patent filing

Patent filings have given us plenty of early glimpses at future cars recently, but generally speaking, we tend to know what we're looking at. What we're seeing here is obviously an upcoming Nissan utility vehicle based largely on the 2012 Hi-Cross Concept, but other than that, there's really no ...

The Fiat 500 continues its program of aggrandizement, going from the five-seat 500L and 500X to the seven-seat 500XL – that is, if these patent drawings and snapshots from Fiat's Centro Stile are accurate pictures of the future. The 500 is 11.6 feet long, appending the L added exactly two ...

It wasn't a joke, but it turns out that when Autoblog discovered the patent filing for a four-door SLS AMG, we stumbled on drawings that were merely part of the development process and not a car intended for production. In February, when we came across the schematic, it was wondered if ...

BMW has invited itself to a party that Porsche started. Someone trolling trawling through patent filings found drawings submitted by BMW for two slightly different takes on a seven-speed manual transmission. The first take is a more conventional setup that provides an honest clutch pedal. The ...

Perhaps more than most, Mercedes-Benz has proven to be remarkably adept at platform sharing, pulling and pushing at their various architectures to create new models. Take, for example, the marque's E-Class range, which in addition to sedan, coupe, convertible and wagon variants, spawned the CLS ...

There are luxury automakers, there are mainstream automakers, and then there are those in between. Volvo, we'd argue, is one of those marques that doesn't quite compete in the same market as, say, Mercedes-Benz or Lexus, but that looks as if it's about to change. The Swedish automaker has been ...

You know, the Mini Countryman is pretty excellent. We weren't sure about how a Mini-badged crossover would be received, but after spending some time behind the wheel, we're pretty impressed with the overall package. That in mind, we wouldn't necessarily frown at the notion of a production version ...

The Toyota Camry-based Lexus ES isn't exactly the most exciting product in the automaker's range. The entry-level luxury front-driver just received a slight refresh for the 2010 model year, but based on a filing with the United ...

Imperfect though it may have been, we kinda miss the Dodge Magnum. Building a low-slung wagon and dropping a Hemi into it took a lot of guts on Chrysler's part. And while it may have been discontinued, it appears to be ...