Auto News 5

Dearest M5 Fans,

The Hyundai Genesis just feels right. The steering has enough weight and precision to interest a driving enthusiast, while remaining light enough to appease the casual commuter. The engine and transmission are smooth and restrained, but can usher up performance if you mash the go pedal. All the buttons, gauges, and screens are legible and easy to use. The headlights now have a cool curved LED accent strip, which looks fantastic at night. In short, every part of the Genesis feels taut, precise, and elegant.

BMW is among the growing number of automakers that thinks it's time to stop judging engines by how many cylinders they have. They're probably right - in terms of output, for sure: the best modern turbocharged engines can easily make more power than their predecessors with twice the cylinder count. More boost is more power -- that's the easy part.

The evening before Mercedes-Benz's public relations department flew us from Frankfurt, Germany -- where we'd seen the 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG roadster make its official debut at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show -- to the South of France to drive the car, they took us to dinner. Our Mercedes Viano shuttle van made its way from the glass towers of the financial district to the village of Konigstein, northwest of the city, where it wended its way along tree-lined roads through a large park before pulling up in front of a spectacularly grand old hotel. As we alighted from the Viano, we recognized the setting, Villa Rothschild Kempinski, and remembered when and why we'd been there before. It was July 2007, and it was to drive the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren roadster.