Auto News 5

Fewer automakers will display their wares at the 2009 North American Auto Show in Detroit, but Mercedes-Benz still plans on attending - and it's bringing three concepts, to boot. The Mercedes-Benz BlueZero concepts, which will make their world debut at the Detroit show, give a sneak peak at an upcoming production vehicle.

With the wisdom gleaned over a full model cycle, or about five years in this case, I think it's safe to pronounce the returning Nissan Z car a winner. The original 240Z was a defining car for Nissan (then Datsun), and a beacon of sports car hope during the largely hopeless early 1970s. Unfortunately, it evolved - or, more accurately, devolved - into the tasteless and disco-y 280ZX and 300ZX. A magnificent redesigned 1991 300ZX restored Nissan's sports car to a position of glory, but spiraling sticker prices - especially for the most desirable, twin-turbo model - eventually snuffed out sales. After what seemed like an interminable wait, and an equally interminable parade of show cars, the 350Z finally arrived, to general acclaim.

After years of casting around for a third model, Lamborghini has settled on what Manfred Fitzgerald, head of brand and design, rather presumptively calls "the world's first supersedan." The dramatic Estoque, revealed in concept form at the Paris auto show, isn't called a four-door coupe by its makers, but it certainly would travel in the extrawide tire tracks of cars like the Porsche Panamera and the Aston Martin Rapide, both of which it would follow to market, in 2012.