Even though it’s not as famous as its Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo or Detroit counterparts, this year’s edition of the Australian Motor Show, which takes place in Melbourne from July 1 to 10, has some interesting debuts including the Mad Max Concepts pictured above as well as a number of new production and prototype models from the local divisions of General Motors (aka Holden) and Ford.

You can take a look at all the vehicles in our comprehensive photo gallery right after the break. For those of you interested in learning more about the Ford-badged Mad Max Interceptor prototypes, check out our previous post here.

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This past January at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show, General Motor unveiled the new Chevrolet Sonic in final production form. Available in both five-door hatchback and four-door sedan body styles, the Sonic will reach U.S. showrooms this fall. In Europe, however, GM will continue to use the Aveo nameplate when its supermini goes on sale later this summer. Read more »

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In typical Fiat Group fashion, despite the fact that the new Lancia Ypsilon received its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show close to three months ago, the company waited until today to release a full gallery of pictures. There are more than 70 photographs showing the Italian supermini mostly in its natural habitat, the city. Along with the new images, Lancia also offered new information on its entry-level model, which will be launched from June in major European markets and from September in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where it will wear the Chrysler logo. Read more »

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Suppose you owned a classic car restoration business and wanted to show potential customers what you could do for them. How would you go about it? Well, Precision Restorations of St. Louis, Missouri have ingeniously answered this question by restoring exactly half a 1967 Oldsmobile Toronado.

One side of the car is as it was found: rust-flecked paint, yellowing exterior panels and torn leather. The other side, meanwhile, has been fully restored. Check out our gallery below and marvel, as we did, at some of Precision Restoration’s best work.

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The world premiere of the new Aston Martin V12 Zagato, which took place at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2011 this past weekend on the shores of Lake Como in Italy, was marked by the design award for Concept Cars and Prototypes. The conceptual model, which was created to celebrate the Aston Martin and Zagato partnership in the 50th anniversary year of the famous DB4GT Zagato, won the approval of the visitors to the Concorso D’Eleganza event.

The competition in the Concept Cars and Prototypes category included BMW’s new 328 Homage Roadster, the Ferrari Superamerica 45, Audi Quattro, Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake, Infiniti Etherea, Italdesign VW GO!, Rinspeed Bamboo, Renault DeZir and the Scuderia P4/5.

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The fastback version of the all-new MG6 will soon become MG Motor’s first all-new model to pass through the gates of the firm’s Longbridge factory in 16 years. The last time MG showed a brand new model was in 1995 with the MG F, a mid-engined, rear-wheel drive roadster. According to the British automaker, the first series production model will roll off the assembly line on April 13, 2011 at precisely 11:00 am.

MG Motors, which now belongs under the umbrella of China’s Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) group, will follow up with a sedan version of the MG6 this summer. Both the four-door saloon and the five-door fastback will be offered with a 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine that’s good enough for 160 ponies and 215Nm of peak torque at 1750-4500 rpm.

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Mercedes-Benz plans to show up at this month’s Shanghai Auto Show with a brand new concept for a spectacular looking A-Class model. While the Concept A-Class is just what its name says it is – a prototype study - it’s also a very good indication of where the company plans to take its BMW 1-Series and Audi A3 rival with the presentation of the next generation model that is scheduled to go on sale in 2012.

For starters, Mercedes is giving up the minivan-like silhouette of the current A-Class for a more dramatic and sporty looking two-box profile with a long bonnet and a low roof-line. The concept’s exterior design details are heavily influenced by Stuttgart’s most recent prototypes such as the CLS Shooting Brake and especially the F800.

Aside from the new nose with a prominent Mercedes grille, the three-door Concept A-Class also features concave surfaces with sweeping lines throughout the body.

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In 1961 at the 40th Annual Frankfurt International Motor Show in Germany, Bavarian automaker BMW lifted the wraps off of two very special prototypes: the first of its 1500 “Neue Klasse” mid-sizers. For years, Beamer had been working on a new model to slot between its entry-level one and two cylinder cars and its more expensive, luxury-geared six and eight cylinder ones.

The result was a stylish four door sedan fitted with a 75 hp (56 kW) inline four, front disc brakes and weighing in at 2,095 lb (950 kg).

The design of the saloon was reminiscent of Italian cars, which shouldn’t come as a surprise given that, when developing the design of the 1500, BMW’s chief stylist Wilhelm Hofmeister had sought the advice of Giovanni Michelotti, who had already collaborated on the 700.

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Only a few days before its motor show debut at next week's Geneva Salon, the MINI Rocketman concept made its first public appearance at a special event on the sidelines of the Milan Fashion Week. The presentation was held at the Istituto Europeo di Design, which is a design school with a focus on automotive and product design.

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The racing division of Cadillac travelled to the Sebring International Raceway for a second round of testing before the start of the Sports Car Club of America World Challenge GT season, which will mark the return of the brand with the crest to racing after a three year hiatus.

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After providing us with an initial batch of three photos of its LFA Nürburgring Edition, Lexus today unleashed more than a dozen new pictures of the more track-orientated version of its supercar. Built to celebrate the LFA's hat-trick of class wins at the Nürburgring 24 Hours race, the limited edition will be shown in public for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show on March 1.

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Over the past year, numerous scoops and a major leak, accompanied by several official releases, have shed light on many details on the 2012 Mercedes SLK. In fact, we were expecting the German maker to bring the third generation roadster to the 2011 Detroit Auto Show, ahead of its projected March debut. Even though that never happened, today, Mercedes finally released the last pieces of the SLK puzzle.

Claimed to offer a 25% increase in fuel economy compared to the previous model, in Europe, the SLK will be available with three engines, all of them featuring direct injection and stop/start systems.

Filling in the base model's shoes is the SLK 200 BlueEfficiency variant, powered by a 1.8-liter four-cylinder powerplant, capable of 184 hp. Mated to a seven-speed 7G-Tronic Plus automatic transmission, the four-pot needs just 6.1 liters of gasoline per 100 km (38.6 US mpg) in the combined cycle. The SLK 200 sprints to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 7 seconds and has a top speed of 237 km/h (147 mph).

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One of the most highly anticipated world premieres of the 2011 NAIAS, the new U.S. market 2012 Volkswagen Passat, turned out to be one of the less exciting -at least in terms of design- introductions of the show. The US-built replacement for the European-sourced Passat literally looks like an extra-large Jetta, which drew its own share of criticism for its uninspired and generic looks. For comparison, we've added a few shots of the Jetta after the jump.

While the design may not be engaging, the car's lower sticker prices will certainly attract more buyers as the new Passat will start from around $20,000 or some $7,000 to $8,000 less than the 2011MY it replaces.

However, keep in mind that while the base 2011 Passat was offered with a modern 200HP 2.0 TFSI, the entry-level 2012MY Passat will come with VW's old 2.5-liter five-cylinder unit rated at 170HP.

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[Updated] The 2011 Detroit Auto Show, also known by its North American International Auto Show [NAIAS] moniker, is arguably one of the world's most important motor shows. Held at the Cobo Center in Detroit, this year’s event will open its gates to the public on January 15, but as usual, we’ll be covering the action from the press days starting Monday, January 10. The show's organizers are anticipating some 30 to 40 world premieres, with manufacturers gearing up for what is expected to be a much better year in terms of sales. Read more »

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Unveiled at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show, the Vertrek Concept previews Ford’s next global compact SUV, set to replace both the European Kuga and North American Escape models. While it’s not so different compared to the Kuga, the concept car is certainly more modern than the current Ford Escape.

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[Updated Photo Gallery] What started out as the Veloster concept model at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show has come to life as a production model at this week's 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Unlike most other production models that tend to be more conventional than their conceptual siblings, Hyundai's Veloster is actually more outlandish than the 2007 design study thanks to its asymmetric layout with a single door on the driver's side and two conventional doors on the passenger-side.

Hyundai is bullish about the Veloster's rivals as the company released several comparison charts pitting the small coupe against the 2011 Honda CR-Z, Scion tC, Mini Hardtop and Mini Clubman.

According to the South Koreans, the Veloster’s total interior volume of 105.3 cubic feet beats all the aforementioned models, while the automaker also notes that at just 2,584 pounds, its small coupe is more than 400 pounds lighter than the Scion tC.

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Toyota is expanding its family of Prius models with the presentation of the all-new Prius V minivan that will join the current, third-generation Prius as well as the forthcoming Prius Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (PHV), starting from late summer 2011.

The Prius V shares the same platform and hybrid drivetrain as the regular, five-door model, however, Toyota claims the minivan will feature over 50-percent more interior cargo space than the current Prius.

According to the Japanese automaker, the new model "has been designed from the ground up, with a shape that evolved from Prius rather than being an elongated version."

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On the sidelines of the Los Angeles Auto Show, BMW revealed the next generation of the 6-Series Convertible, and now we've got a ton of pictures and video to throw down so you can get a better look at all the finer details.

As we've already told you, the new 6-Series ragtop will debut with a 400-horsepower 4.4-liter turbocharged V8 (as the 650i), have enough space for two golf bags with the top down, and be available with the Roundel's 8-speed automatic gearbox or (better yet) a 6-speed manual transmission. The 650i completes the sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.0 seconds, with the engine electronics eventually stepping in to cut your pace at 250 km/h (155 mph).

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[Updated] Welcome to Carscoop's coverage of the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show. From this page we'll keep you updated on all the new models and concept cars that will make their debut in the city of Angels during the press days November 17-18 (for the public, the show runs November 19 to 28 ).

This year's edition of the motor show will play host to some 20 world premieres and no less than 30 North American debuts across all vehicle categories ranging from an array of new models from the reborn Chrysler Group, to a Subaru study and the quirky Nissan Murano Convertible. Check out our A-to-Z guide right after the break.

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So, we hear -from our comments section- that you want more of the new 2011 Dodge Charger. We have you covered, both picture- and video-wise. By now, you probably know all the basics including the sheetmetal changes, vastly improved interior in terms of styling and materials and the introduction of a new 3.6-liter V6 with 292HP and 260 lb.-ft. of torque, which joins the venerable 5.7-liter HEMI V8 that delivers 370 ponies and a 0-60 mph performance in less than 6 seconds for the R/T version.

We'll just add that the market launch is scheduled for December with prices (including $825 destination) starting from $25,995 for the base 2011 Charger SE with the V6 Pentastar. If you want the HEMI V8 effect, the rear-wheel drive R/T will cost you $30,995, while the AWD version, $33,145. Enjoy the video and our high-resolution image gallery after the jump.

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