American Idol, SuperNanny, Extreme Home Makeover, the Apprentice, Survivor ... now Ford? That's right, one of American Idol's sponsors will soon be joining the fray of jaded reality with its very own reality television program. The premise of the show is to be based on selected participants working with Ford designers to formulate concept vehicles that could be considered for production. "It's a very cool idea," said analyst Jim Sanfilippo of Automotive Marketing Consultants Inc., who called it a good way to convey Ford's message to the buying public. "It's a way to engage the audience in a way that they can identify it."

Taking its turn on the street just after the Ford Edge, the redesigned 2008 Ford Escape makes its public presence in the spy shot, above. Ford has plans to release the Escape next Spring as an early 2008 model, along with its cousin (also redesigned), the Mercury Mariner. Interior upgrades, with higher-quality materials and more robust features, are included in the Escape and Mariner facelift.

Keep an eye out for the new Escape on the Ford website.

By now, it is common knowledge that Ford's performance vehicle lineup is waning. The real question of its survival has been calmed ... for now. After the initial announcement of the "Way Forward" plan and the prior disbanding of the original Special Vehicle Team (SVT), Ford now has plans to continue the SVT line. Don't expect huge results or major surprises, however; announced plans are to have production scaled back with just two vehicles: a high performance Mustang and a high performance truck.

Ford's Australian high-performance brand, Ford Performance Vehicles, has created a monster of a car line that brings Americans like yours truly to tears, because I can't buy one here.