Auto News 5

Volkswagen's GTI is the only car in this magazine's history to be voted Automobile of the Year twice. And now there's a hotter version, called the Golf R, on sale in Europe. Volkswagen of America hasn't officially said whether the Golf R is coming here, but that didn't stop us from taking one for a spin.inline_mediumwraptextright28119268/reviews/driven/1004_2010_volkswagen_golf_r1004_01_z+2010_volkswagen_golf_r+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

Months in fleet: five
Miles to date: 15,169inline_mediumwraptextright28290340/reviews/12_month_car_reviews/1004_2010_audi_q5_3_2_march_update1003_01_z+2010_audi_q5_3_2+rear_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

If ever there was a car company whose success was born of mud and snow, it's Subaru. It first got going in the United States in the 1970s, with awkward-looking little front-wheel-drive cars - back when front-wheel drive was still a novelty - and soon achieved notoriety with its four-wheel-drive wagons. The combination of traction and toughness made Subarus particularly appealing in areas of the country that see lots of snow and mud. So it was fitting, then, that to demonstrate the two different all-wheel-drive systems in its Impreza Subaru carved a vaguely pear-shaped track in the spring-thawing snow and mud outside of Park City, Utah.inline_mediumwraptextright28619689/features/news/1003_test_driving_subaru_awd_systems1003_z_03+subaru_utah_adventure+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

Attempting to put its recalls and unintended acceleration imbroglio into the rear-view mirror, Toyota called upon its deep reserves of cash, launching a bonanza of incentive spending in March which, naturally, obligated other carmakers to do the same. The subsidized leasing and zero-interest financing, combined with a hefty shot of fleet sales, juiced the market, driving new-car sales up 24% over the dismal March 2009 total. The March figures portend full-year new-car sales of 11.7 million, which is a lot better than last year, when industry watcher were speculating whether the year would end up below 10 million (it actually finished at 10.4 million). But step back a bit, and you realize that even 11.7 million is still a long way from the 16.8 million average annual sales the industry was enjoying in the decade ending in 2007.inline_mediumwraptextright31857777/features/news/1004_march_2010_auto_sales_analysis0912_04_z+2010_toyota_4Runner_sR5_4x4_v6+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue