The Porsche Panamera shown in full

These are the first official pictures of the Porsche Panamera Gran Turismo. Which is annoying. The car is obviously ready for production, so we might have been able to see it for real at the Paris or Los Angeles car shows. And Porsche isn’t even bothering with the Detroit bash in January. But who can predict the whims of Weissach?

Here it is, then: Porsche’s first sedan in all its four-door glory. Since aesthetics are so subjective, let’s leave opinion on styling to the eye of the beholder and get on with some info about the hardware. On this occasion, the engine is in the front, providing the first surprise -- power will be supplied by V-6 or V-8 engines (no trademark flat-sixes here), with a range of muscle stretching from 300 to 500 horsepower. Some will be turbocharged, and all will feature direct fuel injection for optimum efficiency.

Nissan Drops Out of Detroit and Chicago Shows

Add Nissan to the list of carmakers that are dropping out of the 2009 Detroit auto show -- and put it at the head of the list of those not appearing at Chicago's.

Citing the bad economy and a lack of new products, Nissan said today that it would not be showing its vehicles at the January event, known officially as the North American International Auto Show, making it the sxith auto company to drop out.

As first reported in the L.A. Times, Suzuki, Ferrari, Rolls-Royce and Land Rover also will pass on the show, once considered the most important in the world. Porsche, which dropped out of the show this past January, said it would stay out in 2009. And last week, Mitsubishi said it, too would not participate in Detroit's festivities.

In addition, Nissan said it would not participate in the Chicago Auto Show, held in February. No other carmakers have dropped from that show to date.

L.A. Auto Show: Hyundai Genesis coupe -- Mo' muscle, less cash

If you want to buy a 300-horsepower, rear-wheel-drive performance car in the mid-$20,000 range today, you basically have one choice, the Ford Mustang GT (a V-8 equipped Dodge Challenger hovers near $30,000).

That's all going to change in the next few months, starting in February when the 300-horsepower Chevy Camaro arrives with a sticker price of $22,995. By spring, Hyundai expects to have its Genesis coupe on the market, with the 310-horsepower version expected to be priced somewhere around $25,000.

Examples of the upcoming models are on hand at the show.

The refreshed Mustang GT, which should be priced near its current $27,000 base, looks like it's in for one tough drag race. Its power is up to 315 horses, from 300 for the previous generation, and it should weigh in at under 3,400 pounds.  Ford has retuned its suspension, but there's no independent rear suspension. Live-axle set-ups like Ford's generally compromise ride and handling.

L.A. Auto Show: Lamborghini heaven

Please do not drool on the cars.

Panorama photo by Albert Lee, Bryan Chan, Jason Neubert / Los Angeles Times

Explore the L.A. Auto Show

Want to explore the halls before you go? Our photo team has come up with just the way. Pan left or right, zoom in or out.

West Hall at the Los Angeles Convention Center

South Hall at the Los Angeles Convention Center

Panorama photos by Albert Lee, Bryan Chan, Jason Neubert / Los Angeles Times

Vroom vroom ... Is that your phone ringing, or your Maserati?

Look, it's science. What are you going to do?

A few months ago, Up to Speed's Colin Ryan told you about a study that evaluated the effect of exotic car engine sounds on men's and women's ... um, hormone levels, let's say. A small group of men and women were tested before and after listening to recordings of roaring engines sounds from a Maserati, Ferrari and a Lamborghini. The animal-in-pain sound of a VW Polo was included as well, just for contrast.

L.A. Auto Show: Lexus' popular pug goes mainstream

Since every other review of Lexus’ debut of their 2010 RX line will focus on the fact that 20 years ago this fall Lexus introduced their “L” logo (but no car) to the public , we’ll skip that part and go directly to the part where we tell you the quirky styling of the RX line is no more. Buying a 2010 RX 350 or RX 450h will now net you what appears to be only a slight variation of the 2009 Toyota Venza in the front, and some amalgamation of a Mazda CX-9/Buick Enclave in the rear.

Yes, the styling is handsome, but gone are the progressive, swooping headlights and the bug-eyed taillights that set this precedent-setting car-based SUV apart from its competitors. It will be a lot harder to distinguish your Lex at the mall parking lot now. It will, however, be marginally easier to distinguish the RX 350 from its ecologically compassionate brother the RX 450h…

L.A. Auto Show: Infiniti’s new sun king

In the war film "Three Kings" starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and rapper Ice Cube, there’s an early scene in which soldiers debate whether Infiniti makes a convertible. Ice Cube’s character says Infiniti “has one coming” while Wahlberg’s disagrees. Since the film takes place in 1991 Iraq, just after the Gulf War has ended, it’s Ice Cube who is correct: he’s referring to Infiniti’s short-lived (1991 & 1992) M30 convertible. Its conversion from an M30 coupe was a simple affair that amounted to little more than hacking off the roof and throwing in a few hundred pounds of structural reinforcement.

Ah, how times change.

Making its world debut on Wednesday was the 2009 Infiniti G37 convertible. Much more than a hack job, this unit features a three-piece retracting hardtop, much like a certain competitor from Munich, and more recently, much like Lexus’ release of its hard-topped IS 250/350.

 

L.A. Auto Show: A year without glitz and goodies

The 2008 L.A. Auto Show's two press days have come to a close, and one thing is clear: Times are tough.

Throughout the show's three halls, amid the gleaming sheet metal, there was a notable lack of the kind of excitement, buzz and, tellingly, free trinkets and food that used to be de rigeur at such events.

Gone are the days of a sandwich and a gift suitable for framing (or EBay) at every booth. Ford handed out popcorn when it introduced the new Mustang on Tuesday night. In the past, Scion gave away cute little stuffed cars and ski caps at the last few rounds of auto shows. This week from Scion: nothing. Chrysler didn't even hang additional lighting over its stand, leaving its large collection of SUVs, minivans and muscle cars to sit in an eerie gloom. Porsche, which once gave out leather handbags, this year settled for lapel pins, as did Mini. Automakers were running out of press kits in minutes, leaving product specialists to fend off endless requests for more.

Jan Ehlen, a spokesman for BMW, said the company flew out only two-thirds as many staff for this year's show as it had originally planned, leaving everyone with extra work in order to create the same impression in the company's stand.

Droves of ravenous reporters spread out like army ants, snapping up every morsel of food throughout the L.A. Convention Center. Ferrari carefully hid its espresso bar behind a set piece, but soon the news was out — "Ferrari has coffee and cheese!" — and the supplies were gutted.

Even so-called "booth babes" — the helpful young ladies who have enhanced vehicle displays since the days of the crank starter — were in short supply....

L.A. Auto Show: Kia Soul -- outside the box?

At its L.A. Auto Show debut this morning, Kia vice president of sales Tom Loveless called the new Soul compact, due in the spring, the company's "halo car," and "a brand-defining vehicle." Its style, he said, "simply didn't fit a single category."

Funny, but when the curtains were pulled up, we saw another member of the increasingly popular Rolling Toaster school of boxy design, kicked off in the U.S. with the Scion XB and larger iterations of the style such as the Honda Element and more recently, the Ford Flex.

In fact, Kia's spec sheet says the Soul "defies categorization," then identifies its key competition: Scion XB and XD, Nissan Cube.