Vw Cabriolet Clear & Smoke Turn Signals Set on 2040-parts.com

VW Beetle Dune at the Detroit auto show

Of all the production-leaning concept vehicles at the Detroit auto show, the Volkswagen Beetle Dune's the sort of flight of fancy nobody was looking for. Nissan's Sport Sedan heralds the look of the next Maxima, which will likely trickle down in some way to future Altimas, Sentras and Versas. It looks as if Nissan will put one of its techno-retro RWD IDx concepts into production.

2012 Honda CR-V Concept previews new CR-V

Honda CR-V Concept previews the next generation CR-V Update: Honda has been in touch to say that  the new, fourth-generation CR-V will go on sale in the U.S. by the end of 2011, and in Europe in Autumn 2012. The Honda CR-V is a bit of an odd beast, probably because it looks for all the world like the forerunner to all the butch lifestyle SUVs that now proliferate our car landscape, and yet it seems to have no pretensions to be one.

Toyota says Prius plug-in gets 65 mpg

Toyota Priuses with plug-in hybrid technology are averaging 65 mpg in combined gasoline and electric-mode testing. "That is real-world driving," said Bill Reinert, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.'s national alternative-fuel vehicle manager. "I ask my guys to drive them as you drive your normal Prius." By comparison, the redesigned 2010 Prius, a parallel hybrid with nickel-metal hydride batteries, will have an estimated 50 mpg rating.