Auto News 5

Devotees of grand, powerful, rear-wheel-drive sedans from domestic manufacturers will be thrilled with this weekend's announcement of the 2014 Chevrolet SS, a four-door of bruising potency and presumably enough interior roominess for the Baltimore Ravens offensive line.

RUTHERFORD, CALIFORNIA - Tasty mountain roads connect Napa Valley's swank Auberge du Soleil resort with Sonoma's Sears Point Raceway. On these roads, you can push a car like the 2014 Acura RLX without beating the tires into squealing submission. After nine years, Acura has replaced the front-wheel-drive RL with another FWD luxury flagship, the RLX, and this fall adds an all-wheel-drive hybrid version with 60 more horses. A brief drive of the hybrid awaits us at the raceway.

God bless the carmakers brave enough to launch a new car at the 2013 Detroit auto show with a nameplate that didn't begin with a COR and end with a VETTE. The rest of a very lively show gave the 5212 journalists present many other cool ways to kill time until the Chevy crowd in the very back of Cobo Center cleared, oh, about six hours after the 8:35 a.m. Stingray unveiling.

Mini is credited with introducing Americans to the concept of the premium small car. With the awkwardly named Mini Inspired by Goodwood, the idea reaches its logical -- or is that illogical? -- zenith. Working in collaboration with corporate cousin Rolls-Royce (which is located in Goodwood, England), this special-edition Cooper S features Rolls-Royce-supplied paint, wood, and leather. So what's it like to drive a $52,000 Mini? We're about to find out.

It was no secret that the tuning boffins of Affalterbach wanted to create a high-performance version of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class hatchback, but until now AMG had released only slivers on information on the car. Now, as the A45 AMG prepares to make its public debut at the Geneva Motor Show, Mercedes has released full details on a car that's quick enough to give a Porsche 911 a run for its money.

The 2012 Dodge Charger, though a new design, is in many ways a relic. We got our first glimpse of the car in December 2008, when Chrysler invited deputy editor Joe DeMatio to preview future products (remember, this was a time when many assumed Chrysler didn't have future products). DeMatio saw a promising Jeep Grand Cherokee and a nicely massaged Chrysler 300. But the biggest surprise was an absolutely stunning new Charger that stepped out of the 300's shadow with a sculpted body, full-width taillamps, and a modern interior. "That's a Charger I wouldn't mind being seen in," he said, although he mused that Chrysler might go broke before he got the chance. That chance arrived when the U.S. government and Fiat stepped in, even if it's safe to say that neither were too excited about the large rear-wheel-drive sedans that had been pushed through by the previous regime. "I won't even tell you the amount of money that the platform costs -- you'd be shocked out of your pants," said new CEO Sergio Marchionne in the fall of 2009. "But it's done, and life will move on."