BY ALISA PRIDDLE

This concept is a runner and could be built, if GM decides the design is right.

That Hummer plans to continue to downsize and create a Jeep Wrangler“sized H4 has been one of the worst-kept secrets in the industry. Each new Hummer entry has been smaller than the one before it.

But for three new designers at General Motors, the timing couldn’t have been better. The recent graduates of the College for Creative Studies in Detroit were hired by GM a couple years ago, about the time the automaker decided it wanted a concept in a new segment to augment the mid-size H3 and the full-size H2 SUVs. (more…)

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BY ALISA PRIDDLE

Does Nissan need a Miata fighter?

Nissan is trying to figure out if there is room in the market for an entry-level sports car that is smaller, more lightweight, and more affordable than the 350Z.

The Japanese automaker is interested in a front-wheel-drive sports car that could compete with the Mazda MX-5 Miata, Pontiac Solstice, and Saturn Sky, Nissan North America vice-president in charge of product planning and strategy Larry Dominique tells Car and Driver in an interview. (more…)

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BY TOM LUDWICK AND ALISA PRIDDLE

This trio of electric vehicles uses a variety of powertrain alternatives to extend their B-srange.

Chrysler wants to spark interest with three electric concepts to be unveiled in January at the North American International Auto Show in what appears to be a showdown with General Motors and its Chevrolet Volt family of EVs.

Chrysler is using a lithium-ion battery pack with a 200-kilowatt electric motor to drive the wheels, into concepts for Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge. Shown here are early sketches of the Chrysler ecoVoyager concept, the Dodge Zeo concept, and the Jeep Renegade concept. (more…)

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BY STEVE SILER

The Lancer crosses over.

To build some anticipation for September’s Frankfurt auto show, Mitsubishi has given us a sketchy glimpse of the crossover concept that will be gracing its stand: the Concept-cX. (The c is for compact, the X for crossover, but there’s no explanation on why one is capitalized and the other isn’t.) (more…)

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A race car for the street, now even racier.

If you get out of your 2060-pound, 220-hp Lotus Exige S after a day at the track and yearn for more, the Exige GT3 is right up your alley. Based on the race-ready, track-only Exige Cup and Exige Cup 255, the GT3 concept shown at the Geneva auto show is a tribute to the cars that race in the British GT3 Championship. (more…)

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BY STEVEN COLE SMITH, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE VALENTE

It’s not nearly as fast as it looks.

You wouldn’t know there’s a Fiat Panda 100 HP under all the Bertone Barchetta’s glistening aluminum, but to celebrate the company’s 95th anniversary, Bertone wanted to create a Geneva show car that salutes the Fiat 500 with Barchetta bodywork that was created by Nuccio Bertone in 1947 as a one-off for his own racing career. The decision to celebrate the company’s 95th anniversary with a minimalist yet sophisticated model is perfectly in keeping with the Bertone philosophy, the company says. (more…)

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BY STEVE SILER, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFFREY G. RUSSELL

A Mustang-based Chrysler 300 killer.

For a couple years now, Ford has allowed Chrysler’s full-size 300 to enjoy a challenge-free reign of the eye-catching, rear-drive sedan market. (more…)

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BY JARED GALL

Another BlueTec diesel teaser for America. Love, Your Friends at Mercedes-Benz

Following Mercedes-Benz’s announcement that the company plans to market 50-state emissions compliant BlueTec diesel versions of its ML-, R-, and GL-class sport-utes here in the US by the 2009 model year comes this look at the BlueTec GL that will debut at the Detroit Auto Show. (more…)

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BY JARED GALL, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFFREY G. RUSSELL

Made from equal parts Wrangler, Grand Cherokee, and anime.

Looking like a Grand Cherokee styled by an anime artist, the Jeep Trailhawk gets its name from the diagonally aligned headlamps that Jeep says give the truck the face of a bird of prey. (more…)

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BY JARED GALL

Volkswagen’s new soft-roader aims upmarket with computing power for navigating jungles both urban and leafy.

Sport-utility-vehicle builders do well to heed the Boy Scout motto of Be Prepared. The question is to what extent? Honda didn’t add a factory snorkel option when it redesigned the CR-V, and focus groups voted nay on a six-inch body lift to allow for more suspension travel on the latest Cadillac Escalade. (more…)

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