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This CL550 is very old-school Mercedes. It is large, feels heavy, and is extremely cosseting. I'm generally not a big fan of large coupes as they always seem to lack interior space for their substantial exterior dimensions but at least the CL can hold adults in the back if needed. That feature sets the Benz apart from the much less spacious BMW 6-series.

Can one million owners be wrong? Not likely, and that's why engineers were careful in creating the 2010 Toyota Prius. Toyota's honed its recipe for a successful hybrid sedan over the past ten years, and there's little need to stray wildly from it - some slight refinements are all that's needed.

"The MKT is fully differentiated from the Flex," claims chief engineer Ron Heiser. That's a bit of hyperbole, since they share the same platform (one which Heiser points out has superb crash performance) and basic chassis tuning. But his point is well-taken, because everything you see and touch both inside and outside the MKT - which closely hews to the MKT Concept from last year's Detroit show - has little to nothing in common with the Flex. Indeed, chief designer Gordon Platto takes visible pleasure from pointing out the MKT's features: "This is the first time we've actually fully integrated the grille from the MKR Concept. We've combined it with zero-offset bumpers for a smooth exterior. Inside, we use the same cut-and-sew leather and wood trim as in the MKS sedan, and our 'floating armrest' is also from the MKR and allows us to offer contrast-color inserts later."

Lincoln surprised the media at the 2009 Detroit auto show with a concept car, the C, an ultramodern, small four-door that's based on the platform of the next-generation Ford Focus.