Senior editor Matt Stone took the Crosstour on a 750-mile road trip. "It ain't pretty, but it sure works. I folded the seats down and filled the back with stuff. It was an easy road cruiser with impressive range, too. This isn't a vehicle that's about driving excitement, and it will be interesting to see if the market really takes to the new generation of hatchback sedans or not."

Download Long Term Update 4: 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour

Don't feel bad about it. I don't. Few mortal men are truly man enough to drive the Z06. In fact, if the phrase "Professional Race Car Driver" doesn't appear on your resume, don't even bother. (And "race car driver" doesn't apply to your Spec Miata, or that clunker you and your friends drag to LeMons. If it ain't televised, it doesn't count.)

Download First Test: 2011 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

What would you do with 323 cubic feet of space on wheels? (I'd swear my first apartment was smaller than that.) Nissan hopes there are plenty of small-fleet owners -- companies with less than 15 vehicles -- and individual buyers who are interested in this huge amount of space, available in the new NV line of vans. The company has done extensive research on the van market, and learned that owners in this segment are the least satisfied with their vehicles. Nissan saw this as a huge opportunity. After all, there's the rugged Titan platform; put a van body on there, and -- presto, change-o -- you have a van, right?

Download First Drive: 2012 Nissan NV2500 HD

The existence of the 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon -- a brazen, wonderful, and bewildering thing -- is a miracle. Pointless excess manifested onto four wheels, this 556-horsepower creature, equipped with a manual transmission, has the appeal of a 72-ounce steak that you have to eat in an improbably short amount of time to get it free. Its awesomeness is strangely addictive; people watch "Man vs. Food," after all. And they enjoy it.
The Caddy's ingredients may lack the preposterous quantities in the overweight cheeseburgers on that show, but they nonetheless astonish:
1 CTS Sport Wagon
1 6.2-liter V-8
1 supercharger
1 six-speed manual transmission


Download First Test: 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon

Today most people consider the Ford Mustang to be the original muscle car. After all, it did start a revolution of sorts with companies building smaller cars with bigger engines to satisfy the appetite of the American consumer. Its seems to us that one legendary automaker, now more known for building your grandfather’s car, was poised to begin the horsepower arms race in the early 1950s. Oldsmobile was part of the larger General Motors conglomerate that had strict marketing and production plans for its various monikers.

Download 1949 - 1960 Oldsmobile Rocket 88

Fun. It's what's been missing from the recently redesigned Volkswagen Jetta. VW gave the car new lines, a bigger cabin and more power across the board, but somewhere along the way, the Jetta got a bit too serious. So far there have been just two models, the entry-level 2.5 and the frugal TDI.

Download First Drive: 2006 Volkswagen Jetta GLI

It's a balancing act that would challenge a Cirque du Soleil performer. When you're one of the most prestigious car companies in the world and it's time to update your flagship, certainly you want to wow the crowd with some new material, but you also want to maintain your trademark style and personality. Especially when you have a 90-percent owner loyalty rate (meaning the S-Class enjoys a helluva lot of repeat business) and you've dominated your market segment for years. A tough challenge indeed.

Download First Drive: 2007 Mercedes-Benz S550

We switch the Suzuki's four-mode four-wheel drive into the 4L Lock position and begin our ascent of the muddy hill. It isn't exactly K2, but recent rains have left much of the Santa Monica Mountains sloppy enough for it to challenge the 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara Luxury.

Download Full Test: 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara Luxury

Saab is controversial.

Whether talking to loyalists who are angry about the "Saabaru" 9-2X or the Trailblazer-based 9-7X, or critics who think the whole brand should be scrapped given GM's current financial woes — there's plenty of angst surrounding the marque.

Download First Drive: 2006 Saab 9-3 Aero Convertible

BMW's latest M Roadster succeeds in two related ways: It grows some, ahem, "whiskers" on the otherwise masculinity-challenged Z4 with butch styling; and secondly, the implicit promise that the body makes is kept with honest-to-M3 muscle. More than a mere dress-up kit or sport pack, the 2006 M Roadster takes the finesse inherent in the Z4's already competent, baseline chassis and infuses it with heart-pounding performance derived from the M division's vast knowledge — with a little help from parts-bin raiding.

Download Full Test: 2006 BMW M Roadster

A leak within Mercedes allegedly leaked a sketch of a redesigned A-Class hatchback. If the leaked image is truly a sketch of what is to become the future A-Class, we are truly impressed by the new styling.

Download Redesigned Mercedes-Benz A-Class Sketch Leaked Online

It has been asserted that the world's best cars are built within a day's drive of the European Alps. The all-new 2008 Audi TT Coupe, manufactured in the shadow of Bavaria's rugged mountains, certainly lives up to this maxim. After several days of driving two new versions of the TT through Germany and Austria, we discovered them to be fully mature sports cars distinguished by lightweight aluminum space frame construction, exquisitely balanced handling and torque-rich powertrains.

Download First Drive: 2008 Audi TT Coupe

Beginning this year, Mercedes-Benz will become patron of The Open Championship, a tournament with roots dating back to 1860. As a result of this move, Mercedes-Benz is now represented at three of the four major golf tournaments as the exclusive automotive partner. The announcement was made by Mercedes-Benz at the Dubai Desert Classic, a golf tournament on the European Tour at which the brand with the star is represented as a partner.

Download Mercedes-Benz Continues Golf Support Becoming Partner of “The Open Championship”

Concept cars and spy photos couldn’t prepare us for the stunning inoffensiveness of the ninth-generation Honda Civic, coming to dealers this spring as a 2012 model. Despite the sedate looks of the new models, they’re guaranteed shopper favorites—the company sold over 260,000 Civics in 2010, and the nameplate is likely to continue racking up big numbers going forward. That’s because the new car is shaping up to do what Civics have always done best: deliver good fuel economy and a fun steer at a sensible price.

Download 2012 Honda Civic / Civic Hybrid / Civic Si

The gloves are off at Toyota. After a couple of false starts, Toyota now has a laser-lock on the cash cows of Chrysler, GM, and Ford: full-size trucks. And it's gone right to the heartland of truck culture to get it right this time, building a brand-new factory in San Antonio, Texas, to manufacture a truck codenamed 400N, the bigger, bolder, tougher replacement for the Tundra that's due to go on sale next year as a 2007 model.

Download 2007 Toyota Tundra Breaks Cover

When the Audi Sportback Concept sauntered into the Detroit spotlights last year, the four-ring brand told us that the "concept" was very close to what would become the production A7, a car we hear will debut late this summer at the Moscow Motor Show in August. A few months short of its rumored date with destiny, though, we've caught it working out at the Nurburgring.

Download Audi A7 at the 'Ring