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Nissan knows as well as anyone the dangers in redesigning a popular car. Through the 1990s, it "improved" its Z-car until the bloated 300ZX carried virtually none of the charm (not to mention the sales volume) of the original 240Z. Nissan returned the line to its former glory with the 350Z, and has been rewarded with a brilliantly successful six-year run. And with the 2009 370Z, which is making its debut this week at the Los Angeles auto show, it has proved it has finally learned how to build on success.

Those in the market for a hybrid SUV have yet another option with the 2010 Lexus RX450h, which was unveiled at the 2008 Los Angeles auto show.

What's good for the coupe is good for the Spyder. That's evidently the thinking at Lamborghini. Earlier this year, Lamboghini introduced an even more potent version of its five-year-old Gallardo. The new version earned the suffix LP-560, code for the V-10 engine's position (again at the rear with a north-south orientation, or Longitudinal Posteriore), output (560 horsepower), and drive wheels (four). Now the Spyder gets the LP 560-4 treatment.

Though its Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan cousins are treated to substantial makeovers for 2010, the 2010 Lincoln MKZ sedan, revealed today at the 2008 Los Angeles auto show, receives simply a mild nip/tuck.

Trickle down can be a wonderful thing whether you're talking wealth, wisdom, power, or Porsches. Less than a year after the 911 received a major mechanical pick-me-up, Porsche engineers passed the lessons learned to the junior members of their sports car family. The 2010 Porsche Boxster benefits from more power, higher fuel efficiency, quicker acceleration, and the latest automatic transmission technology.

We never wondered what a cross between the Honda CRX and FCX Clarity would look like, but we're betting it'd resemble the Honda FC Sport concept, which was unveiled this morning at the 2008 Los Angeles auto show.

America's Marshall Plan footed the bill for rebuilding Fiat after World War II and helped tiny Alfa Romeo become a mass-market manufacturer. But Lancia, Italy's second-largest carmaker before the hostilities, had to fend mostly for itself. In those early days of the Cold War, the antifascist proclivities of Turin's Lancia were perceived as signs of incipient communism.