Concept Cars

One does not simply buy a Rinspeed car. They have no easily-accessible showrooms, and all of their vehicles are one-offs. Instead, they provide endless mirth at major auto shows like that ongoing in Geneva, with vehicles like the autonomously-driven XchangE. It is of course based on the Tesla Model...

MINI's existing Clubman model is an acquired taste, but the Clubman concept launched at Geneva may find a few more fans. It loses the abrupt wagon layout and unusual suicide-style side door, and in its place you get a proper four-door vehicle with better rear passenger space and a larger load area...

Don't be fooled by the title. It may well read "Mazda Hazumi concept", but Mazda has played this game before. Just as Minagi begat Mazda CX-5 and Takeri begat Mazda6, the Hazumi is essentially the next-generation Mazda2. As you can see from our live Geneva Motor Show photos, the Hazumi--and...

The 2014 Geneva Motor Show is almost upon us, and true to form there's much higher green car content than at other recent shows. Geneva has cultivated an image of forward-thinking vehicles and manufacturers are all too happy to oblige when the Swiss show rolls along. This year includes everything...

If you like the MINI but want something a little more practical, then this could be the car for you. It's the MINI Clubman Concept and it's set to debut at the Geneva Motor Show next week. Though even a brief glance tells you there's little concept-like about the new car. In contrast to the...

With the new Mazda3, Mazda6 and CX-5 crossover launched over the last few years, you might have forgotten the smaller Mazda2 subcompact even exists. Mazda hasn't forgotten the 2 though, and will unveil a new subcompact concept car at the Geneva Motor Show to point the way to its replacement. Mazda...

One of the highlights of the annual Geneva Motor Show--whether technologically or simply for amusement value--is seeing what Swiss automaker Rinspeed has chosen to unveil. For decades the firm has churned out all manner of weird and wonderful vehicles, from submarines based on the Lotus Elise to...

More and more automakers are slotting diesel engines into pickup trucks, and at this year's Chicago Auto Show Nissan and Cummins have made one of the most compact yet, the Frontier Diesel Runner. Based on the Frontier Desert Runner 4x2, Nissan has dropped a 2.8-liter Cummins turbodiesel engine into...

Kia's Niro concept, a subcompact-sized urban hybrid, is making its U.S. debut at the Chicago Auto Show today. First unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show, the Niro points the way to possible future models for Kia, a potential rival for models like the Nissan Juke and upcoming Honda Fit-based...

It's a time-honored auto-show tradition, picking the best new cars and concepts in the show. While this year's Detroit Auto Show had very few cars that could genuinely be viewed as "green," we've nonetheless picked both our favorite production car and our favorite concept. MORE: 2014 Detroit Auto...

The important global auto shows tend to go in waves, and this year's Detroit Auto Show isn't looking particularly notable for its green cars. Barring surprises, there will be no global debuts of new plug-in electric cars, hybrids, or even new diesel vehicles. Instead, the most popular introductions...

Regenerative braking is a standard and expected part of any electrified car now, from Honda's mild hybrids up through battery-electric vehicles like the Tesla Model S. It lets the car recapture energy from momentum, which would otherwise be wasted as brake heat, by running the electric motor in...

At next week's Detroit Auto Show, VW will take the wraps off a concept car that previews a new and more fuel-efficient version of its mainstream Passat mid-size sedan. The Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion Concept features a direct-injected and turbocharged 150-horsepower, 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine...

Nissan is still making all the right noises over one of 2013's most exciting concept vehicles, the BladeGlider electric sports car. Despite looking like nothing else on the roads and very much the sort of car that's often forgotten about once its auto show debut has passed, the company still says...

Hyundai announced this morning that it will unveil a new hydrogen fuel-cell concept vehicle, to be known as the Intrado, at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show in March. The Hyundai Intrado Concept will be constructed around a "super-lightweight structure" that employs a "mixture of advanced materials" that...

The choice of fuel-efficient crossovers is rather limited right now. There's a Lexus RX, the diesel Audi Q5, and we're waiting on Mitsubishi's Outlander plug-in hybrid... but that's about it. Volkswagen will preview one more at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show, in the form of an updated CrossBlue...

Subaru has released the first images of its Legacy Concept, due to make its worldwide debut at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show. Updates for Subaru's midsize sedan are always awaited with eagerness, and the concept points the way to a more dynamic, sleek offering than the current car. Resplendent in...

The claim that race car development helps road car development is getting harder to uphold these days, but there are still some engineers willing to have a go. Look at the Nissan BladeGlider electric car concept for example, and it's hard to argue that the design and engineering hasn't been...

Toyota is serious about hydrogen fuel cell cars, and to prove it the company will unveil a new fuel cell concept at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show. Called the FCV, Toyota's new concept is the clearest hint at what its fuel cell production car--due in 2015--might look like. It's certainly less...

The Chevrolet Spark EV Tech Performance concept will make the annual SEMA show a little greener.