Prototypes for the North American-spec Ford Fiesta have been spotted in Dearborn, giving us our first look at the non-hatchback version. As expected, this prototype takes many cues right off the Verve four-door concept car that bowed at this year’s Detroit Auto Show. The camouflage keeps us from seeing just how verbatim the translation from concept to production actually is, but the differences will most assuredly only be trim differences designed to make the concept model as sexy as possible. It appears that the concept’s backlight might be a bit more raked than the production model, and the rear overhang may be a bit longer, but those impressions may be from a slight change of angle, and the camouflage cladding.

As of now, we’re told that this four-door sedan is the only model destined for our shores, but the three or five-door hatchbacks could easily make the move to U.S. showrooms if demand is deemed strong enough.–KGP Photography

Well, it’s approaching that time in the Nissan Xterra’s life cycle, and 2009 will bring a fresh look to the youth-oriented ute.

Our photos clearly show that the 2009 Nissan Xterra’s grille will look more like that on the Nissan Frontier pickup truck, although not too many other changes and updates are obvious at the moment.–Brian Williams for Brenda Priddy & Co.

Our spies have caught the 2009 Cadillac XLR without even an inch of camouflage – exposing the new front fascia, which includes a new grille and restyled fog lamps. In addition, the XLR will be wearing a bit more jewelry – in this case, it will be chrome vents on the fenders.

Watch for an official debut of the 2009 XLR in the coming months.–Chris Doane for Brenda Priddy & Company

These are the first true pictures of the 2010 Saab 9-4X crossover vehicle, just captured by our spy photographers undergoing track testing.

We first saw this body style at the Detroit Auto Show, being touted at as the 9-4X BioPower Concept, but Saab is obviously serious about bringing this to the marketplace in a timely fashion.

Codenamed GMT168, the Saab 9-4X will arrive in time for the 2010 model year. Sharing the platform with the upcoming Cadillac BRX, the Saab 9-4X will be built in at the Ramos Arizpe plant in Mexico. And unlike the larger 9-7X sport-utility vehicle, this will be sold globally.

Styling – as you can easily see underneath quite a lot of automotive lingerie — will be very close to that of the concept, and powerplants will include a range of gasoline, as well as a new 250-horsepower diesel. The 9-4X will also offer Saab’s XWD all-wheel-drive system.–Brian Williams for Brenda Priddy & Company

Back in March, we told you that the 2010 BMW Z4 would be getting a retractable folding roof. This week some of the other blogs are picking up on the detail, with a little more information on the new Z4’s powertrains.

The new Z4 is expected to offer a choice of more powerful engines. Riding on the latest 3-Series chassis, it may use the same range of four- and six-cylinder engines. The base engine in the U.S. will likely be BMW’s 3.0-liter straight six, with a twin-turbo option. Britain’s AutoExpress expects a diesel engine for the first time, too, and a new M version with the 4.0-liter V-8 from the M3. Stop/start powertrains should help it reduce its carbon footprint, whatever that is.

The retractable hardtop? Well, it’s going to hide away in the trunk and probably will take less than 30 seconds to do so.

While the current Z4 is being built in BMW’s plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the new Z4 will be built in Regensburg, Germany, with production starting in late 2009.

Once again, TheCarConnection.com’s spies have stumbled upon the 2010 Buick LaCrosse — but this time they managed to get some interior views, as well as (for the first time) a look the production exhaust tips.

Looking closely, it appears the new LaCrosse will have some Enclave-like styling cues – especially on the rear doors and fenders.

Codenamed GMX353, this second-generation LaCrosse will be riding on the new global front-wheel-drive Epsilon II platform. It will be the first car sold in the United States to use this architecture. GM’s new 3.6-liter V-6 is expected to be the powerplant.

Production is expected to start at the Fairfax, Kansas, facility in February of 2009, with cars reaching dealerships shortly afterwards as a 2010 model. Annual production numbers in the 65,000-75,000 range are expected.–Brian Williams for Brenda Priddy & Company

The 2009 Honda Pilot becomes official in just a week — April 15, Tax Day, is the day Honda’s set for car magazines and Web sites to tell all about the new crossover from a recent press drive.

But TheCarConnection.com’s spy photographers have been hard at work to line up high-resolution 2009 Honda Pilot photos — and today, they got them.

Brenda Priddy reports: “our spies went on a scavenger hunt to find one. And boy, did we ever get lucky! We managed to find a small group of Pilots just moments before they were to be loaded in enclosed car carriers.”

We’ll have full details on the 2009 Pilot next week.

The covers might be off on the 2010 Ford Taurus — and Ford isn’t happy about it.

Yesterday, a single fuzzy shot of what’s claimed to be the new Taurus surfaced on a few Web sites after first appearing on the Taurus Car Club of America site.

Though Ford’s demanded that some blogs remove the blurry pic of the 2010 Taurus — the Taurus club has complied — at least one site, Edmunds’ Inside Line, still is showing the photo, which appears to have been taken in a styling studio or possibly a consumer clinic.

The photo (we won’t publish it here, since we didn’t obtain it and can’t comment on its legality) shows a more creased sedan with a distinct flair missing from the current Taurus, which was introduced in 2005 as the Ford Five Hundred and renamed for the 2008 model year. As Edmunds notes, it shows influences from Ford’s European Mondeo sedan, but wears a three-bar grille similar to those cropping up on U.S.-market vehicles.

Edmunds says the Taurus likely will get an EcoBoost V-6 like the one expected to slot into Ford’s new Flex. Outfitted with a six-speed automatic, the new Taurus likely will be introduced at the 2009 Detroit auto show.

Damn — has it already been two years of showing you spy shots of the Camaro?

At this rate we’re going to break the record of the last Mercedes C-Class and the former champ, the Nissan 350Z. We’ve been showing you every iteration of Camaro that’s come along, and frankly, we’re getting bored — even though this set shows the Camaro on the Nuerburgring wearing some snazzy red shoes and Johnny Cash-black paint.

We’re still trying to keep on top of all the Camaro rumors that have sprouted up recently too, but none are passing the smell test so far. We know for sure that the Camaro won’t be killed by CAFE rules, and that a convertible is almost a certainty. But what about those wild rumors of four-cylinder turbo versions? Crazy Photoshops of Pontiacked versions with screaming chickens on the hood and dual-nostril grilles? We’re surprised no one’s come up with a stretch four-seat Buick Velite version and added a station-wagon back and called it an Impala.

And yet we’re still another six months or so before journos even start driving the Camaro, which now seems to be wearing 2010 model-year designations in other blogs and in random GM chatter.

Stay patient. We promise we will, too. Meanwhile, enjoy a new set of high-resolution 2010 Chevrolet Camaro photos, and tell us what you’re thinking of the revived Camaro in a comment below.

Though it’s still over a year away from a world introduction, our spies have garnered details on the next Mercedes E‑Class, code-named W212 and due at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.

The next E‑Class will ape the S-Class’s wheel-arch extensions, rising character line below the door handles, massive bumpers, and greenhouse. A more sculpted wide-frame grille, the more geometric nasal air intakes, and the wedge-shaped profile should give W212 a sportier stance. Actually, early styling models show a certain affinity for the most recent efforts from Lexus – such as the rectangular quad headlamps, the C-pillar treatment, and the taillights. This is, of course, ironic given that the Lexus LS is famous for copying Mercedes, but Stuttgart still has plenty of time to hone the shape. (You can see more of these spy photos in our high-resolution photo galleries.)

Driver assistance in general is a major theme for W212. Expect lane-departure warnings, an eye-movement monitor, traffic-sign identification, road-condition sensors, and stability control that accounts for crosswinds, camber changes, and tire wear. However, Mercedes will abandon electronic braking in favor of conventional brakes, although they will boast features such as wet-weather disc wiping and wheel-selective cornering brake control, as well as the usual anti-lock control. Optional ceramic-composite discs could be introduced top-down, starting with the AMG models.

We’ll get the usual V-6- and V-8 engines, plus a normally aspirated, 500-plus-hp 6.3-liter V-8 for the E63 AMG model.–Brenda Priddy