Ford Oem Steering Column-shift Lever Shaft F7dz7r264aa on 2040-parts.com

Future products: Kia seeks lively, upscale look

Kia's redesigned Optima sedan and the Cadenza replacement for the Amanti, both due next year, reflect an emphasis on creating a livelier and more upscale look for the once-bland brand. Indeed, styling has been a crucial element of Kia's new-product push in the past 18 months. The team at Kia Design Center America near Los Angeles--part of the automaker's global design network led by onetime Audi design chief Peter Schreyer--has helped set the new styling direction.

Autoweek in review: NASCAR fans hire lawyer, McLaren prices the P1

March is here, and things are warming up in the automotive world. On Monday Alfa Romeo teased the 4C interior ahead of the Geneva motor show, and we wound down after a sobering weekend of racing. We reviewed the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee on Tuesday and heard that the McLaren P1 supercar will sticker for $1.15 million when deliveries begin in early 2014.

VIDEO: the Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6x6 in action

Australians love their pickup beds -- perhaps even more than we do. The Ford Coupe Utility of the 1930s was the initial salvo in a truckcar war that rages even today on the southern continent. From the late '50s into the '80s, the conflict consumed Detroit as well, spawning such revered nameplates as El Camino, Ranchero, Rampage and Sprint.