For the last several years the 300C has been Chrysler’s band of Spartans, fighting off the apathy and irrelevance that has threatened to overwhelm the brand. And it didn’t just keep Chrysler clawing onto relevance, but it also revived an art form that was also circling the drain: the large, RWD American car. As Cadillac moved towards a sharply-tailored, Euro-fighter positioning, the 300 became the ride of choice for everyone from traditionalist suburbanites to ghetto CEOs. And now it’s back, and like its Charger cousin, the new 300 is a subtle, delicate thing compared to its rough-hewn, unabashedly Bentley-aping predecessor. But has a more sophisticated look actually improved the 300’s appeal? Will concessions to aerodynamics and originality inspire fans of the 300, or is progress a fundamental problem for a car that seems to live in the past? One thing is certain: Chrysler needs its 300 now as badly as it ever did. [Please surf over to Motor Trend for more non-official pictures]

Opel has let it slip to the European media that it will build a new Calibra coupe based on the Opel Insignia (Buick Regal)… and that a convertible is in the works as well. The hardtop will hit German dealers in 2012, with a convertible coming in 2013 alongside a planned OPC/VXR version with 325 HP and AWD. We definitely won’t get that version because GM won’t let Buick play with its 2.8T V6, but a big Buick coupe and an accompanying convertible would sure be a good way to cap off the brand’s recent renaissance (provided the Epsilon II platform feels renaissance-quality in three years). Since GM’s Nick Reilly says the coupe will be inspired by the Opel OPC concept, we’ve included a few images for the Buick faithful to photoshop the Trishield onto. Then there’s just the small issue of whether this midsized FWD coupe is worthy of becoming the next Riviera….

Well, now we know why Audi let VW have its trademark LED headlight “mascara”… it had even crazier headlights warming up in the bullpen. Here they are attached to some car that will reportedly be sold as the next Audi A6.

Subaru’s search for a consistent design language is the stuff of automotive legend, as the brand has flitted from one theme to the next, seemingly coming up with a new direction with each new vehicle. Now, starting with the Hybrid Tourer Concept from the last Geneva Show, Subaru seems to have settled into something of a groove. It’s a sleek, stripped-down, mature look that might stray towards the bland side for some Subaru fans… but at least it’s a direction. With this peek at a future look for the Impreza, we’re getting a little closer to the day when Subaru actually offers a line of consistently-styled vehicles.

As Bertel reported this morning, the debut of Toyota’s first potential mass-market pure EV has not been an occasion for the Japanese automaker to trumpet battery-electric technology as a world-beater. In fact, given the kind of rhetoric that usually accompanies concepts like this Tesla-developed electric RAV4, Toyota is still treating electric vehicles as a limited, and relatively short-term trend that poses little threat to the gas-based core of its business. And there’s strong evidence that this is the right approach. Hybrids are the mass-market face of green motoring in the here-and-now, and a wave of hydrogen vehicles scheduled for 2015 could take considerable wind out of the EV bandwagon’s sales long-term. No wonder Toyota shoved development of the RAV4 EV to its idealistic “investment,” Tesla. This car is not the future… it’s an insurance policy.

According to a recent projection, GM will be selling over 2m vehicles on its Gamma (Aveo) platform by 2016… and thanks to Cadillac’s Urban Luxury Concept, we know what the most profitable iteration of that platform could look like. Yes, it’s the new-wave Cimarron of the future, inspired by such pedigreed city-car competitors as the Aston-Martin Cygnet and the Bugatti Petit Sport Sang de Navet. And with Lambo doors and a grille that would put a crunk rapper to shame, the littlest Caddy certainly does everything it can to distract from its humble (presumably budget Korean hatchback) roots.  Because, as lead designer Frank Saucedo puts it

There is no minimum size for a Cadillac driving experience.

But there is a minimum volume per platform target… and the importance of this metric almost guarantees that, in some way or another, the Cimarron will ride again.

With strong new C-segment competition coming in the form of the Chevy Cruze, Hyundai Elantra and Ford Focus, upcoming refreshes of the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla seem to be taking a low-key approach to the extroverted upstarts. Are the kings of the compact class resting on their laurels? Can they afford to coast on reputation alone? History tells us that complacence leads to trouble in this industry…

That’s right kids, automotive design does matter… even in the search for New York City’s Taxi Of Tomorrow. Which weird-looking van do you prefer? Vote here.

If you’ve ever been to a topless beach, you know the basic problem: you expect a bunch of topless Jags and Maseratis, but what you actually get is this, the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet. Four thousand pounds of roly-poly crossover blessed with the totally misguided belief that people want to see it with its top off. And it would be one thing if this were just a one-off concept, but it sounds like Nissan is considering actually making this thing. We’ll keep a corner of our eye on this as the LA Auto Show kicks off… but we’ll be sure to avoid eye contact.

Now that Chrysler has released full side-on images of its new “200” sedan, its Sebring heritage is plain to see. But will a new name, a new V6, improved handling and a new interior be enough to get D-segment shoppers to forget the Sebring’s ignominy and head back to Chrysler showrooms?

Given Toyota’s dominance of the hybrid market, and its early skepticism about pure-electric vehicles, it’s safe to say that we didn’t expect this badge to show up anytime soon. But sure enough, Toyota’s new corporate EV badge will grace the firm’s RAV-4 EV concept, which debuts at this fall’s LA Auto Show. And it won’t be the most jarring image on that vehicle either…

(Read More…)

Hyundai’s Sonata overhaul has been well-received by critics and customers, and the next-gen Elantra looks set to move the magic to the C-segment. But what of the Accent? If there’s a vehicle left in Hyundai’s lineup that recalls the bad old days of Hyundai’s bargain-basement past, it’s the current sub-$10k base price Accent. Of course, that’s all about to change, as a new Accent is hitting the roads in Korea… and like most of Hyundai’s new product, it looks like a huge step up from its predecessor. TTAC’s man in Korea, Walter Foreman, was kind enough to send in this mega-dump of over 80 images of the new Accent, noting

According to Auto Motor und Sport, the next-generation Porsche 911 (991) will have its wheelbase extended by ten centimeters compared to the current model, a concession to US emissions standards which are categorized by footprint. The new elfer will also lose about 88 pounds and gain stop-start technology, in yet another nod to tightening global emissions standards. Oh yes, and the handbrake will become an electrically-controlled switch similar to the unit in the Panamera. Otherwise… has anything changed? These Erlkönig spy shots reveal the biggest non-story in all of automotive-dom: the 911’s styling really won’t change all that much for its newest iteration. Yes, the most consistently-styled car of the modern era will get slightly steeper front headlights, a more tapered rear end, and fewer vestigal cooling vents that survived the switch from air-cooled to water-cooled engines, thanks to the Porsche’s legendarily stubborn styling department. Otherwise, the updates are incredibly subtle (those side vents are taped-on camo, according to AM und S).

Can the Carrera continue like this forever? Will faithfulness to its classical form ever wear thin? A quick comparison of 911 sales to Boxster/Cayman sales (4,751 to 3,036 in the US, year-to-date) suggests that’s not going to be a problem anytime soon…

About a month ago we saw the first renderings of the 2012 Nissan Versa, and were more than a little taken aback at the model’s apparent move from geeky hatch to sleek sedan. Now the first images of the Chinese-market Nissan Sunny have hit autohome.com.cn [via Burlappcars.com], and they show a rounded little sedan that’s equal parts Altima and IS250. The Sunny nameplate is known as the Sentra in the US, but there’s some speculation that these images actually portray the next-gen Versa (based on their similarity to the earlier-leaked rendering). Alternatively, Nissan could be going for a similar look for both its compact and subcompact offerings. In any case, these pictures hint that Nissan is not taking improved offerings like Chevy’s Cruze and the forthcoming Ford Focus and Hyundai Accent sitting down. The compact and subcompact segments are heating up as designs improve, and Nissan is not about to be left behind.