la auto show 2008


LA 2008: People watching in the city of angels

Well, it was only a matter of time before we got around to posting our people gallery from the auto show. Models were pretty scarce this year in Los Angeles, but they were definitely still worth the effort to stop and photograph. We also had a few celebrity sightings again, although none at the press conferences and only one got caught on camera. California's own Governator made it over for his annual tour, but we missed him. The lone celeb in our gallery was Jerry Seinfeld, who showed up at the Porsche news conference with gorgeous blue 550 ... Read more →

LA 2008: Random sights from the show Frank Filipponio

While we did a lot of coverage of the LA Auto Show this week, there are always some interesting things at the convention center that just don't make into a post of their own. We've collected a bunch ...

LA 2008: U.S. smart fortwo BRABUS is officially official Jeremy Korzeniewski

The BRABUS edition of smart's diminutive little fortwo is, as we like to say, officially official as of yesterday when the brand pulled the wraps off the new-for-USA model. Unlike the Europeans ...

LA 2008: Mitsubishi shows a pair of '70s novelties Frank Filipponio

We might have skipped the Mitsubishi booth altogether this year at the LA Auto Show if it hadn't been for this pair of eye-catching cars from the '70s. While checking out the neighboring Audi booth ...

LA 2008: Mazda takes top honors in Design Challenge Jeremy Korzeniewski

It wasn't the number one pick of our readers (earning the silver medal in your voting), but Mazda managed to take the top honors at the LA Design Challenge with its KAAN concept. The design ...

LA 2008: PWM offers adult Erector Set to build work benches 11 months ago on Autoblog

While heading out to our first press conference of the morning here at the LA Auto Show, we spotted this... this... thing. It sort of looks like a car, but is actually an adult Erector Set of sorts. Paul W. Marino Gages (PWM) offers this line of customizable shop benches and tools known as ...

LA 2008: Saab 25th Anniversary 9-3 Cabrio 11 months ago on Autoblog

A couple of days ago we told you about this special edition 25th Anniversary Saab 9-3 Cabrio. It's a sure sign that there's not much happening when automakers launch these specials in lieu of any real new models. Saab is guilty of this right now. This is the second limited edition of the 9-3 ...

LA 2008: Lotus Evora makes it to the States 11 months ago on Autoblog

The "mostly" U.S. version of the "midsize" Lotus Evora was shown today at the LA Auto Show and it looks exactly like the one that debuted at the 2008 British Motor Show back in June. It's just missing its side marker lights. The Evora follows the '70s Lamborghini Urraco, Maserati Merak, Ferrari ...

LA 2008: Kia's Soul-ful debut 11 months ago on Autoblog

Kia put on quite a show today, prancing out a slew of new Souls at the LA Auto Show. Expected to drop as an early 2010 model in late '09, the new boxy Soul will go head-to-head with the equally-new Nissan Cube for the affections of ex-xB buyers here in the States. While the Cube really goes ...

LA 2008: Honda shows off Insight's Eco Assist dashboard 11 months ago on Autoblog

There's more to driving green than just the car you choose. The way you pilot the vehicle makes a huge impact on your fuel mileage, and automakers are now beginning to endow their new wares with technology that teaches you how to drive green. Honda's upcoming Insight is a perfect example, with ...

w00t! The return of the Autoblog Podcast! 11 months ago on Autoblog

If we were going to continue numbering things, this would technically be Autoblog Podcast #103. We had tried to record this comeback episode once already about three weeks ago, and that turned out to be the only time I've ever toasted an audio file. Pro Tools said "uhh, what?" and that was that - ...

LA 2008: Hyundai approves HED-5 i-Mode for production 11 months ago on Autoblog

We first saw Hyundai's rolling CUV shapeship, the HED-5 i-Mode, back in Geneva, but today at the LA Auto Show is the first time the Korean automaker has shown the car in the States. New to the crossover is a 2.0L gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine that Hyundai plans to roll out in ...

LA 2008: VW Race Touareg 2 11 months ago on Autoblog

This is Volkswagens entrant in this weekend's Baja 1000: a spaceframe-chassis Touareg TDI with 75 cm of suspension travel competing in the top-dog Trophy Truck class and utilizing an oil-burning V12 with nearly 550 hp. That's a long way from the first VW win in 1967 that came courtesy of a VW ...

LA 2008: Lexus unveils the third generation RX350 and RX450h 11 months ago on Autoblog

Lexus dropped the third-generation RX on the world today here at the LA Auto Show. As before, the RX luxury crossover comes in two forms, the standard issue RX350 and the hybrid RX450h. The 3.5L RX350 gets a power bump to 275 hp while the hybrid engine grows from 3.3L up to 3.5L and 295 total ...

LA 2008: Toyota shows off Camry CNG Hybrid 11 months ago on Autoblog

Toyota isn't holding a press conference at the LA Auto Show this year, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have anything to show. The Prius purveyors have built a CNG-fueled Camry hybrid. According to Toyota spokesperson Jana Hartline, the purpose of the CNG hybrid is to demonstrate the ...

LA 2008: 2010 Mazda3 shows its smiling face [w/VIDEO] 11 months ago on Autoblog

Mazda has unveiled its 2010 Mazda3 sedan here at the LA Auto Show and we managed to snap some nice shots off as it was spinning around on a huge rotating stand. It's a good looking car that Mazda says carries on its "family face" with stylish bulges and creases that attract the eyes, and we're ...

LA 2008: 2009 BMW 7 Series and Concept 7 Series ActiveHybrid unveiled LIVE 11 months ago on Autoblog

We already knew pretty much everything there is to know about the U.S. 2009 7 Series, but BMW pulled the covers, both literally and symbolically, off its new range-topper right on schedule anyway. In person, the new 7 has much more presence than it appears to have in photos, with an ...

LA 2008: Honda surprises with FC Sport fuel cell sports car concept 11 months ago on Autoblog

var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/autos/A_Honda_surprise_FC_Sport_is_beautiful_hydrogen_powered'; The first real surprise at the LA Auto Show today came from Honda in the form of its FC Sport fuel cell design study. The designers at Honda's advanced design studio in Pasadena decided to take ...

LA 2008: Our Orange Crush is the Spyker C8 Laviolette LM85 11 months ago on Autoblog

The Spyker C8 Laviolette LM85, which we'll call "Tiger," is officially out and about. Spyker has released more images of the Audi-engined, 400-hp, 6-speed manual Le Mans-inspired road car, and to our eyes it could be the best looking Spyker we've seen. The blacked-out mirrors do it a lot of ...

LA 2008: Nissan unleashes the slightly less cube-y Cube [w/VIDEO] 11 months ago on Autoblog

The Cube is ready for America, and it's coming in three flavors just to make sure it has all... sides... covered. Each of them gets the 1.8-liter engine good for 122 hp and 127 lb-ft., with trim levels being just 1.8, 1.8 S, and 1.8 SL. The little box with the slightly droopy rear end is packed ...

LA 2008: Porsche to debut freshened Boxster and Cayman with PDK 11 months ago on Autoblog

Porsche is going to unveil its newly freshened Boxster and Cayman models at the LA Auto Show today. As you can see in the galleries below, their noses and tails have been redone with a touch of Carrera GT, but each car now has a unique look. More importantly, the engines and transmissions have ...

LA 2008: Twin-turbo V8 slated for BMW 7 Series 11 months ago on Autoblog

BMW is launching its latest 7 Series flagship in the United States here at the LA Auto Show and has decided to whet our appetites a bit before the official unveiling by releasing an early press release about its latest offerings. As expected, the new 7 is equipped with a direct-injected ...

LA 2008: Redesigned 2010 Ford Fusion 11 months ago on Autoblog

At the preview for the 2010 Ford Fusion, Frank Davis, Executive Director of North American Product Programs described Ford's goal as combingin best-in-class fuel economy with a much bolder appearance. The mid-size C/D segment in which the Fusion competes is the second largest in the U.S. market, ...

LA 2008: Live reveal of the MINI E in Beverly Hills 11 months ago on Autoblog

BMW board member Dr. Friederich Eichiner unveiled the first MINI E this afternoon at a press event in Beverly Hills, California. The company has built 500 of the battery-powered cars that will be leased to customers in Southern California and the New York City area starting in January. Each car ...

LA Preview: 2010 Mazda3 gains 167-hp 2.5L 11 months ago on Autoblog

Mazda has let loose a few more details on its 2010 Mazda3 just two days ahead of its official unveiling at the LA Auto Show. As before, there will be a base 2.0-liter engine that comes standard along with an optional larger unit, now enlarged to 2.5 liters. The displacement bump comes with a ...

Officially Official: 2010 Ford Mustang! 11 months ago on Autoblog

When the 2005 Ford Mustang debuted, it thoroughly reinvigorated the pony car segment that it created four decades earlier. After 25 years of being assembled on the archaic rear-wheel-drive Fox platform, the Mustang finally had an all-new platform and styling that hearkened back to the late ...

2010 Ford Mustang GT pricing and options leak out 11 months ago on Autoblog

We're less than a day away from hearing all the official details on the new 2010 Mustang and bits of information are still dribbling out on the interwebs. The latest is that we now have some purported pricing and option information on at least the Mustang GT Premium package. If accurate, the ...

LA Preview: Lexus confirms debut of 2010 RX450h and RX350 12 months ago on Autoblog

Our friendly neighborhood Toyota/Lexus spokesman, Curt McAllister, dropped us a note with an official announcement of what's coming to the Lexus booth at next week's LA Auto Show, and as expected, the big reveal will be the reworked RX luxury crossover. Like the current crossovers, the RX will come ...

LA Preview: Saab to unveil 25th Anniversary special edition 9-3 convertible 12 months ago on Autoblog

When car makers don't have anything truly new to offer, they often make special editions. Such is the case right now with Saab. General Motors' Swedish brand is putting out its second limited run version of the 9-3 convertible this year. Unlike the somewhat garish Yellow edition that came out ...

GM scraps LA Auto Show press conference 12 months ago on Autoblog

General Motors' ongoing financial problems mean that the company Gulfstream won't be shuttling executives to the LA Auto Show next week. After canceling plans to unveil the new Buick LaCrosse and the production version of the Cadillac CTS coupe, it became clear that there really wasn't anything ...

Official U.S.-spec Kia Soul images pop up on web 1 year ago on Autoblog

Official images of the new Kia Soul have just begun making their first rounds on the interwebs. The boxy little crossover will see its first U.S. unveiling at the LA Auto Show later this month and we'll be on hand to capture the event in all its glory. Until then, take a look at these early ...

VIDEO: Nissan 370Z in Need for Speed: Undercover 1 year ago on Autoblog

We can't remember the last time, if ever, a video game made us really want to check out a car, but we have to see the new Nissan 370Z now. In the Need for Speed: Undercover teaser video it looked neat, but in the official shots a few days later the car looked like it was suffering from bloating ...

Officially Official: Nissan drops 370Z ahead of LA Debut! 1 year ago on Autoblog

Looking pretty much like what everyone has been expecting for months now, the 2010 Nissan 370Z dropped this morning. The company hasn't released any details, although from the new nomenclature we can surmise that the sports car contains the new 3.7L V6 as used in the Infiniti G37. The new Z ...

LA Preview: 204-hp lithium battery-powered MINI E revealed! 1 year ago on Autoblog

BMW has finally unleashed some information and photos of the much anticipated MINI E set to debut next month at the LA Auto Show. For those who haven't been paying attention, late last spring BMW announced plans to build and lease a fleet of 500 battery powered MINIs starting sometime in 2009. ...

Inside Line sees Nissan 370Z in person, official photos coming Oct. 29 1 year ago on Autoblog

Inside Line was given a thorough peek at and allowed to drive the coming Nissan 370Z, and appears to like what it has seen. Many of their findings have been previously guessed at based on spy photos of the car, but their viewing seems to prove that it all fits together well enough in person. ...

Nissan says next 370Z to compete with Porsche 1 year ago on Autoblog

When Nissan launched the 350Z in '02, it was working hard to reinvent itself and the new Z was clearly its halo car in the U.S. market. Now that that the revival has come and gone, expect the new 370Z to take on a new tack as a harder edged vehicle. In fact, Nissan plans to take on Porsche, the ...






Autoblog Podcast #151: With Car and Driver's Eddie Alterman

Eddie Alterman wades in with Sam, Chris, Dan, and Jonny to talk about SEMA and other recent events.

 
 

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