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It's taken nearly four days to wrap my head around the 2011 Lexus LFA, and if I'm honest, I'm still not halfway there. The combination of a decade-long gestation, a half dozen prototypes comprised of two different materials, a high displacement V10 that cuts fuel at 9,500 RPM and a $375,000 price tag has left me incapacitated and trembling in a caffeine and nicotine-fueled fetal position for the better part of a week. I can't make heads nor tails of Lexus' first foray into supercardom, simply because nothing exists in the four-wheeled world to put it into perspective. Judging by your comments, I'm not alone.

There's more to this story than driving impressions and photos.
It's a front-engine GT, but its MSRP means it doesn't compete with the Ferrari 599. It's a technological tour de force nearly on par with the Bugatti Veyron, but its 202 MPH top speed doesn't come close to the V-max of Ferdinand Piech's quad-turbo masterpiece. It's lithe and nimble, but lacks the directness and tactility of the Lotus Elise. Its 3.7-second zero-to-60 time falls short of the GT-R, and it can't come close to the Nissan's point-to-point brutality. There's simply no frame of reference to apply, which begs the question: Why? Why has Lexus invested hundreds of million of dollars, ran a dozen races and developed nearly every single component in-house to build a scant 500 LFAs and offer them to the world's elite?

It's a mystery wrapped in an enigma coated in carbon fiber. And there's obviously more to this story than simply driving impressions and photos. So after last week's barrage of LFA news, it's time to take a step back... then get stuck right back in.

The general consensus is that Toyota built the LFA simply because it could. That's just a poor excuse to prevent your head from exploding. The LFA represents more than just a V10-powered, carbon fiber plaything; the investment in development, technology and manufacturing appears to be a cornerstone of ToMoCo's future products and Toyota President Akio Toyoda's vision for the automaker. But let's put the bird's eye view aside for the moment and revel in the details, beginning with the styling.

Compared to the concept that rolled out at the 2005 Detroit Auto Show, the production LFA bears more resemblance to Toyota's follow-up in 2007. The flat, pointed exterior has evolved into a scooped and ducted coupe that's far and away the best application of Lexus' L-finesse design language to date. But as everyone is quick to point out, the LFA is unabashedly Japanese. And that's only the half of it. Literally

2009 is the beginning of Ford's EcoBoost era, with its spanking new twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 finding its way under the hood of the Lincoln MKS and MKT and the Ford Flex and Taurus. While the blown six is able to deliver V8 performance with V6 fuel economy, it hasn't exactly put up eye-popping city and highway mileage. Ford hopes to change that with the introduction of a four-cylinder version of the engine.

Ford has confirmed what we've known for some time: a new 2.0-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost variant is on the way, capable of at least 230 hp and 240 lb-ft of torque. The engine will reportedly give drivers V6 performance with four-pot fuel economy, with possible applications for both cars and trucks. According to Inside Line, Ford reps said the first application of the 2.0-liter EcoBoost won't necessarily be in a car, either. Since the Ford Explorer America concept was powered by a 2.0-liter EcoBoost, the 2011 Explorer is a likely candidate. We've heard rumors about a four-cylinder EcoBoost under the hood of F-150s, Fusions and Mustangs, too, and in order for Ford to make the new mill cost effective, it has to be fitted to as many models as possible.

Ford promised that EcoBoost technology would soon be available across its lineup, and four-cylinder variants are crucial to Ford's ability to hit 2016 EPA mileage standards of 35.5 mpg. We're looking forward to which vehicles will receive four cylinder EcoBoost engines first, and we've got a feeling we'll hear more when the auto show season starts in the fall

The McLaren SLR isn't the most conventional platform on which to create a racecar, but when everything is said and done, it sure looks the part. The New Jersey Motorsports Park brought one such example, dubbed the SLR 722 GT, to showcase in their display here at the New York Auto Show. Florida-based tuner RENNtech is solely responsible for importing any examples here to the States from Europe for a small fee of $1.2 million.

Each SLR 722 GT is built by British motorsports specialists RML Group and features more than 400 unique components compared to the road going version including FIA-spec safety equipment, a fully adjustable suspension, upgraded brakes, carbon fiber bodywork, a towering rear wing, full race interior, and much more. Engine output is increased to 670 horsepower thanks to a race-only exhaust, and shifting is done solely by paddles behind the carbon fiber steering wheel

The road to production for the Mercedes-Benz ML450 hybrid hasn't always been smooth, but now that the Germans have shown off the new SUV here at the New York Auto Show (following its early debut at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show), they'll be happy to tell you just how amazing and luxurious this SULEV people-hauler is.

The numbers start with a respectable 21 city/24 highway mpg rating. With a 3.5-liter V6 Atkinson cycle engine and a 288V NM battery pack, the ML450 hybrid can go 1.8 miles and up to 34 mph on battery power alone (take that, Toyota Prius!). The hybrid powertrain altogether has a combined output of 335 horsepower, so providing adequate power to move the giant SUV was clearly just as large a priority as fuel economy. The ML450 hybrid features Mercedes' first application of the Two-Mode hybrid powertrain it co-developed with General Motors and Chrysler - similar applications also appear in the Chevrolet Tahoe Two-Mode Hybrid, Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen Hybrids