This was my first year at the LA Auto Show, and to be perfectly honest, the crappy economy cast a chilly shadow over the whole scene. Most years, the media peeps are scrambling from press conference to press conference trying to keep up with all the new concepts and debuts, but most of the stuff on the floor in La La Land had dropped in Frankfurt, or even before, so manufacturers simply didn’t have a lot of fresh meat to toss to out. That said, there was still some killer stuff on display. While Audi had dropped its electric e-tron concept back in Frankfurt, the example on the floor here was painted a gorgeous, visible-from-space orange, which had everyone scrambling to get pics, and I absolutely loved, loved, loved Honda’s P-Nut concept (below). And don’t even get me started on the AMG SLS. Mercedes’ new baby is an absolute stunner, and I can’t even imagine how those lines will look when it’s out in the wild, stalking driving appliances. I was also pumped to see the 2011 Fiesta—Ford has a mega hit on its hands here—the CTS Coupe’s production sheet metal, and Porsche’s new Boxster Spyder. Head over to the events section and check out Part One and Part Two of our pics from LA.

OK, so a forklift isn’t exactly a car, but this was too funny not to post. Remember: if you’re going to take a forklift into the spin cycle, you best hang on tight!

There are plenty of enthusiasts that sneer at the V6 Mustangs, and consider them to be just a lamer version of the GT. But the 2011 V6 Mustang will come stock with a burly 305HP and 280ft-lbs of torque—which is within spitting distance of the current GT. Ford also believes the new Pony will get 30MPG on the freeway, which would make it the most fuel efficient car in its class. Any way you look at it, that’s pretty impressive. The Blue Oval had two 2011 Mustang Club of America Editions in its booth at the show, a red convertible and the slick silver version below. The sheet metal is the same as the current gen, but the special edition models feature a billet grill, tape stripes (absent on the silver coupe), special badging, and—um, finally—body-colored mirrors. Check out some pics and walk-around videos after the jump.

Continue reading "2009 LA Auto Show: 2011 305HP V6 Mustang" »

Porsche premiered it’s 2011 Boxster Spyder at the LA Auto Show and while different manufacturers define Spyder differently (Ferrari, Mitsubishi) to Porsche it means an agile, lightweight, mid-engined roadster, the lineage of which began with the iconic 1953 550 Spyder. In fact the Boxster model line itself is attributed as a spiritual successor to the OG Spyder.

Upon first glance the Boxster Spyder separates itself visually from the rest of Boxster family by the space just aft of the seats occupied by the most voluptuous pair of domes this side of a Carrera GT (or perhaps, Joanna Krupa). Hit the jump to see what else differentiates this Spyder from its Boxster brethren.

Continue reading "Along Came Porsche’s Boxster Spyder" »

Mercedes-Benz’s Gullwing is an iconic symbol of automotive beauty, and while some purists sweat when an automaker revives and updates one of its greatest hits, M-B has been so on point with its styling of late that I think any fears about the Gullwing’s rebirth were completely unfounded. There’s a far better chance that an asteroid is going to extinguish life on earth than there is of Mercedes releasing an ugly vehicle. And while the SLS AMG might have traffic-stopping good looks, its 6.2-liter 32-valve V-8 pumps out a burly 563HP and 479 lb-ft of torque, so this baby will go like a scalded cat—with a jet pack. Unfortunately, my plans to get a walk-around video were thwarted by the fact that the turntable it’s on takes a celestial amount of time to complete a revolution. But there are a ton of photos after the jump. Enjoy.

Continue reading "2009 LA Auto Show: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG" »

While the true debuts at this year’s LA Auto Show were far and few between (note to OEs: we know times are tough, but you can do better than dress up the sloppy seconds of your Frankfurt and Tokyo debuts), Honda always manages to roll out something cool and concepty (yes, that will be the new auto journo “it” word of 2010).

This year was no different as Honda’s designers created what they feel an urban car would look like twenty years in the future (we can only hope Doc Brown’s iridium shades will be in the mix too). The Personal-Neo Urban Transport (P-NUT) looks sort of like what would happen to an Element in the hands of Frank Geary and the three-person seating arrangement is configured a’la McLaren F1 with the driver up front and two passengers arrears. Since this is a concept there are a few different powertrain possibilities from an efficient gas engine to a gas-electric hybrid, or even a pure electric set up. We’re hoping this is a hint of things to come from Honda. Hit the jump to see more images of this nutty concept (sorry, couldn’t resist).

Continue reading "Honda’s P-NUT Concept is Quirky and Fun, Like a Filbert!" »

So we’re at Mitsubishi’s LA Auto Show press conference. And MMC President, Osamu Masuko starts in about the all-new 2010 Outlander GT. And we start checking our Facebook (oooh, someone liked our status and a friend of ours is taking a road trip. Hmmm, maybe we can tag along).

Suddenly this shot of a Lawson Mart flashes on the screen and visions of CC Lemon, Pocari Sweat and onigiri dance in our heads. But is that chica charging an i-MiEV at Lawson Mart? Sho nuff. It seems Mitsubishi has sold some 800 examples of the quirky little EV since it went on sale in Japan last summer. Mitsubishi also plans to have an EV on sale in North America in as early as 2011. As part of the promotional push the automaker will lease four JDM-spec i-MiEVs to Best Buy as part of it’s Geek Squad fleet (note to the nerd herd: watch those left hand turns!). There are more i-MiEV images as well as other big news from Mitsubishi after the jump.

Continue reading "Mitsubishi Hooks iMiEV Up With JDM Convenience Stores, Geek Squads, Brings USDM Colts" »

This electric concept actually dropped in Frankfurt, but the one on the floor there was a comparatively staid fire-engine red. The e-tron Audi brought to LA, on the other hand, is painted in an orange that’s probably visible from space, even through the roof of the Los Angeles Convention Center. The body is so smooth and clean it almost looks like this eco-beast  was grown in a vat, and not constructed by something as mortal and clumsy as human hands. I don’t really care for the wheels—they look a little too much like food processor blades—but overall, this car is a complete knockout, and getting these few shots probably took close to an hour, because all the media peeps were swarming over it. The scene honestly made me think of killer bees attacking a bull. Oh, and it’s hard to argue with 3,319.03 Lb-Ft of torque. More photos and a walk-around video after the jump.

Continue reading "LA Auto Show 2009: Audi’s e-tron Stuns in Orange" »

When I went to SEMA for the first time, I was in charge of managing the photographer, and somehow he totally missed Mopar Alley. As you can imagine, this made Rob completely stoked. So when I have to cover any shows, I make sure to post some Mopar content as fast as I can. But I didn’t need any pressure to get a shot of this wicked Viper GTS R. Since you could eat off all the cars in the Convention Center, it’s kind of cool when you see one that’s dirty from being driven in anger. There were a bunch of other Vipers in the booth, including the new ACR, which just set a lap record at Laguna Seca. Hit the jump and check them out.

Continue reading "2009 LA Auto Show: Nest of Vipers in the Mopar Booth" »

I’ve never been to the LA Auto Show, and I’m pretty pumped. Total bonus? Since it’s being held at the Convention Center—just a few blocks from the office—I don’t have to get on a airplane, and more importantly, I don’t have to face my inevitable, deeply ingrained fear that I’ve left some essential piece of equipment or its power cord sitting 1000 miles away on my desk. Obviously, there’s going to be plenty of totally trick hardware on the floor, but I’m particularly stoked to see Fisker’s Karma—the dead-sexy plug in hybrid that’s giving Maserati’s Quatroporte body image issues—in person. And I’m also curious to get some face time with the ‘10 Dodge Viper ACR, Toyota’s Sienna, Honda’s Personal-Neo Urban Transport, and BMW’s Vision EfficientDynamics Concept, which is pictured below. Nads and I will be pushing up content as soon as we get in the door, so stay tuned, and let us know if there’s anything you want to see.

Just 219 miles! Talk about pristine! How high do you think the bidding will go? Check out the eBay aution for more info and pics!

Continue reading "Ultra Low Mile Buick Grand National on eBay" »

Aaaah, the allure of the garage sale and its free-spirited sister, the yard sale. Such expeditions normally involve a bit of work to unearth the really good finds such as the finest costume jewelry, a master collection of Meg Ryan films or even a ceramic Chihuahua adorned with a comically oversized sombrero. But what’s that in the corner? Is that a PRofec Type-S boost controller?! Well, it is if you get your sweet fanny to the upcoming GReddy
Garage Sale.

This is an annual affair where the JDMest tuner of them all opens it’s So Cal-based North American HQ doors to the public. Among the available treasures are one-of-a-kind R&D parts, hard-to-find JDM pieces and open box items all for insane Crazy Larry, everything-must-go deals. There will also be raffles as well as GReddy’s gorgeous project cars on display. Hit the jump to get more info and to see a video from last year’s GReddy Performance Festival (think performance enhanced garage sale).

Continue reading "GReddy’s Greatest Ever Garage Sale (Yes, it gets Better Every Year)" »

Here’s another “Euro”-styled compact car out of Japan, a Z11 Nissan Cube dumped on color-matched OZ Futuras. The boxy, yet organic style of the Cube lends itself so well to this sort of thing.

Somehow I don’t think I could convince my sister-in-law in to do this to her Cube in Japan…

By Mike Garrett

Wow, if only somebody had seen this coming. Notorious celebrity-spawn/felonious lead foot Nick Hogan has wrecked another car. Unlike last time, nobody was rendered a vegetable, but the fact that he was coming directly from a Los Angeles charity event called Keep It On The Track makes me think the eight months he spent in the slammer for his previous Supra-destroying/best-friend incapacitating incident didn’t make much of an impact. Personally, I don’t care if it was just a fender-bender, because to paraphrase Maverick’s cigar-chomping CO in Top Gun, he’s got to be driving better, and cleaner than the other guy. But the really mind-numbingly stupid element to this story? The organizers of Keep it on the Track have his dumb-ass mug plastered all over the front page of their website. Maybe those jokers have been spending a little too much time at the “dispensaries” that pepper La La Land? Come on, guys! Perez Hilton via Jalopnik

What will 2010 GT owners think of this? The new V6 Stang gets bumped up to 305 hp and gets GT brakes, dual exhaust and a six speed manual, too. Oh, and this new pony will get 30 mpg on the freeway. No word on price, but we aren’t expecting a big bump up from the current V6 model. I’m definitely looking forward to hearing official details on the 2011 GT. Gotta love the pony cars wars! More pics and the official press release after the jump!

Continue reading "2011 Mustang Gets 305 HP 3.7-liter Duratec V6" »