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Filed under: Concept Cars , LA Auto Show , Convertibles , Coupes , Audi , Porsche , Volkswagen Click either image for a high-res gallery. Over the past five years, Volkswagen has continued to tease us with sports car concepts that never seem to come to fruition. Back in 2003, VW unveiled the Concept R in Frankfurt to critical acclaim and two years later, the wraps came off the EcoRacer , proving that the automaker was still kicking around the idea of a lightweight, affordable roadster for the masses. In the interim, VW had two similar concepts that never left the studio, but when the Los Angeles Auto Show rolls along later this year, a new mid-engine coupe will be revealed, and this one actually has a shot at production. According to Autocar , this newest concept aims to be a budget alternative to the Lotus Elise, balancing performance and fuel economy in a low-cost package. Sources suggest that the coupe will feature either a 168 hp, 1.4-liter TSI gasoline engine or a 125 hp, 1.6-liter...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , LA Auto Show , Hybrids/Alternative , Geneva Motor Show Click above to view the Pininfarina Sintesi concept in hi-res Pininfarina. Just the name evokes thoughts of sheet-metal rendered into curvaceous works of art. And at Geneva this year, Pininfarina did not disappoint, unveiling one of the most achingly beautiful four-door concepts we've seen to date. In fact, we were so taken with it, we had to bring you more after our own Jonathon Ramsey brought you the first live pics yesterday. The Sintesi, whose slow reveal we brought you incrementally as the studio released details week by week in the wind-up to this year's Geneva Motor Show, takes the notion of a four-door coupe, crumples it up and ever so elegantly throws it in the face of just about every passenger vehicle that has come before it, including Pininfarina's own Maserati Quattroporte. Come to think of it, the QP is due for a replacement, and if the Sintesi previews the next Trident sedan in...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , LA Auto Show , Mazda Click the image above for a gallery from the show floor. So after finally hoping on the Facebook-bandwagon, we decided to check up on how Mallory McMorrow's Mazda3 concept was coming along. After shaping and molding the clay on the LA show floor for over 10 days, the 2018 Mazda3 was finally displayed. Overall, it's cues tie in nicely with the "flow" theme crafted by Franz von Holzhausen and his team who helped McMorrow hone her design. We think it's a step in the right direction, particularly from an undergrad, and we're hopeful that the 21-year old industrial design student hits the ground running once she has her degree in hand. [Source: Facebook] Gallery: 2018 Mazda3 Design Challenge Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Concept Cars , LA Auto Show , Mazda Click the image above for a gallery of pics. We were finally able to check out how the clay model of the Mazda Design Challenge winner was coming, and after two days of milling and scraping, Mallory McMorrow's design was beginning to materialize. Her vision of the 2018 Mazda3 began to look like an obvious choice considering how Mallory incorporated many of the "Flow" design elements that Mazda has debuted in concept form over the course of the last year, particularly the sweeping lines flanking the sides, the gaping grille and the tapered ducktail rear end. The crew of designers and modelers toiling away at the full-size concept still has another seven days to complete the project, but we've already made the trek back to our respective homes. If you make it out to the last few days of the show and have pics of the finished product, send us tip so we can check out the results and share them with the rest of you. In the meantime...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , LA Auto Show , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , Mercedes Benz Mercedes-Benz is confusing the blog out of us with its nomenclature. Sure, it's usually pretty straightforward: one letter for the class, three numbers for the (approximate) engine displacement. Tack on 4Matic for all-wheel-drive, chop off a zero and add AMG for the performance models. But they just about lost us on this one. In Frankfurt Mercedes unveiled two new hybrid versions of the S-Class : the S300 Bluetec Hybrid with diesel-electric power, and the S400 Hybrid with gas-electric power. In Los Angeles, however, they took the wraps off the S400 Bluetec Hybrid. Still with us? Well, they lost us, too. This version packs a V6 diesel coupled with an electric motor to provide 265 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque, resulting in what Mercedes calls V8 performance with four-cylinder economy: 0-60 in 7.2 seconds and 40.5 mpg on the highway. While the previous S400 Hybrid unveiled in Frankfurt...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , LA Auto Show , Contests , Etc. , Volkswagen According to the judges, the fourth year of competition in the LA Design Challenge was the toughest to judge so far, with a host of innovative entrants that attempted to integrate a new mode of transport into every aspect of daily living. The Volkswagen Slipstream team, headed by Derek Jenkins, walked away with the trophy: a cyborg hand that plays Beethoven, equipped with scrolling LEDs displaying the title of the contest. Okie dokie. Anyway, the SlipStream can operate vertically for around town cruising and then lay itself down for high-speed cruises up to 250 mph. A while back we posted on each competitor in the 2007 Design Challenge, of which there were eight. You can view them all here if you can't recall that far back, but they were an unforgettable bunch of sci-fi machines. We held an unofficial poll to find out which entrant you thought would win, and surprisingly the Volkswagen only received 5.8% of the...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , LA Auto Show , Convertibles , Suzuki Click above image for high-res gallery of the Suzuki SX4 Makai concept Suzuki was obviously trying to tap into the So. Cal. culture of the LA Auto Show when it tasked Andry Specialty Vehicles to create the SX4-based Makai concept. After lopping off the roof, shaving the door handles and adding a NACA-like duct in the hood, they sprayed down the sedan in orange paint and accented it with the silver rollover hoop that provides another mounting point to attach a set of surfboards. LED running lights add some subtle flavor and 19-inch CEC wheels fill the widened wheel arches that frame four-wheel disc brakes with Rotora calipers. Although the exterior appointments are cool enough, our favorite feature is inside. Instead of fitting the concept seats - normally an ergonomic disaster - it looks like Suzuki made a trek to their corporate pool, plucked the chairs from around the frosted glass table and welded them inside. The results...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , LA Auto Show , Trends , Economy , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , SUVs , Trucks/Pickups , Green , Tech , Crossovers/CUVs , Chevrolet , GM Promising the best possible fuel economy for whichever type of vehicle its customers choose, GM's Bob Lutz and Ed Peper trotted a full lineup of green vehicles from their arsenal. The Aveo5, Impala E85, Malibu Hybrid, Tahoe Hybrid, Silverado Hybrid, Volt, Equinox Fuel Cell, Beat and Groove were used to show off that Chevy will be the brand carrying the greenish flame most prominently into the future for GM. Lutz talked about having a whole range of options available to meet future trends, from hybrids, to flex-fuel burners, to fuel cells, to electrics like start/stop technology and good old-fashioned economy cars that get great fuel economy. Gallery: 2008 Chevy Hybrids at the LA Auto Show Gallery: 2008 Chevy Aveo5 Continue reading LA 2007: Lutz and Peper show off Chevy's high efficiency fleet Permalink | Email...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , LA Auto Show , Supercars click image above for more pics of the Vector Avtech WX-8 Remember the new Vector we told you about yesterday, the one we likened to a previous gen Camaro? Believe it or not, the Vector Avtech WX-8 looks way worse in person. But don't let that turn you off. This is clearly just a prototype and although the overall shape may stay the same, there are a lot of tasty nuggets we learned about the car from stopping at its booth here in LA. First of all, the engine will be longitudinally mounted, not transverse. Secondly, besides that 7.0L V8 with its twin-turbo setup, there will also be an optional upgrade to a single whippled marine mill that should pump out somewhere north of 750 HP. If that seems too tame, you can opt for a twin-supercharged version that promises a whopping 1850 HP (!). The performance stats for that one are listed as 0-60 in 2.5, the quarter in a superbike-like 10.0, and a top speed of 275 MPH+. Well, that plus sign...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , LA Auto Show , Hybrids/Alternative , Minivans/MPVs Click on the image above to view in high-resolution Volkswagen didn't appear to take this year's LA auto show very seriously - its press kit appears to have been assembled by a kindergarten class on a budget. The car it unveiled here in the City of Angels was little more than a redressed version the van concept they showed in Tokyo, as well. The space up! blue takes the up! space and adds a hydrogen-electric hybrid powerplant and a solar panel on the roof. Volkswagen says the van will go into production, in one form or another, but without the advanced powerplant. And likely without the solar roof, either. They're "Pie in the sky" as the Volkswagen board member called it. And so, we're back where we were in Tokyo (only with a cameo by former pro baller John "Spider" Salley). That being said, the car itself is a quirky take on the retro-modern theme that could prove popular...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , LA Auto Show , Convertibles , Crossovers/CUVs , Audi Click the image above for a gallery of the Audi Cabriolet Quattro Concept. Despite the rumors, Audi didn't show off its X3-fighter here in LA. Instead, the quad-ringed quattro folks pulled the curtains on a drop-top version of the Cross Coupe Quattro concept it originally debuted in Shanghai. Designed by the automaker's studio in Santa Monica, CA, Audi maintains that the Cross Cabriolet Quattro concept is distinctly American in its styling, with a jacked up ride height, elongated wheelbase and retractable soft-top. As mentioned previously , power comes courtesy of a diesel mill putting 240 HP and 369 lb.-ft. of torque through all four wheels. Audi says the Cross Coupe will make it to 60 in 7.2-seconds, and if you tap the "Drive Select" option, fuel economy is boosted by an additional ten-percent. While both the presentation and styling of the concept left us cold, some of the interior appointments...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , LA Auto Show , Economy , Chevrolet After GM's introduction of three compact cars at the 2007 New York Auto Show - the Beat, Groove, and Trax - they left it up to the public to decide which one would be produced. Well, more than 1.8 million people worldwide voted on GM's online survey, and one has beaten down the competition. At the 2007 LA Auto Show, Bob Lutz announced that a vehicle based on the Chevy Beat concept will go into global production outside the North America in mid-2009. Production will begin in South Korea where the car was originally created at GM's design studio in Bupyeong. GM is still undecided as to whether the Beat will be eventually sold in the United States. Gallery: Chevy Beat Concept Continue reading LA 2007: Chevy Beat concept tops public polls and will go into production Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Concept Cars , LA Auto Show , Minivans/MPVs , Green , Volkswagen Click image for photo gallery VW has adapted its globe-trotting up! concept for California's green sensibilities, packaged it like a micro-sized microbus and has brought the result to Los Angeles. The space up! blue is a fuel cell hybrid with plug-in capabilities. It leverages a high-temperature fuel cell (the world's first, according to VW) in concert with a lithium-ion battery array to power a rear-mounted electric motor. A solar panel on the roof also helps charge the onboard batteries. On battery power alone, the little cruiser has a range of 65 miles with a full charge. When the fuel cell is added into the mix, maximum range increases to 220 miles. VW claims that its high temperature fuel cell (FC-HT) is more production-viable in the long tun than competing fuel cell tech because it's lighter, more geared to everyday use and less costly to produce. That's very encouraging news, to be sure...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , LA Auto Show , Convertibles , Crossovers/CUVs , Audi Click the Cross Cabriolet Quattro for a high-res gallery At the Los Angeles Auto Show today, Audi carves out yet another niche in the market by attempting to answer the question of what happens when a TT roadster and a Q7 head behind the barn for some fun. Apparently, the answer is the Cross Cabriolet quattro. This new crossover with a retractable soft-top features Audi's obligatory quattro all-wheel-drive and gets propulsion via the latest version of the 3.0L TDI V6. The updated TDI has 240hp and 369 lb-ft of torque and is fully compliant with the Euro 6 emissions regulations. The diesel is equipped with a particulate filter and uses urea injection to clean up the NOx emissions. The fifteen foot long four-seater has 110.6-inch wheelbase. All the torque is distributed to the corners by way of an eight speed automatic transmission and motion is arrested by big ceramic brakes. Check out the details after...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , LA Auto Show , Time Warp , Supercars If the name Gerald Weigert sounds familiar, you're probably a car nut of a certain age that remembers his travails trying to launch his pet supercar project, the Vector, back in the '70s, and the ensuing limited production run and financial difficulties during the '80s and early '90s. Originally powered by a turbocharged GM V8 in W8 guise, they eventually were fitted with a Lamborghini-sourced V12 in the M12 model. Fast forward to 2007, and the man that created quite a stir a generation ago with his All-American supercar is at it again. Vector Motors sent out a press release announcing their newest offering, the Vector Avtech WX8. The full specs on the car are in the release (which you'll find after the jump), but it's fairly similar to the original plan. A race developed chassis with a bunch of aerospace technology, powered by a big V8. In this case it appears to be a Z06 mill that has been tweaked...
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