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The Lotus Elise and fixed-roof Exige define sports car purity, but with the recently unveiled new Evora, due here late this year, Lotus will live a bit larger. The Evora retains the brand's trademark aluminum tub structure and mid-engine layout, but the former is stretched to squeeze in an (optional) pair of kid-sized rear seats while the latter switches from four- to six-cylinder Toyota power. Adapted from the Camry, the 3.5-liter V-6 puts out 276 hp and 252 lb-ft of torque, enough to zip the luxe Lotus from 0 to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds (the company claims) on the way to a top speed of 160 mph. This despite the Evora's 2976 pounds, a full 50 percent more than the featherweight Elise. Of course, the Elise, with its bare-aluminum interior, makes zero concessions to comfort, whereas the Evora promises to be a veritable Maybach by comparison. It sports such unimaginable luxuries as navigation, an optional paddleshift automatic transmission, power steering, and - gasp! - cupholders. Not only that, but Lotus promises that entering and exiting the Evora will be "a less athletic undertaking," thanks to narrower sills, wider-opening doors, and a taller roof, all of which perhaps explains the brand's sudden embrace by the Hollywood glitterati, who have signed up for early test drives. Either that, or they think it's a hybrid.

I've always been a huge fan of the Lotus 7 replicas, and it's great to finally have one of the best examples in the office. Caterhams have a huge cult following and a blast in this R400 shows why. Once you squeeze into the tight seat and try to fit your shoes into the pedal box (racing shoes are your only option), the car is actually quite comfortable. The ultra-light weight helps give the R400 amazing ride quality even over rough Michigan roads. The clutch is very aggressive and the engine likes revs when you are pulling away from a dead stop. The combination of a very high power-to-weight ratio and short gearing gives the R400 incredible acceleration. Caterham quotes a 0-to-60-mph time of 3.8 seconds and that doesn't seem overly optimistic. The unboosted brakes work well, but you have to be careful trying to fit your feet on both the clutch and the brake pedal at the same time. The steering is quick and accurate but not nervous.

There is little that's unique in today's automotive world of platform and drivetrain sharing. The Lotus Elise, a niche car that ought not share much in common with anything else, is in fact powered by a Toyota engine once also seen in the Pontiac Vibe. The Volvo C30 uses the same underpinnings as the Mazda 3. Which brings us to the 3's flashier sibling, the RX-8. Here, at least, is a sports car that is not only affordable, it's unique: it shares neither its platform nor its unconventional powertrain with anything else.

In the total absence of a regular information stream from the once fairly blabby (back when it was a public corporation) Chrysler, we are left to marvel aloud at the latest round of surprise moves from the now-secretive, privately held carmaker. At a hastily assembled news conference, CEO Bob Nardelli gleefully unleashed on the crowd three electric vehicles from the equivalent of nowhere. It might as well have been rabbits from a silk top hat, the jaded press corps was so stunned.

If zooming fuel prices earlier this summer killed sales of pickups and SUVs, then the faltering economy and now the credit crisis have pretty much choked off sales of the remainder of the market. While August saw the pain spread to all major brands, save Infiniti, Mini, Nissan, Subaru, and VW, in September, every one of those holdouts found themselves underwater, too. The only nameplates to post gains in September were tiny niche players: Maserati (up 30%), Lotus (up by 3 cars - yes, 3), Lamborghini (by 2), and Rolls-Royce (by 1).