“It’s a game changer.” “It’s an environmental champion.” “This car will revolutionize the way we think about transportation.” We hear this kind of hopeful hype about a lot of vehicles—off-hand, we can think of the Tesla roadster, Chevrolet Volt, and Fisker Karma—and sometimes, it even rings true. But few pieces of fanciful transportation have seemed as far-fetched, at least at first glance, as the 2e, scheduled to be produced just six months from now by California-based Aptera Motors. We recently paid the company a visit to take a quick spin in two of its latest prototypes and to see how close this wingless bird is to hatching.

In terms of sheer news impact, the North American International Auto Show 2009 is poised to keep pace with NAIAS 2008, which featured a total of 58 vehicle debuts—44 worldwide and 14 North American. You can expect plenty of thought-provoking new technologies and head-turning designs as well as across-the-board participation from international and domestic manufacturers alike.

SuperVeloce, or SV, is a storied name in Lamborghini’s history, seen most recently on the 1995–99 Diablo SV. The moniker is usually applied to a more powerful, gussied-up version of a car that’s near the end of its life cycle, which is what we have here in the Murciélago LP670-4 SV.

There are few greater automotive thrills than hurling a Lotus Elise down a bendy back road—or around a racetrack. But it’s almost not fair to compare the intense and delightful responses of the Elise or the related Exige with other street cars because, with curb weights that hover around 2000 pounds, there aren’t really any other street cars like them.

This year, the 4tuning anniversary was held at the Romexpo Hall in Bucharest RO. There were over 150 modified cars from the best car tuning companies like AC Schnitzer, MBM Tuning, Maff Tuning or Hertz Tuning.

With its 2007 models, Maserati incensed a lot of old-school, sports-car fans by doing away with traditional manual transmissions, with their clutch pedals and stick shifts. Maserati went over, along with a herd of other automakers, to what lovers of great Italian sports cars today refer to as “freakin’ automatics,“ or words close to that.

Sixteen is a perfect square, in terms of integers. It’s the age you can get a driver’s license. The number of ounces in a pint. Joe Montana’s number. The fourth number in the ominous number sequence from Lost. Or, to a Ferrari Formula 1 fan, it is the number of constructor’s championships the manufacturer has won since the award was created for the 1958 season.

Autosport International is the world’s best Motorsport show. It delivers excitement for the motorsport fans outside of the normal racing season and includes elements from every area of motorsport from karting to Formula One. First held at the NEC, Birmingham in January 1991, Autosport International is now in its 19thyear, taking place annually. It is widely regarded as a showcase event for the UK and European motorsport industry.

Ford has been touting its EcoBoost engine technology for more than two years now. The buildup began when the Lincoln MKR concept debuted at the 2007 Detroit show, hinting at the automaker’s plan to employ smaller engines equipped with turbochargers and direct fuel injection. In the same timeframe, early adopters such as Audi, BMW, and Porsche have been much praised for how the technologies have improved the power delivery, fuel economy, and emissions of many of their vehicles.

You don’t have to twist our arms very far to get us to write about roadsters, particularly those of German descent. This explains why we have composed three separate drive stories on the slick new 2009 BMW Z4 since March.

With the development of Chinese and international automotive industry and accumulating experience of 20 years, the Auto Shanghai has grown into the most authoritative automotive exhibition in China as one of the most influential international exhibitions.

The first event to kick off the show to the public is the annual charity event, Sneak Preview Night, which tales place on the Thursday night before the first public day. General and gold area tickets are available to purchase for this festive event and all proceeds are donated to Homeless Healthcare Los Angeles and One Voice.

Remember how the Rabbit Cup cars of the early '80s would lift an inside rear wheel in tight corners? How the first imported '83 Volkswagen GTIs would dance around that tight road course in the commercials set to "Kleine GTI," the German version of the Ronnie and the Daytonas song? Sure, the original Rabbit GTI's live rear axle is long gone. Still, there's something in the character of the GTI that suggests an affordable, yet well-balanced hot hatch -- the original hot hatch -- that leaps about corners with an attitude defying and yet celebrating its front-wheel-drive.

When Subaru's product developers responsible for the 2010 Legacy began probing Legacy loyalists about their likes and dislikes with the current model, the loud-and-clear message was: "We want more space!" And by far the loudest shouts from the chorus were to expand its rear legroom. Well, Subaru has gotten the hint -- and then some.

The Import scene or Import racing scene refers to the subculture that revolves around modifying imported brand cars (commonly referred to as imports), especially those of Japanese brands, for street racing in foreign countries.

Whenever General Motors has too little cash to serve too many divisions, the result is too much badge engineering. The 2010 GMC Terrain doesn't suffer badge engineering like its predecessor, the Pontiac Torrent. Based on the second-gen Chevrolet Equinox on sale soon, the Terrain has distinct sheetmetal and a slightly upgraded interior featuring lots of red ambient lighting, including along the center-stack-control outline, the CD player opening, and in the door handle openings.

"When I get hot, I go topless." So sayeth the license plate frame of many a convertible. Though it's typically employed as a double entendre, the cheeky adage actually describes the new 2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster quite well. The new Z Roadster is making its world debut on the eve of the 2009 New York auto show alongside the 2009 Nismo 370Z.

Held every two years in the neighborhood of Pudong in Shanghai, China, each successive show demonstrates a large incremental effort to be an influential, large-scale international show with auto makers stepping up the quality of their exhibits and with greater international participation.

When Land Rover introduced the current-generation Discovery, there was a global split, and what became our LR3 was the world's Discovery 3. It made sense once the LR2 came out-the nomenclature implied smaller model, smaller-number designation. That's not the case, as evidenced by the new LR4. For Land Rover, a different number simply means it's that significant a change from the LR3 -- and this is the fourth generation of the vehicle. (Of course, they have it much easier where it can be called Discovery 4.)

Acura calls the ZDX a "sports coupe." Seeing as it's built on the same platform as the MDX SUV and shares its powertrain, all-wheel-drive layout, and high seating position, the purists might argue. But in the context of BMW's new X6 M, and Infiniti's FX50, Acura might have a point. These days, almost anything with a cabin where space has been deliberately compromised for the sake of style is called a sports coupe.

Limited portions of specific events have been shown on the G4 program, Street Fury and on HINtv. During such segments, the host mingles with the owners of the cars, speaks with them about the modifications made to the vehicles, and takes the opportunity to interview show goers.

Short answer? Yes. Those who love what the Range Rover stands for -- being able to experience genuine off-roading surrounded by a luxurious cabin -- will be absolutely thrilled with the latest generation of Land Rover's flagship model. And the 2010 contains technology you can't find anywhere else.

Nismo, Nissan's in-house high-performance division, has been churning out factory-tuned enthusiast rides for more than two decades now in Japan and has recently been gaining a foothold here in the U.S. Back in 2007, Nissan offered its first complete U.S.-spec Nismo model based on the last-generation 350Z, and its latest Z-based creation is the 2009 Nismo 370Z.

Auto Shanghai is an international automobile show that alternates each year with the Beijing Auto Show and dates to its inception in 1985. Auto Shanghai became the first UFI approved Chinese auto show in June 2004.

In 2007, the Mazdaspeed3 was the most powerful front-driver under $25,000. Yet, it was the deft combination of power and utility that made the hatchback irresistible. The 2010 Mazdaspeed3, fortunately, relies on much of the previous generation's hardware -- engine included -- but gains Mazda's smiley-face aesthetics, an updated suspension and driveline, and reworked electronics to improve upon an already stout platform.

A week after unveiling its bigger and better Legacy, Subaru is now letting the other shoe drop. Or should we say letting its hiking boot drop. Since 1994, the Outback has been the Legacy's rough-and-tumble alter ego. Their Indiana Jones to the Legacy's tweedy Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr. And like Harrison Ford himself, the Outback has gained in both savvy and physical size since his swashbuckling debut, though neither one appears to be any less willing to tackle genuine adventure.

In addition to a large number of vehicles, Hot Import Nights events typically feature a number of promotional models. These models promote the products of individual companies/magazines/websites with booths at the event, some participate in fashion shows, and others dance on stage with a DJ playing the music selections.

Last year, Chrysler showed the automotive press an interior-free fiberglass mockup of its long-awaited Jeep Grand Cherokee, an icon of the late '90s and early '00s. It looked like little more than vaporware at the time. At the 2009 New York International Auto Show, the audiences will be the international press, Fiat Auto and U.S. Treasury and the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee is no longer a mockup.

As a general rule, adding weight to a car is to be avoided if at all possible, as it's a detriment to performance and fuel economy. Adjust your goals, though, and it becomes a reasonable tradeoff. Take for example the 2009 Infiniti G37x S, an all wheel-drive version of Infiniti's star entry-luxury car.

The International Geneva Motor Show (Salon International de l'Auto) is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show started in 1905. The show is held at the Geneva Palexpo, a giant convention center located next to the International Airport.

This is the automotive poster child for damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't. No, it's not a Toyota Prius. It's not a $40,000 Chevrolet Volt, either, a car the Treasury department's automotive task force figures will cost all sorts of money General Motors can't afford to lose in the coming years. It's the model critics point to as the General's cynical, too-little too-late response to the hybrid movement.

Traveling business or first class is like having a private cabana at a crowded YMCA swimming pool -- it may be crammed and noisy around you yet nothing but space, comfort, and relaxation are filling your world. But c'mon, unless it's on the company dime, sitting up front in the Airbus and eating with real silverware aren't really worth the sky-high premiums. Of course, there's always economy class, which pleases the pocket book but not much else -- namely, the feet, knees, shoulders, elbows, well, you get the picture.

Hot Import Nights hosts single-night events in a number of different cities across the US, with an average of roughly two such events per month. The locales include standard metropolitan cities such as Los Angeles, Boston, San Mateo, Seattle, New York, Miami and Chicago, as well as more exotic ones such as Honolulu and Guam.

Try splitting a market segment. That is, encapsulate the positives of both ends with none of the negatives. The Audi A6 does it deftly, bridging the space between the midsize A4 and full-size A8. Naturally, it shares engines with both, a 3.2L V-6 and a 4.2L V-8. But for 2009, it receives something in between: Audi's new supercharged 3.0L V-6.

As MT editor-in-chief Angus MacKenzie once said in regard to the 2005 Land Rover LR3 (our 2005 Sport/Utility of the Year award winner), “Whether it's Rodeo Drive or the Rubicon Trail, there isn't a sport/utility in the world that will cover the terrain as quietly, confidently, or comfortably." While we didn’t get the chance to tackle the Rubicon during our recent drive of the 2009 Land Rover LR3 HSE LUX, we can attest that the latest edition of Land Rover’s midrange premium off-roader still lives up to all the hype when cruising Rodeo.

The Los Angeles Auto Show began in 1907 with ninety-nine vehicles on display at Morley’s Skating Rink. As the auto industry grew, the auto show changed venues four times throughout the 1920’s to accommodate the growing needs of vendors. In 1926, it took place at the corner of Hill and Washington where it stayed for the next four years.

For 2009, Acura made drastic changes inside and out to its fourth-generation TL. With edgy, albeit polarizing exterior styling and a sporty, tech-laden interior, the new TL shows no signs of getting lost in the entry-luxury crowd. Long Acura's best-selling model, the TL is now available in either front- or all-wheel-drive configuration, with the former offering a 3.5-liter, 280-horse V-6, the latter a bigger 3.7-liter rated at 305 ponies. Both are backed with a five-speed automatic; a slick six-speed manual will be available with the 3.7 for the 2010 model year.

Technically, the Ferrari 599 Fiorano HGTE isn't a new model, for the HGTE (Handling Gran Turismo Evolution) part is just an option pack. To be really pedantic, an accessory pack rather than an option pack, as you can have the substance of it retro-fitted by your friendly Ferrari dealer. But the point is it feels like a new model.

Hot Import Nights and its original parent company, Vision Entertainment, were formed by show expo professionals based in and around Orange County, California. The original owners were Richard Goodwin, Todd Wallin and John Russell, Michael Munar and were the original event staff.

We've tested and reported extensively on the Mercedes-Benz C350 and like it a lot: modern, aggressive design, grippy front end, willing powerplant, superb seven-speed auto trans, more room than in any previous C-Class, and a feeling of quality that previous Cs have lacked.

"Outlander" suggests something extravagant, something different. The actual Mitsubishi Outlander has become more of an antonym of that definition. Since its introduction in 2001, the Outlander has fit neatly into the compact-crossover segment, and this year it continues the trend.

The LA Auto Show is an annual auto show held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in late November/early December. The LA Auto Show is an OICA sanctioned international exhibition and also endorsed by the Greater Los Angeles New Car Dealers Association.

The Los Angeles Auto Show is an annual auto show that takes place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. The show has been held annually since 1907. The first show took place at Morley's Skating Rink in downtown Los Angeles, just four blocks from the current Convention Center location.

Mike Connor of Motor Trend said that the next generation of Corvettes will not debut until 2012. Connor indicated that GM executive Bob Lutz favored a mid-engine design for the C7 to more easily implement cylinder deactivation, but the company stopped considering it due to high redesign costs.

An under-the-radar, unofficial product debut took place out on the frigid streets in front of Cobo Hall during the 2009 North American International Auto Show, when brief drives of an ML350 Bluehybrid prototype were offered to a select few. Slated for introduction in the second half of 2009, this will be the first "offshore" application of the two-mode hybrid system that was jointly developed by General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, and BMW. (For the record, the hybrid transmission will be assembled in Europe, with final vehicle assembly in Alabama.)

The North American International Auto Show (previously called the Detroit Auto Show and often abbreviated NAIAS) is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan. It is among the largest auto shows in North America.

Mini is the new Saab, having become what Saab wanted to be: a quirky brand that's growing despite its quirkiness. This is the conclusion an admittedly cold brain reaches when driving a new Interchange Yellow Mini Cooper S Convertible around twisty Alpine roads in Austria. The top is down and it's snowing. Not bad, though. The pinstriped cloth seat's bunwarmers fry your derriere if you keep them on "high" for more than two minutes. An aerodynamic black Mini cap is required and the windows are up-a nerdy look on any convertible except the boxy Mini and the 9-3 ragtop, the car Saab tried to market as a "four-seasons convertible."

You're forgiven for not noticing at first glance that this is a substantially new car, so iconic, familiar and evolutionary is its reskin. Heck, Porsche even forgot to index its in-house model moniker to 988, despite having filled this Boxster with myriad delights like two new engines, new sound and nav systems, and such technical treasures as the spectacular twin-clutch seven-speed PDK transmission.

The oldest surviving production Corvette is serial number E53F001003. This historic, one-time GM "test mule" is the third 1953 Corvette to ever come off the Flint assembly line and is known as "double-o-three" to Corvette enthusiasts. It was sold at a Barrett-Jackson auction on January 21, 2006 in Scottsdale, AZ for US$1,000,000.

As with all our Sport/Utility of the Year winners, the 2009 Subaru Forester received an invitation to join our long-term fleet and, naturally, it rsvp'd yes. Rather than sample the available turbocharged 224-horsepower engine, we opted for the naturally aspirated version for a few reasons: First, we have played extensively with the more powerful 2.5-liter turbo in our long-term Impreza WRX and felt the standard flat-four would be a nice change of pace, so to speak. Second, the N.A. Forester is Subaru's volume leader, so why not get a taste of what most people are living with?