Chris Chase:

Honda Civic Coupe
The new design language Honda applied to the Civic sedan looks good in two-door form. Here’s a car that looks more substantial than the one that came before. I’m looking forward to seeing how this coupe looks wearing the inevitable Si treatment.

Buick LaCrosse
Wearing a front fascia previewed by the Avenir concept shown earlier this year in Detroit, Buick’s new flagship sedan looks purposeful, with taut lines and big wheels pushed out to the corners. If there’s a car whose looks prove Buick is serious about appealing to a more enthusiastic audience, this is it.

Scion CH-R concept
If nothing else, the Nissan Juke has proven it’s okay to like a weird-looking crossover if it drives well. And hey, a few years in, the Juke almost looks normal. We hope Scion is serious about doing a production model based on the CH-R, because if it looks half as cool as this concept, it may have the power to bring the kind of coolness Scion needs to enliven its lineup. [But didn’t we already see this as a Toyota in Frankfurt? and then again in Japan?]

Kia Sportage
Here’s the thing: I have tremendous respect for how Kia has turned itself around in the last few years. Part of that is due to German designer Peter Schreyer’s influence on the brand, and his influence has only grown as he moved up the ranks to become Chief Design Officer of the Hyundai/Kia group. But with the Sportage – a car that looks a touch too much like a Porsche Macan – I feel like we’ve reached “peak Schreyer,” a car I think takes his influence a step too far.

Land Rover Evoque convertible
Like the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet (that never came to Canada), the Evoque convertible is the answer to a question nobody asked. We like the Evoque a lot, but the droptop version looks like a toy. Maybe that’s why Land Rover launched it here in LA, where it will fit right in on Rodeo Boulevard.

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