Designer defends Lexus' wild grille

NEW YORK -- Simon Humphries, Toyota's global design chief, acknowledges that his latest creation, the Lexus LF-Gh, has a wild grille. But styling is sedate in the rest of the car, destined to become the next-generation GS. And Humphries did that on purpose. "We need to go back to design that is more pure and clean, but still dynamic," Humphries said at the auto show. "Look at the door panel. It is one convex curve. You see the simplicity and its underlying strength." Humphries says he is opposed to complex scalloping of sheet metal that has found its way onto vehicles from BMW, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz and others. On the flip side, Humphries...

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Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 Video: First Look at the Most Powerful Jeep Ever

Calling it, “the most powerful and technologically advanced Jeep ever,” Jeep brand CEO Mike Manley today unveiled the new 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 at the New York Auto Show. And he isn’t kidding. Transforming the capable off-roader to a serious street machine, the team at SRT revamped the entire package to deliver sports car statistics. Impressive numbers include a 0-60 mph time of 4.8 seconds and a quarter mile time in the mid 13 second range. And it’s not just a straight-line monster either, with a 0.9 G rating on the skidpad and a 60-0 braking distance of just 116 feet. To achieve all that performance Jeep completely reworked...

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2011 Chrysler 300 Review

Over the past 12 months Chrysler has revamped almost every model it offers with the majority of the changes being mid-cycle refreshes, albeit major ones. FAST FACTS 1. It may look like a mid-cycle refresh, but the 300 is all new for 2011 with a new suspension, base V6 engine, chassis and a redesigned interior with a standard 8.4-inch touch screen. 2. The new 3.6L V6 makes 292-hp and delivers 18/27-mpg (city/hwy). 3. Chrysler makes adding extra style easy with rim sizes ranging from 17- to 20-inches. 4. Pricing starts at $27,995 for V6 models and jumps into a whole new price bracket for the V8 at $38,995. The 2011...

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2011 Tokyo Auto Salon: Nissan Leaf Aero Concept, the Future of Low Drag Driving

With the Nissan Leaf now finally on sale here in North America, the Japanese automaker is already exploring electric car concepts for the future. Unveiled at the 2011 Tokyo Auto Salon, the Nissan Leaf Aero Concept looks at future EV styling with a low-slung aero kit and some custom wheels that keep air moving around the car to reduce drag. The Leaf itself is already pretty futuristic, enabling about 70 miles of real-world emissions free travel, while delivering 107-hp and 107 ft-lbs of torque. According to the EPA, it’s rated at 106-mpg city and 92-mpg highway, for a combined total of 99-mpg. GALLERY: Nissan Leaf Aero Co...

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Spyshots: Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4

With Geneva only three weeks away it looks like Lamborghini is still performing some final tests on their new flagship, which will have its official debut in Switzerland. Thanks to an alert driver two Aventador LP700-4’s were spotted. The footage does not include any additional information, the video only makes us more impatient for the release in Geneva! (Source: www.gtspirit.c...

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