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The Super Bowl ad for the Chevrolet Silverado shows that the rivalry between Chevrolet and Ford still rages strong. But is there room for another brand or two to mix it up in the battle for pickup supremacy? Not according to General Motors marketing chief Joel Ewanick.

Fox News reports that Ewanick said during a web chat on Jalopnik that "the two big players are Ford and Chevy." Ewanick added that it's like a presidential debate, saying "We want to have it with the other strong candidate – and we want to engage them and want them to engage us." A quick look at the numbers shows that Ewanick has a point. The Ford F-Series was the top dog in 2011, with 584,917 trucks sold. The Silverado came in second with 415,130 sales, but if you add the nearly identical GMC Sierra, General Motors makes the battle much closer with 564,300 unit sales. That's more sales than the Toyota Tundra, Ram full-size and Nissan Titan combined (even without the Sierra.)

The Ram, also an excellent pickup, finished a distant third with a reported 244,763 sales. Still, Ram brand spokesperson Dave Elshoff insists that Ram trucks remain part of the equation, adding "across much of the west – where trucks are worked hard – it's Ram that's either number one or two in market share."

We're not so sure that the truck battle is Chevy versus Ford and then everybody else, but it sure is nice to see GM and Ford getting a little chippy. It's a good bet that the chatter grows louder as the next generation Silverado and F-150 hit the auto show circuit in about a year.

Look very, very closely. This is the 2013 Toyota Land Cruiser, which, though not immediately apparent, is different than the 2012 model. How, exactly? The updated SUV has new features like LED running lamps up front, a revised taillamp design and some new wheel options. Inside, there's a brand new hard drive-based navigation system complete with Toyota's fancy new Entune infotainment system.

Aside from that, there isn't much else in the way of newness for Toyota's stalwart off-roader. Under the hood is the automaker's 5.7-liter V8 with 381 horsepower and 401 pound-feet of torque, and a standard Multi-Terrain Select system keeps things in check for when the pavement turns to dirt... or sand... or mud.

Check out the full scope of Land Cruiser goodness in the press release after the jump, and click through our gallery of images live from the Chicago Auto Show to see all of those ever-so-slight design tweaks.

Daimler is shuttering Maybach in 2013 after seven years of production. In that time, the company's ultra-ultra-luxury arm managed to sell just 3,000 units, and CAR reports Daimler lost somewhere around $500,000 on each and every one of them.

Even with a ludicrous price tag of over $370,000 for an "entry" Maybach 57, the brand couldn't quite recoup the dizzying $1.33 billion Daimler poured into it since its (re)inception. Rumors ignited over a possible tie up with Aston Martin that would have resulted in a range of new and attractive models, but Daimler has instead decided to snuff out Maybach altogether.

We can hardly blame them.

Mercedes-Benz will pick up the ultra-luxury slack with a new range of sedans based on the S-Class. Those bruisers will likely bow in 2013 just as Maybach turns out the lights for good.

Now that Fiat is officially tied at the hip with Chrysler, it's no surprise to see the Pentastar's aftermarket division take to the diminutive 500 like a honeybee to clovers (sorry). Which explains the 2012 Fiat 500 Stinger, the first Mopar-fettled Fiat ever created.

The Stinger moniker seems to come from the machine's black and yellow paint scheme, which includes a somewhat homely set of bodyside decals and a checkerboard-patterned roof. Headlights, grille inserts, wheels and all other trim all get the black-out treatment.

Mopar-branded intake and cat-back exhaust kits are said to bump power from the 1.4-liter MultiAir engine, though the company isn't being specific when it comes to power figures. In any case, we pointed our camera lenses at the 500 Stinger, and you can see the results in our high-res gallery above.

Detroit has the North American Car and Truck of the Year. Chicago? The Family Vehicle of the Year. And for 2012, the winner is the Volkswagen Passat.

While we must have missed last year's inaugural winner – it was the Hyundai Sonata, by the way – we did catch this year's award presentation. The Passat beat out two other finalists, the Ford Explorer and Mazda5, in the voting of 68 automotive journalists. Those car scribes all belong to the Midwest Automotive Media Association, or "MAMA," as the Chicago-based group is affectionately known.

Candidates for the FVOTY must be new or updated vehicles that have four doors, have base prices under $50,000, and "appear at one of MAMA's two annual rallies." Other models considered in the 2012 voting included the Chevrolet Volt, Dodge Durango, Dodge Journey, Ford Edge, Ford Focus, Ford Explorer, Honda Pilot, Subaru Impreza, and Toyota Camry.

Our first face-to-face look at the murdered-out Mopar 300 occurred at the Chicago Auto Show today. Peel away the black hood and you will find the the company's familiar 5.7-liter V8 as standard equipment. Output remains at 363 horsepower, but a new final-drive ratio of 3.91:1 working in conjunction with its five-speed W5A580 automatic transmission should drop 0-60 times into the low five-second range.

Other upgrades include firmer suspension tuning (42 percent stiffer front and 23 percent stiffer rear spring rates compared to the Chrysler 300 models with touring-tuned suspension), stickier rubber (245/45R20 Goodyear Eagle F1 three-season tires) and high-performance brake pads in the dual-piston front and single-piston rear calipers.

You won't be able to miss the Mopar Chrysler 300 (except at night) thanks to its Gloss Black paint, Gloss Black 20-inch wheels and numerous other blacked-out appointments both inside and out. The many "Mopar" badges on the fenders and deck lid only serve to reinforce its evilness.

Being the third turn-key Mopar product after the '10 Mopar Challenger and '11 Mopar Charger, the '12 Mopar 300 will be available for purchase this summer for $49,700 (including destination charges), though production is limited to just 500 units.

Nissan is expanding the company's commercial offerings with its new NV200 Compact Cargo Van. On display at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show, the NV200 is positioned just below Nissan's mammoth NV Cargo, and should offer buyers a more efficient work vehicle with plenty of interior room.

The NV200 is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a CVT gearbox. Despite its pint-sized powertrain, the van should be able to haul around 1,500 pounds, and its low floor will likely make for easy loading and unloading.

At 186.2 inches long, the NV200 is a full 54.2 inches shorter than its bigger brother while offering 123 cubic feet of cargo area, though Nissan says the NV200 can still accommodate a standard 40x48-inch pallet.

The company hasn't released any pricing details, beyond saying the NV200 will be competitive with other commercial vehicles in this segment. That probably means the 2013 NV200 will land somewhere in the neighborhood of $22,035, which is the MSRP of the Ford Transit Connect.

While Chrysler got the most attention for its Super Bowl ad starring Clint Eastwood, many found Kia's spot starring Mr. Sandman, Adriana Lima and Motley Crue to be the most entertaining. The car featured in the ad was the new Optima SX Limited, which made its debut today at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show.

The SX Limited is the new range-topping trim for the Optima, slotting neatly above the SX. What it adds to the already loaded SX are LED daytime running lights, chrome accenting on the rear spoiler and lower door sills, red painted front brake calipers, a unique set of chrome 18-inch wheels, high-dollar Napa leather, wood interior trim and three exterior colors options: Ebony Black, Snow White Pearl or Titanium Metallic.

While no pricing for the SX Limited was given, we obviously expect it to start somewhere north of the SX trim's $26,500 base price. Production begins later this month at Kia's assembly plant in West Point, Georgia.

The Chicago Auto Show and the Mazda MX-5 Miata have quite a history. After all, the very first Miata debuted at the 1989 Chicago show, and since then, Mazda has routinely used the Windy City expo to showcase some sort of new roadster hotness.

For 2012, we've been introduced to the MX-5 Special Edition (clever name, we know), which dons a new black power retractable hard top and gunmetal wheels, among other small updates.

Underneath the skin, Mazda has fitted its standard suspension upgrade kit, which includes Bilstein shocks, while inside you'll find black accents and heated black leather seats, along with a full kit of tech options. Pricing starts at $31,225, and only 450 will be sold in the United States. Get it while it's hot.

The Fiat 500 is 139 inches of A-segment fury, with a heaping dose of cute and a dash of fuel efficiency. In fact, the manual transmission-equipped cinquecento averages 33 miles per gallon in mixed driving, which is better than most things on the road.

Impressed? Toyota isn't. The Detroit Free Press reports that the Japanese automaker told dealers at the National Automobile Dealers Association meeting in Las Vegas, NV recently that the next generation Avalon will get better fuel economy than the wee Fiat.

Since the current generation Avalon is five feet longer and considerably wider than the 500, that's an impressive claim. Heck, the Avalon is bigger than the Camry, and buyers currently have to step into a Camry Hybrid model to surpass the fuel economy numbers of the pint-sized Fiat.

The sky-high fuel economy of the Avalon wasn't the only good news Toyota delivered to dealers. The automaker reportedly informed the car-selling audience that 19 new models were coming in 2012.

Slather on an extra glob of Gorilla Glue adhesive, as the 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Convertible is going to seriously strain hairpieces. Like its GT500 Coupe sibling, introduced late last year at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the drop-top is fitted with a supercharged 5.8-liter V8 making an astounding 650 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque, which makes it the most powerful eight-cylinder production engine in the universe.

Ford says the new model, equipped with the optional Performance Package that includes Bilstein electronic adjustable dampers, is capable of running Sebring International Raceway about 3.5 seconds quicker per lap compared to the 2011 and 2012 models (both down 100 horsepower against the 2013 model). Curb weight should be a couple hundred pounds heavier than its closed-roof cousin courtesy of additional bracing on the power-operated convertible soft top.

The Shelby GT500, built at AutoAlliance International Plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, will blast into showrooms this summer. Our best guess for pricing says the 2013 model will start just under $65,000.

There's a lot of history wrapped up in the 2013 Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute. For starters, it's supposed to commemorate 75 years of Mopar, which, in case you're wondering, stands for MOtor PARts, Chrysler's in-house go-fast aftermarket division.

Second, the GTS Tribute harkens back to the Dart of old, which was built between 1960 and 1976, and specifically the GTS model of the late 1960s. Never mind that this new Dart has absolutely nothing in common with that rear-wheel-drive, body-on-frame muscle car other than its name.

Finally, it's easy to see some Dodge Neon SRT4 in the Dart GTS, most notably in its carbon fiber hood with a single, centered hood scoop, which feeds cold air to a Mopar intake that bumps horsepower to 210. Also take note of the 18-inch, titanium-finish ten-spoke wheels and the Ruby Red and black motif both inside and out.

Buyers hoping to snag a 2013 Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute will have to get out their aftermarket Mopar catalogs, as this car won't be made available at Dodge dealerships.

During the Detroit Auto Show, Toyota said the new Prius C would start at under $19,000. Today, we learn that this is like a lesson from Obi-Wan: what Toyota told us was true, from a certain point of view.

The base level Prius C One's MSRP is indeed $18,950, but that doesn't include a $760 destination charge, and you can easily spend north of $23,000 for the top-of-the-line Prius C Four. Still, that's a raging deal for a car estimated to get a fuel economy rating of 53/46/50 miles per gallon (city/highway/combined) from the EPA. As Toyota is quick to point out, those numbers make the C the, "highest rated city fuel economy of any vehicle without a plug."

As you might have surmised, there will be four trim levels for the Prius C and, unsurprisingly, some of the best features are only available on the upper ends. The Four, for example, is the only version that has fog lights and that can be optioned with 16-inch, eight-spoke alloy wheels (all others make due with 15-inchers). Also, neither the One, Two or Three can be equipped with an important cold-weather feature: heated front seats. At least things like automatic climate control, Bluetooth phone controls and remote keyless entry all come standard. The Prius C goes on sale in March. Full details in the press release after the break.

In addition to the GT hatchback, Hyundai also rolled out a new Coupe version of the C-segment Elantra here at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show. The new two-door is clearly meant to take on the likes of the Honda Civic Coupe, and it's got a spec sheet that compares rather favorably with its competitor from Japan.

For starters, the 2013 Hyundai Elantra Coupe rides on a wheelbase that's three inches longer than the Civic. The 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine puts out 148 horsepower and 131 pound-feet and up to 29 miles per gallon in the city and 40 on the highway highway with the six-speed manual gearbox. Automatic models score one mpg less in both city and highway testing.

So... the Elantra Coupe has more room, more horsepower and better fuel economy than the Honda Civic Coupe. As far as styling goes, that's obviously subjective... but we'll cast our lot in the direction of the Hyundai for its sweeping good looks over the more subdued sheetmetal of its biggest competitor. Check out our high-res images of live photos above.