Auto News 5

What's the recipe for creating a niche coupe, using two of America's perennial top-selling sedans as a base? Lose the rear doors, craft an attractive rear end, and offer an optional manual gearbox to please enthusiasts. But unlike purpose-driven performance coupes such as the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang, sedan-based coupes must capture the essence of the four-door original in order to carry its fan base. As recently as two years ago, the list of two-door iterations of sedans included entries from Toyota, Chevrolet, and Chrysler. Since then, however, the field of midsize coupes has shrunk to a number you can count on one hand. And with two of the standouts, the 2011 Honda Accord and Nissan Altima coupes, remarkably similar in terms of dimensions, horsepower, and price point, we decided to see how each manufacturer applies the tried-and-true formula.

Hyundai/Kia continues its new-product onslaught with new Sonata variants, a redesigned sportage, and the ultraluxurious Equus. The stunning Lexus LFA supercar, which finally arrives in December, seems like it comes from another era, while the Nissan Leaf will try to face down the Chevy Volt to be the car of the future. Honda's CR-Z puts a new spin on an old idea, while the battle in the battle in the 'burbs heats up as a new odyssey engages the Toyota Sienna.

Honda won't officially take the wraps off its 2011 Fit Hybrid until the start of the 2010 Paris Motor Show in September, but the automaker has been kind to release a few images and some preliminary specifications ahead of the Parisian debut.

It was difficult, as we arrived in balmy San Diego, to drum up much excitement over the drive that lay ahead. Not because we were about to drive a minivan, mind you, but because that minivan, the Honda Odyssey, is already so darn good. The current iteration, which dates back to 2005, is still the best in its class. By a good margin. What drama could there be regarding the new one? How about this: In an attempt to draw younger families into the shrinking segment, Honda is proclaiming the new Odyssey to be "the minivan redefined." To which our natural response is: redefined how? And why? Was Honda about to ruin a good thing in order to attract customers who would otherwise purchase one of the brand's four crossovers? As if that's not enough, we learned that engineers had the audacity to retune the Odyssey's steering for less effort. (Cue foreboding music.)