The soon-to-come Japanese Yankee hauler, also know as the 2009 Toyota Venza, will offer its exclusively American car buyers something refreshingly new: a menu of options priced and ordered independent of vehicle trim.

Instead of prepackaging more coveted options and matching them with more luxurious variants, Toyota decided to follow the Scion brand model and let Venza buyers check off what they want across all trims. "Toyota may be on to something with this idea," John Wolkonowicz, an industry analyst at IHS Global Insight told The Detroit News. "I think the days of the trim levels to the consumer are gone. There are so many of them out there, the designations now don't mean anything to anyone."

As I mentioned previously, the Venza will be offered with 2 engines -- the 2.7-liter four-cylinder and the 3.5-liter V-6. My projected price range of $22,000 to $28,000 for both models was below the mark, but close. The 4-cyl Venza will go for $25,975, while those who opt for the all-wheel-drive V-6 version can expect to pay $29,250.