Auto News 5

What you're looking at is, in fact, a Kia Forte, although eagle-eyed international readers will instantly recognize this all-new, glitzed-up sedan as the Cerato. As expected, Kia management pulled the Cerato off of its international shelves, added a few changes for the American market, and sent it to the Los Angeles Auto Show ahead of a Spring 2013 on-sale date.

Kia is quick to mention the current Sorento family hauler is only three years old, and for good reason: while the trucklet was only due for a modest mid-cycle refresh, it received, instead, a comprehensive reworking that goes much deeper than bumper covers and infotainment systems.

Porsche follows a fairly predictable cadence for car launches, so when the German company introduced the new Boxster at the Geneva Motor Show in March, we knew that a hardtop twin wouldn't be far behind. Sure enough, the 2013 Porsche Cayman makes its debut at the Los Angeles auto show and goes on sale in the U.S. next spring. Like the updated Boxster, the new Porsche Cayman is more powerful and more efficient than the outgoing version.

The one constant in the lifecycle of the Nissan GT-R has been change. Almost every new model year has brought hefty revisions to Japan's all-wheel-drive monster, generally making the GT-R even faster and more powerful than the year before. This year, however, Nissan went easy on the updates and made only a few small suspension and interior changes.

The Acura RL was the brand's flagship model for so long that the smaller, cheaper Acura TL began to catch up in terms of power, comfort, and technology. That meant any replacement for the RL would need to offer a big step up in order to justify its higher price compared to the TL. Acura seems to have taken that message to heart in replacing the aging RL with the all-new 2014 RLX, which debuts at the Los Angeles auto show. The new top Acura is roomier, more stylish, more powerful, and filled with even more technology than its predecessor.

Jaguar already produces the bonkers XKR-S Coupe and Convertible, and we love them for it. However, not all Anglophile enthusiasts want to give up the utility of a sedan, and the XFR just isn't ludicrous enough. Enter the 2014 Jaguar XFR-S - the 550-hp XKR-S wrapped in a sultry and sensible sedan body.

The squashed-roof, 2012 Volkswagen Beetle that went on sale in September 2011 proved VW could bring both Golf-level driving dynamics and more masculine lines to a car that had been known more for its bud vase and other girly features than for pleasing enthusiasts. On the day before the 2013 Beetle convertible debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the question on our minds as we set off from the Shore Hotel in Santa Monica, heading up the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu, was: "Can VW chop off its roof and still appeal to men?" After all, four-seat, brightly colored ragtops don't exactly engender images of Vin Diesel, do they? What we have here is a car that was redesigned specifically for men, transformed into a convertible, an automotive body style that is inherently more appealing to women. Can Volkswagen have it both ways?