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Fifth generation BMW 7 series breaks cover

French tax gives low-CO2 cars a boost

GM, Ford stock prices tumble

Mercedes-Benz will end McLaren collaboration

VW appoints new purchasing chief in Mexico

Porsche managers get ready for VW era

Denso Europe sees slowdown

Lancia feels China's wrath over Delta ad

Rolf wins from being first in Russia

June 23, 2008

Automotive News

auto shows

NY Show News

Kia's N.Y. duo

Kia showed the sporty, Spectra-based Koup Concept car and the face-lifted 2009 Kia Optima at the New York show. The bright-red Koup Concept has a 2.0-liter turbocharged four, which produces 290 hp and 289 pounds-feet of torque.

NEW YORK AUTO SHOW PHOTOS AND COVERAGE >>

Geneva Show News

Many new faces make their debuts

VW and VW-trained designers use Geneva to highlight the styling directions of their cars

Volkswagen, Seat and Kia used the auto show to highlight the design directions their brands plan to take.
VW�s Scirocco coupe highlights a fresh, friendlier look that will appear on future models.
Seat�s Bocanegra concept showcases a new simple but sporty design language for the carmaker.
The front-end styling of the Kia Soul will be one of the key elements of a new face that Chief Design Officer Peter Schreyer plans for the Korean brand.
VW says the Scirocco�s narrow double band across the grille will be used on other new models.

GENEVA MOTOR SHOW PHOTOS AND COVERAGE >>

Chicago Show News

Chicago's Greatest Hits

Strolling through McCormick Place last week, our car guy found a lot more to like than he expected.

Editor's note: We turned Richard Truett, one of our ace car guys, loose at the Chicago Auto Show and asked for his unvarnished opinion. We asked for it, and we got it. Here's Truett's report from the Windy City. One question we'll have when he returns: Does he really think Ford can turn a delivery van into a funky vehicle that will pry young people away from their Scions?
CHICAGO — Here's what I was thinking as I headed off to the Chicago Auto Show last week: The reborn Dodge Challenger was a flash-in-the-pan muscle

CHICAGO AUTO SHOW PHOTOS AND COVERAGE >>

Detroit Show News

Toyota plans 2 new hybrids, lithium ion production

TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. today fired a fresh volley in the green car wars, promising two new hybrid vehicles and the start of lithium ion battery production next year.
The two hybrids -- one badged a Toyota, the other a Lexus -- will debut at the Detroit auto show and come on top of the third-generation Prius car, also due in 2009.
Toyota didn�t give further details about the upcoming vehicles. But Masatami Takimoto, executive vice president in charge of r&d, said the Toyota will be larger than the Prius.
�It�s a totally new car,�

DETROIT AUTO SHOW PHOTOS AND COVERAGE >>

LA Show News

L.A. auto show: the hits and misses

Concepts from VW, Hyundai and Nissan impress; Audi and Lincoln prototypes not so hot

LOS ANGELES -- While auto shows tend to feature a little bit of this and a little bit of that, a sizable number of debuts here touted their brands� environmental friendliness.
The apparent aim was to win share in a stagnant market.
Here�s a look at what worked and what didn�t.

LOS ANGELES AUTO SHOW PHOTOS AND COVERAGE >>

Tokyo Show News

Hybrids become unavoidable

TOKYO — For automakers, the hybrid powertrain is starting to feel as inevitable as death and taxes. Every manufacturer is working on one, whether it wants to or not.
Engineers say that hybrid powertrains are complex and expensive, with a big battery pack to put somewhere. Some think that modern diesels are a better bet — clean, less expensive than a hybrid and efficient.
Yet hybrids have caught on with the public as the environmentally responsible choice, thanks in large part to Toyota's brilliant marketing. So other

TOKYO MOTOR SHOW PHOTOS AND COVERAGE >>

Frankfurt Show News

Citroen to unveil new C5 next month

On October 18, Citroen will brief the press on the next generation upper-medium C5.
The public debut could be as early as the Brussels auto show in January, Citroen sources say. In the first quarter of 2008, the C5 will add a station wagon version.
Designed under Citroen head of design Jean-Pierre Ploue, the Citroen C5 Airscape concept study that debuted this month at the IAA in Frankfurt revealed many details of the production version of the new C5.
The new C5 is an evolutionary development of PSA's upper-medium platform 3, which

FRANKFURT IAA PHOTOS AND COVERAGE >>

Paris Show News

Paris debut for X1, Mini SUV

MUNICH -- BMW will show two SUV concepts at the Paris auto show in October.
The X1 premium small SUV and a Mini SUV variant will be unveiled.
A BMW source said that an early concept of the X1 would be shown as well as a near-to-production version of the Mini SUV
The X1 is based on the 1-series entry premium sedan and will be built at BMW�s Leipzig plant in eastern Germany.
The Mini SUV will be built by Austrian contract manufacturer Magna Steyr.
The X1 goes on sale in 2009. The Mini SUV will be in showrooms in 2010.

PARIS MOTOR SHOW PHOTOS AND COVERAGE >>