Auto News 5

This stripped-down Ford Escape is so far from the average Escape/Mariner/Tribute you see on the roads, it's almost funny. I'd love to know what the take rate for this manual transmission is. The shifts aren't particularly rewarding, since the throws are pretty vague. The four-cylinder engine doesn't feel much more responsive with a five-speed manual than it does with an automatic, either.

The RX is the best-selling Lexus, and one in five sold is the hybrid version. It's no surprise, then, that with the new third-generation RX - the second to have a hybrid powertrain - Lexus is treading very carefully.

Say what you will of the knife-edge styling that plagued Pontiacs of the late 1990s, but I really liked the styling of the first-generation Vibe - it was sharp, it was (surprisingly) clean, and the result was a five-door hatch that had some sport to it. I can't say the same for the new car. Designers seemed to keep some of the sharp lines of the original, but they inexplicably added rotund forms for no real reason. It's not the Aztek, mind you, but it's not the sharp, sporty little thing I once admired.

No shoes were flung when the 2010 Toyota Prius debuted at the recent Detroit auto show. Considering the grim mood in the Motor City - with domestic automakers on death watch and frozen credit paralyzing sales - and the fact that a gallon of gas costs little more than a can of beer, that's remarkable. Detroit was hardly the opportune place for a fuel-scrimping, technically advanced Asian import to bow. Then again, consider the Latin meaning of the word Prius: to go before. Defying skeptics is this car's cause. The Prius's mission has always been venturing ahead of the gas-saving, earth-hugging curve.

So, I'm afraid I'm one of those people to whom our design editor, Robert Cumberford, refers in his column this month (page 16). You see, since I drove the new Insight in Arizona in early December, I've been telling my colleagues that Honda "copied the Prius" for the design of its new, second-generation Insight. Although I certainly defer to Cumberford's erudition (the man is a walking, talking encyclopedia of automotive history, especially as it pertains to car styling) and his assertion that designs for both the Prius and the Insight are in fact informed by research conducted in Germany some seven decades ago, I will still state this obvious fact: since its debut five years ago, the second-generation Prius has become the definitive shape for a hybrid car in America. It's little surprise, then, that Honda chose to ape the Prius's basic exterior design and packaging philosophy. After all, the first-generation Insight, which debuted in 1999, was an oddity: a tiny, side-skirted, skinny-tired two-seater that even fervent Honda fans could not wrap their heads around. Lesson learned, Honda wanted its new, second-generation Insight to be friendly rather than freaky, useful rather than nearly useless, and, most important, a sales winner. So, like both the existing Prius and the all-new, 2010 model seen in the following pages, the Insight is an aerodynamically optimized, four-door, five-passenger hatchback sedan.

This CL550 is very old-school Mercedes. It is large, feels heavy, and is extremely cosseting. I'm generally not a big fan of large coupes as they always seem to lack interior space for their substantial exterior dimensions but at least the CL can hold adults in the back if needed. That feature sets the Benz apart from the much less spacious BMW 6-series.

Can one million owners be wrong? Not likely, and that's why engineers were careful in creating the 2010 Toyota Prius. Toyota's honed its recipe for a successful hybrid sedan over the past ten years, and there's little need to stray wildly from it - some slight refinements are all that's needed.

"The MKT is fully differentiated from the Flex," claims chief engineer Ron Heiser. That's a bit of hyperbole, since they share the same platform (one which Heiser points out has superb crash performance) and basic chassis tuning. But his point is well-taken, because everything you see and touch both inside and outside the MKT - which closely hews to the MKT Concept from last year's Detroit show - has little to nothing in common with the Flex. Indeed, chief designer Gordon Platto takes visible pleasure from pointing out the MKT's features: "This is the first time we've actually fully integrated the grille from the MKR Concept. We've combined it with zero-offset bumpers for a smooth exterior. Inside, we use the same cut-and-sew leather and wood trim as in the MKS sedan, and our 'floating armrest' is also from the MKR and allows us to offer contrast-color inserts later."

Lincoln surprised the media at the 2009 Detroit auto show with a concept car, the C, an ultramodern, small four-door that's based on the platform of the next-generation Ford Focus.

While three ENVI concepts were originally revealed last summer, Chrysler's saved this - the Jeep Patriot EV - for the 2009 Detroit auto show.

Although it isn't the world's first electric Jeep (DJ-5e, anyone?), the 2010 Jeep Wrangler EV, given a new coat of paint for the 2009 Detroit auto show, is a bit more advanced.

Sharing the show floor in Detroit with the new Jaguar XFR is the updated XKR. Available as either a coupe or a convertible, the new 510-hp all-aluminum Jaguar rips from 0-60 mph in an impressive 4.6-seconds (manufacture supplied data for the coupe). The engine in the updated XKR is the same direct-injection, supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 seen in the XFR. The sole transmission choice is a six-speed automatic with paddle shifters and based on our past experience with this setup, you won't miss a manual or dual-clutch option. There is also a new electronically controlled limited-slip differential and adaptive dampening, both fitted as standard. Click the above link to the XFR if you'd like more info on the engine, differential, and dampers.

It's no secret that we like the Jaguar XF at Automobile Magazine. The keys to our XF Supercharged Four-Seasons test car are rarely sitting around and we keep piling on the miles. We even named the newest Jaguar sedan a 2009 All-Star. But, like you, we've seen the spy photos and knew the English brand had something hotter coming. That hotter something is the XFR, released here at the Detroit show.

The rumored Cadillac E-Flex concept was confirmed this morning at General Motor's 2009 Detroit Auto Show press conference. The concept's official name will be the Cadillac Converj and, as anticipated, it is based on the Chevy Volt platform.

Of the three electric-powered prototypes unveiled by Chrysler earlier this year, pundits buzzed the most about the 2010 Chrysler Town & Country EV. We understand their logic - though nowhere as sexy as the Lotus-based Dodge coupe (which was revamped for the 2009 Detroit auto show), it's the most practical application of Chrysler's hybrid technology we've seen to date.

If you recall Chrysler's PR coup from this past summer, you'll likely remember the Dodge EV - a two-seat electric sports car that was reportedly a demonstration of Chrysler's forthcoming electric technology. You'll then realize the 2010 Dodge Circuit, unveiled at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, is essentially the same car.

Sleek and sexy are words that are rarely associated with Volvos. Rather, the name Volvo generally conjures up adjectives such as safe and secure. Yet, the 2009 Volvo S60 concept seeks to change that notion and instead prove that a Volvo can be both safe and sexy.

When it comes to winning marques at the Indianapolis 500, Miller and Marmon come to mind - but Maserati? Sure enough, the Italian sports car manufacturer first won at the Brickyard seventy years ago, and in celebration, it's created the 2009 Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S.