Car FYI

Always accepted favourably as a work truck, the Ford F-150 gained a different, more adventurous persona in 2010. A factory-prepped off-roading variant of Ford's best-selling half-ton pickup truck, the F-150 SVT Raptor provided a more playful edge to the vehicle. Distinctive styling, power from a potent 411-horsepower 6.2-liter V-8 engine and a high travel suspension allowed the Ford F-150 to trek more easily on trails not always explored by a light-duty work truck. Following the revolutionary redesign of the Ford F-150  for 2015, an all-new off-road riding Raptor model destined for the 2017 model year has premiered at Detroit's 2015 North American International Auto Show. Employing much of the technology applied on the regular half-ton 2015 F-150 as well as racing the Baja 1000 desert race, the revised F-150 Raptor is a lighter, more off-road capable vehicle. Featuring a high-strength steel frame and mili...

Buick has been working hard to prove it is no longer a brand associated solely with 50-plus drivers and golf tours. Targeting to entice a younger crowd to buy into the premium car division, Buick has been running a series of commercials resembling a modern version of the "Not Your Father's Oldsmobile" campaign. While Oldsmobile is no longer a staple of the automobile business, the original campaign did drastically revitalize the division. In reinventing its image as a hipper kind of luxury, Buick found some traction in 2013 with the premium compact crossover Encore . In time for the 2015 North American International Auto Show, the 2016 Buick Cascada opens a new sense of class for the General Motors division. The 2016 Cascada becomes the first Buick convertible since the soft-top version of the 1991 Reatta. The Buick Cascada will also be the first two-door vehicle for the brand since the discontinuation of the Riviera...

Japanese automakers first inroads to the North American marketplace around half a century ago depended upon smaller vehicles. While Toyota and Honda allowed vehicles in their line-up to bloat to capacities suiting large-thinking tastes east of the Pacific Ocean, Mazda remains centered on being a big player of mainly compact vehicles. Mazda will again remind the world how big things come in small packages with the world premiere of a new compact crossover vehicle. Detailing the appearance of the Mazda CX-3, the continuing fostering of KODO design language is teased in a sketch the automaker provided. Vertically aligned grille, sweptback headlamps and pronounced side curves exhibited on the CX-3 design could foretell the arrival of Mazda's boldest styled crossover. Whether the teaser image is largely accurate or an embellishment will be unveiled on November 19th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Making its global debut at the 2014 Los An...

Next month, the 2014 Paris Auto Show will start a period known as the auto show season. A season that typically starts in North America with the LA Auto Show in November, European audiences receive the first exhibition of all-new production vehicle premieres and the presentation of mind-wondering concept cars. A show where the likes of Italian designer Pininfarina first appeared on the world stage, the show often motivates the debut of classy styling studies. At Infiniti, you can say the luxury car brand has received inspiration from competitors as well as from their individual designers in the latest concept car. An interpretation of the four-door fastback premise demonstrated by the Audi A7 Sportback , Aston Martin Rapide and Porsche Panamera , the Infiniti Q80 Inspiration concept car doesn't appear to be following luxury car rivals when it comes to their image of a vehicle. Sweeping forward and backwards, the bodywork...