Auto News 5

Gee, I remember when the Nissan Pathfinder was, like, a super-desirable, chic import SUV. Now it's just one competent SUV in a huge class of them.

If you share the belief that the best comedy comes from the unexpected and the absurd, then you'll love the trucks those lunatics at Lamborghini built twenty-some years ago. Loving it, however, still won't quite help your brain reconcile what the vehicle is actually supposed to be.

Ferris Bueller had the right idea. Why let a perfect day slip through your fingers? Sunshine can't be stashed in a savings account. Smiles won't keep in your freezer. Good times are perishable, so smart operators like Ferris grab the gusto when they can.

Right car, wrong timing? At a glance, it would seem that way. The new Audi S4 arrives in the midst of a global economic slump. It was unveiled in October at the Paris show, where hybrids and electric vehicles stole the limelight, and it unashamedly advertises the motto Vorsprung durch Technik (Advancement through Technology) when everybody is talking low emissions and high mileage. Look closer, though, and the new S4 emerges as a surprisingly sensible proposition. It is expected to cost about the same as the car it replaces and it bristles with torque, yet it should deliver about 24 mpg overall (EPA figures haven't yet been released). At the same time, it's a tour de force that employs trick steering, chassis, and driveline setups to beam you from point A to point B quicker than some of its rivals.