Los Angeles Convention Center doors open to journalists Wednesday and Thursday, December 2nd and 3rd for press conferences, sneak peaks, new technologies, and the announcement of this year’s Green Car of the Year winner. The 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show officially opens to the public on Friday, December 4th and runs through December 13th where you can experience an up-close and personal look at over 30 world and North American new-vehicle debuts—part of the more than 900 sports cars, family sedans, minivans, crossovers, trucks and SUVs to be on display at this year’s event.

Capstone Turbine Corp. will introduce a high-performance hybrid-electric supercar and Lexus will show off its LFA supercar, their new 3.6-second 0-60 F Performance halo car that’s been teasing us in concept form since 2007. Porsche will debut their 2011 Boxster Spyder, sharing their display with the new Panamera sport sedan. Subaru will reveal their 2010 Impreza WRX STI Special Edition, and Toyota will unveil the all-new 2011 Sienna minivan.

Other vehicles on display will be Mazda’s Mazda2, Chevrolet’s Cruze and Ford’s Fiesta—three already anticipated new small, fuel-efficient, fun-to-drive cars. Kia’s first vehicle to be produced in the U.S. will make its debut, the all-new Sorento crossover, and Hyundai will exhibit its all-new Tucson crossover. Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce will also be displaying their finest wares, while custom wheels and other new automotive personalization trends will also be featured at the show.

autoMedia.com will be publishing more in-depth previews as we uncover more about these and other new launches from the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show.

Ticket prices are $12 for adults, and children under 12 are admitted free. The Kid’s Fun Zone is new to show this year and will be open to during both weekends, December 5-6 and 12-13. The Fun Zone will offer video games, toy car rides, crafts and other activities, with free admission to kids 12 and under. For more information about tickets and discounts go to www.laautoshow.com.

—Deborah Neal, Editorial Director, autoMedia.com

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has announced 19 car and eight SUVs as Top Safety Picks for 2010—far less than the 94 vehicles that earned the accolade for 2009. The IIHS has made the requirements to be named a Top Safety Pick more stringent by adding a roof strength test to measure protection in a rollover accident. In addition, the Picks also factor performance in front, side, and rear crashes the Institute performs, as well as the availability of electronic stability control.

Subaru again shines in IIHS tests, being the only manufacturer that has winning products in all four categories for a total of five awards. Ford and subsidiary Volvo have six winners, and Volkswagen/Audi has four. Chrysler earns four awards, continuing recent trend of improving the crashworthiness of its vehicles.

This marks the second time the Institute has raised the bar for Top Safety Pick status since the awards were introduced in 2005. As with its other tests, it is expected that the rollover rating will push automakers to improve their vehicles ahead of federal mandates. And there is good motivation; The Institute estimates rollovers kill more than 9,000 people in passenger vehicles each year.

To earn a Good rating in the new IIHS test, a vehicle roof must be more than twice as strong as the current federal standard requires. The Institute estimates that such roofs reduce the risk of serious and fatal injury in single-vehicle rollovers by about 50 percent compared with roofs meeting the minimum requirement.


2010 Top Safety Picks
Large cars
Buick LaCrosse
Ford Taurus
Lincoln MKS
Volvo S80

Midsize cars
Audi A3
Chevrolet Malibu built after Oct. 2009
Chrysler Sebring sedan with optional ESC
Dodge Avenger with optional ESC
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Subaru Legacy
Subaru Outback
Volkswagen Jetta sedan
Volkswagen Passat sedan
Volvo C30

Small cars
Honda Civic sedan with optional ESC, except Si
Kia Soul
Nissan Cube
Subaru Impreza except WRX
Volkswagen Golf 4-door

Midsize SUVs
Dodge Journey
Subaru Tribeca
Volvo XC60
Volvo XC90

Small SUVs
Honda Element
Jeep Patriot with optional side airbags
Subaru Forester
Volkswagen Tiguan

The links above go to autoMedia reviews.

Learn about car safety and how IIHS tests cars.

You’ll find crash test ratings for all vehicles in the new car buyer’s guide.

Toyota will use the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show to unveil its latest concept car, the FT-86 sports car. The name doesn’t roll off the tongue, but the car itself is quite tasty. The FT-86 is the long-rumored coupe co-developed with Subaru, and it suggests fun may be returning to the rather conservative product line.

The FT-86 is rear drive, with a 2.0-liter boxer engine under hood. Toyota has not yet released the horsepower, though it may be rather entertaining, for Subaru offers a turbocharged 2.0L in Japan. The car measures 163-inches long and 69-inches wide, making it about the size of the Nissan 370Z. For contrast and historical perspective, it is more than a foot shorter than the Subaru XT sports car from the 1980s and about seven inches shy of the last-generation Toyota Celica. Toyota refers to the FT-86 as a five seater, though from the photos it is hard to imagine it holding that many full-sized humans.

Subaru is expected to introduce its own version of the FT-86 on the show circuit this year. Naturally, the car will feature all-wheel drive. It could be quite interesting with a 2.5-liter engine family, like the Impreza, ranging up to the 265-hp WRX and 305-hp STI. This is definitely a concept vehicle to watch.

Need a sports car for the whole family? Read our Subaru WRX STI review. Or learn about other Subaru models in our new car buyer's guide.

The CAR Allowance Rebate System (CARS), popularly known as “cash for clunkers” was executed in a bumbling fashion that only government could manage, yet it was a resounding success. Manufacturers have released their July sales figures, and the news is largely good (or at least, not as bad), with most full-line automakers seeing a lift in the past week from the CARS program. (Learn how cash for clunkers works.)

Subaru boasted the most impressive gain, comparing July 2009 to July 2008, with a stunning 34-percent increase. Although not known for high fuel economy, much of its model line is eligible for consideration, and the AWD-automaker is drawing showroom traffic with its redesigned Legacy and Outback. Volvo saw a 26-percent gain, with the XC60 crossover gaining new buyers to what is otherwise an aging product line. Hyundai issued CARS credits weeks before the program was finalized, and as a result, the crafty company saw a 12-percent gain. (See “Hyundai Honors Cash for Clunkers CARS Rebate – Now.”)

But the real winner is arguably Ford Motor Company. Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln retail sales increased nine percent versus a year ago; total sales (including fleet) were 158,838, up two percent versus a year ago. Ford itself boasted its first sales increase in 19 months. The big winners in the Ford line were Focus (21, 830 sales) Escape, (20,241 sales), Fusion (17,610 sales), and Ranger (7,695 – up 65 percent). Combined, its hybrid models sold 5,353 units.

General Motors figures were down 19.4 percent over July 2008 – a dramatic improvement over past months. Chrysler fared even better, just 9.4 percent off.  The Jeep Patriot was up 134 percent, the Dodge Caliber up 63 percent, and the Chrysler PT Cruiser up 24 percent – making the move to continue production seem rather sage. Both companies pulled this off despite significant dealer reductions in the past 12 months. Combined, the Detroit 3 accounts for an estimated 47 percent of the cash for clunkers sales, according to the Detroit News. In addition, the program proved to prime the retail pump and brought many more additional sales.

This overall success was just the boost the auto industry needed, infusing capital and helping to clear away year-end 2009 models. It didn’t come easy. One billion tax dollars went to the cause, and the rush to implement CARS meant many speed bumps along the way.

Last Friday, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) estimated that the funds were at risk of expiring, just days after the program began. Yet the federal government encouraged sales to continue over the weekend, ensuring the funds would be made available and chaos would ensue, as some dealers hesitated to risk reimbursement to make sales. Program overseer the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is struggling to catch up with the filed paperwork that would identify the number of credit claims filed and therefore determine the money spent.

For now, the official word from Cars.gov is that the program is in effect. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives passed a bill to contribute another $2 billion to extend cash for clunkers. It rests with Senate now. This week, the Senate will accept the House bill, revise it, or reject it altogether. There seems to be significant momentum behind supporting CARS. After all, the first deployment exceeded expectations.

Research new vehicles in the 2009 new car buyer’s guide. Learn even more from “Cashing in on Clunkers.”

Even a spacious midsize sedan can be a tight squeeze for five adults—but you still want to go places with everyone every once in a while—and you have to drive.

So if driving a minivan doesn’t suit you, nor does spending more than $25,000 on a new vehicle, here are five three-row crossover SUVs that will fit you, your passengers, and your budget.

Click on each to learn more about features, options, and pricing in a 2009 New Car Buyer’s Guide.

2009 Dodge Journey

2009 Hyundai Santa Fe

2009 Mitsubishi Outlander

2009 Subaru Forester

2009 Toyota RAV4

-Deborah Neal, Editorial Director

At the 2009 New York auto show, Subaru introduced the all-new Legacy and Outback. Both related models are bigger and promise to be better than the current, outgoing models. The Subaru Legacy sedan starts at $19,995, and the Outback wagon starts at $22,995—just $700 more than the current model. Add $695 for destination charges.

The new Outback has a longer wheelbase, enabling four more welcomed inches of rear legroom while reducing the overall exterior length by an inch. Increased width and height gives the Outback a commanding presence, and it results in a cargo capacity increase of 6 cubic feet. Despite the larger size, fuel economy is estimated to increase by 1 MPG in both City and Highway modes with CVT.

The base 2.5i is powered by a revised 2.5-liter, 170-hp four-cylinder engine with AWD, natch. The base boxser engine is available with either a new standard six-speed manual transmission for $22,995 or a continuously variable transmission for $23,995. Standard equipment includes four-wheel disc brakes, power steering, tilt and telescope steering column, 60/40 split-folding and reclining rear seats, floor mats, cargo tray, electronic parking brake with Hill Holder system, auto on/off exterior lights (autolights), AM/FM/CD stereo with an auxiliary input jack, dual lit visor mirrors, variable intermittent wipers, stability control system, and remote keyless entry system.

Key options include a power moonroof ($995), all-weather package with heated front seats, windshield wiper de-icer and heated exterior mirrors ($500),   harman/kardon audio system ($995), and navigation system with the harman/kardon stereo ($2,000).

Moving up through the model range, the 2.5i Premium ($24,295) adds halogen fog lights, cargo cover, privacy glass, 10-way power driver's seat, driver's side window with automatic up/down, leather-wrapped steering wheel, instrument storage bin w/door, overhead console with sunglass holder and ambient light, body-colored mirrors and 16-inch wheels.

The 2.5i Limited ($27,995) builds upon the 2.5i Premium with dual-zone climate controls, paddle shifters and a six-speed manual shift mode, 17-inch wheels, perforated ivory / off black leather-trimmed upholstery, four-way power front passenger seat, all-weather package, and harman/kardon audio system.

The new Outback 3.6R replaces the 3.0R model. As the name suggests, it is powered by a 3.6-liter, 256-hp six-cylinder engine matched to a five-speed electronic automatic transmission. Unlike the previous engine, the 3.6L uses regular-grade fuel. The engine is available starting with the Outback 3.6R ($27,995) – priced $4,000 less than the 2009 six-cylinder Outback.

Step up to the 3.6R Premium ($28,995) for a 10-way power driver's seat, leather-wrapped steering wheel, and all-weather package. The range is topped by the 3.6R Limited ($30,995), which adds perforated ivory / off black leather-trimmed upholstery, four-way power front passenger seat, and harman/kardon audio system.

Since the new Legacy and Outback are on their way to production, dealers will likely be dealing on the well-regarded, outgoing models.

Read our 2009 Subaru Outback review, and research Subarus in the 2009 new car buyer’s guide.