New models

The Fusion, Ford's bread-and-butter mid-size sedan, gets a significant update for 2010, complete with new body work, new cabin tech options, and an all new hybrid model. Ford built on the hybrid powertrain technology it already uses in the Ford Escape Hybrid, but significantly retunes it for the Fusion, giving it a top electric speed of about 47 mph. Gas mileage is estimated to be around 38mpg city and 35mpg highway. Along with its high-tech powertrain, the Fusion Hybrid gets an innovative instrument cluster with a variety of gauges to monitor economy and powertrain operation. Putting it over the … Read more

Our eyes eventually glaze over at all of the car industry's "limited editions," "value editions," and "sport editions." But Chrysler has just announced a "Web edition." OK, now we're awake.

It's not so much a car but an option package comprising a bunch of tech toys all tied to the Net by an Autonet Mobile router branded as Chrysler uConnect Web. The gear includes a Dell Mini 9 Netbook, an 8GB iPod Touch, a Sony PSP, and a digital camera with an Eye-Fi Wi-Fi SD card. All in, $1,… Read more

On Tuesday, Nissan revealed the 2009 370Z Coupe at the 2008 LA Auto Show and we've got the pictures to prove it.

Viewed in the round, we can see the new Z's shapely rear end and muscular shoulders. Hints of Nissan GT-R can be seen in the catfish's mouth front air dam and concave roof. Factor in dimensions and proportions that are more in line with the classic Z car formula and you've got what at least looks like a winner.

Of course, not everyone is a fan of the Z's new look. Pop over … Read more

Mazda presented its new 2010 Mazda3 sedan at the 2008 LA Auto Show, and I have to admit that I don't really know what to make of it.

The revised front end has more overtones of Mazda's Nagare concept than any Mazda vehicle to date. From certain angles it's decidedly sinister, with its sharply raked bi-xenon headlamps, enlarged lower grille opening that eliminates the need for an upper grille, and organically styled side grille openings with integrated foglights. But from other angles, that huge grille opening looks like a big goofy grin.

Moving back across the body, … Read more

Lotus shows off its new Evora model at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show, proving the company can make a car for people over 5' 10". Unlike the Elise and Exige, cars that let short people have all the fun, the larger Evora was designed for less athletic ingress and egress, as Lotus puts it in the press release. And unlike its sister models, the Evora gets some real horsepower courtesy of two extra cylinders. Designed for more than sport driving weekends and track days, the Evora brings useful car technology into the cabin, with a full-featured Alpine system. … Read more

At the 2008 LA Auto Show, Porsche unveiled its new Boxster and Cayman models, presented alongside the first Porsche ever, a 1940s-era Porsche 356.

While the tweaked exteriors aren't drastically different from the previous generation, the technology under the hood has changed quite a bit. Four new, larger engines are also more efficient, thanks to the inclusion of direct injection technology and optional PDK double-clutch transmission.

See all coverage of the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show.

The gods of automotive design say that five years is too old for a car, so Ford went and redesigned the perfectly good Mustang for the 2010 model year. Fortunately, Ford didn't fix what wasn't broken, instead choosing to enhance design elements of the Mustang that make it such a good take on the classic 'stangs from the late '60s and early '70s. For this update, the hood gets bulgier, the front fenders drop a bit while the rear fenders climb a little higher. Roof options include metal, convertible soft top, and glass--the latter a unique design from … Read more

Maserati showed off an updated Quattroporte sedan for the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show. The 2009 Quattroporte gets a design consistent with the 2008 GranTurismo, including the toothy grille, and it gets reworked head and tail lights. The S model of this curvy sedan gains some oomph, with a big 4.7-liter V-8 under the hood, half a liter bigger than the standard model. Best of all for car techies, Bose contributes an audio system and infotainment package that combines navigation, cell phone, and stereo.

See the 2009 Maserati Quattroporte.

See all coverage of the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show. … Read more

Mercedes-Benz revealed three vehicles during its presentation at the end of day one of the 2008 LA Auto Show, with the most notable being the SL65 AMG Black Edition.

Like the SLK 55 AMG Black Series and the CLK 63 AMG Black Series before it, the SL65 AMG Black Series is ultrahigh performance and ultraexclusive. Only 175 examples will be sold in the United States.

Between the wildly exaggerated front fenders lies the most powerful Mercedes-Benz AMG engine ever produced. The SL65 Black features a 6-liter V-12 biturbo engine, outputting an electronically limited 670 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. … Read more