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Months in Fleet: Five
Mileage to Date: 20,214inline_mediumwraptextright30620718/reviews/12_month_car_reviews/0909_2009_dodge_ram_15000909_01_z+2009_dodge_ram_1500+top_view.jpgTrue

The electrification of cars is coming. It became inevitable when F1 rules were opened up to allow hybrids. Once Bernie Ecclestone says something is OK, the world follows... Seriously, F1 rules now allow for a kinetic energy recovery system that can be stored as electrical energy. This would follow the same concept as the regenerative braking system used in any contemporary hybrid including the Toyota Prius, Ford Fusion, or any of the GM full-size trucks.inline_mediumwraptextright30621270/green/news/0909_hitachi_lithium_ion_battery0909_01_z+hitachi+li-Ion_battery.jpgTrue

The Mini Cooper Clubman is the epitome of a niche vehicle. As such, it's a car that works for some but will leave many people cold. For my part, I think it's pretty cool, but I'd have to think long and hard before I made it my primary vehicle. Of course, it's far more practical than the regular Mini Cooper, thanks to the passenger's-side half-door (a feature we've already seen in the Saturn Ion and the Mazda RX-8) and the extended wheelbase, which translates into significantly more rear-seat room and cargo space than the regular Mini. In fact, I needed to haul a 27" x 27" x 18" plywood box (to be used to elevate a washing machine) to a friend's house, and I had no problem fitting it into the back of the Clubman with the rear seats folded (see photo).inline_mediumwraptextright26391607/reviews/editors_notebook/0909_2009_mini_cooper_s_clubman0909_03_z+2009_mini_cooper_s_clubman+profile.jpgTrue

Aside from Bob Lutz, who's still punching the clock at General Motors, outsized personalities in the car business are an endangered species. That's what makes the rare sighting of Malcolm Bricklin so appealing in The Entrepreneur, a new documentary that's executive produced by Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me fame. Directed by Jonathan Bricklin, the film follows his 70-year-old father - founder of Subaru of America, creator of the 1970s Bricklin SV-1 sports car, and infamous Yugo importer - on a globetrotting quest to start his own car company, Visionary Vehicles. The problem is that he has no car design. Or seemingly any automaker willing to provide said car, with which Bricklin intends to revolutionize the American auto business.