Autos

Luxury car and SUV sales and leases are up 11% so far this year after climbing 13.7% in 2012, according to a new analysis by Kelley Blue Book. The growth has been driven by sales at the lower end of the luxury segment, said Alec Gutierrez, senior analyst at auto price information company Kelley Blue Book. "The brands that are doing best are the entry level luxuries lines: Acura, Infiniti, Lexus," Gutierrez said. "Success at the entry level is why you see Mercedes-Benz introducing the CLA and BMW introducing the 320i.

When Ferrari's biggest and baddest supercar is a hybrid, you know the world has changed. Once considered the province of techies and the eco-friendly, hybrids are catching on in almost every vehicle segment. Hybrid sales were up 32% in the first two months of this year compared with the same period last year, according to research firm Autodata Corp. That's driven by a combination of trends, including upward-creeping gas prices, a growing track record for reliability and the wider selection of hybrid offerings - everything from the entry-level Toyota Prius C to the spacious Ford Fusion sedan to the LaFerrari, a 949-horsepower, million-dollar monster.

Thanks to a rebound in the auto industry, the UAW is reporting a growth in union membership. The UAW, which represents workers at the American auto companies as well as some public sector workers and even casino employees, said it finished last year with 382,513 members, up from 380,716 in 2011. While the growth was small in the last year, the tally is a big jump from the 355,191 workers the UAW represented back in 2009, the start of the industry's recovery from the recession and bankruptcy reorganizations of General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group.

It could be the cutest little automotive cage match in recent memory. In one corner, you have the all-new Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback, introduced Thursday at the 2013 New York International Auto Show. In the other, the 1.0-liter Ford Fiesta, announced at the L.A. Auto Show in November. Each sub-compact has promised to be the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid car sold in the U.S. Only one can win. But which will it be? Only Mitsubishi has released gas mileage estimates. The Japanese automaker said its Mirage will get an estimated 37 mpg in the city, 44 mpg on the highway, and 40 mpg combined.

Scion kicked off the second day of the 2013 New York International Auto Show by unveiling a refreshed version of its tC coupe. The two-door compact car is Scion's biggest seller, so the 2014 model is a relatively minor upgrade from the version Toyota's youth-oriented brand started selling in 2010. "The sustained success of the tC, which accounts for 40 percent of all Scions ever sold, challenged designers to enhance the 2014 sports coupe in ways that keep it exciting to today's drivers without losing its core appeal," Scion Vice President Doug Murtha said.

Once the icon of stodgy sensibility, the Volvo station wagon went out of production after the 2011 model year. Now its back, as a “sports wagon” variant of the existing S60 sedan, the automaker announced at the 2013 New York International Auto Show. “The V60 builds on our wagon heritage,” Volvo Cars of North America Chief Executive John Maloney said in a statement. “And this time, we've added sophistication with the dynamic driving performance of a sedan.” PHOTOS:   Highlights of the 2013 New York Auto Show A high-performance version, the V60 R-Design, made its world debut Thursday at the 2013 New York Auto Show.

Shelby American, the brand behind fire-breathing Ford Mustang models like the Super Snake and the GT350, announced Thursday at the 2013 New York Auto Show a 1,200-horsepower Shelby 1000 S/C. The company also announced it's getting into the truck business. Or, rather, back into the truck business. The Nevada-based company unveiled the Shelby Raptor, a supercharged version of the already-mean Ford F-150 SVT Raptor that Highway 1 tested in 2011 . This isn't the first time a truck has been sold with the Shelby name on it; the company sold a 175-horsepower Shelby Dakota truck in 1989.

Subaru introduced its first pairing of hybrid power and all-wheel-drive in its Crosstrek crossover today at the 2013 New York International Auto Show, along with a concept performance car. The 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid is a hybrid version of the funky crossover hatchback the automaker introduced for 2013. PHOTOS: Subaru brings Crosstrek Hybrid and WRX CONCEPT to N.Y. The hybrid version pairs a 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine and a small electric motor to make the same amount of horsepower and pound-feet of torque as the gas-only model: 148 and 145, respectively.

Dodge rolled out a restyled Dodge Durango at the 2013 New York International Auto Show, offering some new technology in the cabin and a fuel-saving eight-speed transmission. The 2014 Durango, however, will not get the diesel engine option soon to be available in its corporate cousin, the Jeep Grand Cherokee , which debuted in redesigned form at the Detroit Auto Show .  PHOTOS:   Highlights of the 2013 New York Auto Show The Durango's new automatic gearbox -- which can be shifted with steering wheel paddles or a "rotary" shifter in the console -- will increase gas mileage by up to 9%, Dodge said.

Land Rover, citing the New York area's market as its largest in the world for its Range Rover Sport SUV, brought an all-new version to the 2013 New York International Auto Show on Tuesday night. Designed as an amalgamation of the compact Evoque crossover and the full-size Range Rover -- the unofficial minivan of Beverly Hills -- the Sport draws design cues from both. The second-generation Sport is 2.5 inches longer and rides on a wheelbase that's 7 inches longer than its five-passenger predecessor.