Kia has previewed a heavily customized Sorento that will be headed to Las Vegas for SEMA.

A teaser image shows the PacWest Adventure Sorento’s front fascia, confirming an extreme off-road focus for the family crossover.

Perhaps taking inspiration from Baja racers, the Sorento has been outfitted with larger knobby tires, long-travel lifted suspension components, a tube-frame bumper, skid-plate, no less than eight LED arrays and even a snorkel for deep-water excursions.

“Kia is headed to this year’s SEMA show to celebrate America’s love for the open road and the diverse car cultures spanning the many regions of this country,” the company said in a statement.

As its name implies, the PacWest Sorento has been designed with the Pacific Northwest in mind. An accompanying teaser video hints at some of the mechanical modifications and paint scheme “inspired by the lush forests of the region.”

Kia’s fleet of one-off cars will be on display from November 3-6.

Tire maker Bridgestone has agreed to buy automotive aftermarket chain Pep Boys for $835 million. The deal is expected to officially close in early 2016.

The deal will give Bridgestone access to Pep Boy’s 800 locations in 35 states and Puerto Rico, essentially boosting the company’s retail network by 35 percent. Bridgestone currently operates about 2,200 service centers under the Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus, Hibdon Tires Plus and Wheel Works brand banners.

“Bridgestone and Pep Boys are two leading companies that share a proud heritage in the American automotive services industry,” said Gary Garfield, CEO and President of Bridgestone Americas. “Our shared expertise and commitment to our customers and employees will help us build an even stronger organization.”

It remains to be seen if Pep Boys will continue to offer a variety of tire brands or if the chain will exclusively sell tires from the Bridgestone portfolio.

Once the deal is finalized, Pep Boys will be taken off the New York Stock Exchange.

General Motors has announced that its new Chevrolet Camaro is finally rolling off the production line.

The first wave of sixth-generation cars is scheduled to leave GM’s Lansing Grand River factory by the end of the week, eventually arriving at showrooms for customer delivery by mid-November.

The 2016 Camaro launches with six all-new powertrain combinations, starting with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder mill with 275 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. A revamped 3.6-liter V6 powers the LT trim levels, while a 455-horsepower 6.2-liter LT1 V8 can be found under the SS’ hood. Each engine is available with a choice between six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic gearbox.

Engineers worked to make the car lighter than its predecessor, slashing between 223 and 390 pounds depending on the package. Despite the weight savings, the chassis is stiffer for improved handling.

The Camaro starts at $26,695 (excluding freight) for the 1LT model, representing an increase of $2,990 over the previous-generation’s entry-level 1LS package. The price discrepancy narrows to $690 when comparing the 2016 1LT build vs the 2015 1LT trim.

The Lansing Grand River factory received $175 million in retooling and equipment upgrades to build the new Camaro.

Live images by Brian Williams.

Nissan has introduced a new concept called Leaf Piloted Drive 1.0 that highlights the advancements its engineers have made in the field of self-driving technology.

Billed as a follow-up to the experimental, semi-autonomous Leaf that was shown in 2013, the new Piloted Drive 1.0 concept gains five radars, 12 cameras, four laser scanners and a host of ultrasonic sensors that help the hatchback paint an digital image of its surroundings. It’s consequently able to change lanes in heavy traffic, merge onto the freeway, and pass other cars without any input from the driver.

When viewed from the outside, the Piloted Drive 1.0 concept looks like a standard Leaf save for road-scanning equipment that’s discreetly integrated into the front bumper. Nissan hasn’t published technical details, so odds are the prototype is powered by a stock, 107-horsepower electric motor.

The Nissan Leaf Piloted Drive 1.0 is currently testing at the Advanced Technology Center that Nissan operates on the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan. The automaker is expected to test the concept on public roads once it’s fine-tuned, and it might put it through its paces on North American soil shortly after.

What’s next?

Nissan predicts it will launch its semi-autonomous technology in the not-too-distant future, and it hopes to sell its first fully autonomous car by 2020. In the meantime, the automaker will introduce a brand new concept that’s both electric and autonomous later this week in Tokyo.

Acura is heading to SEMA this year with a classic 1993 Legend, a model that hasn’t been sold since 1995.

This Legend, however, is special because it belongs to rapper Ludacris, who has made no secret of his love for his 22-year-old sedan. Though the star is worth millions today, he still has a fondness for his first car. ” I will never get rid of this car,” he told Ellen DeGeneres on her show. He’s even put it on the cover of his latest album, Ludaversal, alongside another vehicle from his fleet, a Hawker 900 private jet.

Recently, the car was damaged in an accident. However, Acura is helping Ludacris fix the car at its Los Angeles design studio under the supervision of lead designer David Marek. Fans of the car and Ludacris can follow the progress of the restoration on Instagram using the hastag #LegendarDuo.

Accompanying the Legend will be a brand new Acura ILX. Modified by Galpin Auto Sports, it will sport a gold paint job reminiscent of Ludacris’s champagne Legend. Both will be revealed on November 3 in Las Vegas.

Honda has previewed its lineup for the upcoming SEMA show, the aftermarket and tuning extravaganza held in Las Vegas every November.

Honda has previewed some details about the new Ridgeline Desert Racer, but now there is an illustration to go along with it. The unique unibody pickup will also mark the return of the automaker’s off-road racing program, conducted through its HPD (Honda Performance Development) division.

The sketch reveals what appears to be chunkier styling than the outgoing model, with a character line that circles the body, from the doors to the tailgate. Large, 6-spoke wheels and squared-off wheel arches complete the off-road look.

In addition to the redesigned Ridgeline, Honda is going all-out with several modified versions of cars it debuted within the past year. First up will be four versions of the Vezel crsoover, followed by a refreshed CR-Z, the all-new Civic Sedan and a Pilot crossover.

The SEMA Show kicks off on November 3.