2002 Toyota Highlander Limited on 2040-cars

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Hyundai Prius-fighting hybrid spied wearing new camo

Hyundai's engineers certainly don't want the public to see its upcoming dedicated hybrid model in several of these new spy shots, but the company can't deny that the machine is on the way. These test cars were first spotted last summer as Prius-like five-door hatchbacks. However in these photos and the second set, it would seem that the model has morphed into a more sedan-like shape similar to the Chevy Volt. Unlike the last time we saw this car during arctic testing, the vehicle no longer is covered in plastic concealment. That obfuscation has been replaced with a very effective camo pattern on everything but the roof, and in several photos, workers are actively standing in the way of the spy shooters' lenses. Beyond the whole model's general shape, there are a few details to pick out, though. You can easily spot the outline of the brand's hexagonal grille up front. There appears to be a rather complicated air dam design there, too. In profile, the shape of the rear hatch creates an integrated spoiler at the back. While the camouflage makes it very hard to tell, we don't see a plug-in port on this example. According to our spies, this test car was being driven with a slew of other electrified models, including a BMW i3, Nissan Leaf, Volkswagen e-Golf, and Kia Soul EV. Given that group, perhaps the engineers were specifically benchmarking the electric performance for this outing. Earlier reports suggest that Hyundai's latest hybrid could debut in the second half of 2016. Power reportedly comes from a 1.6-liter four-cylinder with hybrid assistance and a lithium-ion battery. Plug-in and five-door hatchback versions are also rumored.

Toyota Avalon celebrates 20 years with Touring Sport Edition

The Toyota Avalon may not have the sportiest image on the market. Heck, it doesn't even have the sportiest image in the Toyota lineup. But the Japanese automaker is out to fix that perception, at least a little bit, with the launch of the new Touring Sport Edition.
Announced together with some minor updates to the entire Avalon line - consisting primarily of enhanced safety and infotainment systems - the Avalon XLE Touring Sport Edition celebrates the 20th anniversary of Toyota's large sedan line. Setting this special edition apart are a black paintjob, HID headlights, LED daytime running lights, 18-inch alloys (similar in design to those on the Scion FR-S) and an interior decked out with perforated leather with dark blue trim... plus, of course, the requisite special badges inside and out.
Only 2,500 units will be offered with a $37,170 sticker price that puts it near (if not quite at) the top of the Avalon range that's capped by the $41,700 Avalon Hybrid Limited. Pricing has increased on most models by around two percent, and you can scope out all the details of the updates to the full range in the press releases below.

Autoblog fan favorite car ads from Super Bowl XLIX

Super Bowl XLIX is in the books, and the New England Patriots emerged victorious. Of course, if you're like us, the big game wasn't so much about the battle between the east coast and west, so much as a fight between the world's automotive advertisers. We collected and collated all of last night's new ads and put them together for you to vote on. And yes, we're limiting this year's contest to last night's new features. That's why you aren't seeing Dodge's epic Wisdom among our collection of commercials, and it's a similar story with Chevrolet's Truck Guy Focus Group series, which highlights the new Colorado. You can still vote for your favorites. We won't be closing the voting on our Super Bowl page, so while the winners and losers are correct as of this writing, it's entirely possible that there could be some changes in the rankings as time goes on. So, without any further ado, here are the winning ads based on your voting. Nissan: With Dad Fiat: Ready For Action Jeep: Beautiful Lands BMW: Newfangled Idea Mercedes-Benz: Fable NASCAR: America Start Your Engines As for those ads that failed to impact you, loyal readers, Toyota was the absolute, undisputed loser. The Japanese brand ran four ads in total – two for Toyota and two for Lexus – and all of them have negative tallies as of this writing. Lexus' Make Some Noise and Lets Play and Toyota's One Bold Choice and My Bold Dad both had very weak showings among the commercials that aired, although they weren't alone. Neither Mazda nor Kia scored particularly well, despite featuring celebrity magic act Penn and Teller and former James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, respectively. Chevrolet was the winner of the losers, as of our writing, recording the fewest downvotes for its audience-punking The Big Game ad. If you want to take a second look at the losing ads, you can head back to our Super Bowl page for the complete collection. But for now, head into Comments and let us know what you think of the results.