MotorMouths

If the Toyota Prius is a pasty-faced computer geek from Plano, the 250h is a part-time greenie with a loft downtown, a closet full of Dallas clothes and a taste for Texas vodka.

Think of the ZDX as a mainstream Acura MDX crossover that has been chopped, shortened and treated to a full George Barris makeover – a radical body inspired by space-station hardware and old episodes of The Jetsons.

If you do more on weekends than go to the mall – if you enjoy occasional trips to Lake Travis or Padre Island or East Texas or Big Bend – the 2010 Toyota 4Runner can swallow whatever you throw at it.

When a 2011 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 SEL arrived, my first thought was that it would make a great next-generation Toyota. That’s not especially good news for those of us who see VW and immediately think GTI.

The basic Suburban platform is still an impressive mix of strength and smoothness. But if we’re going to live large in Plano and Grapevine, we may need a few more horses beneath that shiny hood.

The Panamera’s steering is superb – much lighter than you typically get in a BMW but quick and lively. The brakes stop the big sedan so rapidly you almost think for a second that you might be in a 911. But I could never spend 82 large on a big sports sedan whose looks I don’t like.

The 2010 Ram 2500 Laramie Crew Cab remains Chrysler’s best overall vehicle and the only one fully capable of running off to live in the wilds of extreme West Texas.

Maybe Americans will come to accept premium, European-style small cars, but I have doubts – especially if gas stays below $4 a gallon. The Fiesta, though, is a really fine first effort for the U.S. market. All it needs is a tweak or two, 30 more horsepower and more expensive gas.

I can’t fathom owning this tough, demanding car. But it’s also hard to imagine a world without the Viper, a raw, visceral, wildly exciting muscle/sports car that remains true to its performance-first roots.

If the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee I had recently is the first example of vehicles we can expect from this version of Chrysler – Chriat, maybe? – we can probably breathe a little easier. A lot easier, actually.

The bottom line is the new Sonata will make you forget old Elantras or Accents or whatever they were called. Say it fast enough, and Hyundai starts to sound like Honda.

The Honda CR-Z is good precisely because it doesn’t act or drive like another dopey hybrid. You can be green and kind of mean in a low-level, Birkenstock sort of way as you’re snicking through the six-speed transmission.