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2021 L.A. Auto Show roundup | All the reveals, reviews, pictures

The L.A. Auto Show took place this week for the first time since the onset of the pandemic. It was a show packed with news and reveals, which hasn't really been the case with other shows we've seen this year, and Autoblog was on the floor covering every minute of it. Well, Riswick and Stocksdale were, anyway. The rest of us were sitting at home in our sweatpants, but hey, we'll take credit anyway. Let's get to it. Hyundai Seven Concept This is the Hyundai Seven Concept, and it’s meant to act as a preview for an incoming electric SUV for the Ioniq brand. It leans more toward the concept side of the spectrum than a production car, but expect the final SUV to take design cues from the Seven Concept. Kia Concept EV9 The Hyundai Seven counterpart isn't the only big, bold electric SUV at L.A. this year. Kia has its own take, and it's a modernized version of the traditional boxy utility vehicle called the Concept EV9. It also previews one of the next production electric cars for the brand, which should look right at home next to things like the Telluride. 2023 Kia Sportage HEV As promised, the 2023 Kia Sportage HEV has been revealed. The hybrid powertrain makes the compact SUV the most powerful version available, and it goes on sale next year. The engine is a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder paired with a 44-kW electric motor. Total output is 226 horsepower. The company didn't give a torque number, but it should basically be the same as the Sorento HEV that has the same basic powertrain: 258 pound-feet. Those numbers are a healthy step up from the 187 horsepower of the base 2.5-liter engine. 2022 Range Rover If you noticed how extra smooth and suave the new Range Rover looked during its recent reveal, Autoblog's James Riswick got a design tour that revealed some of the technological secrets to its success. "Less is more" is harder to achieve than it looks. Fisker Ocean Fisker has brought the new Ocean EV to the L.A. Auto Show, with a public preview at Manhattan Beach and a presence at the show itself. You can watch the public show reveal above, and see more shots from the show floor below. Fisker says the Ocean will start at $37,499 before incentives. That entry model would be the Sport trim with a single, 275-horsepower motor driving the front wheels and 250 miles of estimated range. It also has a 0-60 time of 6.9 seconds. 2023 Toyota bZ4X This is the 2023 Toyota bZ4X, due to hit U.S.

Meet the Nissan GT-R test driver responsible for 'Ring tuning

Ever wonder what it's like to be a manufacturer's development driver at the Nürburgring? We imagine it's pretty cool. After all, you get to spend your days zooming about the greatest racetrack on the planet in a vehicle that is usually months or more away from consumers. For Hiroyoshi Kato, whose actual title is Technical Meister, life is even better than your typical development driver, because he spends his days wringing out the Nissan GT-R Nismo around the Green Hell.
Kato-san has a long history with both Nissan and the Ring. He had a major hand in the development of the R32, R33 and R34 Skyline GT-Rs, having first come to the Ring nearly three decades ago.
His experience with the Nismo, though, is different than the other vehicles he's contributed to. As he explains it, there are real racers on hand to test the car on the track, like Formula One reserve driver Sébastien Buemi. Instead, Kato focuses on the track-to-road balance. Still, he has some truly interesting insights on the car and the track, including his surprise at turning a sub-eight-minute lap in his first outing. That, along with a few other things (one of which is an R34 being hustled about), make this a must-watch video from Nissan.

2016 Civic, Sonata, Lexus RX, and Altima earn TSP+ from IIHS [w/videos]

The 2016 Honda Civic sedan, Hyundai Sonata, Lexus RX, and Nissan Altima started the year with a bang by earning Top Safety Pick+ honors from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. They join 48 other 2016 model year vehicles that IIHS already tested that received the agency's top safety marks. These four models met the IIHS' latest requirement, scoring the agency's best possible score in all five of its crash tests – front, side, rear, rollover, and the difficult small-overlap – to be eligible for the safety accolade. Hyundai improved the 2016 Sonata's structure after the sedan's production began, so this rating only applied to examples produced after October. To get the TSP+ honor, a vehicle's crash prevention tech needs to earn least two points on the IIHS' scale. The lower Top Safety Pick designation can go to model with a "basic" version of these systems like a front collision warning. The Civic, Sonata, and RX scored the maximum six points to get "superior" scores for their optional crash prevention tech because they avoided collisions at up to 25 miles per hour. The Altima was successful in a 12-mph test, but the system slowed the sedan by 10 mph in the 25-mph test rather than completely stopping it. Therefore, the agency awarded the Nissan five points, which was still a "superior" score. You can watch the small-overlap tests for the Civic, RX, Altima, and Sonata respectively below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Four more vehicles earn the 2016 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award ARLINGTON, Va. — The Honda Civic 4-door, Hyundai Sonata, Lexus RX and Nissan Altima are the latest vehicles to earn the top award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The four vehicles join the 2016 winner's circle just one month after the initial crop of 48 TOP SAFETY PICK+ winners was announced. The requirements for TOP SAFETY PICK+ were tightened for 2016. To qualify, winners must earn good ratings in each of the Institute's five crashworthiness tests and have an available front crash prevention system earning an advanced or superior rating.