Autoblog

click above image for desktop-sized pics of the 2007 Mercury Montego

Alas, Montego, we hardly knew ye. Of course, the large sedan from Mercury is not going away, but being relaunched as the Sable with a new schnoz, larger engine, and some interior upgrades. The Montego name will once again drift off into obscurity like its Torino-based forebear. While the Sable picks up where the Montego left off, it would be foolish to think the Montego is a dud. The 2007 Montego Premier AWD is a big car, with some dimensions exceeding the Grand Marquis. With a bump here and a nip there, the Montego would make the best Marquis ever. As it is, the Volvo-donated architecture underneath the Montego makes it a very modern driving sedan that belies the comfort-sized dimensions.

Toyota's not having an easy time with the Tundra so far. It's been criticized for lacking a fully-boxed frame, the internet is alight with Tundra-hate, and now along comes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Both Regular and Double Cab variants of Toyota's intended domestic-fighter were crashed by the agency, and both only managed four stars.

While a four star crash test rating isn't horrible, the Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado / GMC Sierra and Dodge Ram all have the strength to ring the 5-star bell and win the stuffed bunny. The likelihood of injuries in a Tundra could be up to 10-percent greater than the domestic brands because of its one-star deficit. The difference could also be as small as one-percent, however, so this news may not be as significant as it sounds at first blush. All we can really say with certainty is that the Tundra performs worse when crashed into a concrete barrier at 35mph than its competition.

No doubt the Tundra's performance in this test will again focus scrutiny on the truck's frame, which is not fully boxed like its competition. According to Mike Levine from Pickuptruck.com, the Tundra's frame is split into three parts and the front piece actually is boxed. However, the frame under the cab and bed are C-channel, and they are also affected by a frontal crash. As Levine told us, the rest of the Tundra's competition now has some ammo to aim back at the Tundra in their marketing efforts.

We expect that acceptance of the brawny fullsizer from Toyota will take a little while, and it may not come until the current generation Tundra is dead and buried, but when Toyota wants something, they don't mess around. They were up front in expecting the Tundra to receive five stars and a Best Pick from the IIHS, so don't expect this 4-star rating to last long.

[Source: Pickuptruck.com]

We've grown more accustomed to reporting production setbacks and launch delays, but in its never-ending quest to recreate themselves, Fiat is actually moving things ahead. Following rumors circulating around the European motoring press, Fiat chief Sergio Marchionne confirmed yesterday that they'll actually be moving the official launch of the highly-anticipated 500 up by a couple months. The new 500 was originally scheduled for launch in September, but with development progressing along smartly, Fiat is moving the launch date ahead to July, which will conveniently coincide with the 50th anniversary of the launch of the original 500.

[Sources: Italiaspeed and Euronews]

Crate engines are all over the place, as long as you're willing to limit yourself to American makes and V8s. As cool as an LSX-powered Audi would be, it would offend the sensibilities of some, though it'd be great in a "that's just not right" sort of way. What would be right, though, is a crate engine from Ingolstadt.

More pie-in-the-sky after the jump

[Source: Fourtitude.com]