LA Autoshow Favorites

With the LA Autoshow behind us it's time to take a look at the best production and concept cars from the show. The list of production models making their debut was significant. Chrysler and Dodge unveiled significantly updated versions of their mid-size sedans and minivans along with the new Durango and Charger. Nissan unveiled its new Quest minivan along with the first convertible crossover in the Murano CrossCabriolet. The Buick LaCrosse with E Assists is interesting as well as it promises high fuel economy from a mild hybrid system. Nevertheless, the CLS 63 AMG takes the best production debut category with its matte paint, huge power, and bold styling. The original CLS is widely known as a styling icon, and it appears that the second generation CLS, at least in the AMG form, does not disappoint.








Mercedes Benz CLS63, click to enlarge

On the concept side, he Subaru Impreza Concept and the Nissan Ellure take the honors as best concepts. Both concepts aim to give the public a preview of how their future production sedans will look like. The Impreza concept gives a good preview of how the next Impreza sedan should look like minus the typical show car elements. While Nissan says that the Ellure concept is not a preview of any specific model in its lineup, don't be surprised to see some of its styling elements in the next Sentra and Altima.



Subaru Impreza Concept



Nissan Ellure Concept

Unrelated But Awesome

Here are the two pieces of automotive news from the past couple of days that are completely unrelated but nevertheless very interesting. First is the first official photo of the upcoming Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet. Even though Nissan had confirmed its existence a while ago not many believed that Nissan would actually take the top of its well known crossover. The CrossCabriolet represents a new vehicle segment being formed in front of our eyes, which makes it an exciting debut at the upcoming Los Angeles autoshow. As far as the design of the crossover convertible, the transition looks good so far, but we have to wait for top-up pictures before assigning a final verdict.



The second exciting piece of news is Lamborghini's reveal of its brand new 700 horsepower V12 engine. The 6.5 liter V12 features a new design and is said to be lighter than the previous V12s which all shared a common heritage dating back to 1964. Along with the new V12 Lamborghini also revealed a new automated manual gearbox that promises extremely fast shifting times. The V12 and gearbox combo will go inside the Murcielago replacement in early 2011. The latest rumor indicates that it will be called the Aventador. The Aventador and its new V12 are especially exciting because they represent what could be one of the last pure supercars.