Dan Neil: Rumble Seat

The 556-horsepower sedan is a speedster that provides superb cornering and control in a refined and seductive package.

Dudes, it’s as sleek and cool as a certain sports car. There’s even a TV. But what if you want toast?

Europe’s Car of the Year is fun to own and drive -- not least because of its fuel economy.

Where are the hot-cool small cars, the drive-all-night cars, the panties-on-the-mirror cars?

The total family package is high-functioning and deserves a good home.

And it’s solid and safe, with charisma to boot.

Thanks to the A4, a troubled Audi was recharged in the ‘90s. This time the brand doesn’t need saving, but the sedan comes back looking like a hero anyway.

A rejiggered product from Down Under, the G8 tries hard to please. Just don’t compare it to the BMW 5-series.

The popular crossover has lost the boxiness and gained a few inches. In other words, there’s more space for your legs, plus the skis, bikes or kids.

Growing numbers of travelers venture to remote and fragile places knowing that their presence makes matters worse. Here’s a solution.

As a reborn pony car, the fuel-inefficient Challenger is a retro stallion

The GM import is as entertaining and nimble as its German cousin, the Opel Astra.

Finding solitude in Joshua Tree National Park -- albeit with a satellite phone, GPS unit and locator beacon. Call it ‘e-survival.’

The sedan has the requisite sparkle and performance, but feels like a luxury car wrapped around an economy powertrain.

The best-selling small SUV in Europe vrooms to American shores.

A marvel of power and speed, the all-wheel-drive GT-R coupe is so safe and serene that it’s curiously lacking in thrills.

The new luxury sedan has all the sparkle and power you’d expect. If they could just do something about that grille.

The 200-mph supercar, basically a Porsche Motorsport version of the 911 Turbo, is all the scarier for its effortless ways.

The Murano’s new front looks more aggressive, but not much has changed on the road.

The 135i packs a lot of oomph into its little body, but those looks . . .

The little car that could grows out but, whew, not up with the Clubman.

In looks, ride, even in sound, a Ford Mustang edition pays proper homage to a legend.

The eight-speed IS-F brings swift splendor to the high-performance luxury club.

The new Audi TT is a bolder, sleeker version of its old self. Yes, still the designer’s dream car.

Computer-like precision kind of takes the fun out of it.

A sneak peek shows the truck-nugget tackles today’s big issues: driveability, fuel efficiency, space.

The Subaru Impreza WRX STI is still rowdy enough to delight true believers. Yet nuance is part of the story in ’08.

Infiniti’s feisty little hatchback protects car and driver with its lane sensors and AVM cameras.

The Tahoe Hybrid is smart, smooth and strong, but it’s a lot of vehicle for a little environmental progress.

Heavy on the technical -- and on the bulk

It’s average, but that’s a good thing.

Mercedes GL320 CDI is just fine, but it’s another SUV in a world that should be thinking green.

From stem to stern, Audi’s S5 Coupe is one smooth operator, all refinement and lubriciousness. Get it on the highway, and it moves like greased lightning.

Plagued by reliability issues, the company is doing damage control with its new C-class.

The Chrysler Town & Country Limited -- quick, comfortable and commodious -- is a patriarch among minivans.

Overindulgence done right, Mercedes-Benz’s CL63 is luxe lightning.

If you didn’t sign up in 2004, you’re outta luck.

The Accord EX-L’s quieter, safer, more middle-of-the road. Just like its target audience.

Automobile Columnist

Upgrades inside and out give the coupe a more refined feel.

The late actor’s Ferrari goes to auction this week. Auto critic Dan Neil slips into a machine from another age and drives like a Bullitt.

With a nifty and satisfying sport-utility like this in its portfolio, the automaker may save itself yet.

Chrysler’s ’08 Sebring Convertible has a nifty roof mechanism. But things go down quickly from there.

The C30 could mark the emergence of a species: Volvo rockinus.

The classy automaker goes ultra-sassy with a supercar for grown-ups.

Ford’s new offering is quite a looker, and much more affordable than the luxury brand.

Looks aside, there’s plenty to praise in the 2008 Scion xB -- more fun, more substance, more room inside. And isn’t beauty an inner glow?

Pumped up and powerful, this Mercedes brings a racy pedigree to the street.

SOMEWHERE in Germany, rich guys are geschwinging around in their 400-hp, mega-dollar Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG Black Series, the excessively excessive version of the company’s yar little roadster.

The 2007 Tundra competes in the large pickup market with all the right gadgets

LAS VEGAS Visitors take laps and clock their times at the speedway.

You can get away from the dealing and into wheeling, on two wheels or four, tracks or dunes. Racing schools can help kick your visit into gear.

In Germany, automakers are in fierce competition to come up with the most jaw-dropping shrines. Car-loving travelers, come peek under the hood.

Porsche’s 911 Turbo for 2007, the class of its class, simply laughs at lag.

No question, there’s a lot of bunny for the buck here. VW’s re-engineered Rabbit is agile, sturdy and quite a catch.

With the Sky, GM has polished up its vision for a darty little two-seat convertible. In a Saturn, no less.

In the Mercedes CLK 63, any pangs of conscience get blown right into the countryside.

Acura’s RDX isn’t perfect. But it’s fun, attainable and has a lot of personality.

Heavy and sluggish, the 2007 Caliber forgets about fun. Sorry, Dodge, but what were you thinking?

The weekly auto review takes a giddy spin down the streets of Pasadena in the world’s first vehicle -- and reflects on an era when wheels like these first touched the pavement.

Sales and quality are way up at Hyundai. Nevermind that the boss is in jail.

The carmaker stumbles with Sedona. Nice trimmings can hide only so much.

But odd snout aside, Jaguar’s XK has a sultry, sinewy style. Sports car fans: Prepare to be hooked.

The frugal and frisky Mazda5 ‘space wagon’ has a place for everything, including four kids.

The 9-3 SportCombi is one sweet Swede, a slick wagon that shows what the company can do when it sticks to its roots.

Volkswagen pulls its fine-tuned Phaeton from the U.S., where performance is important but badge image is everything. Really, it never had a chance.

Like a Trojan horse, Camry sneaks gas-saving radicalism into a trusted American staple.

Like other hybrids, this Honda makes you feel good by saving gas. But it looks cool too.

Think luxurious. Think flash. OK, even hybrid. The Germans are. (Think about that, L.A.)

Not since torch-wielding peasants chased Frankenstein’s monster through the town square has such a noble spirit been so mercilessly taunted.

Plenty of pound-feet -- that’s torque -- help make the ultra-performance version of Mercedes’ E-Class one of the best cars in the world, if not the best.

A lighted fuse of polished elegance and high ambition, Chrysler’s latest riff on the history of car design is bound to hold up well over time.

If you ever despair that the U.S. auto industry is whirling, slowly but with gathering momentum, down the tubes of history, the second-generation Toyota Prius will give you no comfort.

The xB from Toyota’s Scion brand is a kind of stereo on wheels, aimed squarely at Japanophile Gen-Y buyers barely old enough to drive. Parents won’t get it, but that’s the point.

Nissan’s super-sized Pathfinder Armada is aimed squarely at Detroit’s most profitable piece of the SUV segment. But do bigger ends justify bigger means?

With its futuristic, look-at-me XLR convertible, GM’s luxury brand delivers a diamond in the rough.

All that’s missing from the well-engineered TL is personality.

The all-new Bentley Continental GT is a feast for the senses as well a drain on the wallet

Supercharged and hyperactive, the Mini Cooper gets the ‘Works’