Auto News 5

Ignore, if you can, all the various 'MPS' emblems on this hot hatch. They won't be on the car when it's sold in North America as the 2010 Mazda Mazdaspeed 3.

The marriage between Mercedes-Benz and McLaren has been something of a disappointment. Their co-created product, the SLR McLaren, has never met sales expectations, and its marketers have resorted to increasingly gimmicky special models in order to reach their contractually obligated goal of 4000 total units. There's been the convertible, the 722 edition, and most recently the totally topless, essentially windshield-less, and all but pointless SLR Stirling Moss, which is the final special edition before SLR production shuts down forever later this spring.

The marriage between Mercedes-Benz and McLaren has been something of a disappointment. Their co-created product, the SLR McLaren, has never met sales expectations, and its marketers have resorted to increasingly gimmicky special models in order to reach their contractually obligated goal of 4000 total units. There's been the convertible, the 722 edition, and most recently the totally topless, essentially windshield-less, and all but pointless SLR Stirling Moss, which is the final special edition before SLR production shuts down forever later this spring.

Mitsubishi's innovative Electric Vehicle (MiEV) range is growing. We've already seen the Mitsubishi I MiEV Sport at the 2007 Tokyo motor show, driven a prototype of the I MiEV hatchback at last year's New York auto show, and now there's a prototype for a European-market I MiEV at the 2009 Geneva motor show.

Mitsubishi's innovative Electric Vehicle (MiEV) range is growing. We've already seen the Mitsubishi I MiEV Sport at the 2007 Tokyo motor show, driven a prototype of the I MiEV hatchback at last year's New York auto show, and now there's a version of the Sport with a large, removable translucent panel in the roof at the 2009 Geneva motor show.

Each time I drive the Civic, I am enamored of the whimsical blue-lit split-level gauges in front of me. That, and the low cowl and wide expanse of glass. They are touches that help explain why owning a Civic - for those who don't care about having a mind-bending driving moment - still feels like a special experience long after the new smell wears off.