Automotive World

The more practical, five-door version of the A1 has the same length as the three door model at 3.95 meters (12.96 ft) but is several millimeters taller and wider thus offering a little more space in the rear seats – though don't expect any wonders.. In addition, buyers can order the Sportback with either a four- or five-seat layout at no extra cost.

The new CR-V, which we first saw at the Los Angeles Auto Show earlier this month, will be offered in Japan in two flavors, the 20G and the 24G.

In Europe, the new Toyota will be called the GT 86 in tribute to the Japanese firm's GT car heritage and especially the Corolla GT (or Levin) AE86, which inspired its creation. The Japanese domestic market version will be aptly called 86.

The GT 86 is the result of a joint Toyota and Subaru development programme that will spawn two more models, the global Subaru BRZ that will also make its debut in Tokyo next week in production trim, and the North American market Scion FR-S.

All three cars will share the same platform and mechanical hardware including the Subaru-sourced flat-four, with only minor styling differences between them.

The story of the GT 86 began in October 2009 with the unveiling of the first FT-86 Concept in Tokyo and was followed by the almost production ready FT-86 II concept at the 2011 Geneva motor show this past March.

This is why McLaren Automotive didn’t only build its first supercar after the iconic F1 of the ‘90s, but also invested close to £50 million (€58.2 or US$77.3 million) in developing a brand-new, state-of-the-art factory – or rather, as the company names it, the McLaren Production Center (MPC).

Rather than improve its off-road capabilities, the German tuning company says that all of the available upgrades for the three- and five-door variants of the Evoque were developed to make the crossover more capable on the road where it will spend if not all, most of its time.

The product lineup includes a new front apron, a roof wing and a rear apron that houses a diffuser and the reshaped quad tail pipes. The crossover model's sportier stance is further enhanced with suspension kit that lowers the ride height by up to 30mm (1.2-inches) and custom-tailored alloy wheels offered in various color combos and 20- or 22-inch diameters.

Billed by Subaru as the "crown of STI tuned cars", the new Impreza WRX STI S206 follows on from previous “S” versions, such as the S203, S204 and S205.

So what's special about the new STI model? Well, for starters, the S206 employs exclusive Bilstein dampers, STi coil springs, a flexible front tower bar and draw stiffener, which promise to further improve the car’s precise and quick cornering response.

The S206 rides on a new set of 19-inch BBS aluminum wheels, which have been designed exclusively for this model, and are shod in Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires.

The new 328i, which swaps the current model's naturally aspirated 3.0-liter inline-six for a turbo'd four-cylinder powerplant, will be priced from $35,795, while the 2012 335i Sedan that continues with a turbocharged-six carries an MSRP of $43,295.

And sure enough, after last week's revelation, the Japanese carmaker published the eighth installment of the Juke-R's ongoing video series.

Among other vehicles that will go on display in the City of Angels are the new Subaru BRZ STI Concept, Hyundai Azera, Infiniti JX Crossover, Mercedes-Benz ML 63 AMG, the refreshed Ford Mustang and the new Honda CR-V.

If you follow the jump, you'll find our list with all the cars that are slated to be shown in L.A. this week, and which will be constantly updated throughout the show.

You may have noticed that instead of the original gunmetal gray finish, the all-aluminium sports coupe shown in the City of Angels was redone in a Neutron White. But besides that, there are no other changes.

The British company has already begun work on the production version as evidenced by the test mule captured on film by our scoop photographers back in mid-September.

At the Los Angeles presentation, Jaguar's Global Brand Director, Adrian Hallmark said that the C-X16 represents the best of Jaguar and that it brought the car to the States to test the waters.

Apparently, Volkswagen does not feel the same way. That is why when the time came to freshen up its four-year old Passat CC sports saloon, it chose to delete the “Passat” moniker from its name in order to signal its upmarket move and severe any ties with the mid-size family sedan.

To reinforce its point, VW has made some changes to the styling of the 2013 CC that made its world debut this week at the LA Motor Show.

Like the MKS, the MKT now has an all-new split front grille with more densely placed vertical slats and reshaped bumper.

Honda had prepared us for the new CR-V's evolutionary looks through a thinly disguised concept model that was displayed at the Orange County International Auto Show in California in late September.

The transition from concept to production reality didn't bring many changes other than a less aggressive choice of wheels, a matte instead of a glossy finish for the plastic cladding on the body, and clear graphics on the headlamps and tail lamps.

The new 2012 CR-V looks sleeker than its predecessor and has a more aggressive stance thanks in part to the new roofline and the Volvo-esque rear end design.

At 178.5-in. long, 71.6-in. wide and 65.1-in. tall with a 103.1-in. wheelbase, the new model retains the same width and wheelbase measurements with the previous CR-V, but is 0.8-in. shorter in overall length and 1-in. in height.

To answer your first question, we didn't find any styling changes whatsoever from concept to production, but that shouldn't come as a surprise as there was nothing really conceptual about the JX study in the first place.

There are some interesting styling cues to be found on the JX such as the crescent-cut D-pillar and the swoopy belt line, but it's hardly a looker in our books.

Hop inside and you'll find the familiar Infiniti styling sprinkled with plenty of wood accents and leather trim as well as a variety of gizmos such as a 15-speaker Bose Cabin Surround sound system with Acoustic Waveguide bass technology and the Infiniti Connection telematics system.

Packing 550HP and 680Nm (501 lb-ft) of torque from its supercharged 5.0-liter V8 that was borrowed from XKR-S coupe, the convertible model accelerates from standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.2 seconds and can reach an electronically limited top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph).

The good news is that Fiat opted to offer the 500 Abarth with a more powerful engine than the standard 135-horsepower four-banger that's available on the basic European model.

In the States, the hot 500 gets a turbocharged, twin intercooled and MultiAir-equipped 1.4-liter engine that produces a more robust 160-horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 170 lb-ft (230Nm) of peak torque between 2,500 and 4,000 rpm.

The new Escape is definitely more modern than the best-selling model it replaces, something that Ford’s design boss, Martin Smith, is keen to stress out: “The Escape’s athletic good looks are no accident”, he says, adding that “we wanted to create the impression of an athlete like a runner or swimmer in the new body – right down to the defined muscles that convey movement and energy.”

The new Escape measures 178.1 inches (4.52 m) in length, 72.4 inches (1.84 m) in width, 66.3 inches (1.68 m) in height, while it rides on a 105.9 inch (2.69 m) wheelbase.

In the U.S. market, it will be available in both front- and four-wheel layouts with three gasoline engines, all of which are combined with a six-speed automatic transmission.

While based on the 2012 model, the new Mustang has received some minor styling updates as well improvements beneath the skin.

Ford says that the design tweaks were meant to make the new Mustang look more aggressive. On the outside, these include a more prominent grille for all models, a new front splitter, a functional hood air extractors on the GT, body-colored rocker panels, a new design for the tail lamps and a glossy rear panel sporting the Mustang emblem.

Now all three members of the renewed Lexus GS family will come together and make their first North American auto show appearance at this week's Los Angeles Auto Show that runs for the public from November 18 to 27.

Today, we got our hands on a fresh batch of official photos plus the Korean domestic market [KDM] brochure that provides us with a few more details on the rear-wheel drive coupe's specifications, namely the acceleration figures and fuel economy numbers.

The flagship Genesis Coupe with the 350PS (345HP) 3.8-liter V6 engine completes the 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint in 5.9 seconds while returning a combined fuel efficiency (in the Korean driving cycle) of 9.6km/lt (22.6mpg US or 10.4lt/100km) with CO2 emissions of 227g/km.