It's fair to say that this year's Los Angeles motor show has been thoroughly overshadowed.Even on local Californian news bulletins it's losing airtime to bulletins about the aftermath of devastating bush fires and train crashes. Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, the 'big three' bosses Wagoner, Mulally and Nardelli are begging Congress to sign a rescue plan.
DIB dib dib, everybody. Dob dob dob, Motormouth.That's right, I've gone completely, totally raving mad.
The best of today's automotive news, reviews and commentary -- as well as the cool and weird -- from Freep.com and other Web sites. Check back for updates throughout the morning.Reactions: Auto workers hold out hope: Bailout hearing encouraging, even though some senators critical of aid for car companies By Katie Merx.
LOS ANGELES -- The wait was more than an hour to test-drive one of the 18 eco-friendly vehicles parked outside of the Los Angeles Convention Center at the auto show.Reporters, analysts and competitors all wanted to hop into a few of the green machines -- the ones that will save the world -- to see how they really handle on the road [...]Chrysler LLC only parked three Dodge Rams in its entire exhibit, saving most of its space for its electric minivan, Jeep and Dodge sports car.
It wasn't the number one pick of our readers (earning the silver medal in your voting), but Mazda managed to take the top honors at the LA Design Challenge with its KAAN concept. The design itself is a fanciful look into a future where all the roads in California are paved with.. um, sub-level electro-conductive polymer (m'kay), which provides juice to [...]
The very name of the Qashqai+2 indicates the feature that Nissan has always treated as the selling point of the car. The two things that have been plussed, relative to the standard Qashqai, are the seats which make up the third row, but unless you're a school-run type of person this is probably not the most interesting part, since that [...][...] wheel drive petrol, and while the reduced number of driven wheels means a saving of £1400 in the list price, and a slight improvement in fuel economy, I think I'd be happier with the 4x4 system myself.
The results are in from J.D Power and Associates' latest annual Sales Satisfaction Index Study, and Jaguar has leapt back up to the top position that it occupied for three of the four past years before dropping last year to third. The study surveyed some 36,000 buyers and leasers of new cars on their dealership experience, taking into account the dealership [...]
The specs: BMW X5 luxury SUV import is now officially available in diesel variant. The xDrive30d is powered by a 218hp 3.0-litre inline-six turbo-diesel with six-speed auto for a price of B6.299m.We think: The second most decent X5 to buy after the twin-turbo diesel version - not available here - which should help kill off the pointless X6.
CHICAGO, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- PickupTrucks.com, an authoritative website for pickup truck news and information, has named the Ford F-150 its Best Overall Half-Ton Pickup. The F-150 earned this title in the website's annual shootout, which this year pitted the latest batch of half-ton trucks against each other in a head-to-head matchup to determine which was the best [...]
It takes no stretch of the imagination to look at the freshened Subaru Tribeca and see a stillborn Saab 9-6x The grille and the headlamps may be slightly different from what a Saab version of Subaru's biggest crossover would wear, but if you park your Tribeca next to a 9-5, you'll notice the resemblance immediately. All the work had been done to morph the Tribeca [...]
Suzuki will be one of the title sponsors at the 2008 Clothes Show, sponsoring the Meeting Point, the perfect place to arrange to meet up with friends whilst taking a look at the stylish, affordable to buy and own model range that Suzuki offers.The Suzuki 'Way of Life!' philosophy will be supported with the display of the increasingly popular Suzuki Splash [...]The Suzuki Grand Vitara three-door offers responsive, fun-to-drive on-road performance whilst also delivering true off-road strength and rigidity.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Chrysler and General Motors are still showing off their newest vehicles at the Los Angeles Auto Show, but their displays were noticeably quiet Wednesday while Asian and European companies unveiled new models that will likely chip away at the U.S market share.Casting a shadow on the annual event's glitz was the absence of press conferences or new vehicle debuts [...]
"I am not convinced that any alliance can take place when one of the parties is less than happy about it. Alliances are like a marriage. When one party is enthusiastic and the other one is a little bit sceptical, well, you had better prepare for a very short honeymoon." Renault Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn on why the proposed alliance with General Motors didn't come [...]
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BARSTOW, Calif., Nov. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- In Barstow, California, surrounded by desert playground and the ever growing hunger of adrenaline junkies, lies Xtreme Convenience and Travel Center, a new Union 76 gas station catering to the adrenaline fixes of the action sports crowd with Xtreme Racing Fuel outside and Monster Energy inside. Entrepreneur Ed Komski is holding the grand opening at 2596 Commerce [...]
I was so busy looking at a glorious yellow Triumph Daytona last night on my way home in my Vauxhall Insignia - Car of the Year 2009 as of this week, and I can see why - that I nearly squished a G-Wiz.Deary me, careless driving on my part, you might think. Only the G-wiz had sneaked up on my inside, scooter-style, for no other reason [...]
Each year a host of thrill-seeking motorists descend upon the Baja desert to take part in a 1,000 mile sprint from Southern California to Mexico, and they do it in all kinds of rugged off-road extreme machines.This year VW has built a beast to cope with the toughest of challenges and it's pretty clean too.Taking part in the highest ranked [...]
Mr. Ghosn made his remarks at the Los Angeles Auto Show while the chief executives of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC were in Washington making their case to the House Financial Services Committee for $25 billion in loans to stay in business.
With sales of big off-roaders diminishing, the German firm has picked a good time to launch a baby brother to the massive Q7.Available to order now, there's a choice of three engines – 2.0 and 3.0-litre TDI diesels and a 2.0-litre TFSI petrol. There's the usual choice of SE or S-Line trim and the entry-level diesel comes as standard with a six-speed manual gearbox.
