BY STEVE SILER


What’s the Mercury version gonna be called?

Perhaps it’s a sign that Ford plans to throw Mercury off a cliff. We’re talking about the Ford brand’s having usurped one of Mercury’s most storied monikers”albeit slightly altered with a British accent”for its upcoming mini-ute, the Kuga. Yup, Kuga. Koo-gah. Seriously, say it aloud. Someone at Mercury has to be pissed. (more…)

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BY STEVEN COLE SMITH, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE VALENTE

A new, old-school coupe for the high and mighty.

Interesting that in the literature for the new Bentley Brooklands, a limited-edition, even-more-upscale version of the Arnage, there’s little mention of the last Bentley Brooklands, a sedan sold from 1992 to 1997 that replaced the Mulsanne as the marque’s flagship. (more…)

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BY JARED GALL, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE VALENTE

Peugeot’s first-ever SUV comes from the unlikely pairing of Peugeot-Citroen and Mitsubishi.

Perhaps inspired by the mountain vistas surrounding the Geneva show, Peugeot is going soft-roading with its first-ever sport-utility vehicle, the 4007. Based on the Mitsubishi Outlander, the 4007 retains most of the look of that trucklet from the A-pillar back, but with a Peugeot face planted between the Outlander’s bulging, flared fenders. (more…)

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BY STEVEN COLE SMITH

Fisker ditches luxury and heads toward sportiness with its latest car, shown in Geneva.

Yes, there’s a little Porsche Cayman there, and the Artega GT does have a 3.6-liter Volkswagen-sourced V-6 engine, so there is sort of a link to the family. But the styling, penned by Henrik Fisker, is cleaner than a Cayman. Fisker is, after all, the man responsible for much of the current look of the Aston Martin portfolio. Hardy Essig, a former Porsche engineer, helped develop the drivetrain. (more…)

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BY STEVE SILER, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE VALENTE

A new car and a new naming system, neither of which we’ll see here.

Hyundai’s fetching new C-segment hatchback, the i30, is yet another cool hatchback that we won’t be getting here. But that’s okay, we pretty much already have it in sedan form as the Elantra. (more…)

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BY STEVE SILER, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE VALENTE

Alfa Romeo will relaunch its sales operations in the United States with the scrumptious 8C Competizione coupe.

The 8C, designed by Alfa Romeo, is directly derived from the concept car that set loins astir at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show, and is the first car we’ll see that comes out of the new Alfa Romeo-Maserati partnership. (more…)

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BY RAY HUTTON, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE VALENTE

This bizarre creation has a carbon-fiber chassis with cycle fenders, 720 hp, and wood paneling. It can be yours for a mere three-quarters of a million dollars.

How do you fancy spending three-quarters of a million dollars on a tandem-seat road car which is tailored to your specification, which means fixing the seat and pedal positions to your personal dimensions? (more…)

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BY STEVE SILER, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFFREY G. RUSSELL

A Mustang-based Chrysler 300 killer.

For a couple years now, Ford has allowed Chrysler’s full-size 300 to enjoy a challenge-free reign of the eye-catching, rear-drive sedan market. (more…)

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BY JARED GALL

Another BlueTec diesel teaser for America. Love, Your Friends at Mercedes-Benz

Following Mercedes-Benz’s announcement that the company plans to market 50-state emissions compliant BlueTec diesel versions of its ML-, R-, and GL-class sport-utes here in the US by the 2009 model year comes this look at the BlueTec GL that will debut at the Detroit Auto Show. (more…)

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BY JARED GALL, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFFREY G. RUSSELL

Made from equal parts Wrangler, Grand Cherokee, and anime.

Looking like a Grand Cherokee styled by an anime artist, the Jeep Trailhawk gets its name from the diagonally aligned headlamps that Jeep says give the truck the face of a bird of prey. (more…)

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