MotorMouths

The new Ferrari 458 Italia is a most fitting successor to the F430. On the track at Fiorano, the 458 is a treat. It feels like a race car. Response is crisp from the throttle, steering and brakes.

The IS C is quiet and compliant, and the well-lined top doesn’t creak when it’s up, even in diagonal trips up driveways. The doors shut with a reassuring thud, and the driving position is excellent.

It’s not often that a car gets less expensive and sportier at the same time. But that’s exactly what has happened with the new Subaru WRX STI Special Edition.

This Lexus is an artful balance of several key elements (luxury, hybrid powertrain, advanced technology and ecological sensitivity) all directed to form a harmonious sedan.

The Lexus doesn’t quite have the immediacy or feedback of Infiniti’s G37. On the other hand, the IS C has the expected Lexus quality, and it looks great, especially topless.

The 2010 Nissan Altima Sedan remains a good car, nicely updated, attractively priced and likely to stay a best-seller thanks in part to its tight structure, excellent interior room and spacious trunk.

Is the time right for Lexus’s “world’s first dedicated luxury hybrid?” Time will tell, but one thing’s for sure: a sudden spike in fuel prices will guarantee the HS 250h’s success.

As you might expect, the 2008 Cadillac STS’s new 302 bhp V-6 feels like a reasonably powerful V-8. But it’s not quite a substitute.