Ferrari 458 Italia Has Enough Superlatives to Match the Sticker

By LAWRENCE ULRICH

THE RIGHT CURVES Styling of the Ferrari 458 Italia suggests that beauty need not take a back seat to performance.

Unlike some high-priced exotic cars, the Italia comes close to justifying its lofty price, offering a sensory experience that is nearly unfathomable.

Slide Show

$375,000 Lexus LFA: Ferrari Fighter or Exotic Fantasy?

By LAWRENCE ULRICH

Judged purely on performance, the Lexus tops a number of supercars, but its purpose is to burnish the brand rather than to sell lots of LFAs.

Even Free, Your Maintenance May Vary

By CHERYL JENSEN

More automakers are offering free scheduled maintenance as an incentive for customers, and to encourage existing owners to remain loyal.

Collecting

FRENCH TOAST Best of Show was this 1933 Delage D8S roadster from the Patterson Collection.

In Monterey, Classics Turn Bankable

By ROB SASS

More than $170 million of automobiles, some elegant beyond words and others as raucous as college students on spring break, changed hands.

China to Invest Billions in Electric and Hybrid Cars

By DAVID BARBOZA

Tyrone Siu/Reuters

An electric car, right, from BYD. China wants more than a million electric and hybrid vehicles in use in the next few years.

The plan aims to put millions of electric and hybrid energy vehicles on the road over the next few years in the world’s biggest auto market.

Ed Whitacre, chief executive of G.M., thinks a long-term leader should be in place before the carmaker’s stock offering.

G.M. Chief Sees I.P.O. As Exit Sign

By BILL VLASIC

Edward E. Whitacre Jr. has looked forward to the day the carmaker would no longer be under government ownership, but thinks a public offering requires a long-term leader.

G.M. to Develop Small Engines With China Partner

By DAVID BARBOZA

The plan to develop fuel-efficient engines and advanced transmissions with S.A.I. C. deepens G.M.’s cooperation with one of its major partners in China.

Beyond Fossil Fuels

A graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology holds a battery prototype.

Finding New Ways to Fill the Tank

By MATTHEW L. WALD

A new federal agency is financing attempts to find a renewable replacement for gasoline and diesel fuel, like a new liquid fuel or a much better battery.