Car Throttle

Infiniti has presented its long-overdue three-row crossover at the Los Angeles International Auto Show, which opened on Nov 18. The 2013 JX fits between the sportier Infiniti FX and the full-size QX, bringing the number of crossovers offered by the Japanese manufacturer up to four. The new JX is attractive to buyers who need the extra seating but are reluctant to compromise on mid-size utilities. Mostly, the JX has the same design features as the other crossover Infiniti luxury cars but with slight variations in theme, i.e. the customary large rectangular grille but with scalloped D-pillars on the rear-side windows. On the inside, the JX has got standard Infiniti luxury, with a 7-inch touch screen in the dash, leather-trimmed seats and power-adjustable and

The world's fastest crossover is one step closer to being on our roads. Weirdly though, Nissan say it won't be a production car but instead a road legal concept. Two will be made; one with right hand drive for us Brits and Japan and one with left hand drive for everyone else. The Juke-R is a simple combination. Take the 3.8L twin turbo V6 from the GT-R that pumps out 480bhp as well as the drivetrain and the suspension and then put those underneath the body of a weird looking compact crossover. Sounds hilarious doesn't it? There is a bit more to it than that obviously. The unique body has bigger circular vents at the front so the twin turbo V6 stays

I'll be the first to admit that I simply don't understand the direction "crossovers" are traveling in. It seems like they're becoming less and less useful, and more and more like rolling fashion statements - for fashion victims.  Or the fashionably ignorant.  Anyway, while it's fun to revel in shock at the fact that this segment of gas-guzzlers hasn't died out yet, that's not news.  That's an opinion.  What is news (apparently) is this new Acura ZDX. Let's start off on the right foot here: dumb name begats dumb car?  I know the theory might be a stretch - there have been some awesome cars with awful names (Acura's own Integra comes to mind) but let's take a vote: who's tired of meaningless alphanumeric model designations?  Why

Most of the new alternative fuels vehicles on the market are quite boring and that's why I've stayed away from posting on CarThrottle about the latest developments in the field. However, the source of power - in this case, electricity - isn't the problem. It's the vehicles they're used in. For instance the Toyota Prius isn't exciting for enthusiasts, but the Tesla Roadster sure is. This case though is different for a few reasons - I think the introduction of a Buick plug-in crossover is a landmark development. Are bigger and greater things really in store for Buick? I hope so, but there is one thing that is a bit unnerving to be about the whole thing.... This image!! We've known for quite some time that a

Acura first showed it's ZDX Concept at the New York International Auto Show only about 2 months ago. I've always seen the vehicle as a step forward for the brand in styling and design. Much better then the recent designs we've seen coming out from the company. However, while Acura made it clear that it was just a thinly-veiled production preview, I commented that things could get ugly pretty fast in the transition between concept and production. From the spy shots at least, it seems like they are hewing as close as possible to the concept and that's a good thing. You can't see much in the way of details but it's looking pretty close to the concept. The ZDX is part of a new strategy for increasing Acura's volume. Acura hasn't been

From the recent spats with BMW and others bold moves, Audi has definitely been picking fights lately. 2008 was a record year for the brand and they want to keep that momentum going into 2009. The latest ones feature the Audi Q5 crossover launched last month. Way to go, Audi! httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9tzrmUN-7k httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8MTpaBUCpc These latest two ads take shots at Lexus. Kicking them when their down huh? Now doubt Lexus has been really hurting in this downturn and Audi has decided this is the time to really go after them. The Lexus RX is the segment's top vehicle in volume by far so it's the one with the target on it's back. In these ads, Audi is going after one of it's biggest weak points. I think Lexus has some more problems other then

With 50,000 orders for the new 2010 E-Class under it's belt, Mercedes-Benz has been taking some steps lately with the GLK Crossover to boost sales and better organize it's product mix to fit the changing market conditions. This change in option packages is the latest change in the attempt to do that. In February, Mercedes-Benz made GLK financing more attractive by offering a low 1.9 interest rate for up to 66 months. Apparently, Mercedes wants the GLK to be a high-volume vehicle in it's portfolio, with an aggressive base price and high amount of advertising. Mercedes has viewed the GLK Crossover as significant, and these changes are reflective of that. Production for the GLK's January launch was planned in June/July of last year (Good times, good times), and that resulted in the top-heavy mix

Thanks, BMW! With the X6 (and 5-Series GT, for that matter) you've helped start a whole new generation of vehicles that are utterly confused as to what they are. It's not a crossover, or a wagon. It's a "provocative luxury four-door sports coupe - plus". Got that? Umm, OK. Acura says it's a "segment-bending"vehicle, and that it is. While a concept, it's a very good preview of the production vehicle that goes on sale this fall. Acura hasn't made any secret that it's thinly-veiled either. It's certainly unique, and at least with what I'm seeing in this concept, world's better (Acura TL, RL; I'm looking at you) then the styling language as applied to the current lineup. Except for the grille insert piece (which somehow manages to

Welcome to the Car Throttle Parting Shot, where we take a look at a production vehicle that has been recently discontinued, and ask “Was it really that bad?”. The German-American car company, Daimler Chrysler, was about to introduce a relatively new "Segment Buster" in the autumn of 2003. The idea was to marry the usefulness of a people carrier (Minivan as it were), to a go anywhere Sport Utility Vehicle, with better fuel mileage, and a better on highway ride. Unfortunately, as with all compromises, it never really lived up to any of the promises. It was a good idea, gone very bad, that inadvertently started the new larger Car-like Utility Vehicle (CUV) trend. Let's take a Parting Shot at the 5 year run of the

Dacia, that Romanian car company that used to make obsolete Renaults behind the iron curtain is about to introduce their latest concept in Geneva. This will be their first crossover concept, and is aimed squarely at the softroader lifestyle market. It is decidedly different, with different door configurations at each side. The Left side looks like a traditional coupe, with a large conventional door. The Right side is more of a people carrier, with a pair of doors, only with a twist; The rear door is hinged at the rear, more of what the Americans call a suicide opening arrangement. This is clearly a styling exercise to try and vault Dacia into the minds of European Shoppers, and it comes on the heels of their