It was a stellar year for the introduction of cool new rides, but four out of my top five were updates of existing machinery. Herein, five at various price points that stayed in my mind. Ford Flex EcoBoost From the moment the Flex debuted, I dug its look and out-of-the-box (pun intended) take on the crossover thing: no faux offroad trappings, no trying to hide its people-carrier roots in swoopy sheetmetal. But when they stuffed in a 355hp twin-turbocharged, direct-injection monster motor I fell in love. The Ecoboosted Flex will smash sixty in six seconds flat, and feels even faster. Its stiffer chassis also handles more taughtly without loosing its smooth ride, its tranny shifts faster, and this Ford shows that you can implement electric power steering assist without giving up feel or precision (unlike two of the most disappointing cars I drove in ’09). If I had kids, I’d have one of these. Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Not only did it Korea’s first rear-drive sports car look fresh and original, but Hyundai had the guts to launch the Genesis Coupe at a race track. We journos thrashed them on a road course, autocross, and got unlimited chances ...

There are almost no truly awful vehicles these days. These aren’t necessarily the worst cars, trucks, or SUVs I drove in 2009, but in one way or another, they were the most distressing or disappointing. Chevrolet Camaro SS I really rather liked the V6-powered RS model—frugal, fast, and quick-witted. But the heavily hyped, 426hp big brother never met expectations. Sure, it looked awesome, but the Camaro SS neither pulled as hard as it should or had the decisive handling promised (blame its lardy chassis), and it didn’t even sound all that great. Chrysler Sebring Convertible Unlike the decent but unfulfilling SS, this one is rubbish: craptastic interior materials, a flexy structure, weak engines, overwrought styling inside and out, and an insanely high asking price akin to that of real convertibles. Bankruptcy anyone? GMC Terrain Forget about what I think of its exterior styling (or lack thereof); what sucks about the Terrain is how badly it misses the mark set long ago by the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. The 4-cylinder model promises great fuel economy: EPA ratings of 20mpg city and 29mpg highway. Yet, on a long drive across the Midwest, cruise set at 70mph, we couldn’t top 20.2mpg on ...

GM’s deal to sell Saab to tiny supercar maker Koenigsegg fell through recently, and the chances don’t look good that they’ll find a new buyer, which means Saab will be shuttered. I, for one, am sad. I have fond memories of our ’76 Saab 99; though it needed fairly constant upkeep—like most European cars of the day—it stoked my budding automotive enthusiasm. My dad would explain to me why the ‘cockpit’ style dash layout was superior to that of the Oldsmobile it had replaced, and both its traction in New England winters (courtesy of front-wheel drive) and staggering safety were ahead of their time. We were hit by a Chevy Suburban coming home one day; the 2000-pound heavier SUV was totaled, and most of its occupants injured. But we were all unmarked, and the faithful 99 still ran! Dad fixed it and sold it about a year later for a Volvo. I lusted after a Saab Turbo, the first successful, mass-produced car with forced induction, and when I finally got to drive one at 16, I was thrilled. A year later I went to work for the (Skip) Barber-Saab Pro Series, and though the Swedish company ...

Hum it with me: Raindrops on roses And whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles And warm woolen mittens… These are a few of my favorite things Since scraping ice off your windshield at 6am isn’t one of anyone’s favorite things about winter, I had planned to make life a little easier for my better half, by adding a remote start system to our old Honda. Zap! A toasty warm cockpit to climb into, a clear view all round, and no Jack Frost nipping at her nose. “But,” she told me, “They’re illegal in Denver!” Friends concurred. Indignant, I leveraged my awesome journalist skills and made a few phone calls. Turns out they are not. What was causing the confusion were various ‘Puffer’ ordinances (named after the telltale puffs of smoke from the tailpipe as a vehicle warms up on a frigid day). And yes: leaving your keys in the car as it defrosts is a no-no. Aurora will give you a $75 ticket; other cities and counties have similar ordinances. This has nothing to do with environmentalism, and everything to do with cutting down on thefts. From a climatic-impact standpoint, it’s actually better to allow a car’s catalytic converters and other parts ...

I recently read an essay in Foreign Affairs magazine by Edward L. Morse, a very respected specialist on oil and energy markets. His well-researched and logical thesis is that the price of oil may stay low for the medium term, especially if the government makes some smart decisions in the near future. What’s behind his contention? Several factors, foremost that the head of OPEC, Saudi Arabia, has an interest in a stable market, both as a U.S. ally and for its own economic benefit. During the oil price spikes of the last few years, the Saudis hadn’t finished building and bringing online a ‘reserve capacity’ to handle major increases in demand and/or shortfalls elsewhere (caused by hurricanes, terrorist disruptions, etc). But now Saudi Arabia has the capacity to produce 12.5 million barrels per day—compared to only 9.5 in 2002. This gives it even more influence in OPEC, and with the G-20 (the group representing the world’s leading economies). These savvy Arabians know that not only does cheap oil drive global growth, but that it deters investment in alternative energy—which just doesn’t make short-term economic sense when oil is under $80 per barrel. It’s not like OPEC ...

Over the past five or six years one of the areas of car safety that has improved is whiplash protection and neck injury. Leading safety advocates like Saab and Volvo came up with ‘active’ headrests over a decade ago. These stayed at a comfortable distance from the back of occupant’s skulls, but in the event the car being rear-ended, moved forward to reduce the gap between the person and seat—dramatically reducing the incident of neck injuries. The IHSS found a 43% reduction from Saab’s system, which is astounding. So effective were they that our government decided we all needed to be protected, and 2009 vehicles have to either have active restraints or headrests that basically press on the back of occupant’s heads at all times. Now, I’m all for passive safety—especially when there’s rarely anything one can do when someone careens into the back of your car. But the implementation of these laws varies so widely it behooves consumers to make sure they can live with what the manufacturers have done. Some do it right: even inexpensive cars from Kia and Hyundai have active headrests that stay out of your way until there’s a crash; they use ...

Apropos that it was NPR where I heard that the Obama administration was to announce strict new carbon limits (i.e. fuel economy standards) on new personal vehicles. In 2016, which is just around the corner, cars’ and trucks’ fleet average (known as CAFE) will need to be 35.5mpg. Cars will need to average an astonishing 42mpg—which, basically, nothing but a Prius or Jetta TDI delivers in real-world use. Welcome to the brave new world! Watching the president’s speech live a few hours later, I had mixed feelings. Yes, we all need to step to the plate and do necessary—if painful—things if we’re to insure continued quality of life for future generations. I applaud his stand. But the continued demonization of the automobile as the main cause of global angers me deeply.

It’s been a Mazda kind of month. Over the last week I’ve helped two clients purchase used Mazdas: a 3 and 6. And I just climbed out of a Mazda5 people hauler and into a CX-9 crossover to zoom to the airport. Recently I drove one of the new Mazda6’s competitors, reminding me how good that sedan is. What they all have in common is uncommon excellence. In fact, there’s little in Mazda’s lineup that’s not best-in-class. Perhaps the smaller CX-7’s turbo motor isn’t for everyone (nor is its less than stellar fuel economy) and the Tribute is merely a rebadged Ford. But the rest of the clan combines reliability, usefulness, and—most especially—a focus on the driver that’s missing in more mainstream motors. What really brought it home was a wrong turn or two on that airport run the forced me to exercise the CX-9’s superb dynamics to get back on schedule. In the middle of the stress of being lost, I realized how much fun I was actually having thrashing such a ‘pedestrian’ ride as I blasted through the industrial wilds of Commerce City. This enthusiastic bent is of course endemic ...