Acura used to set my heart aflutter.
Legends (both coupe and sedan) Vigors, Integras and the like had their flaws, but they were Acuras and that said a lot.

Download Acura's feisty TL relegates Legend to fond memory

Of all the aesthetic advancements that are expected to be applied to automobiles in the future, a color-changing exterior ranks right up there with flying wheels, a talking engine, and a car that runs on pure H20

Download 2011 Honda Native Concept

I'm a minivan guy. I don't own one and I don't want one, but in my prior career I helped design Chrysler's second-gen minivan, and that exercise involved a whole lot of benchmarking and voice-of-the-customer research. That experience sticks with me when I do minivan comparisons like the one we ran last December, and I still stand by our finishing order. But because this was one of those rare holiday seasons that had the families from both sides of our household visiting over two weeks, I reckoned a real-world rematch of the top-finishing Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna might be in order.

Download Minivan Rematch: 2011 Honda Odyssey vs. 2011 Toyota Sienna

Those eagerly looking forward to our next hybrid family sedan comparison have to wait just a bit longer -- this Hyundai Sonata Hybrid we recently tested is a pre-production model.

Download First Test: 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid

Now, we know we have already seen two concepts- FT-86 and FT-86 II - for this vehicle, but will have to endure one more as Toyota has brought us yet another FT-86 concept. This time it has been revealed at the New York Auto Show under the Scion badge and it won’t go into production until Toyota finally brings their production version later this year at the Tokyo Motor Show. The Scion FR-S Concept is a preview version of a new model coming to the Scion brand next year.

Download 2011 Scion FR-S Concept

As we wondered about the need for such a lovably absurd vehicle as the 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, we could almost hear the gruff voice of Patches O'Houlihan of Dodgeball fame. "Necessary?" he'd exclaim with one eyebrow raised. "Is it necessary to have 420 horsepower in a Grand Cherokee? Probably not. But it looks and sounds mean and I like the performance." And after a week in this road-bound hyper-Hemi SUV, we'd have to agree with the crusty son of a gun.

Download Follow-Up Test: 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8

At “Auto Shanghai 2011″, Mercedes-Benz today presented its new star for the growing global premium compact car segment. The “Concept A-CLASS” study, which is one of the highlights of the leading Asian auto show, heralds the imminent arrival of an all-new generation of Mercedes-Benz compact cars.

Download Mercedes-Benz Takes the Stage at Auto Shanghai 2011

With the recent release of the 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class, Brabus has turned their attention to Mercedes’ four-door coupe range in time for the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. Although it will likely be some time before we see another 200+ mph BRABUS Rocket, the new BRABUS CLS is quite a car.

Download 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS by BRABUS Makes World Debut

Like his colleagues in Detroit, GM China Group president and managing director Kevin Wale spent a lot of time last year revising sales forecasts. But unlike the GM execs in Motown, who watched helplessly as American buyers stayed out of showrooms and the U.S. vehicle market imploded, Wale was forced to keep revising his forecasts dramatically upward. "I started 2009 forecasting the Chinese market at 9.5 million units," says Wale, a laconic Aussie who came from GM's Holden operation to run Vauxhall in Britain, before moving to GM's Chinese headquarters in Shanghai five years ago. "I undercalled it by four million units."

Download How China will Change the Cars America Drives

Every Couple of months we receive spy photos of the upcoming 2012 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class, and almost right on schedule we have another batch of spy photos with less camo than before.

Download 2012 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class Spied Testing with Light Camouflage

Bucking industry convention, Bentley chose not to unveil its glitzy new flagship at an auto show, instead taking it to this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where many attendees can afford to buy one on sight. But no one was allowed in the car, and very few details were provided.


Download 2011 Bentley Mulsanne - Official Photos and Info

When discussing the new more luxurious interior of the Mercedes-Benz B-Class, a few thoughts come to mind – high-quality materials and superbly finished surfaces, fine details, precise workmanship and spaciousness. The interior of the redesigned B-Class raises the bar in the compact car segment.

Download Mercedes-Benz B-Class Interior

Having invested heavily in the Chevy Volt's plug-in hybrid Voltec powertrain, GM plans to leverage the technology as much as it can. A fashionably tweaked version of the Volt will be sold in Europe as the Opel Ampera, while the regular Volt goes on sale in China next year. The Volt MPV5 concept, making its debut at the Beijing Show, shows a Voltec-powered crossover is probably in the works, too.

Download Chevrolet Volt MPV5 Concept

I've never wanted to own a Porsche 911, though they are great fun to drive. They're even wilder to ride in with a pro like Walter Rohrl flailing away at the helm. Such rides sometimes make me wonder if the "laws of physics" are open to creative interpretation like our Constitution. But two mechanical engineering degrees tell me they're not, hence, in my mind no proper racebred chassis should have its engine cantilevered off the rear axle (or the front). Yes, the 911's setup loads the rear tires for better launch acceleration and provides slightly better weight distribution under hard braking, but if this arrangement is superior, why doesn't anybody else in racing use it? I'm willing to bet that a mid-engine Cayman could spank a 911 on the Nürburgring if equipped with equivalent power, tires, and chassis optimization. So is it just pig-headed German stubbornness keeping the Cayman down?

Download Perverse Polarity

A Vettel-Webber 1-2 at the Turkish Grand Prix highlighted the dominance of Red Bull in the ongoing 2011 Formula One season...

Download F1 Motorsport