Like consumer tech, the auto industry has been increasingly turning to China and its burgeoning middle class for growth in recent years. That has made China’s auto show circuit considerably more interesting, as big automakers turn to their stages for major debuts ? cars, trucks, and SUVs that are going to either have a global impact, or are at least notable enough for global attention.
This year’s Beijing show, which opens to the public today, is no exception; companies like Audi, Infiniti, and Acura are all making big announcements. (Notice a trend toward luxury brands" Yeah, there was quite a bit of that ? and that’s intentional, since aspirational brands are very big in China.
Here are a few of the best and brightest from this year’s show. Porsche 718 Cayman 

Porsche is in the process of renaming its sub-911 line ? the Boxster and Cayman ? to “718,” and it finally got around to updating the Cayman to match the Boxster update from a few months back. The biggest and most notable change with the 718 models is the switch from flat-six engines to turbocharged fours; that could rankle some, but Porsche has already signaled that turbos are the future with the recently updated 911. The good news is that there’s more power under the hood: 300 and 350 horsepower for the 718 Cayman and 718 Cayman S, respectively. There’s also a new interior and a retuned chassis, making this an almost totally new car ? even though it looks nea...