2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

I have mentioned what's wrong with Italian design in general.  Here's what's wrong with Alfa in particular.  While the sports car and the sedan exaggerate the point, it's still valid.  In 1965 Alfa stood for many things in terms of design and engineering.  The 2016 Giulia shows why this company should close.  It is a Camry that lacks the excitement of the original.  The reliability is most likely missing as well.  Alfa-Romeo is over.

Does the Jaguar Baudet take too much from an American icon?

What is Jaguar's raison d'être? Everyone has been asking since the E-Type. Their cars should be sleek and luxurious and fast. A modern Jaguar is slightly sleeker than a Toyota Camry, and it's luxurious for those who like sitting around in their cars. The stench of freshly tanned leather is an improvement over the plastic fumes one finds elsewhere. Fast is relative but impossible. With so many cars governed around 240 kph, it's a moot point.

Now, Jaguar is headed in a different direction. Some say that their Baudet concept is a raid on America's past. Whether it works out that way remains to be seen. The Neon was the first New Beetle, and its price was truer to the roots of the original. Similarly, the Daewoo Matiz was more like the Fiat 500 than the design Fiat chose to build. The Baudet might end up being like the BMW Mini, a riff on someone else's past that brings a smile anyway.