History of the LA Auto Show: Pretty Girls to Aston Martin

,

New and shimmering, value priced to vastly expensive, the auto industry shines when its machines are showcased on the yearly auto show circuit, particularly at the LA Auto Show. Under bright lights and spinning platforms, cars and trucks just don’t get any more awe-inspiring — unless it’s from behind the wheel. Nearly every carmaker, Audi to Volkswagen and Bentley to Volvo, displays its lineups at auto shows. Electric vehicles, family sedans, performance sports cars and futuristic concepts all have their place in auto shows from Los Angeles to Tokyo. It’s as if the vehicles are presented to the media and

Read more

2013 Chevrolet Corvette: Performance Car of the Year

Throughout its 60-year history, the Chevrolet Corvette has attracted a collection of enthusiasts as loyal as any in the auto industry Often called “America’s Sports Car,” the Corvette is now in its seventh generation. It has undergone a lot of design challenges, but it’s still uniquely a Corvette and made like no other car via design, performance and ride. The Corvette has also received a lot of awards through the years, including its most recent honor as Performance Car of the Year in the Road & Track inaugural “Best Cars” List. The publication’s editors tested 13 of the industry’s best

Read more

Toyota gets top-2 spots in Consumer Reports’ reliability

Toyota has again ranked at the top of the 2014 reliability rankings of Consumer Reports, the independent testing organization. The Lexus ES 300h Hybrid is the top-ranked vehicle, followed by the Toyota Prius. Consumer Reports uses surveys returned by their subscribers and compiles reliability histories on vehicles and predicts how new cars currently on sale will hold up. Lexus is Toyota’s luxury brand. The ES 300h is reliable and safe. The hybrid earned the highest ratings in each of the government’s crash evaluations, including overall driver safety, frontal crashes and overall side impacts. Here’s the list of the top-seven most

Read more

CAR REVIEW: 2014 Honda Accord: still on top

It’s hard to image the Honda Accord when it debuted in 1976. It was a small two-door hatchback with little to show for itself. Fast-forward to 2014 and the Honda Accord is a stalwart, a well-equipped family sedan perennially among the country’s top-selling cars. After a redesign last year, the Honda Accord, now in its ninth generation, remains much the same as the 2013 model. But buyers now have additional choices. The Honda Accord hybrid has been re-introduced after a several-year absence. And a Honda Accord plug-in electric has been introduced in a limited edition. The additions of the new

Read more

Dario Franchitti retires after doctors’ crash concerns

Dario Franchitti, the three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and four-time IndyCar titlist, retired November 14 upon his doctors’ recommendations in the aftermath of his crash about five weeks ago in Houston,Texas. Franchitti, 40, fractured his spine, broke his right ankle and suffered a concussion in the Oct. 6 IndyCar race. Franchitti’s car made contact with Takuma Sato’s vehicle on the last lap and sailed into a fence. Debris from the accident injured 13 fans in the grandstands and one IndyCar official. “One month removed from the crash and based upon the expert advice of the doctors who have treated and assessed

Read more

2014 Cadillac CTS gets Car of the Year honors again

For the second time in six years, the Cadillac CTS has been named Car of the Year by Motor Trend, defeating seven other finalists in the 1.1 million circulation magazine’s strenuous testing procedures. In addition to the Cadillac CTS, finalists this year were: BMW 4 Series; Chevrolet Corvette; Jaguar F-Type; Kia Forte; Mazda 3; Mazda 6; and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Ed Loh, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, said in a statement judges were impressed by the sedan’s “responsive powertrains, smooth ride and sporty handling.” The  second-generation CTS sedan also received the car award in 2008. The 2014 award was announced as then new

Read more

NEW CAR PREVIEW: 2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric

Mercedes-Benz has waited a long time to enter the electric car business, but it will early next year with 2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class. It’s all-electric hatchback with a 24-kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery pack offering a driving range of up to 124 miles on a single charge. Mercedes reports the car will have an electric motor supplying 134-horsepower and 228 pound-feet of torque. The new car can reach a top speed of 93 miles per hour and accelerate from 0-60 mph in less than 10 seconds. Mercedes-Benz unveiled B-Class electric vehicle at the 2013 New York Auto Show in March. The new

Read more

CAR REVIEW: 2014 Dodge Durango, roomy, sporty

The sporty, practical 2014 Dodge Durango is an SUV/crossover based on a stretched version of the unit-body platform of the award-winning Jeep Grand Cherokee, which is a really good start. The new Durango looks better with a different, rather sinister-looking front end and revised rear styling with Dodge’s race-style LED taillight design. It has a new responsive eight-speed automatic transmission with a segment-first rotary shifter and efficient paddle shifters for manual operation. The automatic replaces one offered with either five or six speeds. The updated interior has a new instrument panel. A third row 50/50 split seat that’s suitable for

Read more

Ferrari LaFerrari: Fastest Ferrari and it’s a hybrid

,

Unveiled at the Geneva International Motor Show in March, the LaFerrari is a limited production hybrid sports car built by Ferrari. The LaFerrari is the first hybrid from Ferrari, providing the highest power output of any Ferrari while decreasing fuel consumption by 40 percent. Only 499 units will be built and each will cost more than $1.6 million. LaFerrari’s mid rear mounted V12 Internal Combustion Engine has a 6.3 liter engine capable of 789 horsepower. But it’s supplemented by a 161 horsepower KERS unit (called HY-KERS). It provides short bursts of extra power. The new Ferrari also has a seven-speed,

Read more

Review: 2014 Toyota Corolla: Sporty redesign shines

,

Even the most successful car in history has to eventually change with the times. Meet the 2014 Toyota Corolla. Just in time for the sale of the 40th million iconic compact sedan, the redesigned 11th generation has been unveiled. Available in L, LE, L Eco and S models (and a few variants), the 2014 Toyota Corolla joins the Avalon, Camry, 4Runner and Tundra with new designs for 2014. The new Corolla models continue the sedan’s enduring legacy while competitors like the Ford Focus, Kia Forte, Honda Civic and Mazda 3 continue to gain larger audiences. Like other editions of the

Read more

CAR REVIEW: 2014 Nissan Versa Note: Roomy, good value

The Nissan Versa debuted in 2007 and it’s firmly in the mix with a good chunk of quality sub-compacts in a highly competitive segment. For 2014, the Nissan Versa Note is the hatchback version of the Versa sedan. The Weekly Driver Test Drive My weekly driver was the Nissan Versa Note’s top-line SV trim. It adds a lot to the base model and makes the entry-level machine an appreciably more attractive option in its segment. As examples, the SV trim adds keyless remote entry, power locks and windows, upgraded and more cloth upholstery, a six-way adjustable driver seat, a driver-side

Read more

2014 Rolls-Royce Wraith: Powerful, fast, menacing ghost

The 2014 Rolls-Royce Wraith, named after the Scottish word for Ghost, was unveiled in March at the Geneva Auto Show. It debuted at dealerships in the United States in October and further added to upscale wonderment of the prestigious brand. The Wraith, which continues the carmaker’s signature of naming cars after spirits (Ghost, Shadow and Phantom are other examples) is the most powerful and fastest Rolls Royce ever built. Its specs are impressive: 624 horsepower; 0-60 mph, 4.4 seconds; top speed, 155 mph. It’s a 6.6 liter, 48-valve, twin-turbocharged V12 with an eight-speed automatic transmission. It’s also a two-door, four-seat

Read more

NEW CAR REVIEW: 2014 Volkswagen Beetle shines

The Volkswagen Bug has endured many name and design changes since it debuted in the Unites States in 1949. With the 2014 Volkswagen Beetle R-Line, another chapter in the carmaker’s legacy as one of the top-10 best-selling cars in history has begun. The new limited edition is the most upscale and most powerful Beetle to date. The Beetle as a sports car isn’t quite accurate. But for 2014, the upscale trim features a larger turbo-charged engine, new front fascia, a metal dash plate and a host of R-Line, sporty badging throughout the car. The styling is not only more sporting,

Read more

BEST — — USED CARS: 2011 Honda CR-V

Now a teenager and offered in its third generation, the Honda CR-V remains one of the country’s most popular compact sport utility vehicles. It debuted in Japan in 1995, arrived as a Chicago Auto Show display in 2006 and debuted in United States dealerships in 2007. A decade later, the CR-V overtook its toughest competitors in sales, even the segment leader Ford Explorer. It became the country’s top-selling SUV with more than 219,000 sold units. The Ford Explorer had been top-ranked for 15 consecutive years. The CR-V hasn’t reached its 2007 sales total since, but it still remains a favorite

Read more

NEW CAR REVIEW: 2014 Land Rover: Less weight, more sport

,

The new Land Rover Range Rover Sport fits perfectly in the best country club parking lot, but is like a mountain goat when driven off road. For 2014, the Land Rover Range Rover has been redesigned to be the fastest, most agile ever. That’s largely because it’s shed a whopping 800 pounds. Most automakers strive to cut just a fraction of that weight loss for better performance and fuel economy. The Sport still is no lightweight at 4,727 to 5,093 pounds, and you can feel the weight when driving rapidly through tight curves or making quick moves. But it’s a

Read more

Kaiser-Darrin: Odd, elegant sports car in demand

I’ve been fascinated by the Kaiser-Darrin for the past several years. It looks unlike any other sports car. Its prototype debuted in 1952 and it was available in dealerships two years later Built from fiberglass, the Kaiser-Darrin is both odd-looking and elegant. It has odd-shaped front grille, sliding doors and its was the second carmaker after Nash to have seat belts. The 1954 Kaiser-Darrin also had bucket seats, full sports-car instrumentation, a floor shifter and cost $3,668, slightly more than the newly arriving Corvette. The buying public was at first enamored by the Kaiser-Darrin. It had a standard three-speed manual

Read more