2010 North American Car of the Year nominees announced

Here in the car journalism biz, this is that time of year when everyone is evaluating all the recently introduced cars to determine which ones truly stand out. Here in town, the crew from Car and Driver are doing their 10 Best testing this week. Elsewhere other magazines are doing their own evaluations.

The organizers of the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards have just released the short list of vehicles that they have deemed worthy of consideration for this year's awards. The winning vehicles will be announced in January at the North American International Auto Show. For now, the jury has to evaluate a list of 15 cars that includes the new MK VI Volkswagen Golf, Ford's Fusion and Taurus, and a dozen others. The list includes three cars with hybrid powertrains, two that offer diesels and everything from the Kia Soul to the Porsche Panamera.

On the truck side –which also includes crossovers and tall wagons like the new Honda Accord Crosstour, Acura ZDX and Subaru Outback – there are only 10 nominees. Check out the nominees in our galleries below – who will pick up the mantle after 2009's Ford F-150 and Hyundai Genesis?

Gallery: 2010 North American Car of the Year short list

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Gallery: 2010 North American Truck of the Year nominees

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Carlsson CK50 based on Mercedes E 500 E-class Coupé (C 207)

For the new E-class Coupé (Type C 207) Carlsson introduces an entire individualisation kit on the occasion of the Frankfurt Motor Show. Based on the E 500, the performance is increased to 435 hp with a maximum torque of 600 Newton metres. The sport rear exhaust silencer is made of stainless steel and with its two oval end pipes it guarantees a sportive sound and an extra output of eleven hp. The sport centre exhaust silencer and a sport air filter effectively complete the engine kit.

Carlsson provides optimal road holding with a coilover suspension which offers a stepless adjustment for damping and vehicle height. Carlsson sport springs with a lowering range of 30 millimetres are also available.

Carlsson offers the light alloy rim 1/5 REVO in modern two-colour varnish and in the size 8.5 x 20 inches at the front- and rear axle with Dunlop tyres measuring 235/30. The visual kit includes the Carlsson front spoiler. The Carlsson front spoiler lip RS is delivered optionally in real carbon. The flow line optimised Carlsson rear spoiler concludes the optical refinement.

Also for the interior, Carlsson offers a broad range of accessories: The gearstick is available in leather/ultra suede, for the steering wheel, a leather/ultra suede cover has been engineered and for the pedals, sporty Carlsson aluminium covers. Moreover, the programme also includes floor mats with an illuminated Carlsson logo; especially at night times, they render an impressive ambience without blinding the passengers.

Lorinser already working on tuned Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing

Lorinser SLS AMG Gullwing Rendering - click above image for hi-res gallery

Much of the discussion in Frankfurt centered on our personal "best of show" car. Going into the show, it would have been pretty safe to assume that the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG would have been the run away winner. What's not to love? 571 hp, essentially mid-engined (you should see how far back that engine sits in the chassis), gullwings -- its got everything. But up close, something about it left us... a little cold. It's probably the headlights. So our best of show group decision went to the E63 AMG Wagon. There's something so very right about 500+ horsepower wagons. But maybe Lorinser could help steer our affections back to the Gullwing?

If you don't know, Mercedes tuner Lorinser has never met a fender it liked. Meaning that there idea of a good time is to hack vents into every body surface it can. Sometimes the results are okay. And sometimes, let's just say not so okay. Lorinser actually has two competing design studies it's considering. The first and probably most controversial is a Carbon Fiber design, with an unpainted CF hood, a Lorinser family crest in place of the Mercedes-Benz three-pointed star in the grill and scores of carbon fiber trims pieces all over the place.

The second, more low-key design is probably closer to the real deal. It even features a soon to be Lorinser signature -- vents behind vents. There are also six giant eyebrows festooned around the car. A homage, no doubt, to the brows on the original 300 SL. We will admit that we like the headlights in Lorinser's rendering more than the production SLS.

Frankfurt 2009: Mercedes-Benz S500 Vision Plug-in Hybrid broods quietly

Mercedes-Benz S500 Vision Plug-In Hybrid - Click above for a high-res gallery

Mercedes is working to complete the circle, combining the frugality of its smallest A- and B-Class offerings with the luxury of its S-Class offerings. For the U.S. the S400 Hybrid began the earnest trek down that road, followed by the announcement of the four-cylinder S-Class, and at Frankfurt, Mercedes has introduced the S500 Vision Plug-in Hybrid concept. The home of the pointed star sees it as putting "the luxury class on the road to the three-liter car."

The S500 Vision Plug-in uses the same basic components as the S400 Hybrid: a 3.5-liter V6 mated to a battery. The larger capacity lithium-ion cell with an additional internal clutch is moved to the S500's trunk and is said to be good for 30 km (19.2 miles) of electric-only driving. Daimler CEO Zetsche admits there's a long way to go before the car goes on sale, but for now it promises a 5.5-second 0-to-60 and 3.2 liters-100 km. The new luxury will still stink of money, and of fresh air as well

Mercedes bringing E-Class Wagon Stateside

2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Wagon - click above image for high-res gallery

Wagons, wagons everywhere! Just yesterday there were rumors that Acura is tinkering with the idea of a TSX Wagon. Today, none other than the Gray Lady reports that Mercedes-Benz is planning on bringing an E-Class wagon to the U.S. Dubbed the E350 4MATIC Wagon, the potent people mover will sport a 268 hp 3.5-liter V6, Mercedes excellent seven-speed autobox and all-wheel drive. The E350 Wagon should reach our shores by June of 2010 as a 2011 model.

No word on price, but as the E-Class sedan starts at $52,00, expect the wagon to cost more. Same goes for mileage: the sedan gets 16/24 mpg so the slightly heavier AWD wagon should do a bit worse. Over in Europe-land the E-Class wagons get all sorts of different engines ranging from teeny turbo gas engines to bigger boosted diesels. Not here. In fact, we're not even getting a BlueTec diesel wagon. But you can bet your pinks that we'll be getting an AMG E63 wagon, so you can sleep soundly tonight.

AMG-fettled Mercedes E-Class Coupe to favor agility over power?

2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe – Click above for high-res image gallery

Exact details are few and far between, but for those that value handling over tire-smoking POWA, this is great news. Autocar is reporting that the next AMG-fettled Mercedes-Benz E-Class will rely on weight-saving materials and techniques, as well as fine-tuning of suspension pieces to increase agility. You know, as opposed to the regular AMG way of doing things, which is lobbing yet another salvo into the breach of the sky's no-limit horsepower war. The next AMG E-Class Coupe will actually be a Black Series model, meaning that not only will there be no "regular" AMG E-Class Coupe (for now), but you really ought to start saving your pennies now. Err, saving your bundles of Grants and Franklins.

According to Autocar, there's also not going to be any Black Series C-Series cars because the limited edition AMGs must be based on two-door models (though we'll see how long that actually lasts). There will, however, be a new C63 – and unlike the upcoming Black Series E-Class Coupe, there will be better driving through more power. The current C63 is AMG's weakest offering with "only" 453 horsepower on tap. The new version will belch thrust to the tune of 500 to 525 ponies. Phew, we were worried there for a moment that AMG had lost its power uber all mind. One last thing: even though it will fit, there's no plan to use the highly lauded seven-speed dual-clutch Speedshift transmission from the E63 and SL63 in the C63. Pity.

Miserly S 250 CDI BlueEfficiency is first S-Class ever with four-cylinder power

Europe's Mercedes-Benz S 320 CDI BlueEfficiency began this year as the most frugal S-Class available. With 235 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque, 31 mpg, and S-Class luxury, it's a fine runner if you want to have it all without grenading your treehugging credentials. But hang on – new reports are now popping up suggesting that Mercedes will soon up the frugal luxury stakes with a new S 250 CDI BlueEfficiency – the first S-Class with a four-cylinder engine.

According to the rumors, it will use the 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged diesel four-pot fitted to the E- and C-Class, putting out 224 horsepower and 368 lb-ft of torque. The obvious sacrifice in sheer grunt and top end ought to be made up for by the mileage, which is predicted to be 35 mpg. To keep the four- and six-cylinder engines from being too close to one another, the six is said to grow in output to 285 hp and 516 lb-ft, and that should spell the end of the eight-cylinder S 450 CDI engine.