LA Auto Show gets set

And it should come as no surprise that it is being unveiled this week in LA-LA land.  The open-air Murano - which somehow manages to tick the boxes for both a convertible and an SUV - is the early tease for the 2010 running of the Los Angeles Motor Show.

It's one of more than 30 new models promised for the last big global show of the year at a city that still sets the agenda for many carmakers.

The LA show also sees the unveiling of Mitsubishi's fatboy iMiEV, tweaked for American roads and drivers, as well as a commercial version of the plug-in Nissan Leaf and a battery-powered RAV4 EV that will go into showrooms in 2012.

The green field also includes a new Honda electric concept and a Kia Optima Hybrid.  There will be upscale luxury stuff as well, including the latest CLS 63 AMG from Mercedes-Benz and Porsche's 911 GTS models, with a couple of surprises on the show car front.

Subaru promises something special with its coupe concept, although it has yet to confirm it is its take on the shared program that has already spawned the Toyota FT-86, Cadillac also has a concept car, and Acura has something called the TSX concept.

Nissan has already gone public with pictures of the Murano CrossCabriolet, which promises everything from a two-door convertible body to space for golf clubs in the boot and seats for four. It is likely to tap the same sort of sentiment that has brought SUV buyers to the BMX X6 in droves, despite a loss of practicality compared with the X5.

It will definitely be sold in the USA as a 2012 model but there is no confirmation, yet, of any Australia sales plan.

Toyota is confirming details of the electric RAV4, which is officially only a concept at the LA show but will clearly have few changes before full-scale production.

It uses a powertrain developed by Tesla, which is now part-owned by Toyota, but is yet to be confirmed for any countries outside the USA.  For the latest Los Angeles Motor Show news: www.carsguide.com.au