Los Angeles Auto Show

Hyundai Motor Corp. says it will display a gas-electric hybrid version of its Sonata sedan at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. The auto maker says it will announce at the show the date that the hybrid will be sold in the U.S. John Krafcik, vice-president for product development at Hyundai, says the hybrid Sonata can be powered by both gas and electric motors and will have new lithium-ion batteries.

The Robb Report, a journal of upscale living, named the new Jaguar XJR sedan its 1998 car of the year during the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show. The car, cited for its "ultimate blend of luxury, performance and style," features a liquid crystal display message center that communicates in 12 languages, a maple and leather interior and a 21-valve V8 engine. The report focuses on consumer concerns of the well-to-do: The average reader has an annual income of $755,000 and net worth of $3.7 million.

Autos writers Jerry Hirsch and David Undercoffler talk about what they are most interested in seeing at the Los Angeles Auto Show next week. The Los Angeles show is second only to the one in Detroit as the most significant auto show in the nation. For full coverage of the auto show go to http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/ RELATED: Audi confirms four new diesel models Jaguar previews ultra-rare XFR-S for L.A. Auto Show Porsche confirms world debut of new Cayman at L.A. Auto Show  

Ford Motor Co. has developed a fuel cell electric vehicle it says will travel 350 miles between hydrogen fill-ups, farther than any other fuel cell vehicle that's been publicly shown. Ford's experimental hydrogen vehicle, scheduled to be shown for the first time at a media preview Wednesday of the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show, is a modified version of the Explorer sport utility vehicle.

Chrysler Corp., following the lead of rival General Motors, announced today it will develop an electric-powered minivan for possible commercial production as early as 1995. "With more technical development, we believe we may be able to build a fleet of vehicles," said Francois Castaing, Chrysler's vice president of vehicle engineering, at a news conference before the opening of the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show.

Ford's domestic luxury brand of cars has been pretty bland of late, looking more like the Fords from which they spring than the Lincolns they are supposed to be. The company's new design chief, Gerry McGovern, has been asked to change all that and to give Lincoln a distinct look that says, in his words, "modern American luxury." This exclusive first look at a concept from the Lincoln design studio gives a clear indication of where the brand is headed.

General Motors' Western marketing unit, based in Thousand Oaks, is using interactive video to offer information about GM vehicles being displayed at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The video screens are clustered in kiosks at the auto maker's Cadillac, Buick, GMC Truck, Oldsmobile and Pontiac booths. Visitors can touch a screen to access more than an hour's worth of product information.