We’re told that the vehicle is about the same size as today’s M-Class, though you can expect Mercedes to adopt new engines under the hood. Car shoppers will be pleased to know that both the V6 and V8 engines will offer more power and significantly better fuel economy.

At a press event earlier this year, Mercedes said to expect 306-horsepower and 24-percent better fuel economy from their new 3.5-liter V6. The new 4.7-liter V8 has been turbocharged to produce 435-horsepower with 22-percent better fuel economy.

It’s worth noting that most of those mileage gains are the result of a new stop/start system that shuts off the engine when the vehicle is not moving. Unfortunately, it’s not clear if the system will make it to the US because of concerns over cost and whether or not government fuel economy ratings will give enough credit to the system.

Inside, we’re expecting Mercedes to equip the new ML with it’s latest generation of active safety equipment. Several new or improved technologies like Blind Spot Assist, Distronic Plus, and Attention Assist are available now on the E-Class family and it’s likely that they will make their way into the new ML when it hits the market next year.

When Honda announced it would produce a tweener pickup (not quite large like an F-150, bigger than a Tacoma) capable of seating 5 and carrying on all the duties any good DIY (do-it-yourselfer) would want, truck loyalists scoffed. First off, the truck has unibody construction (vs. a ‘heavier’ duty body-on-frame of most trucks) which is (mostly) perceptually inferior than a traditional body-on-frame truck.  And while most people couldn’t tell the difference, it was labeled (unfairly) a car-based truck.  Truth is, car companies can make unibody trucks that are extremely capable.  Second, Honda didn’t have any meaningful history with pickups.  As Toyota learned the hard way, larger pickups are something that takes time to develop as the core buyers are extremely loyal to the domestic brands.  It took Toyota a decade to break 100,000 units and they had a “feeder” system with hundreds of thousands of loyal Tacoma drivers on the road. Third, the competition is fierce.  Ford and Chevy have such an advantage in the marketplace in terms of economies of scale and manufacturing experience.  I mean, why take a risk on a Honda when a cheaper, more proven domestic pickup was actually superior?  Personally, I don’t think the product was wrong in any way, but it wasn’t right for the brand.  One thing is for sure, people who bought them loved them. If you look at the consumer ratings on Honk.com, the Honda Ridgeline scores a A-, which is just about as good as any other pickup in its class.

Overall, the Honda Ridgeline has been a sales flop for Honda.  And while it initially achieved its sales goals of 50k units, the recent sales slump has dragged their sales volume below 20,000 units per year – hardly a sustainable number for Honda.  Of course, Honda did spark a new resurgence in unibody pickup interest.  Kia, GM, and even Ford have all been actively looking into unibody compact pickups, although many have said those programs will now go away. Truth is, the big boys have a grasp of this market and the DIY market has slowly retreated back into the cars they came from. I guess rebuilding your house is not as cool as it was a few years back!

Let me take a quick moment to douse a little 40oz onto the pavement for the Honda Ridgeline.  One good note is that the Honda Ridgeline pricing should be pretty fantastic the last two years of production.  I imagien the prices will start to fall now that the announcement has been made.  Expect many incentives if you want to be the last 40-50K owners of this vehicle.

Let’s take another moment to bow our heads in silence to other unibody pickups that have failed before the Honda Ridgeline…

Jeep Comanche d.1992

VW Rabbit d.1982

Subaru Brat d.2006

Dodge Rampage d.1984

Subaru Brat d.1993

Ford Ranchero d.1979

After 31 years of service, you probably know to hit your brakes for the roof-mounted emergency light bar, enormous taillights, and innocuous “Police Interceptor” badging on the black plastic rear.  Nothing lasts forever, though, and Ford’s enduring “Panther” chassis is being phased out, meaning that the cops are set to receive new whips.

First, you’re probably wondering–why do the boys and girls in blue still rock the old-school?

Sure, the unibody underpinnings of modern family sedans are lighter and more fuel efficient.  But the Crown Vic is a workhorse.  When a cruiser gets damaged in a PIT maneuver on a perp, it’s cheap and easy to fix thanks to that body-on-frame construction.  Although a few early cases of rear-impact combustion (source: SafetyForum.com) recall the Pinto, Ford’s post-2005 Crown Vic cruiser has been tested to withstand up to 75-mph rear crashes!

Equipped with “severe duty” suspension and a beefed-up cooling system, a typical Crown Vic can last well over 200,000 miles.  Most of all, officers love its size, comfort and performance.  Enormous amounts of confiscated drugs can fit in the trunk and the V8-powered rear-wheel drive sedan suits the Fuzz’s driving maneuvers well enough.

That being said, even Ford realizes that the times, they are a-changin’.  Enter the 2012 Police Interceptor.  Based on the full-size Taurus, Ford claims the new Police Interceptor will be safer, comfier and faster than its predecessor.  The new cruiser adds a hostof advanced new safety gizmos like blind spot monitoring, rearview camera and electronic stability control.

More impressive is the ingenius product planning that went into the cabin, whose seatbacks were specially designed to accommodate bulky utility belts.  The front-wheel drive powertrain produces predecessor-besting power while sipping only 18 mpg city and 28 mpg highway and the crazy-fast all-wheel drive EcoBoost model gets 17/25 (still better than its predecessor’s 16/24).  If you’re doing 80 in a 55 and see flashing lights from an EcoBoost beast, don’t even think about a high-speed chase.  You can’t run OR hide.

The Chevrolet Police Patrol Vehicle’s optional V8 engine makes it part police cruiser and part muscle car.  It’s based on a powerful sports sedan that’s sold in Australia and General Motors is counting on police officers to prefer to adrenaline-pumping drive of their car to the more relaxed feel of the Ford.

Sportiness can only get you so far, which is why this Chevy cruiser also has police-specific features, like cutouts in the seat for utility belts and a full-size interior with enough room for officers, equipment, and the occasional perp.  But will it be cop-centric enough to win sales?

The freshest entry to law enforcement comes from Carbon Motors, who claims to be engineering the world’s first purpose-built police car.  The E7 cruiser certainly contains a boatload of firsts, including stealthy built-in emergency lights.  Speeders and perps on the lookout for a traditional roof-mounted light bar could be in for quite a surprise.

Precincts will be more pleasantly surprised by the E7’s targeted 250,000-mile target lifespan, and officers will love that it’s faster to sixty than a Volkswagen GTI.  Integrated shotgun mounts and 360-degree license plate scanning will make criminals think twice (or 360 times!) about grand theft auto and a thrifty BMW-sourced diesel engine could get up to 35 miles per gallon on the highway.

The E7 is still under development and Carbon Motors will have to prove that it can fight crime in way that’s affordable for police fleets.  No prices have been announced yet and some precincts are nervous about the repair costs on that high-tech diesel engine.

Whether police choose to secure the handcuffed inside the suicide (rear-hinged) rear doors of an E7 or the more traditional doors of a Ford or Chevy offering is anybody’s guess.  Likely it’ll all depend on pricing, which remains unreleased for all three.  With a whole slew of modern technology at their fingertips, tomorrow’s officers will be comfortable, quick, safe, and effective no matter which cruisers they choose.  And I’ll sure be slowing down!

Even if that coveted car was from Ford, GM, Volkswagen or another brand that sells in the US – the likelihood of of being able to buy that car stateside is slim.

I was reminded of this frustrating situation by the introduction of the 2012 Ford Focus Wagon.  Long story short: this new wagon is aesthetically appealing, environmentally friendly and has some great features and options.  But…it will NOT be made available in North America.

Ford cites poor historical sales of wagons as the reason why this Focus variant will avoid our shores but I think that they’re missing a big shift in the way that Americans think about utility.  As with the stock market, past performance is no guarantee of the future and I hope that Ford will reconsider bringing this sleek, utility-laden wagon to the US.  Until then, we’ll have to (ahem) focus our attention on the few wagon choices currently available.

For those of you who are interested in thrifty vehicles with utility, check out these other smart choices at Honk.