2010 LA Auto Show Design Challenge Winner: Cadillac Aera Concept

The focus at the LA Auto Show is on new production vehicles as well as concepts that hint at an automaker's direction for the very near future. One aspect of the show however, looks further into the distance and pushes designers to create their vision of a supplied theme. The LA Auto Show Design Challenge has entered it's seventh year, and for 2010 the designers had to create a 1,000-pound car that was stylish and performance oriented yet also capable of carrying four passengers. The GM Advanced Design team stepped up to the plate and, with their Cadillac Aera Concept, took the top spot. The podium must have been crowded though because the Smart 454 also claimed a victory as the judges declared the competition a tie.

This marks the third time that the group from General Motors has won this challenge, giving them the most wins out of all automakers that enter. The Cadillac Aera Concept hit on all areas that the judges were looking for and, despite the futuristic styling, still carries some recognizable lines from Cadillacs of today.

LA Auto show Green Car of the Year goes to Chevy Volt

The Chevrolet Volt drove off with the 2011 Green Car of the Year Award at the LA Auto Show this morning, beating out tough competition from the Nissan Leaf and ending a two-year diesel powertrain reign (at the 2008 show, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI was named the winner; last year, the Audi A3 TDI won). The other finalists for this year's award, given out by Green Car Journal, included the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid , Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and the Ford Fiesta.

2010 LA Auto Show: Porsche finished 60 golden years of in America

At its press conference at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show, Porsche unveiled its Cayman R, and showed a video celebrating 60 years of its cars in America.

2010 LA Auto Show: Godzilla 2012: The new GT-R

When Nissan unleashed its latest version of the GT-R in 2007, it seemed there was no room for improvement. Engineered to extreme levels, this GT-R used a high-power twin turbo V-6, essentially a racing engine, a dual-clutch six-speed automated manual transmission, and a very advanced all-wheel-drive system.

But Nissan demonstrates with the 2012 model that technology can always be improved, increasing engine output by 45 horsepower. And what looks like a minor bodywork update also increases downforce by 10 percent. For a cosmetic update, Nissan added LED running lights.

We also found a slight mystery on the all-wheel-drive control switch. In the most recent version of the GT-R we've driven, a 2010 model, the all-wheel-drive switch offered racing, normal, and snow modes. In the cabin of the 2012 model, we noticed the Snow label has been replaced by Save.