Staging an SUV introduction at a racetrack probably isn't unique. But it is certainly unusual - unless you're Acura and have an all-new Nürburgring-tuned MDX sport-ute featuring sophisticated torque-balancing strategies and an available magnetic shock system with switch-selectable sport and comfort programs. Then you fly journalists to BeaveRun racetrack in Pennsylvania in squadrons of helicopters and let them loose on the track alongside a selection of competitive vehicles.

Having pored over the socioeconomic star charts, interpreted tea leaves, studied chicken entrails, and otherwise peered into the future, Acura's marketing soothsayers foresaw a new and growing portal in the sales cosmos for a vehicle class they identify as "entry premium CUV" (Crossover Utility Vehicle). Fortified by this wisdom, the Acura product-development team created this vehicle to exploit the potential seam in the automotive firmament: the RDX, a "CUV" conceived to have plenty of "valet cachet" and also sufficient cargo space for the accouterments of 30-something professionals - Acura refers to them as "high-energy urbanites" living a "24/7 lifestyle." Acura's portrayal of a 24/7 urban lifestyle includes kayaks, mountain bikes, scuba gear, snowboards, and other bulky items. No problem. The rear seats fold flat - without removing the headrests - creating a 61-cubic-foot cargo hold.

For 2007, the Acura TL line will sprout a Type-S boasting a more powerful engine and a sport-tuned suspension. According to The Boston Globe, power output grows to 286, a gain of 28 hp, and torque rises 23 lb-ft. to 256. Previously, Acura offered a TL A-spec handling and appearance package, although it offered no bump in power. While the A-spec was a dealer-installed kit, the Type-S is a factory-produced regular model

We've already sung the praises of Audi's chic Q7 several times. Most recently, the Q7 placed an impressive second (behind the Mercedes-Benz GL450) in a recent comparison between five brand-new seven-passenger luxo-utes. The Q7 4.2 is a welcome addition to a field already crowded with leather-lined land yachts, but far from exceeding its capacity for those with the kind of performance and style that characterize the Q7.

Various German automakers have been promising to bring an exotic, high-powered mid-engined sports car to America ever since Mercedes showed the C111 Wankel-powered road burner in 1970. The closest they ever came was the recent $450,000 Porsche Carrera GT. Now Audi has shown a new middle-motored exotic that will come to market for less than a fourth of the Porsche's price

At 150 mph down the long straight at our high-desert testing ground, the '07 Audi RS 4 performs the same gentle rear-end boogie I remember from an autobahn experience with it in Germany. That particular dance partner was a German model we were testing alongside a BMW and Mercedes-Benz, and all three drivers that day remarked on the peculiar rear-end gyration.

Please pay attention, because this gets complicated. Audi's sedan range consists of A-cars in four sizes: A3, A4, A6, and A8. The S3, S4, S6, and S8 are faster, sportier versions. Even quicker, more focused vehicles devised by subsidiary Quattro GmbH are designated RS.

Volkswagen, which also owns Audi, Bentley, and Lambor­ghini, has not been shy in recent years about sharing hardware among its marques. This brand blurring is best characterized by VW's luxury-sedan entry, the Phaeton, which was a relation of Audi's big A8 sedan. As it turned out, Americans wouldn't accept a Volkswagen with a $70,000 sticker, and the German automaker has withdrawn the car from the U.S. market. However, another VW-owned car, the $170,000 Bentley Continental GT, is hugely popular, despite a lot of its inventory coming from the Phaeton's shelf.

Not many cars are icons right from the moment of introduction, but Audi's TT definitely belongs to this select club. From the moment the media and the public set eyes on Audi's dramatic Bauhaus styling, they drooled all over it. And if the exterior shape got them all a-quiver, the ground-breaking interior design helped blind most critics to the fact that the TT was built on a Golf platform of no particular distinction. The first cars were front-drivers and definitely lacked something in the refinement stakes. When Quattro versions appeared, they did much to civilize the steering, but it took the installation of the 3.2-liter V-6 and Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) to elevate the TT to a position of near parity in the premium European sports-coupe league.

The roadster version of Audi's new TT comes as no surprise, considering that the old TT also came in hard- and soft-top variants. But the TT roadster still has a few good tricks rolled up its sleeve that are worth mentioning. The first is something you can't see, but you can feel it. On the roadster, the structure that runs underneath the door is made of thicker aluminum, with more internal reinforcement than the coupe, but the outside shape is identical to that of the coupe. Reinforcing the side-sill structure in this way to compensate for the loss of the roof - instead of using heavy cross-bracing - makes the new TT roadster lighter than the outgoing 2006 model (there will be no 2007 in the U.S.) but Audi claims a 120-percent increase in structural stiffness. We won't know exactly how many pounds the open TT saves until the car arrives here in late 2007, but extensive use of aluminum throughout the front structure could shave as much as 300 pounds. Pricing is unknown at this point as well, but it should be close to the outgoing model - base price should start around $36,000 and fully-loaded model will get close to 50 grand.