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Alfa Romeo's popular and accessible sports car, the Spider, was sold in the United States from 1966 until 1994, its long run divided into four series. The early cars, with their distinctive boattail styling, were immortalized as Dustin Hoffman's ride in The Graduate. Generally regarded as the most beautiful iteration of Pininfarina's design, these Spiders also are the most basic in spec, the rarest, and the most expensive. After skipping U.S. exports in 1970 (as it had in '68), Alfa brought back the Spider for 1971, beginning the second series, with a chopped tail and fussy Spica fuel injection for its enlarged 2.0-liter four-cylinder; heavy rubber bumpers arrived for 1975. The next iteration, the '83 to '90 Series 3 models, got a controversial black rubber ducktail rear spoiler, better-integrated bumpers, and (in '86) interior revisions. They enjoy more reliable Bosch fuel injection and available air-conditioning (both of which actually came on board in '82). For the final cars, the 1991-'94 models, the styling was smoothed out, power steering and a driver's air bag were added, and an automatic transmission (!) was optional; they're a bit more powerful but also slightly heavier.

PREMIUM FUEL ECONOMY
Fuel prices are on the rise again, and so maybe you're thinking it's time to downsize your mid-size performance-luxury car. Perhaps something like a Honda Fit. Since you like to make a statement, you're also looking at the Nissan Cube. The turbocharged Nissan Juke has a bunch more power, so maybe that teensy compact crossover is on the shopping list, too.

Yes, it's tall, narrow, boxy, and not particularly nicely detailed, but it was an enormously successful and influential design. When the Alfa Romeo Giulia body shape was introduced in 1962, the only cars in production with lower aerodynamic drag were the Porsche 356 coupe and the Citroën DS four-door, as listed by Britain's MIRA (Motor Industry Research Association) in a little technical paper on aerodynamics. Maybe Panhard's 24 CT was better. But not by much.

No matter how many times I drive an Audi A4 2.0T, I still wind up double-checking to confirm that I am, in fact, sitting behind a four-cylinder engine and not some excellent six-cylinder. Indeed, the words and numbers on the spec sheet -- 211 horsepower, four-wheel-drive, 31-mpg on the highway, and 3600 pounds -- simply do not jive with how spirited and fun the A4 is to drive. Mash the throttle, and the 2.0-liter responds instantly, emitting a throaty howl and propelling this heavy, leather-lined sedan more briskly than it has any business doing. It's not merely a smoke screen of low-end torque and short gearing, either. Snap the precise stick shift into second, and it keeps on pulling.