Facelifted 2012 Nissan GT-R

Well look what we found tucked away in a glass-enclosed corner of the Nissan stand. What you're looking at is the 2012 Nissan GT-R, complete with a fascia comprised of a restyled bumper, air-intakes and LED daytime running lamps. A new diffuser pulled from the SpecM is mounted out back, along with new lightweight wheels that may or may not be included in the final package. Our insider wouldn't give us any details on power increases, but...

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Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale is not an Italian DJ, but is an upgraded super coupe

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First Ride: 2012 Tesla Model S Beta

Tesla had a big weekend. Some 1,500 Model S hand-raisers and their +1s descended on the company's recently acquired NUMMI plant in Fremont, CA to see where their $5,000 deposits have gone. The event, which served as both a product extravaganza and a subtle reassurance, sought to prove that the Model S is well on its way to production. And part of the program included rides in three Model S betas.As Tesla was keen to point out, showing off a prototype...

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2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid

The auto show transition seemed to happen in a flash. One year, automakers were jockeying for dealer traffic with high horsepower, rear-wheel-drive retro rides, and the next year, each one of them ushered in a hybrid or electric vehicle. The paradigm shift was a welcome sight for car buyers wanting to shrink their carbon footprint and save money on fuel, but the majority of those products were years from production. Fast-forward to 2011, and the...

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2011 VPG Autos MV-1

A round of applause broke out as Marc Buoniconti, former linebacker for The Citadel, ascended the ramp of the very first VPG Autos MV-1 to roll off the assembly line inside AM General's plant near South Bend, Indiana. Buoniconti was rendered a quadriplegic after a gruesome tackle while playing football for his South Carolina alma mater. That was back in 1985 and Buoniconti has been wheelchair-bound for the past 26 years. Since then, he has gone on...

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2011 Hyundai Equus Ultimate

Our 2011 Hyundai Equus long-termer continues to pile on the miles in the effortless fashion that one expects of a premium sedan. August's main outing was a weeklong stint in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, about 800 miles from Detroit. All-in, the trip accounted for over 2,000 miles, during which the Equus stretched its legs as a capable freeway cruiser and even was pressed into undignified service as a surfboard transport (see above). In case...

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Fisker Surf shooting brake wows Frankfurt Show

Ahead of its official unveiling at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Fisker Automotive bosses had us up to a studio in Munich for a thorough advance viewing and info download on their second model, a shooting brake called Surf.The first words out of our mouth was, "The shape is a bit like a Ferrari FF." First thing out of their mouth – as though they were utterly perched to form the words, too – "But with four doors!" Henrik Fisker and COO Bernhard...

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2012 Volkswagen Jetta GLI

We've given Volkswagen a fair amount of flack for the 2011 Jetta – and justifiably so. All the things we held dear in previous generations – high-end materials, solid driving dynamics and that general sense of premium the Germans do so well – were all nixed in the name of market share.But as we suspected, it's working. Jetta sales in the U.S. are up 74 percent over last year as consumers view the redesigned, cut-priced sedan as an upmarket contender...

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