Auto Shows

Toyota will re-enter the small minivan segment in Europe with the Verso-S. The model will debut at the Paris auto show on September 30 and will go on sale early next year.
The Verso-S will be the shortest small minivan on sale in Europe, Toyota said, with a length of less than 4000mm. It will "showcase efficiency in space management," the automaker said.
Toyota stopped selling its Yaris Verso small minivan in Europe in 2006, leaving the Japanese company with a gap in a fast expanding segment.
In 1999, when the Yaris Verso was

Mini seemed to take a swing at Volkswagen's "PunchDub" ad campaign at the recent New York auto show. But everyone says, with a straight face, that it was a malice-free coincidence.
A sign at the Mini stand -- which faced VW -- urged: "Punch something that punches back."
It seemed a clear reference to VW's current "PunchDub" ad campaign, which promotes an old kids' game -- called Punch Buggy or Slug Bug -- in which car passengers punch each other whenever they see a VW Beetle. It's in reference to the Beetle's nickname, the

BERLIN (Bloomberg) -- Porsche AG may price the 918 Spyder, which accelerates to 100 kilometers an hour in 3.2 seconds, at 500,000 euros ($630,000), topping the Carrera GT as its costliest model, according to two people with direct knowledge of the plan.
At least 2,000 individuals have put in non-binding expressions of interest for the supercar, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential. The 918 Spyder is one of three hybrid models Porsche presented at the Geneva auto show in March.
Demand for

Honda product executive Vicki Poponi introduces the Odyssey Concept at the Chicago Auto Show last week. The concept previews new styling for America's best-selling minivan, a new version of which is due this fall. Lower, longer and wider than the current Odyssey, the concept features a "lightning bolt" cut separating the sheet metal from the window glass. Other styling cues include steeply raked front and rear pillars and a tapered side cabin. Honda says the redesigned Odyssey will have improved interior seating and storage.

Audi has unveiled the new A7 -- a sleek, upmarket liftback previewed by the Sportback concept at the 2009 Detroit auto show. The A7 aims to provide the company with a stylish but practical rival to contemporary four-door, coupe-styled cars such as the Mercedes-Benz CLS and Jaguar XF.
Revealed at a gala presentation in Munich on Monday, the A7 is the second liftback model launched by Audi recently, following the smaller A5.
The new four-door is being looked upon to significantly boost Audi's market penetration in the United States when

LOS ANGELES -- The next-generation Volkswagen Beetle, coming to the United States as a 2012 model, will eventually get a clean diesel engine, says Volkswagen Group of America President Stefan Jacoby.
The United States also will get an electrified version of VW's Up! hatchback in 2014, although not the gasoline-powered version.
In a world debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show, VW unveiled a four-seat electric concept, the Up! Lite. The three-door car has a two-cylinder diesel engine, a 10-kilowatt electric motor and a carbon-fiber roof.

TOKYO -- The organizer of the Tokyo Motor Show, stung by a string of last-minute dropouts in 2009, is moving the 2011 event to a new venue and month and making it three days shorter.
After 20 years of holding the show just outside Tokyo at the sprawling Makuhari Messe in Chiba, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association will move it to Tokyo Big Sight, a smaller convention center in Tokyo’s waterfront district.
The next show is scheduled for Dec. 2-11, 2011. The event traditionally has been in October. The show is held every

BERLIN (Bloomberg) -- Porsche AG may price the 918 Spyder, which accelerates to 100 kilometers an hour in 3.2 seconds, at 500,000 euros ($630,000), topping the Carrera GT as its costliest model, according to two people with direct knowledge of the plan.
At least 2,000 individuals have put in non-binding expressions of interest for the supercar, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential. The 918 Spyder is one of three hybrid models Porsche presented at the Geneva auto show in March.
Demand for