As cool as some of those custom Ford Fiestas are at the LA Auto Show, these even tidier Mazda2 customs really jumped out at us. Okay, maybe not all of the concepts so much as the "Mazdaspeed2" you see above. The Active2 Surf and Active2 Snow barely registered when we saw this green and grey fun machine. Dubbed the 2Evil Special and not really an official Mazdaspeed2 at all, this concept blends weekend track car with urban commuter in just the right proportions.

The other two concepts aren't quite as eye-catching as the 2Evil, but are fun nonetheless. The Active2 Surf has a slightly restyled exterior, 17-inch wheels, an H&R coil over suspension and was painted a bright green with MINI-like white wheels and mirror caps. We really dug the carbon fiber surfboard in the Thule roof rack, too. The Active2 Snow gets similar bodywork tweaks, along with the 17-inch wheels and the H&R setup with another Thule roof rack sporting matching snowboards.. Both cars also wear Active2 graphics. These two cars look like they are going to be easily duplicated by accessing the Mazda Accessories catalog.

Meanwhile, the 2Evil sits even lower thanks to its H&R coil-over setup, and is visually lowered even more courtesy of the aggressive body kit with its curb-scraping front lip and deep side skirts. The 2Evil also includes a new diffuser and spoiler in the back, limo-black windows, Le Mans-winning Mazda 787B tribute graphics, 17-inch wheels wrapped in Yokahama Advan tires, and a Magna performance exhaust system. The green highlights really bring the whole thing together to make it look like a spec series racer. Now if Mazda could just shoehorn in the Mazdaspeed3 turbo mill, they'd really be onto something. We can just imagine Grand-Am adding a CC (commuter car) class for fun little runabouts like this Mazda2, the MINI Cooper, Fiesta, Fiat 500, Honda Fit and the like.

[Source: Mazda]

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Honda certainly can't be accused of running a dog and pony show here at the LA Auto Show, because there were no ponies. They did, however, have the adorable Luna and Toby on hand to demonstrate their clever Dog Friendly system on this Honda Element. It's essentially a collapsible ramp and pup tent (couldn't resist) with tethers that keeps dogs secure in back while protecting the interior of your vehicle from stains and pet hair.

We've shown you this Dog Friendly setup before, but couldn't resist snapping a few pics of the system in action, especially now that it's available. The Dog Friendly package is available on any 2010 Honda Element model for an extra $995. besides the nylon kennel and ramp, the system includes a cushioned bed, a spill-proof water dish, a small 12-volt ventilation fan, seat covers for the second row, and rubber floor mats with a bone motif. Seems like a reasonable price for keeping one's pets safe and secure, especially considering it's a custom fit package from the people who actually build the vehicle itself. There's a full press release after the jump and some more pics of Toby and Luna in our high-res gallery below.



[Source: Honda]

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BMW took advantage of California's proclivity for greenwashing to give its ActiveHybrid models their North American debuts at the LA Auto Show. Just for good measure they also brought along the incredible Vision Efficient Dynamics sustainable supercar concept. While we know a great deal about BMW's first true hybrid, the X6 ActiveHybrid, from our first drive, we still had to admire its incredible combination of horsepower and technology, even if the mileage isn't really spectacular enough to warrant a truly green halo.

The BMW 7 Series ActiveHybrid is a mild hybrid with the electric motor filling one of three roles while in motion. It alternates between being a motivator, a generator and a booster depending on load and demand. It can go 37 mph on the motor alone, it gets 20% better overall mileage than the straight gas engine, and it does the 0-60 trot in just 4.7 seconds thanks to its 455 horsepower and 515 lb-ft of torque. BMW's Peter Miles did add one bit of information to the Active 7 equation when he announced pricing. The regular wheelbase model will start at $103,125 while the long-wheelbase "L" model will start at $107,025.

The last car in the BMW eco show was the Vision concept. And never before has the phrase, "last but not least," been more appropriate. This thing looks like it could have come out of Minority Report, yet it has so much real world promise. We'll never see this car in production, of course, but don't be surprised to see many of its elements in future BMW models. We're still trying to decide whether we'd take this or the swoopy e-tron concept next door at Audi's stand, but why not have both?

Check out our gallery of live shots from LA by clicking below, or the official 7 Series pricing press release after the jump.



[Source: BMW]

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Wow. Lexus brought their new LFA supercar to the LA Auto Show this year. That might not seem particularly wow-worthy, but it definitely becomes more surprising when you hear that they actually brought an LFA and a half. While a white LFA was happily humming along, spinning slowly on a rotating platform in the middle of the booth, another LFA-like creature lay motionless a few feet away.

It seems Lexus had an extra drivetrain they wanted to display, but instead of just parking the engine, transaxle and other mechanical bits on a stand, they decided to make it something of a cutaway. Rather than chopping up one of those exquisitely woven carbon fiber bodies, thankfully, they supported the running gear in a wireframe cutaway of sorts that mimics the overall shape of the production car. It was even done up in white just like the real thing on the other side of the stand. While some saw it as a novel way to display the internals, we think this might be a sneak peek at the cheaper, simpler Lexus LFA we had hoped for. Or, you know, not.

Check out the gallery below, and do yourself a favor – Take a few extra seconds to ogle that engine.

Mini may be many things, but stuffy they're not. When your business consists of selling tiny hatchbacks with sports car handling at a near luxury price, you really can't take yourself too seriously all the time. Mini ad campaigns have capitalized on that cheeky spirit to great effect. While at the LA Auto Show this week, we were treated to a preview of some of the newest commercials that will be getting airtime soon. Rest assured, the attitude is still there in abundance.

A good example of that spirited personality is the car you see here. Playing on the old Mini's Bulldog alter ego, the automaker has chosen to put this new Cooper S Clubman on a leash...with a spiked collar. Seriously. And they even went step further with some funny warnings painted into the danger hash marks on the floor around it. We can't think of many other car companies that could pull this off, but on a Mini, that collar actually looks amusingly good. We've got more high-res pics in the gallery that can be unleashed by clicking below.

While introducing the folks at the LA Auto Show to the American-market 2011 Ford Fiesta, Ford decided to go a step further. They didn't just show the production sedan and hatchback, they also showed off the possibilities the platform presents as well. They had four customized Fiestas on display, done up by companies like H&R, 3dCarbon, FSWerks, and Steeda, as well as Ford's in-house Racing and Custom Accessories team. And just for good measure, they also brought along that wicked Kenny Brack X-Games Rally Fiesta as well.

There's a full press release after the jump, but here is a brief summary of the four featured vehicles:

Black Fiesta:

This car was put together by Ford Racing and Steeda Autosports. It features Steeda's cold air intake, a Borla/Ford Racing Performance cat-back exhaust system, Steeda/Ford Racing suspension upgrades, Ford Racing multi-spoke Euro wheels and Brembo anchors.

Blue Fiesta:

The blue car was built by H&R Special Springs. Naturally, it received some suspension tuning with an H&R Street Performance monotube coil-over kit and a set of spiffy 18-inch OZ SuperTurismo GT wheels. It's also the beneficiary of some Euro reverse-engineering via "Sticky Jewell custom graphics, custom Euro hood vents, stealthy blacked-out headlamps and a Ford Custom Accessories upper rear hatch spoiler."

White Fiesta:

The white Fiesta (above) features Ford Custom Accessories, so it ought to be the easiest model the Average Joe to copy. Nearly every styling element can be purchased from the Ford Custom Accessories, Ford Licensed Accessories or Ford Racing Performance Parts catalogs. And get used to those graphics, because Ford has taken this opportunity to add a whole new line of them for the Fiesta. You can see the whole collection at fordfiestagraphics.com.

Red Fiesta:

Last, but certainly not least, is the red Fiesta by 3dCarbon and FSWerks. It's the only one of the four that has some serious rejiggering underhood. It features an FSWerks Stage 2 intercooled turbo kit and 2.25-inch exhaust system. It also sports a 3dCarbon body kit with an "aggressive front air dam, aerodynamic side skirts and rear lower accent trim."

We'd probably mix and match among these mods, perhaps the H&R suspension, the Brembos from the Steeda car, the OZ wheels and that FSWerks turbo setup. Or maybe we'd just take Brack's car. Check out the gallery by clicking below and more details in the press release after the jump.



Live photos copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Ford]

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Mini brought its birthday presents to itself out to the LA Auto Show for their North American debut today. The Cambden and Mayfair were there, but we spent a lot more time ogling the Coupe and Roadster. As you may recall, Mini created these two sports cars to celebrate its 50th anniversary and showed them off alongside the two special edition Coopers at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The changes are slightly less obvious on the open-top roadster, but you can definitely see that there's no back seat and the windshield is laid back a claimed 16 degrees over the standard Cooper. The backwards baseball cap on the coupe is a bit odd looking in pics and the real world view doesn't do much to change that impression.

None of the display vehicles sported any detail changes but it was still fun to see all of them packed into a booth the size of Toyota's Venza section. Ian Robertson of BMW did share a few more details about the future of MINI, with the "R60" 4-door-4-liter-4wd about to get a real name and even more models in the works. For now we have the Coopers and Clubmen and the coupe and roadster to keep us happy. Check out the gallery below.



[Source: MINI]

Just yesterday we shared with you some pics of and specs on the latest Scion Release Series, the xB 7.0. It's a tradition of sorts for Scion to come out with a new Release at the LA Auto Show. For this go-around, Scion seems to have been indulging in some fermented grapes, as the bloody thing is painted Murasaki! That would be purple for those of us not fluent in Japanese. Well, we have just one thing to say now that we've seen it in person, we're glad it's going to be limited to just 2,000 units.

It's not so much the underlying xB, or the DAMD body kit, or the custom stitching on the interior. It's not the TRD springs for sure, and the new exhaust tips aren't that bad. It's just that when the whole thing is swathed in purple, we can't get past the color. In any case, you can check out the high-res gallery below and the press release after the jump and judge the 7.0 for yourself.




Live photos copyright ©2009 Frank Fillipponio / Weblogs, Inc.

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Toyota finally took the wraps off their new 2011 Sienna minivan and we have to say, it looks pretty good in person. Although Toyota sent out some teaser shots this morning, we just got back from the official unveiling at the LA Auto Show and have a whole batch of live shots and quite a few more media pics for you to browse. We were quite shocked by the size of the crowd at this press conference, perhaps showing that even though the minivan market may be shrinking, it still meets a sizable need.

We were also a bit surprised to run into Ford's J. Mays and Mark Fields, and they reminded us that you have to stay abreast of the competition lest you die. They would neither confirm nor deny the return of the Aerostar. Besides the top-level Limited model on stage, Toyota also showed off a pre-production SE, which sits a little lower on a stiffened suspension and 19-inch alloys. It also sports a body kit, a revised grille and carbon fiber in place of wood inside.

Also make sure you check out the 2011 Sienna's trick 16-inch LCD monitor for rear seat passengers and the reclining seats with extendable footrests, two features we've never seen in this segment before.




Live photos copyright ©2009 Frank Fillipponio / Weblogs, Inc.

When the new third-generation 2011 Toyota Sienna shows up in dealerships next February, parents should head straight to their closest dealer after dropping the kids at soccer. Notice we didn't say "Moms." We said "parents." Although other minivan makers have attempted to butch up their people movers in the past, those efforts have been mostly lamentable. Toyota, on the other hand, has actually made a van (there's nothing mini about this new Sienna) that arguably looks sporty enough to chip away at the undeserved mommy-mobile stigma of the class. Don't let that purse tray dissuade you.

And if NASCAR dads drag their feet a bit before heading over to trade in the old Previa or Chevrolet Suburban, they may choose the sportier SE in the showroom come April. While even the base Sienna will boast a design theme that looks surprisingly assertive, the SE adds an aggressive body kit and 19-inch six-spoke wheels to go with its stiffer suspension and remapped transmission programming. There's also a different grille and clear tail lamps. Unfortunately, there won't be a TRD supercharger underhood or even a cold air intake or freer-flowing exhaust to up the power, but on looks alone, this thing might have what it takes to broaden the appeal of minivans to the XY set.

Debuting at the LA Auto Show today, the 2011 Sienna looks like a more macho 2009 Sienna cross-bred with Toyota's Venza crossover. The family resemblance is striking, particularly from the rear. Nifty details are to be found all around – things like the cleverly hidden high-mounted rear wiper. Toyota promises that this third-generation Sienna will also drive more like a sedan while still swallowing people and cargo with equal ease.

We've had an advanced in-person look at this model, and the seven or eight people who find themselves filling the seats inside this new Sienna figure to be impressed by the Lexus-like interior with its new three-tone color scheme, ample use of wood, and clever luxury touches. Particularly "wow" inducing are the wooden swoosh across the dash, the second row seats with their integrated retractable leg rests that slide a long way forward to grant access to the power-operated 60/40 Split & Stow third row, and the 16-inch dual view LCD screen for rear seat entertainment. Yes, sixteen.

Built on a revised version of the outgoing platform, the 2011 Sienna has the same wheelbase but is slightly shorter, lower and wider than its predecessor. It will be available in five different trim levels: Sienna grade, LE, SE, XLE and Limited. All-wheel-drive will still be available on V6-powered LE, XLE and Limited models. That V6 is the same 3.5-liter Dual Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (VVT-i) unit available today, with 266 horsepower. The engine is stout enough to give the Sienna a 3,500-pound tow capacity while returning mileage of 18 mpg city and 24 mpg highway. Also available in Sienna and LE will be the VVT-i 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine with 187 horses and a slight bump in mileage to 19/26.

We'll have lots to say about this new Sienna after our first drive in a couple of weeks, but for now, you can read more about it in the press release we've pasted after the jump and check out high-res shots in our gallery below.



[Source: Toyota]

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