Lincoln reveals mini-site for 2009 Lincoln MKS, urges self cars the buyer to reach higher. Maybe they should summon their own Jackie Wilson and "lift themselves higher" first. [Reach Higher]

Ford has hybrids? Who knew? If the Toyota Prius "cows farting" ad was the antithesis of all that is honest about automotive advertising, then this new ad for the hybrid Ford Explorer Escape cheekily mocks the advertising and marketing madness that is the cult of hybrid. Of course it's also an explanation of why the US…

If skateboarding equals hip, then Nissan's aiming for a hipster halo for its new Qashqai SUV. The messaging is urban assault vehicle, not suburban IKEA vehicle. (Thanks to Sosthen for the tip.)

We were loathe to feature yet another Cadillac for the Deal of the Week, but in light of the SRT-8's expiration and also in light of the Cadillac CTS-V's worthiness as a V8-powered performance machine, we'll go with that. [Thanks Joe.] With a new high-po entry Caddy not scheduled until next year — a car Bob Lutz says…

[UPDATE: Oh well — it's expired. D'oh. You can still get the '07 300C at a $3500 rebate and zero-rate up to 36 months.] Tired of the performance models always being excluded from automakers' incentive deals? Well, pop a No Doze and check out today's — hold please — Deal of the Week. It's the 2007 Chrysler 300 SRT-8, a…

Atop a sound bed provided by Melbourne's own Jet — a band that knows its way around a royalty check, having become a raspy accompanist to the iPod, Vodafone, TV's Alias and the big screen's Spiderman 2 — is this history lesson from GM's Holden. It's a one-minute retrospective of Australian utes — that is, pickup-cars — …

What will a Mazda3 look like in the year 2018? If you said something like "rotary-powered pinecone," you may have what it takes to win a new contest. Mazda's turning to Facebook to find new design talent as part of the Mazda Design Challenge. Contestants have to submit a 150-word description of their vision of the 2018…

Anyone who's seen "Hands on a Hardbody" knows Texans will endure all manner of tediousness to win a truck. Not content to give Nissan the last word, Dodge is sponsoring an endurance dance contest, the "Dodge Durango Tango" at the State Fair of Texas today. The enduring hoofer — partnered with a life-sized doll dressed up…

High-end cell-phone builder Vertu has a new titanium ear pillow for Ferraristi. It's the Vertu Ascent Ferrari 60, inspired by the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. It's an extremely limited-edition follow-up to the company's Ascent Ferrari 1947, and like it, commemorates Ferrari's 60th anniversary. The Ascent 60 comes with…

With GM pulling out of Olympic sponsorship, Keith Naughton thinks Toyota can go...all...the...way...to the gold. [Newsweek]