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For 2011, the Ford Edge gets an unusually thorough refresh that sees significant changes to the exterior, interior, powertrain, and chassis. Our SEL was equipped with a 3.5-liter V-6, just like last year's model, but power is up 20 hp and 3 lb-ft of torque. It's difficult to detect that kind of power change, but I did quickly pick up on the revised steering effort, which, for a crossover, is quite satisfying. There's excellent on-center response and a natural effort buildup that's atypical in this segment.

The city of light? Hardly. Judging by this year's motor show, Paris is a city of scooters. Smart is displaying its own conceptual scooter at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, but Mini may have the automaker trumped -- it's bringing three different versions of its new Scooter E concept to the same venue.

Jeep's current best-seller and brand icon, the Wrangler, receives some major updates for 2011, most notably in the form of a new interior. Now that we've seen the fresh Wrangler in person at Chrysler's so-called "Design Dome," we can confirm that the changes are thorough and useful but don't undermine the vehicle's ruggedness or heritage.

It's no secret that the Jeep Patriot -- along with the Compass, its comrade on the bottom rung of the Jeep lineup -- was something of a disappointment when it was launched for the 2007 model year. The cabin was full of sharp, ugly plastics; the ride was jittery and loud; and the powertrain was far from class-leading. At least, though, it looked better than the Compass and managed to earn Jeep's Trail Rated badge, at least when equipped with the so-called Freedom Drive II system.