Cars Coming Soon–> New 4Runner, Ford Diesel, Sleek Sonata, and Accord Crossover

Ford's new Scorpion

The 2011 Ford F-Series Super Duty has a turbocharged surprise: an all-new 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 turbocharged diesel engine.

Ahh… it’s even fun to type.

Codenamed “Scorpion,” this new engine is completely Ford-designed and built, meaning Ford will no longer rely on a diesel engine supplier for its Super Duty pickups.

According to Ford’s massive press release on the engine,

the new diesel engine will deliver significant improvements in torque, horsepower and fuel economy while adding more fueling flexibility and easily meeting stringent new emissions requirements.

Stay tuned for more on the next-generation Super Duty as its debut comes closer!

If family hauling is more appealing to you than trailer towing, you might be excited by this: an all-new 4Runner.

According to pictures snapped by Car & Driver, the next-generation 4Runner is going blunt and boxy. The official debut happens on Sept. 24 at the Texas State Fair, but expect an exterior more like the latest Honda Pilot. Surely, more interior volume and more power will accompany the boxy new looks.

While Toyota models after Honda, Honda has been busy trying to one-up Toyota. Its new Venza-fighter, the Honda Accord Crosstour, was revealed this week ahead of its official launch, coming later this Fall.

All-wheel drive and old-fashioned Honda loyalty are in the Crosstour’s favor, but I think its looks could be a deal-breaker for many. Whatever happened to conservative-but-cool Hondas that got great gas mileage? Honda is going further down the ugly path toward Acura with every new debut.

Hyundai, though, is a company going in the other direction: from mild-styled and boring to super-cool and sleek. As evidence I present the 2011 Hyundai Sonata. Anyone else thinking Hyundai is ending up in the place Honda should be in now?

The new Sonata launches in Korea on Sept. 10 and will arrive in the U.S. sometime in 2010.

Who has the better design right now: Honda or Hyundai?

-tgriffith

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Is That an ‘09 Escalade or a ‘90 Blazer? I Can’t Tell…

Remember seeing old VW Beetles with a Rolls-Royce grille attached to the front?

When I was growing up I’d see them around town, shaking my head in disgust at even a relatively young age. Why take a cheap car and adorn it with a front end associated with the super rich? I sure knew it wasn’t fooling anyone into believing the driver had a Rolls. And it was plain ugly. Even today, the point of such modifications completely passes me by.

I was reminded of the absurdity of it all when a friend sent me this picture of a Chrysler 300C (below). With a Bentley grille.

Right. I can understand wanting to modify your car and personalize it so it suits your personality, but why on earth identify yourself to the masses as someone who thinks everyone else on the planet is moronic enough to believe you actually bought a Bentley?

I don’t question the fact that Bentleys look a lot like Chryslers, which is not a compliment (in fact, I’ve gone as far as calling Bentley one of the ugliest cars available.) There’s still an undeniable luster a Bentley has that a Chrysler will never approach, even with Bentley’s logo gracing the front end.

I’ve even seen an obvious Chevy Blazer decked out in Cadillac Escalade badging. Pretty convincing, especially with the Chevrolet badge still dangling from the rear end.

Why do people do this to their cars? If you were to customize your car with an exotic front end, what would you do? I’m thinking an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish front end would look sweet on my ‘07 Suzuki SX4.

-tgriffith

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Three Superminis You Can’t Buy Here

I love little cars. They generally are much more fun to drive, handle like go-karts, and get great mileage. They populate the entire world… except here in the U.S.A. We do get a few, but not much in the way of real choice, and the ones that end up on our shores are boxy, ugly, under-performing, or all three.

In Mexico I saw what they call superminis everywhere. Some of them, like this SEAT Ibiza (above, right), are really sharp and bigger inside than they look. SEAT (“say-at”) is a Spanish carmaker now owned by Volkswagen AG, like so much else—Porsche may be next—in the auto world. The Ibiza Reference, shown here, comes with a variety of engines, weighing in from 70-105 hp, gas or diesel. Higher-powered, sportier models are available, and they look to be popular in southern Mexico. Tell SEAT to bring us its cars here. They probably won’t, but you can complain about how little choice we have.

Another sharp small car is the Ford Ka, built in Poland, Brazil, Argentina, and maybe someday in the U.S. An older version (probably 2007) is shown here, which is better looking than the new Ka that may come to these shores, according to Alan Mulally. (No, he didn’t say the older one was better looking.) Then it will have the Fiesta to compete with, so don’t hold your breath. If Ford did commit to a full lineup of small cars in the U.S., it could give Fiat/Chrysler and the Asians a real run for their money in 2011. The company’s global reach is surprising. More photos of the new Ka are here.

I asked the owner of this VW CrossFox (right) if I could take pix of his car. “Seguramente” [certainly], he said, and I realized I could get by in Spanish with phrases like this and “Si, como no?” for almost everything. One of VW’s line of “city cars,” the Fox series launched a few years ago in Brazil and has spread through Latin America in many iterations. The CrossFox is not much of an off-roader, but is great for Mexican pavement (and the lack thereof), taking the country’s many speed bumps with aplomb. Ask VW why we can’t have this car.

What other foreign-made minis and superminis do you think should be made available to U.S. buyers?

—jgoods

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