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World Debuts » BMW’s new big coupe is way prettier than its predecessor.

A lighter, more powerful V6 for Cadillac’s excellent mid-sizer.

Hello power, goodbye understeer—we hope.

Chevy’s family sedan ditches the V-6 and goes global.

Chrysler announces the highest-spec 200.

Spiffier duds for Dodge’s mid-size family man.

AWD returns to the V-6, and urbanites and suits each get their own Chrysler 300.

Full details on Chrysler’s meanest and most-powerful 300.

A special-edition Mopar-tuned Charger that’s headed for dealers.

Go on and let your <i>fresco</i> flag fly: The 500 Cabrio is here.

Shelby builds a special-edition Mustang—get this—any way you want it. Read the rest of this entry »

Our initial expectations for the Ford Escape were modest. Another small SUV? Yawn.

Certainly, Ford needed a vehicle to fill the gap below the Explorer, and we suspected it would be amusingly competent like the Suzuki Grand Vitara or maybe interesting like the single-mindedly demographic-targeted Nissan Xterra.

Then we learned that Mazda would be heavily involved in the design–the company does, after all, get a version called the Tribute, which we previewed in the May issue–and that Ford would offer the Escape with the more powerful of the two 3.0-liter V-6s found in the Taurus: the 200-hp, 24-valve Duratec. We stopped yawning.

But we were not expecting a vehicle as good as the Escape, which is shaping up to be the automotive surprise of 2000. Read the rest of this entry »