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"I'm a little surprised that you want this car in America," said Nissan's bemused senior vice president and chief creative officer, Shiro Nakamura. The worldly Nakamura made an international splash when he arrived from Isuzu in 1999, with vehicles like the artful Murano, the revived 350Z, and the FX45. But as anyone who has been to Japan (or seen Nissan's Pivo 2 concept) knows, there are hometown conveyances that just don't translate off the islands. "When we made the first Cube, we had no intention of selling it outside of Japan. We thought it was probably too different, too unique for American people. But we wanted to test it."

I don't mind the styling of the Lincoln MKX and its corporate cousin, the Ford Edge, but the MKX doesn't really look like I expect a Lincoln to look. Instead, I see it simply as an Edge in fancy eveningwear. I think part of the problem is that, when the MXK was created, Lincoln's renaissance was just in its infancy. And even though there have been lots of new products, the brand has lacked a coherent design language until, arguably, this year. Styling cues are now shared across the MKS sedan, the MKZ sedan, the upcoming MKT seven-seat crossover, and even the C concept from this year's Detroit auto show, but the MKX is the odd man out.