MotorMouths

People buy GT500s for overkill, and this car is no exception. No matter how you slice it, you’re getting a blue ton of horsepower for less than $60,000, and that’s a feat to be applauded.

The SLK55’s sports-car clothing and soundtrack can be misleading, but ultimately, this is a remarkably balanced, fast touring car. It’s anything but cheap, but the noise—that beautiful, lavish noise—is worth every penny.

The 2012 Passat is longer than the outgoing model, is styled like a bar of soap, and will likely cost about $7000 less than its predecessor.

The Bentley Mulsanne is an intangible representation of everything that is good and bad about Great Britain, and if you don’t like it, you are either too poor or too ordinary or both. No matter. This is the best four-door that Bentley has to offer.

Mercedes-Benz famously believes that its cars have no competition. In the case of the CL, regardless of specification, instills no doubt. Have a fat wallet and want a fast, comfortable, and adult German coupe? This is the best you’re going to get.

The Cadillac CTS-V coupe is the best kind of excess. It’s fast, refined, and comfortable. The steering is feelsome and responsive, the chassis possessed of nimble reflexes that belie the car’s weight. The seats are comfortable, the interior decently crafted.

The Subaru WRX STI is still the most approachable and user-friendly all-wheel-drive speed demon on the market, a go-anywhere, do-anything piece of all-weather genius that wants to be your friend in a million different ways. The suspension updates merely sharpen the knife.

Public perception aside, the emotions are what matter, and the emotions are nice. The CTS-V coupe makes me proud to come from this country, proud to not be evil. It’s a kid-hauling Corvette for the person who wants a fun, fast car with no stigmas or strings attached.

Is this the most entertaining hybrid car money can buy? Yes. Is it what I want and, frankly, what the market needs? Not quite. Make no mistake: The CR-Z is not a bad car. But there’s something missing here.

A base Carrera is not this friendly. A GT3 is not this forgiving. No 911 pivots this well. The Boxster Spyder is the best-handling car Porsche currently makes, which puts it high in the running for best-handling new car, period.

Is the XJ a fully formed answer to Jaguar’s needs? Is it perfect? Will it solve the company’s sales and demographic problems? No, maybe, and only time will tell. Regardless, it’s a pretty good step in the right direction, and it’s a Jaguar. In the end, those things give us hope.

The Ford Fiesta will hit American dealers in a few short months. If you are possessed of a driver’s license and a functional brain, you will get yourself to your local Ford shop and arrange a test drive as soon as cars become available. You will not regret it.