DeTomaso’s re-launch landed with a thud when it debuted its “Deauville” CUV monstrosity. But it’s possible that the “D’oh-ville” (as it will henceforth be known here at TTAC) was simply the amuse-bouche (French speakers will be able to offer a more apt variation) before the real meal. Just as the D’oh-ville was first seen in a very specifically-staged video, a mid-engined sportscar has been spotted leaving DeTomaso’s headquarters while being “spied” from the exact same angle. So expect something a little more heritage compliant from the brand that created the Vallelunga, Mangusta and Pantera.

Are you ready to crank some Korean crunk (see video above) and cruise the town in a long, rear-drive, V8-powered… Kia? Get ready, as Kia Motors Australia COO Tony Barolow tells drive.com.au that

We have an interest in all new models under development. A rear-wheel-drive premium sedan could be seen as a logical step from the Optima to the next level of Kia development. It is far too early at this stage to be any more precise about the car but we will definitely maintain a watching brief.

The Hyundai Genesis platform-mate has been photographed in camouflage (click here for more Korean crunk-free images), and the rumormill has it debuting in Frankfurt this fall, or possibly the NAIAS next January. In any case, get ready for a Schreyer-styled, “proper” Kia flagship to come down the line at some point in the near future.

A number of plug-in hopeful firms have been testing their future products in fleets, keeping a close eye on the data coming back as they prepare for their consumer launches or wider availability. One such vehicle, Toyota’s plug-in Prius has been testing for some time now, and while the results of US and European testing hasn’t been publicized yet, Wards Auto reports that the company has disclosed the results of Japanese testing with some interesting conclusions. With BYD and Chevrolet releasing data from their own plug-in testing, we should have the basis for some interesting insights. Hit the jump for more on the lessons learned and the data gleaned from this testing of next-gen drivetrains.

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They’re baaaack! Ever since Cadillac displayed its XTS Platinum Concept as a future flagship model, the brand’s lack of a range-topping super-luxo-barge has become an increasingly regular complaint. The XTS’s humble (Epsilon II platform) roots, modest proportions and general “Buick-in-Caddy-clothes” vibe led TTAC to dub it “The Phantom Flagship,” a criticism that has echoed throughout the automotive media. The issue isn’t so much whether or not the XTS is a good luxury car, but rather the fact that even Hyundai has a more plausible large, rear-drive, V8-powered flagship in the traditional mold. With Cadillac’s products and image steadily improving, the lack of a legitimate flagship is even more glaring. Last summer, after several months of griping from Cadillac fans, rumors began to surface that GM’s then-CEO Ed Whitacre was pushing for a “proper” rear-drive flagship. Well, the rumors are back… and as before, they’re as confusing as ever. Luckily, we’ll have more than a few years to speculate about this mythical beast… so let’s get the party started.

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The slide above shows Chrysler’s product plan for the 2010-2014 timeframe, and as it shows, after the new 300 and “refreshed” 200 and T&C, the next Chrysler was supposed to be a C-segment compact sedan. But, reports C&D’s Justin Berkowitz, the subcompact car (essentially a rebadged Lancia Ypsilon) has already been canceled for being positioned too close to the Fiat 500. Meanwhile, it seems that now only one of Chrysler Group’s brands will get a forthcoming compact sedan, and since Dodge has confirmed that it will get a Fiat-based Caliber replacement next year, it seems Chrysler won’t be getting any help in one of the most important segments in the market. So, without a subcompact or compact car coming down the pipe, what does Chrysler have to look forward to? Another crack at the D-segment, come 2013, and a crossover based on the same platform. Apparently the Chrysler brand, which is supposed to be a Lancia-style luxury brand in the Fiat empire, doesn’t need more than four products.

Hyundai updated its web-only “save the asterisks” video for the New York Auto Show, as it continues to highlight fuel economy as a key brand value. And the brand didn’t miss the opportunity to talk about future fuel-efficient products either, as InsideLine reports that Hyundai is promising two more vehicles rated at 40 MPG highway or above in the “next couple of years.” One is the Prius competitor, which was previewed with the Blue Will concept, and which appears to now be a dedicated hybrid-only model, after having been initially tipped as a plug-in hybrid. The other? Hyundai won’t say, but an exec does tell the Edmunds blog that

The strategy of further developing the internal-combustion engine, with significant increases in fuel economy, is where we see the market going

So, something non-hybrid… perhaps the i10 A-segment hatch that Hyundai USA recently let us drive? The Europe-only i40 wagon? What about the Euro-market ix20 subcompact MPV? Or are we waiting for something brand new?

We’ve been wondering whether Nissan would be bringing both a sedan version of its new Versa (sold abroad as the Nissan Sunny) and a hatchback version (sold abroad as the Tiida) to the US market, and now we know: The “Sunny” sedan will be sold here as the Versa sedan starting this summer as a 2012 model, while a hatchback version (possibly different than the Chinese version we’ve seen) is still a good year out.

Pricing will remain on the low end, with abase MSRP of $10,990, though interior volume is down slightly, from 94.7/17.8 (passenger/luggage) to 90/14.8 and its platform is 150 lbs lighter than its predecessor. The new 1.6 engine makes 109 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 107 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm, returning 37/33 MPG with CVT, 27/36 with manual. And here’s the strange part: though Nissan refers to the Versa as a “compact,” a new Sentra is still planned for sometime in the next 18 months. Between a new Micra, the Versa sedan and hatches and a new Sentra to boot (not to mention the compact Leaf EV), Nissan seems to be going all-in on small cars.

The joint Subaru-Toyota “FT-86” has been hyped for some time now as a modern-day AE86, a car with which Akio Toyoda hopes to recapture the “splendid flavor” of driving excitement that has been missing from Toyotas for some time. An affordable halo, in other words, which reconnects Toyota to the youthful enthusiasm of young men in search of rear-drive antics. And since it’s facing an aging demographic, that’s not a bad idea for the Toyota brand. Unfortunately, the latest look at the Toyobaru’s evolving styling is being shown in New York as a Scion, the brand that exists to prove that the Toyota brand can’t be youthful and exciting (and which just got a new sports coupe).

I’ve been on the record as a Scion-basher for some time, so I won’t beat a dead horse here… but if the FT-86 is supposed to be a halo for Toyota, it can’t just be shuffled off to the Scion ghetto. The car will probably sell regardless of the badge it ends up wearing, but the Toyota brand needs this enthusiasm investment, and Scion just needs to die.

As I just noted in my comments on the 2012 Nissan Tiida pictures, the US-market Versa is moving up a class in order to make  room for the Nissan Micra, which takes over as Nissan’s subcompact responsibilities by early 2012 at the latest. To celebrate the nameplate’s new importance as a global model, Nissan created this Compact Sport Concept aimed not at the US, but “young customers in emerging countries.” The highlights: it’s a tarted up Micra, rocking the Juke’s lovable 1.6 liter direct-injected, turbocharged engine, making 188 HP, albeit with a CVT transmission. Which is (almost) exactly what I was thinking of when I argued that the marketing-hijacked Juke could have been a “Versa GTI.”

Without the marketers, it’s tempting to believe that Nissan’s engineers would have widened the Versa platform, added the fantastic turbocharged engine, and then decided to simply put a steroidal Versa body on top, creating the king of all B-segment hot hatches.

In the even smaller Micra body, that zesty turbocharged mill must be downright epic. Too bad the Micra will almost certainly never get the engine it has here, having been shown with a super-efficient 1.2 liter three-banger, and touted as a “super green” model for the US. On the other hand, there is reason to believe the new Versa could get this engine. We might just have to make do with that… unless Hyundai’s Veloster starts selling well.

Like most auto industry executives, the 2012 Nissan Tiida (Versa) had a choice to make this week: Shanghai or New York? China or Chinatown? Central Park or YuYuan Garden? Reuben or Xiaolongbao? Decisions, decisions. Speaking of which, we’re not even positive at this point that this Chinese-market Tiida (just revealed at the Shanghai show) is the same car as the US-market Versa that’s set to debut in Detroit. Either way, expect the Versa to be offered as a Compact (C-Segment) model, as its smaller brother, the Micra, is set to arrive in the US within the next 12 months or so to take over subcompact duty…

Few vehicles have been as relentlessly restyled over the past 10 years as Subaru’s Impreza, which has endured five new versions or refreshes since 2001 (including the Mk1).  And now there’s a new version, taking styling cues from Subaru’s Impreza Concept as well as (to our eyes, anyway) the first-generation of Pontiac Vibe. Though the front and rear treatments are an improvement on the weakly-detailed current model, the proportions don’t seem to have improved any. And then there’s the under-the-skin issues. That 36 MPG promised by Subaru for the next Impreza comes from a downsized engine (two liters rather than 2.5) and a continuously-variable transmission (CVT). The Outback version, hinted at in this XV Concept, should get less than 36 MPG thanks to its jacked-up ride height, but it’s still not clear whether the 2.5 and manual transmission will continue to be available on the new Impreza.

Billed as a concept that

introduces the development direction for Buick’s future SUV products for the market,

the Chinese-designed Envision is the first look at future Buick design since the Buick Business from two years ago. But whereas the Business Concept pointed the way towards a funkily distinctive Buick aesthetic and product sensibility (if anyone should reinvent the minivan, shouldn’t it be Buick?), the Envision concept is an anonymously internationalist crossover. GM’s presser claims the Envision “merges Buick’s global design language with Chinese aesthetics,” but next to Buick’s previous Chinese-designed masterpieces of contemporary “American-style” design like the Business, Invicta and Riviera concepts, it offers little to identify it as a Buick. In fact, it seems more like a tribute to the Hyundai Tucson, which itself is something of an homage to Ford’s Kinetic Design. Perhaps Buick’s designers are trying to signal the fact that, in the future, all crossovers will look exactly the same.

As of this moment, Audi has no plans to bring its Q3 “Crossunder” into the MINI Countryman/BMW X1/Nissan Juke/Mitsubishi Outlander Sport battle for the hearts of downsizing CUV-lovers brewing here in the US market… and yet Audi of America is teasing the thing on its Youtube channel. Does this mean we can expect this 3,300-ish lb CUV, offering 48.2/16.24 cubic feet of storage (rear seats down/up) to arrive stateside at some point? We’d certainly be surprised if that didn’t happen somewhere down the line…

Even though Chevy’s new Malibu doesn’t get officially revealed until next Tuesday, and won’t actually go into production until January or reach dealers until the following spring (that’s right, a year from now), here’s a big, fat picture of the thing. After the Camaro-inspired taillight tease, I would guess that more than a few folks were expecting something a little more bold from the redesign, rather than the round-n-crease update we’re getting. We’ll withhold judgement until we see more, but as a first real look at a car that’s being rushed into production, this one leaves us feeling a little flat. But hey, at least we have plenty of time to get used to it.