Auto News 5

The global economic crisis has severely curtailed future product plans for the world's automakers. Here are some of the casualties - so far.

The Mercedes-Benz C300 packs an amazing amount of luxury and technology into a remarkably clean package, inside and out. And that cleanness and simplicity is the most remarkable thing about the C300. It's refreshing to be surrounded by an interior free of clutter and jet-fighter control panels. Instead, you focus on the very sastifying driving experience. The V-6 is adequate, the controls precisely M-B. There's a big, thick steering wheel and brakes that bite. Leaving the office, I found the ride was fairly harsh on the Ann Arbor's broken roads, then noticed the comfort/sport mode button was parked in the sporty shock-your-ass mode. Huh. Someone must talk to these motor gophers.

Just like you, we always want to know what's coming next from Detroit, Tokyo, Stuttgart, Munich, Los Angeles, and all the other places where automotive engineers and designers dream and scheme on our behalf. Car companies, of course, are loath to share information on new products lest their competitors try to copy them--or you decide not to buy the cars they already have on dealer lots. Car companies, though, are simply groups of people, and some of them have a hard time keeping secrets. So, we poke, we prod, we cajole, and we uncover information that becomes the basis for our annual Sneak Preview issue. As always, some of our information is educated guesswork based on hints, insinuations, hunches. Make no mistake, though, these cars are on their way, even though details may change. Ladies and gentlemen: our list of 136 cars coming over the next few years...