New Toyota Avalon in 2013

    Over its 15+ years, the Avalon has been perched at the top of Toyota's U.S. sedan lineup, offering much the same formula: plush seats, a spacious interior, and a soft, pillowy ride—plus smooth, quiet V-6 performance. In short, it's always been comfortable, easy to drive, and presentable, in a conservative sort of way.

At last, Toyota has seen the potential in this model beyond retirees, and for 2013 it's steering its full-sizer in a more lively and interesting direction, with more attractive sheetmetal, a fresh, modern interior layout, and some useful high-tech safety equipment.

    But what's most noteworthy in the 2013 Avalon is how this car drives, and what's under the hood. V-6 models, with a strong, smooth 268-horsepower, 3.5-liter, are still expected to make up most sales; but it's the multiple Avalon Hybrid models in the lineup that seem the most compelling, not only for their surprisingly responsive performance, but for their level of refinement that migh.

   The Avalon offers a strong list of safety features, including separate rear side-thorax airbags and front knee bags. And at the top of the lineup there's the Rear Cross Traffic Alert system, which uses sensors in the rear quarter panels to help detect vehicles as they approach from the side and behind the vehicle—especially helpful if you're backing out of a driveway with an obstructed view. Additionally, all but the base Avalon XLE come with a backup camera system.

   Parsing out the Avalon's pricing and feature set is a little more challenging than in past years. That's because the 2013 Toyota Avalon covers a wider price span, now coming in XLE, XLE Premium, XLE Touring, and XLE Limited trims—with Hybrid models for all but the base XLE. If you want us to distill the line of trims and models down to a single point, it would be this: You're essentially getting a Lexus-caliber feature set—and for the most part, Lexus ambiance—at a price that's at least a few grand less than the Avalon's Lexus ES cousin would be with some comparable features. Much of the lineup gets Entune, capable of running apps (Pandora, for instance) from your smartphone, using your data connection.

  Top Limited models cost around $40k but are luxury vehicles by the equipment list, with a Blind Spot monitor with Rear Cross Traffic Alert, perforated leather upholstery, heated-and-ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, three-zone automatic climate control, a rear sunshade, 785-watt JBL Audio, HID headlamps, and LED daytime running lamps. Add the Tech Package, with Adaptive Cruise Control, a Pre-Collision System, and Automatic High Beams.

the LA Motor Show design competition

The Californian car market tends to fall into two camps: conspicuous and inconspicuous. Porsche or Prius. Mulsanne or iMiEV. And as if to maintain some karmic universal balance, its residents aren't averse to getting both (Brad Pitt bought a Range Rover Sport the day after arriving at the Oscars in a Toyota).

So no great surprise then that the big news from this year's LA motor show focused on EVs, hybrids, SUVs and sports cars. And in international terms at least, not a tremendous amount inbetween.

But first, a bit of housekeeping. The question of why the state of California accounts for a third of all electric vehicles sold in the USA - and why so many unusual EVs find their way to this show - is worth addressing.

California wants EVs. So much so, it's mandated that manufacturers sell a certain number of them to make up for all that delicious internal combustion, so some carmakers earning them the less-than-appealing moniker of "compliance cars".

And the 500e is one of them. In fact, if you're American you can't even buy it outside of California. Shame, really. It's got 111hp, 147 lb ft of instant torque, and it'll scurry to 60mph in around 9 seconds, which sniffs around the non-Abarth model benchmark. Range is a reported 80 miles, and if you're using a level 2 charger, you can brim it in four hours (eight for normal plugs). Fiat also promised that it'll be the first electric car that's fun to drive. Clearly there's no word for "Tesla" in Italian.

Also propping up the EV corner is the BMW i3 concept, Benz's massive Ener-G-Force truck concept, the Chevy Spark EV and a smattering of other non-UK hybrids.

Then there's the conspicuous end of the market. California's also the world's largest market for sports and performance cars. Which is why the new XFR-S made its debut here, and Jag revealed the F-Type to North America in LA. Not to be outdone, Porsche threw the silk sheets off its new lower, lighter and faster Cayman, while Mercedes showed off its military-grade SLS Black.

There were some interesting performance surprises, too. Volvo dragged its 508bhp S60 Polestar along. And if it makes production, it'll be just as much as an M5 worrier as the XFR-S. Jag and Volvo's previous custodian, Ford, brought along its own sportster, too. And a far more universally relevant effort one - the Fiesta ST. How it'll sit (or if it'll sit at all) in the American market remains to be seen...

So, other exciting stuff to report? Between bouts of laughing at the tuner stuff and being slightly amazed by lowriders, we made it over to the Range Rover stand (it was making its US debut) and chatted with Land Rover's designer Gerry McGovern who gave some very discreet clues about the 2015 Defender's looks. "There's a pair of Hunter wellies, a Barbour jacket and Dyson vacuum cleaner on the mood board."

landmark of dubai

ABOUT THE WORLD ISLANDS - DUBAI

Welcome to The World, a new development by Nakheel that gives your most imaginative investment dreams the room to be realized. A collection of 300 private islands in the shape of continents located off the coast of Dubai, The World reinvents the earth and offers the ultimate in privacy and exclusivity. The is the new shape of opportunity. This is The World. 

The World is another visionary project from Nakheel, who with every groundbreaking development realizes the vision of Dubai. The city's premier development company, Nakheel echos the city's ambitious rise with a passion and imagination that delivers a portfolio of projects with redefine home, holiday and investment. 

The World Islands are a collection of man-made islands shaped into the continents of the world, located off the coast of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. It will consist of 300 small private artificial islands divided into four categories - private homes, estate homes, dream resorts, and community islands. 

Each island will range from 250,000 to 900,000 square feet (23,226 to 83,613 square metres) in size, with 50 to 100 metres (164 to 328 feet) of water between each island. It will cover a total area of 9 kilometres (5.4 miles) in length and 6 kilometres (3.6 miles) in width, surrounded by an oval shaped breakwater. The only means of transportation between the islands will be by marine or air transport.

The World Islands will be located 4 kilometres off the shore of Jumeirah, close to the Palm Jumeirah, between Burj Al Arab and Port Rashid at approximately 25 degrees 13 North and 55 degrees 10 East. Each island will be sold to selected private developers and are expected to be priced between US $7 M. - US $1.8 B. Richard Branson recently purchased the island of Great Britain in The World project. The expected completion date of The World is 2008. 

The unparalleled opportunities that can be found on The World wouldn't be complete without absolute peace of mind. While the islands are created for privacy and exclusivity, the thoughtful infrastructure is designed for the safety and convenience of investors, residents and visitors - an infrastructure that allows you to relax and leave the mainland behind.

PRIVATE HOMES

The footprints in the sand belong only to you and your family. Daytime naps in your hammock are accompanied by the soothing sound of the Arabian Gulf. Here on your own private island, life is very different. Design an intimate single family home or sprawling compound. Surround yourself with tropical foliage or the serenity of a Japanese garden. Architect your every desire on The World. 

ESTATE HOMES

Devote an island to a development of private estate homes for weekenders or year-round residents. Create one style of distinctive home or a mixture of design themes - whatever you decide, the location is unprecedented.

COMMUNITY

Create a private island of neighbours where families can escape to a community built just for them, or couples to elegant island apartments where they can reconnect and recharge. Imagine a place where no one is a stranger, and the focus is on one thing: relaxation. 

DREAM RESORTS

Deliver the ultimate resort experience on The World. Make it relaxing. Make it exhilarating. Make it exotic. Make it memorable. 

INQUIRIES

The World is an exclusive invitation for investors to dream bigger than they ever thought possible. This opportunity has created a tremendous response, so Nakheel will require details about your company and investment intentions to ensure The World is a balanced mix of commercial developments and private investment. Only selected investors will be considered for this unique and limited opportunity.