Styling

Which cars are beautiful? Plenty of vehicles are undeniably handsome, or good-looking, or at least styled well. And then there are those that deserve a pile-on of adjectives: timeless, crushworthy, gorgeous. Those cars merit some special attention--and at The Car Connection they merit the highest...Read More»

Automotive styling tastes can be more fickle than fashion; and it only takes a quick look at how cars are seen as a sort of extended fashion statement here in the U.S. to understand why. ALSO SEE: 2015 GMC Yukon Video Road Test Most shoppers want a vehicle that fits in, yet one that stands out just...Read More»

J.D. Power and Associates' annual Avoider Study offers an interesting look at car shoppers' habits. The study not only asks customers why they were drawn to certain vehicles, but also -- as you might guess from the survey's name -- why they avoided others. According to a press release, Power...Read More»

This might come as a shock if you've spent the last 10 years behind the wheel of a cutesy Mazda Miata or a snuggly Volkswagen New Beetle and thought all cars were like rolling versions of Hello Kitty characters--warm, fuzzy, and somewhat squishable. Now, the wonders of science have studied how cars...Read More»

What's it take to get a perfect 10? Back before she became a thinky conservative, Bo Derek laid it out the rules for us all. Actually it's just one rule: you don't have to be particularly talented or smart, just quintessentially, no-excuses gorgeous. Get it right, and you can even put noisemakers...Read More»

Already popular on the other side of the Atlantic, sport wagons have been gaining attention here on U.S. soil in recent years. With attractive styling and agressive performance and handling, the wagon can shed its traditional "family vacation" image and begin to attract enthusiasts. But, why bother...Read More»

As we reported last week in a first drive of the new 2011 BMW 5-Series, BMW has returned to form with an all-new 5er that's not only a more focused driver's car but also one that will fit right in, design-wise, to traditional BMW loyalists while also winning new friends. Although the...Read More»

General Motors announced today that Buick will launch a five-passenger crossover next year, with a plug-in hybrid version to follow in 2011. And it looks to us like the Saturn Vue is getting a three-shields makeover. GM released an image of the new Buick crossover's grille. Which looks a whole lot...Read More»

We've known for a while that the Chevrolet Aveo would be replaced by the 2011 Chevrolet Viva, which will be sold in Asia, Europe, and North and South America, courtesy of GM's new global product development process. Now the first official renderings have landed from GM, and if the production car...Read More»

Audi is celebrating its 100th birthday as a brand these days, with ceremonies that included the unveiling of a 32-foot-long, 10-ton model of the Audi TT sports car. So there was much anticipation around a gala event held last night at the Audi Forum in Ingolstadt, at which the company promised to...Read More»

Many histories of Jaguar have been written, and no doubt there will be many more. In most of them, the sad saga of the Jaguar X-Type sedan is likely to be covered as a misguided diversion--if it's spoken of at all. While the smallest Jaguar sedan was pulled from the US market after the 2008 model...Read More»

A year after introducing the Suzuki Equator (a lightly disguised Nissan Frontier) pickup at the '08 Chicago Auto Show, Suzuki rolls out three customized Equators designed and built by enthusiast publications. All three magazines were given a blank slate Equator to start with, both stylistically and...Read More»

Always controversial, always opinionated and always ready with a sketch pen and a cocktail napkin, BMW design chief Chris Bangle is stepping down from the German automaker to take on a role outside the auto industry. Bangle's influence on BMW style has been a veritable fountain of Haterade since he...Read More»

Despite being up on the auction block, HUMMER still beats with a GM heart, at least as of SEMA '08. The purveyor of over-the-top SUVs says that its H3T Weekend Warrior concept "demonstrates the added extreme capability and functionality that can be accomplished with the H3T and a few weekends in...Read More»

Hyundai swept into Sin City with seven customized vehicles on its brand-new 2009 Genesis platform. Both coupes and sedans are modded to the max, and it's a look more believable on the sporty coupe than on the sedate Genesis sedan. Nonetheless, the vehicles highlight just how far the Korean...Read More»

OK, so Ford is being quite coy with this, its latest reveal of the 2010 Mustang's sheetmetal. In this shot, we see a crease on the Mustang's power dome, lending its hood more flair than the 2008 Ford Mustang that sports three character lines running the length of the hood from lip to cowl. The...Read More»

After years of car-writer controversy for its shape, its controls, and its inability to knock the stuffing out of Lexus, the BMW 7 Series is all-new. So what makes its subtly reworked shape work so much better than the previous generation? While I'm writing down my impressions for our full review...Read More»

GOTCHA. Or at least Florida-based Coach Builders Ltd., an aftermarket cabriolet converter firm, according to Carscoop, got us, prompting a feverish double-take at the evil green, uber-'70s bad boy with a dropped top and the HEMI 6.1-liter from the Challenger SRT8. Make that a Vortech-supercharged...Read More»