MotorMouths

If you were a fan of the previous Infiniti FX, you’ll dig the new one. It’s more of the same: more power, more handling, more luxury and more in-your-face styling.

It’s not that the 2009 BMW M3 isn’t a good car. It’s an astonishingly outstanding car. But the heart palpitations we used to feel for the old car are gone.

The introduction of the rest of the Challenger lineup is all good news, a fine lineup that will give the Mustang a run for its money.

At less than the price of a Nissan Maxima and with considerably more performance, the 2009 Pontiac G8 strikes us as a bargain for those hungry for horsepower, or just a good-driving everyday sedan.

The 2009 Ford Flex is the first time you could look at a vehicle designed for hauling kids to soccer practice and actually call it cool without getting strange looks from your friends.

The Subaru Forester chipped away at our stony hearts and worked its way in. Sure, it’s still sort of funny looking, but this is a solid compact crossover SUV.

Thrilling yet practical, the Mazdaspeed 3 is the best kind of cheap date – and you won’t want to kick it out of bed for quaffing an extra quart of oil.

The Mitsubishi Galant Ralliart edition delivers a nice dose of fun, and is loaded with personality, but like a guy who laughs too loud and too often, it quickly gets annoying.

While Nissan has certainly upped the performance and visual punch of the Maxima, it still falls short of the company’s “four-door sports car” goal.

The 2009 Buick Lucerne is a big, traditional American sedan, and if that’s the kind of car you want, it definitely nails the formula.

The 2009 Volkswagen Routan doesn’t break any new ground. However, we think that the changes made to make the Routan a VW help considerably.

The 2009 BMW X6 does a number of things well, but nothing better than many of its stablemates: An X5 has more passenger room. A 3 Series handles better. A Z4 looks better. All of them are less expensive than the X6, too.