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The Cadillac CTS coupe is a car for realists. Sure, it looks like a concept car that took a wrong turn leaving the convention center, but, in fact, it's an entirely logical and even conservative step in a brand renaissance that's changing course. After a decade in which Cadillac reached for the stars with sexy halo models and pie-in-the-sky concepts like the Sixteen, General Motors' luxury division is adjusting its ambitions to reflect new realities. So, whereas Cadillac's last two-door car, the now-defunct, Corvette-based XLR, was an ambitious, low-volume sports car with an oversize price, the CTS coupe is a natural progression of the brand's most successful model. Since it shares its sheetmetal from the cowl forward and almost all of its mechanical components with the CTS sedan and wagon, the coupe is an easy way for GM to target a segment currently dominated by BMW, Infiniti, and Audi.inline_mediumwraptextright26855348/reviews/driven/1004_2011_cadillac_cts_coupe1004_04_z+2011_cadillac_cTS_coupe+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

This June marks a golden anniversary in Corvette lore: fifty years ago, the first Chevy sports cars took on the epic challenge of racing twice around the clock at LeMans. Three privately prepared cars were entered by the wealthy American sportsman Briggs Cunningham and one driven by John Fitch and Bob Grossman scored fifth place in the GT class with an eighth-overall finish and a average speed just under 98 mph. Crashes and an engine failure sidelined two of the Cunningham Team cars but a fourth 1960 Corvette fielded by Lloyd Casner's Camoradi team was tenth overall.inline_mediumwraptextright28425262/features/racing/1003_chevrolet_corvette_racing_history_then_and_now1003_01_z+2010_Corvette_ZR1_and_Corvette_C6R_ALMS_Race_Cars+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

A new seventh-generation (C7) Corvette is at least three years away. That means the current C6 Vette will have to soldier on for nine, possibly ten, full model years. To keep the old girl fresh, Chevy will continue coining limited-edition packages and model variations to juggle the storehouse of engines, transaxles, frames, bodystyles, and chassis components developed for the sixth generation.inline_mediumwraptextright28344964/features/news/1003_2011_chevrolet_corvette_z06_carbon_edition1003_01_z+2011_chevrolet_corvette_z06_carbon_edition+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

General Motors' small-block V-8s are the Rolling Stones of engines. Over the last six decades, nearly 100 million of them have been built to power cars and trucks sold by eight American GM brands plus a slew of race cars, hot rods, boats, and a few homebuilt aircraft. To keep a thumb on the small-block's pulse, we gave a pair of them a run through our rigorous test regimen.inline_mediumwraptextright27925492/reviews/driven/1003_specter_werkes_corvette_gtr_vs_slp_camaro_zl5751003_01_z+2010_chevrolet_SLP_camaro_zL575+front_view.jpgTrue

There didn't seem to be a lot more that Ferrari could do with its V-8 berlinetta lineup. Over the past decade, the cars got better and better, further cementing Ferrari's role as the producer of the world's most desirable sports cars. The startlingly good 360 Modena began it all back in 1999, and each successive iteration of the mid-engine masterpiece from Maranello raised the bar: The 360 Challenge Stradale. The F430. The 430 Scuderia. And, most recently, the hyperfocused Scuderia Spider 16M. These cars became the backbone of Ferrari's resurgence by translating the automaker's hard-fought Formula 1 racing expertise into products that tantalized auto enthusiasts everywhere, rewarded the lucky few who owned them, and strengthened the ethereal aura around the brand. Ferrari created the gold standard in sports cars, a lineup that competitors as varied as the Ford GT, the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, the Lamborghini Gallardo, the Porsche 911 GT3, and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage sought to assail. But in the tussle for sports car supremacy, Ferrari always managed to end up at the top of the heap.inline_mediumwraptextright32007216/reviews/driven/1002_2010_ferrari_458_italia1002_01_z+2010_ferrari_458_italia+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

The nameplate "Giulietta" resonates with generations of car enthusiasts in Italy and elsewhere in the same way that "Corvette" and "Mustang" do here in the States. It was used, quite famously, on a sedan and coupe between 1954 and 1965 and then again on a sedan from 1977 to 1985. Just affixing it to a new product, as Alfa Romeo is doing to its all-new five-door hatchback set to debut at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show in March, is making a big statement about the company's expectations for the car and for the expectations that potential customers should have for it. Alfa Romeo's press release states: "In the Centenary year, the name is a tribute to an automobile myth and Alfa Romeo. The Giulietta is a car that, in the fifties, caught the imagination of generations of car enthusiasts, making the dream of owning an Alfa Romeo and enjoying the high level of comfort and technical excellence accessible for the first time. The Alfa Romeo Style Centre has produced a new Giulietta, a sports car capable of expressing both great agility on the most demanding routes and providing comfort on everyday roads."inline_mediumwraptextright27361885/features/news/0912_alfa_romeo_giulietta0912_AR_Giulietta01.jpgTrue