Latest Auto News Blog: 2006 l.a. auto show

Um … honestly? We don’t know what to make of this one, folks. We’re about eight hours into Day 1 of the L.A. Auto Show and aren’t sure if our weary eyes are playing tricks on us or not. The Acura Advanced Sedan Concept shown here is out there. Way out there.

We’re going to quote the press release here because we don’t want you to think we’re making this stuff up: “The primary goal of this design study was to create a sophisticated, refined sedan with a mysterious presence.”

Mysterious is right, but is the mystery “Why make something so ugly?” or “Are we supposed to like this?” We’re just not sure. Acura has been making such eye-pleasing designs for the past few years we don’t see the need for a radical shift in design philosophy — and definitely not one that shifts in this direction.

There aren’t many vitals because this is a pure design concept. All we can give you are the following images for you to ponder — and discuss — among yourselves.

Tonight, Nissan hosted an event near the Los Angeles Convention Center to unveil two new production models the Altima Coupe and the Sentra SE-R Spec-V. The SE-R is the high performance version of the economy sedan we’ve been seeing some guy live in via non-stop commercials. The SE-R — and especially the Spec V — aims at the driver who wants to drive, not live in his car.

The top of the line SE-R Spec V will have a 200 hp 2.5 liter four-cylinder engine while the standard SE-R will feature the exact same engine but most likely a few less horses. Nissan didn’t want to give out that info out tonight but supposedly we’ll hear more tomorrow.

Spec V buyers will also get the option of adding a limited-slip differential and the transmission is a six-speed manual. Stick with just the plain, old SE-R and it comes with a CVT instead. Prices are said to be near the $20,000 mark when it goes on sale in April of 2007. More photos below.

Cars.com 2006 L.A. Auto Show Coverage