The Best Hybrid Under $30,000?

What is the perfect balance of performance, fuel economy, luxury, and price? Lexus may have hit upon the formula with its new CT 200h.

Looking to escape the sunny (and weak) image of parent company Toyota’s Prius hybrid, Lexus is claiming its own dedicated hybrid, the CT 200h, is the darker shade of green. Designed with an emphasis on styling and performance, the CT 200h is Lexus’ attempt to show the world that green cars don’t have to be boring. 

Five Offbeat Cars Coming in 2011

Strange experiments are happening in the auto industry.

Companies are cross-pollinating different types of vehicles to create new breeds, and the results are sometimes perplexing.

For example, Nissan has turned its pudgy Murano into a convertible. Meanwhile, Range Rover is trying to show some concern for the environment by offering its smallest, most car-like SUV ever, the Evoque.

Best Porsche Models Of All Time

The first car to wear a Porsche badge, the 356, was created in 1948. Two years later, in the fall of 1950, New York businessman Max Hoffman became the first dealer to import these iconic machines to North America. Today, the brand is stronger than ever, and fall 2010 marks the 60th anniversary of Porsche in North America.

Volkswagen XL1 Concept: 2011 Qatar Auto Show - Auto Shows

Given the Persian Gulf’s rich oil reserves, the Qatar Auto Show seems like an unlikely place for Volkswagen to unveil a concept car that is super fuel efficient, burning only 1 liter of fuel for every 100 kilometers it travels. That equates to 235 mpg, which must come across as a very welcome development to Europeans who are facing gasoline prices of $9 per gallon. 

Porsche Cayenne Vantage 2

Porsche Cayenne Vantage 2 is unveiled by the Russion tuning company TopCar.

The SAV boasts a new body kit consisting of a new bonnet, a front spoiler bumper, front fender extensions, side skirts, roof spoiler, rear spoiler and diffuser with LED brake lights. To complete the exterior package, the tuner added rear fender wings.

The quality is guaranteed and all parts are made of carbon kevlar and carbon fiber.

2011 Porsche Panamera

No, you didn’t misread the spec box. This Panamera’s as-tested price exceeds $100,000. And it packs a mere three-fourths of a V-8 beneath its hood, the first production Porsche passenger car ever to offer a V-6 powerplant. We’re puzzled too. 

2011 Chrysler 300 - 2011 Detroit Auto Show Preview

The 2011 Chrysler 300 will make its official debut at the Detroit Auto Show next month, January, but official photos of the car have just been released. The manufacturer is keeping mum on specifications for the car, but we can expect the updates received by the Dodge Charger to carry over to this Chrysler, which shares the same platform. 

The New Year’s Coolest New Cars

Like the dawn of a new year, the 10 cars in this list are full of promise and potential. From high-powered exotics to nimble family sedans and sporty hatchbacks, the class of 2011 has something for everyone. These cars are cooler than a red-nosed Times Square reveler at 12:01 a.m. on January 1st. They’re also the cars we’re most excited to drive in 2011: 

2011 Subaru Impreza WRX Review

I’ve driven a few Subarus, and have always liked them, but the WRX moniker has always escaped me.  I found that any time I mentioned that I’d be reviewing a WRX, guys faces lit up like a Christmas tree.  Is this something the female population misses out on? Is it not in our DNA to recognize the hot little sports car in hiding? Well, five seconds behind the wheel of this car made me understand the excitement that all of my male friends exhibited. 

Top Ten Military Fighting Vehicles

During the last century, whilst tanks slugged it out from a distance, the armored infantry fighting vehicles were the ones that delivered the troops to the center of the combat zone, and helped to win the battle.

These are the best of the best. These are the top ten infantry fighting vehicles.

Best Future Technologies - 2011 -10Best Cars

Want your windshield to tell you when one of  your Facebook BFFs passes by on the road? It’s coming. The internet already has invaded our cars, along with seamless mobile-phone connectivity and music-file playback. More integration of our portable communication and computing devices is on its way, along with all-glass dashboards with digital instruments and “augmented reality,” in which real life, as seen through the windshield, is presented with a graphic overlay of data.

Most Beautiful Cars in The World

To compile the list of this year's most beautiful cars, forbes asked some of its most trusted experts for their nominees: Tamara Warren, automotive journalist and creator of the car blog Go Tryke; Mike Caudill, an automotive analyst for DrivenMedia; Gary Flom, CEO of Manhattan Automobile Company; and Noah Lehmann-Haupt, CEO of Gotham Dream Cars. Cars on the list must be new and in production for 2010--no pre-production models. Cars are listed in alphabetical order.

Awesome and Fun Cars for Winter

The prospect of winter driving can be daunting for car owners who don't have the right set of wheels for the job. A high-performance rear-wheel-drive vehicle can be great fun, so long as the weather forecast calls for warm temperatures and sunny skies. But when confronted by a treacherous snow-covered road, you could suddenly feel like a hockey player who's skated onto center ice in a pair of roller skates.

The Next Generation Of Green Cars

The first mass-market electric vehicles are about to go on sale in selected cities, kicking off the beginning of a wave of new green vehicles hitting showrooms over the coming year.

The Chevrolet Volt, from General Motors, and the Leaf, from Nissan, both launching in December, are just the beginning of the electrification trend. At least eight hybrids and 12 plug-in electric cars in every price range are planned for 2011, with another batch of electric vehicles (EVs) expected in 2012.

2011 Nissan Maxima 3.5 SV

Nissan has long touted the Maxima as a four-door version of the company’s Z sportscar. In fact, early versions carried the moniker “4DSC” on the rear windows to let cognoscenti in on the secret that this sedan was really a “4 Door Sports Car” in camera. But as Maxima morphed through subsequent iterations, its styling lost the hard edge of the original.

Gran Turismo 5 Release Date Confirmed

Hell has frozen over. Pigs are flying. Cats are shackin’ up with dogs to make weird cross-species monstrosities. Gran Turismo 5 finally has an official, won’t-be-delayed-again release date. And surprisingly, it’s very very soon. Gran Turismo 5 will release on November 24, 2010.

SEMA 2010, Bikes

Checkout the ameseome sexy bikes from SEMA 2010.The SEMA Show is the premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world (PLEASE NOTE: THE SEMA SHOW IS NOT OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC). It draws the industry’s brightest minds and hottest products to one place, the Las Vegas Convention Center.

High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle - HMMWV or Humvee

The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or Humvee) is a military 4WD motor vehicle created by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles formerly served by smaller Jeeps such as the M151 1/4 ton MUTT, the M561 "Gama Goat", their M718A1 and M792 ambulance versions, the CUCV, and other light trucks. Primarily used by the United States military, it is also used by numerous other countries and organizations and even in civilian adaptations. The Hummer series was also inspired by the HMMWVs.

2011 Ducati Diavel Review

All right, let’s come clean and admit this isn’t really a review of Ducati’s segment-busting new bike, the power-cruiser-esque Diavel. But from info recently gathered – including comments from Ducati’s CEO, plus the timeless seat-bounce test – we now have a clearer idea of the qualities of this controversial new Italian steed. 

Motorcycle.com Best of 2010 Awards

Now in its second year, our MOBO awards selections process gives us the chance to reflect on the year that was. And for 2010, the spotlights were generally shining on European manufacturers which continued to pump out desirable product while most Japanese OEMs crawled into a hole to wait out the near-global recession.