Auto Shows (Page 71)

Domestic manufacturers have swept with the Chevrolet Volt being named North American Car of the Year and the Ford Explorer being named North American Truck of the Year at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Attention motoring public – Hyundai wants you to watch its webcast of the North American International Auto Show press conference that introduces the Hyundai Veloster and the Hyundai HCD-12 Curb Concept.

When Ford announced the specifications of the new 3.5L EcoBoost V6 offered in the 2011 Ford F150, they stated that it would featured the most torque in the segment (420lb-ft) as well as class leading fuel economy and today, they made it official – the EcoBoost V6 gets 16mpg around town and 22 on the highway.

Mercedes-Benz isn’t sharing details but it is releasing 2012 Mercedes-Benz S350 BlueTEC 4MATIC pictures in advance of the North American International Auto Show press days in Detroit that begins Monday, Jan. 10. The Mercedes introduction takes place at 11:20 a.m. at Cobo Hall.

This morning at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Ford Motor Company unveiled the Ford Focus Electric – set to hit the US market in late 2011 as their first attempt to compete with the likes of the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt.

Hyundai has released a photo of the HCD-12 concept vehicle that will be introduced at the Detroit Auto Show on Jan. 10. There’s no indication from Hyundai how close to production this vehicle is but its futuristic interior will assuredly demonstrate what Hyundai is introducing in terms of technology going forward.

We have been hearing about Volkswagen's New Midsized Sedan for months now and thanks to a not-so-subtle plug on the company website, we know now that the car known just as the NMS will be formally introduced at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show.

San Diego is the place to be this weekend for Jeep enthusiasts as The Jeep brand is bringing the “Jeep Rocks & Road Tour,” an off-road driving experience, to consumers attending the 2011 San Diego International Auto Show, Dec. 30 – Jan. 2 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif.

Toyota’s US sales are hurting due to their seemingly endless recall issues but the Prius is still the best selling hybrid in the world, so it should come as no surprise to hear that Toyota will unveil the “Prius Family of Vehicles” next month at the Detroit Auto Show.

A lot of automotive awards are criticized for honoring vehicles not yet available to the public. Green Car Journal gets around that with its Green Car Vision Award that honors a future vehicle coming to market. The five finalists have been announced.

The 2011 Indianapolis Auto Show opened yesterday at the Indiana Convention Center, offering people from around the Hoosier state a look at the best and brightest new cars from around the American automotive industry and this year, attendees will also have a chance to win a new car.

BMW is creating pre-show buzz by introducing two hot models ahead of Detroit Auto Show: the 6 series convertible and the 1 series M coupe.

BMW’s Mini brand is enjoying a growth spurt in the United States. If the Paceman concept it is revealing at the Detroit Auto Show comes to fruition, it could see even stronger sales.

The 2011 Fiat 500 has become a fairly regular presence around the Detroit area, having been shown off at a variety of auto shows over the past year but at the 2010 LA Auto Show, the Italian automaker official made its grand debut back into the American automotive industry. Company CEO Laura Soave was delivered to the stage in a 1968 Fiat 500 before addressing the huge crowd and towards the end of her speech, a trio of 2011 Fiat 500s rolled onto the stage.

Earlier this year, electric sedan manufacturer Coda announced that they would be introducing their new EV to the US market in late 2010 – a surprise considering that this was the same timeframe for the US debut of the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt.

The 2012 Ford Focus took the center stage during the press preview of the 2010 LA Auto Show but once the new C-segment hatchback was formally unveiled in a myriad of different forms and the stage was whisked away, the main attraction of the Ford display was performance.

The folks from Dodge haven’t had much to show off at recent auto shows but with the start of the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show, the “Dodge cars brand” rolled out a handful of new models ranging from high performance muscle cars to vastly refined utility vehicles.

Mitsubishi Motors has unveiled its first all-electric production vehicle, the MiEV, bound for the North American market in November 2011. The MiEV (pronounced My E V) has been produced in the Japanese market since 2009 and shown at the New York Auto Show. Its release has been long expected and the model introduced at the LA Auto Show is updated from the Japanese market version with a wider body (for us wider North Americans) and required safety features.

For two model years, Mazda denied U.S. buyers of its Mazda5 a standard transmission, but for the 2012 model year it once again comes in a manual transmission. Forget all the hoopla about it having elements of the Nagare design in its DNA. A mini-minivan with a six-speed manual transmission is going to be a hoot to drive.

The Honda Fit EV concept introduced at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show is probably going to succeed like no other electric vehicle on the market, except possibly the Ford Transit Connect EV, because its base vehicle, the Honda Fit, is so practical it will deliver utility combined with fuel independence. It will appeal to both small business owners and second-car commuters who want to be able to run to Home Depot on the weekends with their Fit EV.

Cadillac has introduced its Urban Luxury Concept, which is best described as cool, compact elegance with seating for four, scissor-type doors that extend outward and rotate forward when opened, and a turbocharged 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine that gets a projected fuel economy of 56 mpg in the city and 65 mpg on the highway.

Just like there are three major domestic manufacturers in the U.S., there are three major auto shows: Detroit, New York and Los Angeles. The Los Angeles show opens Friday, Nov. 19, after two jam-packed media days, with major debuts coming.