Toyota Highlander

The New York motor show isn't until March next year, but debuts and reveals have been confirmed by at least eight manufacturers ahead of the event. Some of these unveilings will come from Acura, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, all premium brands that will no doubt want to showcase important models at the New York show – but what will they be presenting exactly?

Toyota and Nickelodeon have joined forces to create a unique 2014 Toyota Kluger inspired by children's cartoon favourite SpongeBob SquarePants. The brightly coloured Kluger – called the Highlander in North America – will headline Toyota's promotion of the all-new third-generation SUV as it completes a four-month road trip around the US.

Following the lead of General Motors, Ford US has introduced an even more aggressive incentive program to encourage Japanese car buyers to abandon their brands in the wake of Toyota’s accelerator recall issues. From today until March 1, Ford is offering US$1000 rebates to owners of Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles as well as Honda and Acura cars made within the last 15 years.