2012 L.A. Auto Show

The all-new 2013 Ford Fusion.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The 2013 Honda Civic is introduced at the L.A. Auto Show.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Art St. Cyr, vice president of product planning and logistics for American Honda Motor Co., introduces the 2013 Honda Civic.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Interior view of the 2013 Honda Civic.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The 2013 Honda Civic draws a crowd.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The 2014 MY Aston Martin Vanquish Coupe at the L.A. Auto Show.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The 2013 GT 500 Super Snake by Shelby/Galpin Auto Sports.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The 2012 Custom Shelby GT 500 Wide Body by Galpin Auto Sports, left, with the 2013 GT 500 Super Snake by Shelby/Galpin Auto Sports in the background.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The Bentley exhibit displays the the 2013 Bentley Mulsanne (gray), the Bentley Continental GT3 concept race car (white) and the 2013 Bentley GT Speed.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Rolf Frech, a member of Bentley’s engineering board, enjoys a beer at the L.A. Auto Show. Behind him is the Bentley Continental GT3 concept race car, making its U.S. debut. It’s the luxury car maker’s fastest-ever road car.   (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

The BMW i8 convertible is introduced at the show.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The BMW i8 convertible  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The BMW i3 Coupe  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Melvin Orellana details an Audi A8L TDI, which features a TDI clean diesel engine.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Scott Keogh, president of Audi of America, talks about the Audi TDI clean diesel technology.
More: Audi comes out swinging with diesel technology at L.A. Auto Show  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Members of the media gather for the debut of Hyundai’s Veloster Turbo Rolltop C3 and the Santa Fe.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Porsche introduces the new Cayman.
More: $54,000 for Porsche Cayman base model; price zooms from there  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The Porsche Cayman S  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The new Porsche Cayman S  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The five-passenger Fiat 500L.
More: Fiat’s trio of new models: Biggest departure is 500L. Here’s why   (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

The all-new Fiat 500L  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

The Chevrolet Spark EV  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

The Chevrolet Spark EV   (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

The 2013 Chevrolet Spark EV’s connection for fast charging is shown.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

The Denim Blue special edition VW Beetle Convertible  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Klaus Bischoff, brand design chief for Volkswagen, stands next to the 1970’s special edition toffee brown 2013 Beetle Convertible, on screen, at the L.A. Auto Show at the LA Convention Center in Los Angeles on November 28, 2012. In the foreground is the 1960’s Denim Blue special edition Beetle convertible.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Members of the press wear polarizing sunglasses at the premiere of the Volkswagen Beetle convertible at the L.A. Auto Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on November 28, 2012. The glasses helped the audience better see projections during the cars presentation. The Beetle convertible will be available in three special editions upon launch in December 2012.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Singers perform for the unveiling of Hyundai’s 2013 Santa Fe at the L.A. Auto Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on November 28, 2012.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

The 2013 Jaguar F-Type has its North American debut at the L.A. Auto Show. The two-seater is a new model for Jaguar and will be available with three different engines.
More: Jaguar touts F-Type, redesigned Range Rover and XFR-S, which will have only 100 copies in U.S. for 2014  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

The Jaguar XFR-S has its world debut at the L.A. Auto Show. The four-door sedan will have a supercharged V-8, making 550 horsepower.
More: Jaguar touts F-Type, redesigned Range Rover and XFR-S, which will have only 100 copies in U.S. for 2014  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Matthias Muller, president and CEO of Porsche AG, introduces the new Cayman, left, and Cayman S, right, for its world debut at the L.A. Auto Show on November 28, 2012.  (Al Seib/ Los Angeles Times)

The Hyundai Veloster Turbo Rolltop C3 concept car is premiered at the L.A. Auto Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on November 28, 2012.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Land Rover Range Rover makes its North American debut at the L.A. Auto Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center on November 28, 2012.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

The SLS AMG Black Series at the 2012 L.A. Auto Show.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The 2014 Porsche Cayman makes its world debut at the 2012 L.A. Auto Show.   (David Undercoffler / Los Angeles Times)

The 2014 Porsche Cayman makes its world debut at the 2012 L.A. Auto Show.   (David Undercoffler / Los Angeles Times)

The 2014 Porsche Cayman makes its world debut at the 2012 L.A. Auto Show.   (David Undercoffler / Los Angeles Times)

Toyota kicked off the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show with the world debut of the all-new 2013 RAV4, the first redesign of the hot-selling small SUV in seven years.
More: Details on the new RAV4, the first redesign of small SUV in seven years   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Bill Fay of Toyota Motor Sales kicks off the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show with the world debut of the all-new 2013 RAV4, the first redesign of the hot-selling small SUV in seven years.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The taillight of the RLX. The car will go on sale in the spring as a 2014 model.
More: Toyota tries to break Acura out of Lexus’ shadow; price -- less than $50,000?  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

The RLX will be powered by a new 310-horsepower direct-injected V-6 that’s expected to get 20 miles per gallon in the city, 31 on the highway and 24 combined.   (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

The interior of the RLX. Acura’s flagship sedan will offer safety features such as lane departure warning, forward collision warning and automatic braking.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Acura is confronted with a marketing conundrum: How to brand the RLX as a luxury rival to BMW or Lexus rather than just a more expensive Honda. It will be unveiled at the L.A. Auto Show.   (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)