Hey, Pw told me to jazz up the news column a bit, and what better way than by running a picture of the popular celebutante? We didn't even have to stretch far to do it, either. Notice that the vehicle she's fondling is an '08 Ford Escape hybrid, which was on display at a green-themed party she recently attended. We mean environmentally friendly green, not the night-vision glasses green. If you've seen her video, you'll get the joke.
Several months ago we showed you a lightly disguised version of Volkswagen's mini-ute as it appeared at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Now the German automaker has released photos of the production Tiguan, which makes its public debut at the Frankfurt International Motor Show. In Europe, buyers will be able to choose from a number of gas and diesel engine options; our guess is we'll get gas-only here in the States. But the most powerful of those puts out 200 hp, which should be fun.
We got all excited when we read that headline on Ford's media Web site. It got even better when we read about the new truck's 3.0L, 156hp diesel V-6. A sneak peek at an upcoming clean-diesel compact truck? Not for us, anyway. Turns out the new truck is for the United Kingdom; we're still motoring ahead with the same ol' compact Ford.
Below is a sketch of the Kuga (we're guessing you pronounce it like "Cougar" with an East Coast accent), a compact 4x4 crossover Ford will unveil at the Frankfurt International Motor Show. It will be manufactured in Germany and sold in Europe starting next spring. There were no mechanical details offered in the press materials, just a tease from Ford's European design director about how its "impressive on-road capability blends seamlessly with substantial off-road ability." This isn't the first time Ford of Europe has produced something way cooler than what we get Stateside, darn it.
Suzuki and Volkswagen came away from the 85th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb big winners this year. Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima, driving a 1,000hp Suzuki Sport XL7, broke Rod Millen's long-standing overall time record by completing the 12.5-mile course (which includes some 156 corners and climbs nearly 4,600 feet) in 10 minutes, 1.408 seconds, breaking Millen's record by nearly three seconds. Tajima, who first tackled the Peak nine years ago, said he already has "many ideas" about how to break the near-mythic 10-minute barrier next year.
Meanwhile, a Volkswagen Touareg V-10 TDI diesel driven by Ryan Arciero set a new record for the (OK, take a deep breath before reading this) Alternative Fuel Diesel Truck High-Performance Showroom Stock Division. Arciero's 13:17:70 time beat the old class record by about 17 seconds.
Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima's carbon-fiber, 1,000hp Suzuki Sport XL7. | 
Ryan Arciero's VW Touareg V-10 diesel. |