During World War II, Allied bombing heavily damaged the Alfa factory in Portello, Italy, and production was slow to resume after 1945. The 6-cylinder passenger and sporting cars of the late 1940s and early 1950s were large and not particularly fast. But in 1951 Alfa introduced a smaller, less expensive 4-cylinder car called the 1900.

Download Alfa at 100: Prewar to Post-Graduate part 2

It’s a wonder how the Ford Escape has been running for the better part of the decade now and yet there hasn’t been a whole lot to talk about as far as dramatic changes on the SUV are concerned.

Download 2011 Ford Escape

HUMMER has been rolling into cities across Europe to help launch the new Calvin Klein Underwear steel collection. Distinctive steel grey HUMMER H3 vehicles carrying the Calvin Klein steel logo have been at the heart of the action at stores promoting the new underwear.

Download 2007 HUMMER H3 Calvin Klein Special Edition

Senior editor Matt Stone took the Crosstour on a 750-mile road trip. "It ain't pretty, but it sure works. I folded the seats down and filled the back with stuff. It was an easy road cruiser with impressive range, too. This isn't a vehicle that's about driving excitement, and it will be interesting to see if the market really takes to the new generation of hatchback sedans or not."

Download Long Term Update 4: 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour

When associate online editor Scott Evans got behind the wheel of the Kizashi for a trip to Laguna Seca, he was impressed. "The ride is comfortable and the interior is well isolated, especially for the price. Steering feel is pretty good and the brakes bite well. The shifter isn't my favorite; it's a bit ropey, and second gear is temperamental, but it's far from the worst I've driven.
"The quality of build, design, and materials all around is great considering the price tag. It's hard to believe this car costs only $24,000. A competitor would easily add several thousand dollars onto that. I'd love it if Suzuki would offer a real sport model with just a little more power. This is so close to being a legitimate compact sport sedan, but the engine just doesn't quite have enough in it. For what it is, it works great."

Download Long Term Update 5: 2010 Suzuki Kizashi GTS

We recently learned of Kia's decision on the Borrego model's fate: Its hiatus is permanent. That's too bad, because our long-termer has served us well over the past 15 months and 37,312 miles.
Associate editor Allyson Harwood and photographer Julia LaPalme used it to prerun a couple of trails north of Santa Barbara for an SUV comparison story. During those days off-road, the Kia performed flawlessly.

Download Long Term Update 6: 2009 Kia Borrego

The Top Marques Monaco isn’t just for luxury and super car automakers to display their newest creations; no, this event gets its fair share of tuning projects too. One project blindingly taking center stage in Monaco is this Audi R8 V10 by MTM. The German tuner took special care to prepare this sports car, S.W.A.T. style.


Download 2011 Audi R8 V10 S.W.A.T Edition by MTM

It took one full-throttle upshift into 4th gear while tracking away from an apex to remind us that the 2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 is a monster. The gear slams home with such authority that the ass end instantly jerks sideways a couple of feet before the Aventador can scramble the appropriate countermeasures to prevent its V12's avalanche of power from having its way with the car's carbon-fiber chassis, huge tires and the surrounding countryside.

Download 2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 First Drive

"It's getting crowded in here," was a common thought as we glided up the 101 freeway between Ventura and Santa Barbara in our 2006 Bentley Continental GT test car.

Download Full Test: 2006 Bentley Continental GT

In the past, to drive a small and inexpensive car was like eating a bowl of Top Ramen: Every taste was a reminder of what we weren't getting in a package of the most basic ingredients.

Download Full Test: 2007 Nissan Versa

The designers have tailor-made an outfit for the new SLK which emphasises its classic roadster proportions and puts them in the spotlight to thrilling effect. Behind the long bonnet is a compact passenger compartment positioned far back, and a short tail end. The SLK will tempt potential customers with the key attributes that characterise all the classic roadsters from Mercedes-Benz, and that have also made many of them automotive icons.

Download New Generation SLK Roadster Design Journey

For just a minute, forget about slalom speeds and skid pad Gs. Forget about track testing and torque, forget about overhead cams and final-drive ratios and focus on what an SUV like the 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe is really supposed to deliver. Its true test is in how it handles the rigors of weekly shopping trips, bar mitzvahs, birthdays, daily commutes and the occasional trip to Grandma's house.


Download Full Test: 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited

The most recent spy photos of the future SLS AMG Roadster were captured on the Stena Line Ferry headed to Germany from Sweden.

Download Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster Spied With Minimal Camouflage

Electric-car maker Tesla has updated its Roadster for 2011, quelling rumors that the two-seater would disappear next year. The revised car, called Roadster 2.5, has freshened styling and equipment changes to make it more livable for electro enthusiasts. The company says the modifications were driven by feedback from owners of the 1200 Roadsters already sold.


Download 2011 Tesla Roadster 2.5

Automaker renderings of upcoming models typically foretell those cars’ exact shapes about as reliably as moon cycles predict economic fluctuations, but it’s looking like Hyundai has had enough of distilling excitement down to conformity. The Korean automaker has released two expectedly edgy renderings of its 2011 Sonata ahead of the car’s official unveiling on September 10, and we’ve concurrently found a quartet of photos on a Korean site that show those images to be nearly spot-on.


Download 2011 Hyundai Sonata - Official Renderings

Maserati is set to build a midsize sport luxury sedan to rival the likes of the BMW 5 Series/M5, Mercedes CLS/AMG, Jaguar XF/XFR, and Cadillac CTS/CTS-v. The car is smaller than the Quattroporte, which will continue. It will go on market about 2014, probably as a '15 model in the U.S. Although it's in the product plan, there's no frozen design (one possible look is depicted in the illustration), and running prototypes would be years away. Maserati wants to become a "relevant player" within its chosen luxury segments. Adding the new model would allow it to strengthen dealer coverage and brand visibility. The all-new car is part of Maserati's 2010-'14 business plan, which Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne recently revealed to investors.

Download A Maserati for the Masses