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The 2010 Detroit Auto Show is only a few months away, and as manufacturers work on rolling out their latest and greatest models to dealer lots, a select group of automotive journalists are working hard to decide what vehicles the 2010 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards should go to. From the vast selection of contenders, here are the final nominees:

Car of the Year
- BMW 335d
- Buick LaCrosse
- Cadillac CTS
- Chevrolet Camaro
- Ford Fusion / Fusion Hybrid
- Ford Taurus
- Honda Insight
- Kia Soul
- Mazda3 / Mazdaspeed3
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class
- Porsche Panamera
- Subaru Legacy
- Suzuki Kizashi
- Toyota Prius
- Volkswagen Golf / GTI

Truck of the Year
- Acura ZDX
- Audi Q5
- Cadillac SRX
- Chevrolet Equinox
- Ford Transit Connect
- Honda Crosstour
- Land Rover LR4
- Lincoln MKT
- Subaru Outback
- Volvo XC60

Obviously, we'll have to wait until January to see which vehicles actually win, but we at Winding Road know who we're rooting for. (And we aren't telling!) In the meantime, scroll through our gallery of all the candidates, and be sure to leave a comment and let us know who you think should win, and why.

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We've had news left and right of mildly interesting cars being killed off due to the financial state of the global automotive marketplace. But now here's one that hurts -- reports are now showing that Audi will be canning its plans to bring forth a production version of the R8 V-12 TDI, or TDI Le Mans.

Originally unveiled at the 2008 North American International Auto Show, the R8 V-12 TDI Concept featured a 5.5-liter turbo-diesel V-12 -- a complete monster, what with its 500 horsepower and 740 pound-feet of torque output numbers. But as you can imagine, it's not cheap to engineer or produce something to this caliber, and Audi thinks that its money is better spent on more sensible projects.

No official word has been given from Audi on this matter, but we're crossing our fingers in hopes that this V-12 oil-burner isn't headed for an early grave.

+ Motor Authority: Audi abandons plans for R8 V12 TDI

When Mini unveiled their latest Cooper Convertible at this year's Detroit Auto Show, they explained that they want consumers to drive with the top down as much as possible -- after all, that's the point of a convertible, and a rule we at NextAutos live by as much as humanly possible.

To promote this idea, Mini sent a group of guys through a car wash in the latest drop-top Cooper, and (you guessed it) told them to keep the roof off at all times. Check out the self-explanatory video to see the whole thing go down.

+ YouTube: MINI Cabrio Car Wash

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Ford pulled the wraps off of the new Lincoln MKT crossover this week at the Detroit Auto Show, and now that funky looking Flex-based vehicle has a price tag.

The base MKT with front-wheel drive and the 3.7-liter, 268-horsepower V-6 will start at $44,995, with all-wheel drive available. On the higher end of things, the MKT with AWD and EcoBoost will command $49,995, which makes it competitively priced with vehicles like the Acura MDX. Keep in mind, the EcoBoost V-6 will be capable of producing 355 horsepower but will offer roughly the same fuel economy as the base V-6 engine. For an additional $5000, customers can opt for the MKT's Elite Package, boasting adaptive cruise control, collision warning with brake support, cross traffic alert, blind spot monitoring, voice-activated navigation, and a power panoramic sunroof.

For all the details about the new Lincoln MKT, click on over to our auto show coverage and stay tuned for the new Lincoln to hit dealerships this coming summer. Click through the post for Ford's press release, as well.

Volkswagen unveiled its new BlueSport diesel roadster concept at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this week, and while we had dozens of still photos, VW has released an accompanying video to show the little sportster in action. While there's still no word if the BlueSport will ever see the light of day, we can only hope that Volkswagen will move forward with its plans to bring some sort of oil-burnig roadster to life, and this video gives us all the moor reason to get excited.

+ YouTube: VW BlueSport Mid-Engined Roadster Concept with 180HP Diesel

No, the Subaru Legacy Concept isn't the sexiest thing to come out of the Japanese automaker's design studio, but it is certainly a step in the right direction. We wouldn't mind if the next-generation Legacy looked a bit like this show car, but only time will tell what Subaru's plans for the mid-size Legacy are.

In the meantime, Subaru has released this video of the Legacy Concept from nearly every angle, so Subie fan boys, rejoice! Two minutes of Legacy hotness has arrived.

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While Mercedes-Benz didn't have an official press conference during the show, their latest little BlueZERO concept did make its way onto the show floor. The cute little Benz uses a unique sandwich-floor architecture which Mercedes-Benz had originally introduced for the A-Class and B-Class nearly ten years ago. The BlueZERO is Mercedes' entry into the small, electric concept car segment, showing that they have all of the necessary equipment to create vehicles like these.

For all of the details, click through the post and read M-B's press release, and click through the gallery above to see the BlueZERO live on the NAIAS floor.

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This afternoon, Fisker, the maker of the Karma plug-in hybrid, dropped
the veil, then dropped the top, on its new concept hardtop convertible,
the Karma S, also known as the Sunset. The Sunset features a
Fisker-exclusive lithium-ion battery, two electric motors, a sleek body
style, and a plush interior.

Although the Karma-S concept greatly resembles the production model
Karma, the crowd seemed pleased at the unveiling, but the champagne and
chocolate-covered strawberries may have had a hand in that.

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There are still a couple of arguments going on within the NextAutos staff as to whether or not the Lincoln C Concept gets thumbs up or thumbs down, but in any case, this new compact car from the Ford Motor Company will surely shake things up a bit if put into production. And even if the concept never does see the light of day, we're hoping that Ford uses that 1.6-liter EcoBoost four in other vehicle applications.

We've just returned with a few live shots of the little green Lincoln, so have a look through our gallery and let us know what you think.

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The BMW Z4 has undergone a major overhaul for the 2010 model year. The most significant of these changes is indeed the removal of the Z's soft top in place of a folding hardtop setup. Does this mean that no true Z4 Coupe will be on the horizon? Only time will well.

We told you earlier about the fine details of the new Z4, but we now have some live shots of the car looking pretty at the BMW stand. Have a look through our gallery for in-the-flesh shots of the all-new BMW roadster.