Allison Joyce/Reuters

Introduced on Thursday, April 5: 2013 Toyota Avalon sedan.

What is it? The fourth generation of Toyota’s biggest and fanciest sedan.

Is it real? It has been nine model years since the last Avalon redesign, and it certainly was overdue.

New York Auto Show A look at high-profile vehicles making their debut.

What they said: “This is, without a doubt, the most beautiful car I’ve ever seen in the 20 years I’ve been with Toyota,” Bob Carter, Toyota’s American boss, said at the car’s introduction. He added that his boss, Akio Toyoda, agreed. “I get goose bumps every time I look at it, and I think Akio does, too. The first time we showed it to him he said, ‘Cool! Don’t change a thing.’ That kind of reaction from the boss gives us incentive to develop more models here for the American market.”

What they didn’t say: The Avalon is first-team all-American. It’s the only Toyota completely designed (California), engineered (Michigan), built (Kentucky), sold and serviced in the United States. It is more American than a great number of cars from nominally American manufacturers, who often build their cars in Mexico and Canada.

Some have called the Avalon Toyota’s Buick. But considering how much Buick has upped its own game in recent years, that would rank as something of a compliment.

What makes it tick? Mr. Carter made no specific mention of powertrain choices for the Avalon, though he made a cryptic comment about the big sedan being able to achieve “better m.p.g. than a Fiat 500,” which is rated by the E.P.A. at 30 miles per gallon in city driving and 38 m.p.g. in highway driving. Previous Avalons have been powered by a 3.5-liter V-6. Greg Thome, a Toyota spokesman, confirmed in a telephone interview that the 2013 model would see a V-6, but declined to discuss its displacement or power figures.

How much, how soon? The Avalon will appear in dealerships by the end of this year, Mr. Carter said. “When we get closer to launch, we’ll be ready to talk about pricing.” The outgoing Avalon started near $34,000. The new model probably can’t go much higher than that without stepping on the toes of Lexus, particularly those of its redesigned ES, also unveiled here.

How’s it look? Longer, lower and wider than the model it replaces, without much more than an inch, or fractions thereof, of differences in any of those dimensions. The proportions are more agreeable than those of the boxy third-generation model, about which the best thing that could be said was that it was a very large car — as is the new Avalon, but with greatly improved dynamics.