It is less than six months until the first 2007 vehicles start arriving in car dealers’ lots and showrooms around the country. What’s coming? What should you be expecting? Look for power, for style, for crossover combinations of SUVs and cars, and some exciting hybrid technology. Here are some small, large, timid, and tough new and redesigned vehicles to keep an eye out for:

Strong and Sassy
Ford is billing the 2007 Shelby Cobra GT500 Mustang as the most powerful factory-built Mustang in history. The Shelby’s 5.4-liter, V-8 engine has specially calibrated camshafts, a screw-type supercharger, and a water-to-air intercooler. The suspension and the brakes are equally impressive, and, of course, it stills carries that signature Mustang style.

Saturn Crosses Over
“Crossover” is one of the hottest buzzwords in the auto business right now. Designed to be a mixture of SUV and automobile, the term encompasses a wide range of vehicles. Saturn’s entrée into this field is the all-new 2007 Saturn Outlook. This somewhat boxy, yet stylish vehicle will seat up to eight passengers. It differs from a traditional minivan in that it has hinged rear doors rather than sliding ones. GM officials say that the Outlook will accommodate both a V-6 and a V-8 engine.

Mazda Makes it Mid-size
Mazda’s crossover concept vehicle attracted a lot of industry attention when it was unveiled at the 2005 Detroit auto show. Now that it’s in production, it’s still attracting attention. The CX-7, available in late 2006 or early 2007, will have a 3.0-liter V-6 engine, an affordable price tag, and innovative details, such as the 3-D porthole-shaped navigational interface.

More than Just a Jeep
The Jeep Wrangler is being completely redesigned for the 2007 model year. There’s an all-new version of the standard model as well as a new, considerably larger four-door version. Engine options range from a 2.4-liter four-cylinder to a 5.7-liter V-8 and will be paired with either a five-speed automatic or a six-speed manual transmission. Chrysler also promises new stylish detailing and more safety features for 2007.

Toyota Tough Tundra
The heavy truck community is eagerly awaiting the advent of the 2007, all-new version of the Toyota Tundra heavy truck, due out in late 2006. Power is the name of this vehicle. It’s V8 engine is expected to generate around 300-350 horsepower. In addition, Toyota is adding stylish details, such as a horizontal bar grille and a decorative hood design. Comfort is addressed in the huge passenger cabin. Toyota is committed to the Tundra. It’s building an $850 million Tundra assembly plant right in the middle of truck country, San Antonio, Texas.

Hybrids Take Off
Don’t despair if you were thinking that no one cares about fuel economy. General Motors is offering three different types of hybrid cars for the 2007 model year. The first is the parallel hybrid system the company is already using in the Silverado and Sierra full-size pickups. This system shuts down and restarts the engine at stoplights and acts as a generator with four auxiliary power outlets. The second is a belt alternator starter hybrid system to be used in the 2007 Saturn Vue Green line. The BAS system, not only starts and stops the engine at rest, it provides additional power during acceleration, cuts off fuel earlier during deceleration, and recaptures energy via regenerative braking. A third type of hybrid will be a two-mode full hybrid system based on the diesel-electric system used now in transit buses. This new system will first appear in the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon, scheduled to debut in 2007.

By Sandy Mitchell