Sedan

The family sedan marketplace has become a brawl, with Honda'Â's Accord, Nissan'Â's Altima and Ford'Â's Fusion all newly redesigned and looking to unseat ToyotaÂ"s Camry as the best-selling car in the U.S. Mazda joined the fray Thursday with the introduction of the 2014 Mazda 6 sedan at Los Angeles Auto Show. The car will be available with one of two new engines, gas or diesel, both designed for efficiency and foreshadowing company plans for future models. Photos: 2014 Mazda 6 sedan "Â"Our Los Angeles announcements are only tips of the iceberg,"Â" said Jim O'Â'Sullivan, president and chief executive of Mazda North America.

Though the Geneva Motor Show is still weeks away, Bentley got a head start on the world debuts expected in Switzerland by unveiling its all-new Flying Spur sedan Tuesday. Whereas the previous Flying Spur was based largely on the Continental GT coupe, this 2014 model has power figures nearly identical to the more powerful Continental GT Speed. This means the Flying Spur will have a 6.0-liter, twin-turbocharged W-12 engine that makes 616 horsepower and 580 pound-feet of torque.

In a quiet, forgotten corner of the automotive landscape there is a segment of vehicle called the large sedan. These cars tilt toward luxury but have a foot firmly planted in practicality and economics. They are for cheap hedonists. Or penny-pinching gourmands. They are for people who fly coach but upgrade to the exit row, favor Macaroni Grill over Olive Garden or see movies only when they hit video on demand but then spring for the HD version. After several years of neglect, Hyundai is now paying this segment some attention with its 2012 Azera.

You're too cool for a station wagon and no fan of SUVs. But you still want your German luxury wrapped in a practical package, so what do you do? BMW hopes you'll consider its new 3-Series Gran Turismo. Answering a question no one seems to have asked, this four-door hatchback is an all-new model for BMW and mimics the company's larger 5-Series GT version. It's almost eight inches longer than the forthcoming 3-Series wagon and sits a little more than three inches higher. Photos: 2014 3 Series GT hatchback announced This gives rear passengers more legroom than the 3-Series sedan or wagon and expands the cargo area by a cubic foot.

This may come as a surprise to some motorists, but Chevrolet, a brand celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, has only now figured out how to make a good subcompact. Just as frustrating that it took it an entire century to bring us this new car called the Sonic is that it wasn't even a gradual effort. The Sonic's predecessor, the Aveo, was so hastily conceived and executed, it was like the forgotten book report written on the bus to school. And the small Chevys before it are more noteworthy for the pockmarks of chronic failure than the few and negligible triumphs.

Albert Einstein once described his theory of relativity by saying: "When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute. But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute and it's longer than any hour." Now comes automotive proof. There is arguably no car on the road today more an illustration of time being relative than the 2011 Aston Martin Rapide. Get anywhere near Aston Martin's first four-door offering in more than 20 years, and time — and your heart rate — speeds up. Forget pretty, this car is achingly gorgeous.

Re "Council Members Drive Themselves a Better Deal," July 9: The L.A. City Council needs to shop around for a better deal. My 6-foot-1 husband just purchased a 2003 Hyundai Sonata GLS for $17,000. It's very comfortable, and I'm sure could accommodate the size and sedan needs of the L.A. City Council. I understand the desire to drive an American car, but in these lean times we can't afford $25,000-plus for each councilperson to drive a luxury sedan or SUV. Bravo to Councilman Eric Garcetti for driving the only electric car. Come on, City Council, shop around; start living within your means.

The driver of a sedan that ran off the road in March and killed a 77-year-old Valley Village resident was sentenced to a year in jail. Edward Brown of Panorama City pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter after losing control of his car when his brakes failed. The sedan careened onto a Sherman Oaks sidewalk, striking Nasrollah Rezaie, who was standing near a bus stop. Rezaie died shortly after the 7:15 a.m. accident.