Steve Davies

A very long time ago - before even I was born - Mercedes produced a model called the 300SL, also known as the Gullwing. 'SL' in those days stood for Sport Lightweight or Sport Leicht in German - which was more recently borrowed by BMW for the carbon-fibre clad M3 CSL (Coupe Sport Leicht).

According to Porsche, the headline news with its new 991 Carrera Cabriolet is that the design of the hood ensures the iconic 911 roof line is retained in its entirety.

So, at last the silhouette of the soft top matches that of the coupe, and Porsche have achieved this without resorting to one of those silly folding hard-top devices which double the weight of the car.

Jaguar's C-X16 concept made its North American debut this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show, finished in a new colour called Neutron White.

When TomTom first came on the scene in the early 1990's, I suspect being the purveyor of silly voices never featured in their business plan.

20 years later and what was once primarily a consumer electronics company is moving ever closer to becoming a pure-play software and services provider, as the market for navigation systems moves away from its proprietary roots.

It feels so wrong... and yet you know you want to try it. Just once. While nobody is looking. The Juke-R is one of those cars that no enthusiast can deny wanting to drive, to sample the absurdity of its near-500 bhp powerplant shoe-horned into a conventional(ish) family crossover.

Infiniti has announced this afternoon that a new range-extending electric sports car concept is under development, and is set to emerge from the drawing room in time for the Geneva Motor Show in March 2012.

If you were following us on Twitter yesterday, then you might have noticed the invitation I posted inviting anyone who's visited McLaren's award-winning Technology Centre (MTC) to contact me.

The reason for my request was to provide some background to the BBC's coverage of McLaren's new £50m Production Centre (MPC), which is being opened by British Prime Minister, David Cameron, this afternoon.

The Beetle R Concept has made its American debut today at the Los Angeles Auto Show, following its unveiling in Frankfurt earlier this year.

While the familiar outline of the latest Beetle is still clear, the R Concept adds the kind of muscled enhancements that seem entirely appropriate in image-conscious California.