The 2010 Mercury Milan, scheduled to arrive in dealerships by spring of 2009, will be more fuel efficient, stylish and feature-packed than its predecessor. It receives assertive new exterior styling, more powerful and frugal engines. A killer 390-watt, sound system is available, too.

Ford Motor Company's mid-range Mercury brand has long occupied the middle ground between somewhat more affordable Fords and more upscale Lincolns. That is not expected to change going forward, but Mercury will become more European in size, style and character and more slanted toward fuel efficiency. So, not surprisingly—since Ford has redesigned its already excellent parallel hybrid system and is expanding its availability to substantially upgraded Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan mid-size sedans—the 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid joins its Ford cousin, and the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner (compact crossover) Hybrids double both the size and volume of the company's hybrid lineup. Official EPA ratings put these fine new Fusion and Milan Hybrids at 41 mpg city and 36 highway, beating Toyota's '09 mid-size Camry Hybrid by eight and two mpg, respectively.

When Mercury handed over the keys to the metallic "Dark Toreador Red" 2010 Grand Marquis, we weren't really sure what to expect. The layout is definitely a throwback to the cars most of us grew up with: Full size, V8-powered, rear-wheel-drive sedans with seating capacity for six adults. The question that perplexed us was whether the Grand Marquis is "old school" or retro cool? For the most part, it turned out to be neither. Read on and you'll find out why.

Look over your shoulder in a shopping mall parking lot and you'll spy plenty of "cute utes" (those adorable little-car based crossover SUVs. They seem like they're everywhere but, believe it or not, there are some folks who require a truck-based SUV to drive for more than a quick trip to the local mall or grocery store. And if you intend to get dirty off road or haul something substantial with your SUV then you know exactly what we're talking about. Plenty of today's popular crossovers (those based upon what is essentially front-wheel-drive passenger-car underpinnings) can do those chores to a certain degree, but to haul a big trailer, carry a heavy load, or mix it up off-road (or possibly accomplish all three at once) then you have to rethink your options.

It wasn't that long ago that the sport-utility vehicle was the hottest property on the automotive planet. Fuel costs have obviously taken quite a bit of the luster off the SUV shine but, the truth is, it's very difficult to beat a sport ute when it comes to practicality. Nothing can match the versatility or the packaging. They're that good.

What's a lover of the environment and outdoor activities to do? A small car makes a lower carbon footprint, but can't carry the gear for a backwoods adventure. And a small car certainly can't go past where the groomed road ends. That means many outdoors enthusiasts need a sport-utility vehicle. But those tend to make big, stomping carbon footprints, which is embarrassing for the environmentally conscious. Here's a vehicle that can carry a lot of stuff to that secluded campsite, while minimizing damage to the environment-the 2010 Mercury Mariner Hybrid.

If life requires an economical, friendly-priced, well-equipped four-door sedan, but you'd like to stand out from the mid-size segment crowd a bit, the 2009 Mercury Milan is a definite answer. With a starting price of about $20,000 and fuel economy of up to 29 miles per gallon on the highway, the Milan may be the right car at the right time.

Sometimes only a traditional, large, comfortable-riding, full-framed, V8-powered, six-passenger, rear-wheel drive, big North American car will do the job. It's then when the Mercury Grand Marquis LS is ready to step into the game.

Some folks still need hard-working SUVs to carry their families and haul and tow their stuff, and Mercury's 2009 Mountaineer-like its other Mercury stablemates-strikes a comfortable "just right," mid-size balance. It's smaller, more subtle, more fuel-efficient, and much more affordable than a Lincoln Navigator-yet more upscale and expressive than the mechanically similar Ford Explorer.

Extracting an extra mile from every gallon of gas may not seem like a huge accomplishment. However, Mercury engineers spent a lot of time working to increase the 2009 Mariner's fuel mileage by one mpg. If you do your part by driving at or below the speed limit, avoiding aggressive acceleration, combining errands, turning off the engine to prevent unnecessary idling, avoiding time consuming and dangerous left turns, keeping your tires fully inflated, frequently replace the air filter, and making certain your Mariner is properly maintained, that measly one mpg might grow to five, seven or more additional mpg.

With gasoline prices mimicking the motto of Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story movies—"To infinity and beyond!"—it's good to know there's a very economical sport-utility vehicle on the market. It doesn't hurt that it's also fun to drive, roomy and practical.

While sales in the large SUV segment have softened, small sport utes remain hot. The popularity of the breed lies largely in their versatility and all weather friendly, all wheel drive. Mercury's compact SUV Mariner first rolled out in 2005 and returns for 2008 with new sheet metal, a fresh interior and chassis upgrades.

The easier you make it for people to do the right thing, the more likely they are to do so. That as much as anything explains the growing popularity of hybrid-powered vehicles in this country. We like our SUVs for their space, their image and, most of all, their go-anywhere, in-any-weather attitude. But we don't like being on a first-name basis with the cashier at the local gas station. And many of us don't want to be hoggish about using more natural resources than we need to. So, the end of the payment book sparked many drivers to migrate out of their large SUVs, in search of something smaller, greener and more economical. Mercury is among the happy recipients of this influx of buyers.

Don't you just love great vehicle names? Names you can pronounce, understand and remember, instead of confusing alphanumeric badges. So it is on today's Mercury vehicles — the mid-size Milan and full-size Sable sedans, compact Mariner crossover (CUV) and midsize Mountaineer SUV. The latter is not only poised and ready to take on mountain roads and trails, towing a boat, wave runners, mountain bikes or snowmobiles, but completely at home on the highway or a night on the town in style and comfort.