Detroit auto show. The model introduces the brand's new naming strategy, and is billed as a replacement for the current G sedan.

Typical for pre-auto-show teasers, all we get is an image of the new car's headlight. However, that shot reveals styling much different than seen on current Infiniti G and M models. Rather than the high lens of the current headlights, which mold into the pontoon-like front fenders, the teaser shows a hooded headlight topped by an LED strip.

The headlight design … Read more

Today Honda sent out a sketch of a new concept vehicle the company intends to unveil at the North American International Auto Show in January. Honda calls the concept an Urban SUV, and it looks like the predecessor to a new, small SUV in the lineup.

The sketch shows the profile of a car with lines similar to the latest CR-V model. However, Honda updated the CR-V for 2012, so the concept is not likely to be a new version of that car.

More likely would be a smaller SUV, similar to the Subaru XV Crosstrek and BMW X1, a … Read more

The automotive presence at CES 2013 looks to be stronger than ever, with an array of aftermarket and GPS companies joined by some of the leading tech pioneers among automakers. In addition, equipment suppliers such as Nvidia, Intel, and Freescale show off their latest automotive-oriented chips.

Big iron Both Ford and Audi will run major press conferences at the Mandalay Bay. During last week's Los Angeles Auto Show, a Ford spokesman told us to expect big tech announcements at CES without being specific on what they were. We expect Ford to show off the latest iteration of its MyFord Touch … Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Once upon a time, Acura pushed the cutting edge of cabin technology, pioneering such features as navigation and active noise cancellation. But times changed and Acura didn't, letting other automakers steal the high-tech mantle. Now Acura fights back with the RLX, a new high-end sedan with some odd quirks.

By and large, premium and luxury automakers use rear-wheel drive for their flagship sedans, an architecture maintained more out of tradition than real necessity. Acura has always bucked this trend, and continues to do so with the RLX. This model will launch as a front-wheel-drive car sporting … Read more