Worth a look at Philadelphia Auto Show

It's that time of year when the Philadelphia International Auto Show converts the Convention Center into a glitzy garage, a kind of Waldorf for Wheels.

In the course of an eight-day run that opens today, the show will usher a quarter-million people in off the streets and invite them to get up close and personal with the 700 vehicles on its guest list.

If you are a good gearhead, someone worth his or her 10W30, you'll want to see all 700. But if you don't want to take the time to examine every ride on several floors of displays, you certainly will want to make sure you see the Must-Sees.

So here is a quick, capsule look at some of the most important new models at the show. A number of these Must-Sees are 2010 models making their East Coast debuts here and won't be in the marketplace for several months:

Ford Taurus: Set to arrive in showrooms in the summer, this 2010 model is a large, stylish sedan that ought to put the Taurus back on the family four-door map. Like the Lincoln MKS sedan, the recently arrived Ford Flex wagon and the soon-to-arrive Lincoln MKT crossover, the Taurus is yet another very different use of the same Volvo platform.

The new Taurus will start at $25,900, Ford marketing manager Mike Crowley disclosed at the show previews yesterday.

"We see it competing with the Chevy Impala, Chrysler 300, and, to some extent, the pricier Toyota Avalon," he said.

The Taurus is motivated by a 3.5-liter, 263-horsepower V-6 and a six-speed automatic gearbox. Its available gear includes adaptive cruise control and blind-spot monitoring.

While at the Ford stand, check out the redesigned, 2010 Mustang, due in March, and the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, which will arrive in April with a 41 m.p.g. city rating that will bloody the midsize competition.

Nissan 370Z: This all-new 2009 model, which began arriving in showrooms in mid-January, marks the gutsier second coming of the 350Z. It is, in other words, a 332-horsepower, kick-butt sports car with a nifty coupe body and a starting price under $30,000 ($29,930, to be exact).

"We wanted to be careful not to let it slip out of the reach of middle America," Nissan spokesman Ken Paul said.

Chevrolet Equinox: This compact crossover, a 2010 model due late this summer, was redesigned with a view toward providing downsizing clientele with the higher level of refinement they are used to. Available with front- or all-wheel drive, the new Equinox also does well on gas. The front-drive model gets 30 m.p.g. on the highway when fitted with the 182-horsepower four, and 25 with its 264-horse, V-6 counterpart.

No price has been set.

The Chevy display also offers the rebirth of the Camaro and the Corvette ZR1. The Camaro will be reborn this spring, starting at an affordable $22,995 when fitted with the 300-horsepower V-6, and $30,995 when the 426-horse V-8 finds lodging under the hood.

Speaking of awesome horsie ratings, the recently released ZR1 boasts a supercharged V-8 that develops 638 horsepower.

The ZR1's starting tag is a horsehair under $104,000, which is peanuts for a supercar.

Lincoln MKT: This 2010 model is a smart, three-row, luxury crossover with very high-quality interior finish and the ability to park itself. Ford's Crowley says it will be here this summer with a starting price under $45,000.

Toyota Prius: The crown prince of hybrids has been redesigned to offer better styling and even better EPA mileage ratings (48 city and 45 highway). Starting price is $23,375. While in Toyota territory, also check out the new Camry Hybrid with EPAs of 33 city and 34 highway, and a base price of $26,150.

You'll also want to take a look at the edgy, opulent 2010 Cadillac SRX crossover and the recently minted, 556-horsepower Cadillac CTS-V, the fastest V-8 production sedan in the world.