Compact cars are all the rage, and established industry leaders are seeing their positions threatened by emerging new competitors. In the traditional United States small car market, Toyota and Honda have led with their Corolla and Civic models. General Motors has provided strong competition with Cruze, and Ford and Hyundai are readying new models to [...]

The 2011 Honda CR-Z may not exactly be sailing to success here in the U.S., but it has managed to walk away with the coveted Japan Car of the Year title. In order to celebrate, Honda has decided to work up a new special edition version of its tiny sport hybrid. Only available in a [...]

Like it or not, alternative powertrains are treading into the automotive industry in a similar way to all high-technology formats. Starting with a few high-priced examples featuring limited capabilities, the technology evolves quickly soon after. Increased production of this new technology is followed by decreases in pricing which has led to hybrid cars being embraced [...]

Filed under: Coupe , Hybrid , Performance , Acura , Honda , Rumormill Acura Advanced Sports Car concept – Click above for high-res image gallery According to Peter Lyon, Motor Trend’s correspondent abroad, Honda is still hard at work on a successor to the much-loved NSX sports car . If true, we can expect the halo car to be powered again by a six-cylinder engine, this time augmented by a hybrid powertrain.

Filed under: Ford General Motors may be raking in the awards with its Chevrolet Volt right now, but Ford isn’t exactly going unnoticed for its efforts on the green front. The Green Blue Oval has won Nielsen’s first Automotive Green Marketer of the Year award.

Filed under: Motorsports , Lotus , Racing Lotus Cosworth KV Racing IndyCar rendering – Click above for high-res image gallery IndyCar is about to get a heck of a lot more interesting to both diehard open-wheel fans and casual observers alike. While the current series relies on a single chassis platform (Dallara) and engine supplier ( Honda ), starting in 2012 a number of engine options and aero packages will be allowed , though the same basic chassis will still be used by all teams ( again from Dallara ). Just a short while after Chevrolet announced that it was going to offer a turbocharged 2.4-liter V6 engine for the 2012 season, Lotus chose to officially throw its storied British name into the racing ring with an announcement from the 2010 LA Auto Show .

Filed under: LA Auto Show , Minivan/Van , Nissan 2011 Nissan Quest – Click above for high-res image gallery Keeping up with the Joneses is a tough game to play, and Nissan’s third-generation Quest was getting jealous of the new Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey . Los Angeles can change you, and that’s why we are staring at the all-new fourth generation 2011 Nissan Quest. Arriving in dealerships in the beginning of next year, the 2011 Nissan Quest will be offered in four trims: S, SV, SL and LE.

Filed under: Concept Cars , LA Auto Show , Hatchback , Honda , Electric Honda Fit EV concept – Click above for high-res image gallery We were a bit miffed at the Paris Motor Show this year when Honda debuted its Fit Jazz Hybrid and told us there were no plans to bring it to the United States. Bigger plans were in the works, however, and we’ve now caught our first glimpse at the Fit EV concept on display at this year’s LA Auto Show . Visually, the Fit EV doesn’t stray too far from the design language we’ve come to know from the gasoline-powered hatchback, albeit with a few concept-y touches thrown in for good measure.

Filed under: Car Buying , Sedan , Kia 2011 Kia Optima – Click above for high-res image gallery The 2011 Kia Optima appears to be a quantum leap improvement over the 2010 model, with improved aesthetics, powertrains and technology. But do all those improvements come at a cost? According to Kia , the 2011 Optima will start at $18,995

Filed under: Car Buying , Sedan , Kia 2011 Kia Optima – Click above for high-res image gallery The 2011 Kia Optima appears to be a quantum leap improvement over the 2010 model, with improved aesthetics, powertrains and technology.