Chrysler will once again exhume the “Nassau

The Los Angeles Auto Show hasn’t even come and gone, and the sneak-peaks are already afoot for Detroit’s North American International Auto Show.

WINDING ROAD was one of the first publications to bring you spy shots of Chevrolet’s upcoming Malibu, and now General Motors has announced that it will unveil a production version of the car at the North American International Auto Show in January.

At the time our photogs spotted the mule, it wasn’t clear whether the upsized front-drive mule was the next ‘Bu or Impala, but subsequent intelligence supports that this will be the former, not the latter. And while GM isn’t releasing any teaser shots of the exterior, it has released a shot of the dashboard and front seats. The rich two-tone color scheme recalls a Saturn Aura XR we had in recently, which was perfectly nice in terms of ergonomics, though some of us openly wished for materials of a higher quality.

The next Malibu appears to have grown up in size and ambition, with a much more voluptuous shape. We can't wait to see it.

In case you missed it, last month’s issue of WINDING ROAD featured some exclusive renderings of Maserati’s upcoming replacement for its Coupe and Spyder, one of which you see above.

Science project alert! Ferrari is hard at work on their "Insertable 4x4" system, which looks to debut in the facelifted 612 Scaglietti. Our spy shot photographer, Hans Lehmann, caught the 4x4 612 in testing in Maranello, showing a meaner air intake setup that takes some cues from the 599 GTB Fiorano. Notice the stethoscope-like structures on the front wheels, which appear to be used to measure wheel slip to determine how much power to distribute to the front/rear.

Autonavigator.ru, that massively influential automotive portal run by Serguei A. Kozlovski, has published the first photos (possibly photo illustrations, mind you) of Mitsubishi's Lancer sedan. The official embargo on the photos was scheduled for late this year / early next year (in coordination with the car's launch at January's Detroit Auto Show), but the cat is now out of the bag.

Could someone please explain to us why an increasing number of carmakers are executing appearance updates that only the deeply automotive obsessed can spot—and sometimes not even them?

The latest example would appear to be BMW’s 6-series, if this convertible prototype is any indication. The Sixer went on sale in the summer of 2003, and is pegged for a minor (emphasis on the word “minor

Judging by this odd-looking Z4 Coupe mule, Hans Lehmann, Our Man In The Trees, believes that BMW is readying a glass-roofed edition of its voluptuous little two-door.

Is BMW’s slower-selling Z4 set to grow up? Bimmer’s smallest roadster hasn’t enjoyed the same sales as its Z3 predecessor, and fresh competition from a new Audi TT (among others) may have the automaker heading back to the drawing board.

Hans Lehmann's folks over at Hidden Image have gone and created a couple of renderings based on prevailing rumors about a replacement, dubbed Z6, which could make use of engines cribbed from BMW’s new 3-series Coupe.