Concepts

The Land Rover Defender has been a mainstay for African safaris, but concern over the carbon dioxide emissions from their 2.4-liter diesel engines spawned the development of the first electrically powered Defender. Battery producer Axeon fitted a Defender with an electric drive unit and will show the concept at a tourism convention in South Africa.

The 28.8 kilowatt-hour battery pack gives the Defender a range of about 60 miles, three times further than a typical game drive. Axeon touts the reduction in emissions, going from the diesel Defender's 295 grams per kilometer to zero, and the electric Defender's quiet operation, allowing it to get closer to animals in game parks.

The battery pack has been placed in the engine compartment, maintaining the Defender's ground clearance and fording depth.

The next step: electric vehicle charging stations in safari camps. … Read more

Jaguar's C-X75 concept was the most stunning car unveiled at the 2010 Paris motor show. Along with its sleek exterior, it boasted a hybrid power train, mixing electric motors and microturbines that would make it go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds. Now Jaguar says it will build a limited production run of 250 vehicles.

We often see concept cars at auto shows and wish the automakers would actually build them. In this case, Jaguar is granting our wish, sort of.

The company pledged to keep the body style of the concept, a low, exotic-looking car … Read more

From Paris to New York, automakers showed off their latest concept cars over the last seven months. These design and technology explorations were intended to incite buzz among auto show goers and demonstrate the future direction of their creators.

Many concepts, such as the Kia Pop, are odd-looking vehicles that will never see production. Then there are concepts such as the Jaguar C-X75 that we dream about night after night, despite the fact that Jaguar doesn't plan to build it.

The Ford Vertrek concept, and others like it, represent a future design idea for a specific model. Then there'… Read more

Our time at the 2011 New York auto show has come to an end, but the show still goes on when it opens to the public this weekend. So, let's take a look back at some of the cars that we found most interesting and that you should look for as you navigate the massive show floor.

Clearly sick of being called a boring, beige brand, Toyota had two of the most interesting concepts at the New York show under its Lexus and Scion sub-brands. The Lexus LF-Gh concept previews a new, more aggressive direction for a brand best … Read more

Suzuki's Kizashi is a solidly performing midsize sedan. It produces a reasonable amount of power. It's not terribly efficient, but also not particularly inefficient. There's not much to complain about when it comes to the Kizashi, but not much room for praise either. At the 2011 New York auto show, Suzuki pushed its lovably meh sedan in two very different directions with two very different Kizashi concepts.

The Kizashi EcoCharge concept aims to increase fuel efficiency by as much as 25 percent over the standard Kizashi Sport. It starts by reducing its gasoline engine displacement from 2.… Read more

At the tail end of the international auto show season, automakers still have a few tricks up their sleeves, new models and concepts to unveil at the 2011 New York auto show. Many small cars got significant updates during the first day of the show, and more efficient engines entered the mix.

Check out our first day's coverage of the 2011 New York auto show.

2013 Ford Taurus gets two efficient engine options

Ford unwraps the 2013 Taurus SHO

2012 Volkswagen Beetle (photos)

2012 Nissan Versa (photos)

2012 Honda Civic Hybrid gets 44 mpg (photos)

2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 (photos)… Read more

The 2011 New York International Auto Show starts tomorrow, but Infiniti is already looking forward to the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, where it will be unveiling the 2013 Infiniti JX, a larger sibling to its EX and FX crossovers.

Until the concept is unveiled, all we have is the sketch above and a few tidbits teased by the automaker. The large crossover slots in just below the full-size Infiniti QX and will have three rows of seats with room for seven passengers. Externally, the design language that featured prominently on the Infiniti Essence concept car should be stretched … Read more

Looking to breathe a bit of excitement into its electric vehicle efforts, Nissan will be putting its Leaf of the race track--if but in name alone.

Debuting at the 2011 New York auto show, the 100% electric Nissan Leaf Nismo RC (Racing Competition) prototype shares little more than its lithium-ion battery technology, general styling cues, and its name with the Nissan Leaf we're familiar with. The RC wheelbase is 3.9-inch shorter wheelbase, overall height has been chopped by 13.9 inches, and there are two fewer doors. However, the racer is 0.8 inches longer overall and 6.… Read more

Lexus gave us a peak at the headlights and taillamps of its upcoming LF-Gh concept last week. The automaker must not have been satisfied with the underwhelmed response from the public and automotive press, because this week it has released more photos showing off the rest of the concept hybrid sedan.

Between the A and C pillars, the LF-Gh isn't packing any surprises for anyone who's familiar with Lexus' current LS and GS offerings. However, at the front and rear ends things start to get interesting.

Out back, we can see how the wrap-around taillamps work out on … Read more