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The painfully slow undressing of the 2010 Mustang continues today with a clear shot of the car’s new shifter. Specifically, we can see that a five-speed stick is still standard-fare for the pony car from Ford, though its closest competitors, namely the Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro, are equipped with six row-for-yourself ratios. On the positive side, the gear knob looks very high class and appears hewn from aluminum. Judging from the last teaser, the matte aluminized finish is carried out through much of the GT’s interior, from the shifter to the steering wheel and dash. There are five more teaser images to be revealed before the ‘Stang’s final reveal at the LA Auto Show, where we’ll be on hand to bring you the goods in living color.

Inside Line was given a thorough peek at and allowed to drive the coming Nissan 370Z, and appears to like what it has seen. Many of their findings have been previously guessed at based on spy photos of the car, but their viewing seems to prove that it all fits together well enough in person. Unfortunately, they were barred from commenting on the driving experience. The most controversial aspect is still the shortened rear of the car, which IL guesses has gone back to 99 inches. To look at the pictures, there really isn’t room for much behind the driver’s door but wheel arches and a taillight. Interestingly, IL also suggests that the car will be available with a 7-speed automatic, which brings to three the number of potential non-manual transmissions. T

Whether you like it or not, Ford is revealing the 2010 Mustang nice and slow. So far we’ve got fairly clear shots of the wheel, seats, rear deck lid badge, front end, and steering wheel. The latest photo to be released shows a clear, full front view of the dash, and we have to say that we like what we see. Like the new Pony badge, Ford has given the interior an edgier look with rectangular center air vents and more futuristic looking gauges. There are still six images yet to be unveiled, and we’re hoping for a decent shot underneath the hood or of the rear fender soon. Of course, the car will be officially introduced at the LA Auto Show in November, and we’ll be there to bring you all the photos and details.

Mazda has confirmed the time and place for the unveiling of its all-new 2010 Mazda3: November 19th at the LA Auto Show. In anticipation of the car’s public debut, the Japanese automaker released these three images of the remodeled 3 sedan that reveal the car’s new design. While the new 3 retains a similar shape as the current model with a high beltline and rear decklid, the new car sports a much more expressive face with a “smile” grille positioned low up front that’s flanked by vertical air intake/fog light combos. The front fenders, likewise, are more distinct from the elevated hood and roll nicely back into the car’s forward canted character line. Out back are bigger taillights embedded in what appears to be a larger trunk above dual exhaust tips. The overall shape is a logical evolution of the current car that combines current Mazda design elements already found on the RX-8, Mazda6 and recently refreshed MX-5. Mazda also tells us that the 3 sedan will carry over its 2.0L four-cylinder, but be joined by a larger 2.5L engine to replace the current car’s 2.3L. As for the Mazda3 five-door hatchback, we’ll have to wait until some time after the LA Auto Show for that, though we’re hoping the new Mazdaspeed3 is not far behind.

When Nissan launched the 350Z in ‘02, it was working hard to reinvent itself and the new Z was clearly its halo car in the U.S. market. Now that that the revival has come and gone, expect the new 370Z to take on a new tack as a harder edged vehicle. In fact, Nissan plans to take on Porsche, the most classic of all sportscar manufacturers, with its newest coupe. Equipped with a larger 335-hp 3.7-liter V6 engine and having gone on a serious diet, possibly shedding as much as 200 lbs, the new Z will definitely have the cojones to keep up with its foes, including the Cayman, and its shorter wheelbase and wider track should conspire to make it quite the handler as well. We’ll get our first official look at the new son-of-Godzilla at the LA Auto Show, shorty after which the Nissan 370Z should show up in Japanese dealerships with U.S. delivery at a later date. Hopefully, not too much later.

The LA Auto Show is once again hosting its annual Design Challenge in which automakers are asked to let their minds wander and think freely about what future vehicles might actually be like. Last year’s theme was green, but this year designers are being asked to imagine what motorsports will be like in 2025.
Mitsubishi’s answer will be the MMR25 Rally Racer, a way out there concept that draws upon the automaker’s long lineage of successful rally racing to create a sand crawler like we’ve never seen before. We’ve only got a sneak peek for now, so there’s no telling what exotic or outright fictional engine powers the MMR25, but expect it to be just as crazy as those multidirectional wheels.

We have an idea of what the next Mazda3 will look like based on some trademark renderings that Mazda supplied the European Union Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market; basically what they amount to are patent drawings. Based on these very rough outlines, somebody named Pascal Boissé from Auto-Motive D&C has created a rendering that gives us a slightly better idea of what the new compact car will look like. The results are a bit mixed, with the fenders and greenhouse meeting our expectations, but that happy-go-lucky front end may be a bit off. Recent spy shots don’t show the snout protruding out quite that far. We may see character lines along the door’s bottom edge, leading up to the rear arches as the rendering clearly shows. What we know for sure is that Mazda has been getting more expressive with its styling, as the revised 6 and recent concepts prove. We’ll see the Mazda3 in person at the upcoming LA Auto Show and here’s hoping that it’s a bit more refined than the rendering above.

The 2010 Ford Mustang teasers continue, with a darkened shot of the new ‘Stang’s seats and center console. The new thrones look mighty inviting, with a nice amount of padding and some American-friendly bolsters. The center console appears to be a little taller than the current Mustang, but we’ll have to wait until we get a chance to sit inside at this year’s LA Auto Show.

The LA Auto Show is still a couple months away, but images of vehicles set to be unveiled in the land of fruits and nuts are already leaking onto the web. GM’s Chilean website had the above photo of the production Saab 9-4X available for all to see earlier today, so now we know the production model looks almost identical to the 9-4X Biopower concept from last year’s Detroit Auto Show. We’d be interested to see if the concept’s integrated tail pipes and large front/side air dams make it to production but, judging from spy photos we’ve seen, probably not. The 9-4X will be built on the same platform as the upcoming front- or all-wheel-drive Cadillac SRX, which will also be unveiled this auto show season.

We don’t have many details on the 9-4X just yet, but it will have a turbocharged 2.0L engine with 245 hp and 265 lb-ft mated to a six-speed automatic. The concept also ran on ethanol, which is also likely for the production vehicle considering that two thirds of all vehicles in Sweden are of the flex fuel variety. Other engine choices could include GM’s 3.6L V6, which is likely to be found under hood of the SRX at launch, and an upcoming 250-hp 2.9L diesel. Either way, European customers will likely have an engine lineup twice as large as what we’ll be offered in the U.S.

When is camo not really camo? When it’s black and white tape stuck to the body of the 2010 Mazda3 sedan. The new 3 was recently caught in the U.S. and the new front end is essentially a reworked version of the Mazda6’s, with a grinning, two-piece grille split by an angular bumper. Notice the bulges and fairings around the foglamps next to the lower grille, and the way the stretched headlights and flared fenders turn the hood outline into a wild polyhedral. The sculpted leather seats and roomy cabin look a treat as well. Assuming Mazda won’t jack up the price or sink the driving dynamics, this could exceed the success of the current car. We’ll bring you the full story from the LA Auto Show in just about sixty days. Thanks for the tip, Kris!