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The first thing I noticed about this Mini is its adorable cream, black, and silver color scheme, which I love. The second thing I noticed is that this Mini Camden Edition talks to you! Start the car and a male/female trio starts chatting through some unseen speaker. It all starts as soon as you insert the flat round key and push the start button. Usually the woman chirps in first with some sort of comment like "All systems go!" and an admonition to fasten your seatbelt. All of them have British accents. Here's a sampling of other conversations I got to listen to. They can be switched off, but I was curious to see how large of a conversational vocabulary is built into the car; quite large, it seems:inline_mediumwraptextright0029004970/reviews/editors_notebook/1004_2010_mini_cooper_camden_edition1004_04a+2010_mini_cooper_camden_edition+front_three_quarter_view.jpgtrue

Congratulations to the budding Warren Buffetts and the junior Steve Jobses who preserved their slice of the entrepreneurial pie while the world's economy crumbled. Those of you anticipating a reward for a job well done are shopping on the appropriate page.inline_mediumwraptextright0028832119/reviews/driven/1006_2011_bmw_alpina_b71006_01+2011_BMW_alpina_b7+front_three_quarter_view.jpgtrue

Months in Fleet: Four
Mileage to Date: 7142 milesinline_mediumwraptextright0033217899/reviews/12_month_car_reviews/1004_2009_nissan_cube_sl_april_update1004_02+2009_nissan_cube_sL+rear_three_quarter_view.jpgtrue

I admire the Suzuki SX4 for having a ride that's more solid and composed than the Honda Fit's. Over bumps, the Fit often feels like the cheap car it is, while the SX4 feels like something larger and more comfort-oriented, along the lines of a family sedan. The tradeoff is that the SX4 occasionally feels too loose and soft when it's worked hard on rough roads.inline_mediumwraptextright0027568298/reviews/editors_notebook/1004_2010_suzuki_sx4_sportback1004_02+2010_suzuki_sX4_sportBack+rear_three_quarter_view.jpgtrue

Miles: 12,105
Months in Fleet: Fourinline_mediumwraptextright0028217989/reviews/12_month_car_reviews/1004_2010_volkswagen_gti_april_update1002_01_z+2010_volkswagen_gTI+side_view.jpgtrue

Having made its entrance in the rarified environs of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and its worldwide public debut at last fall's Frankfurt auto show, the Bentley Mulsanne is now ready to hit the streets. We've had a chance to do just that, but in this case the streets were the narrow village lanes, undulating country byways, and wide-open dual carriageways (divided highways) of Bentley's home turf, in the U.K. The car won't be rolling onto U.S. roads until sometime this fall.inline_mediumwraptextright002011 Bentley Mulsanne33255648/reviews/driven/1005_2011_bentley_mulsanne1005_01_z+2011_bentley_mulsanne+front_three_quarters_view.jpgtrue

I spent a weekend with the 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE and found it to be just as appealing as the more expensive 2011 Hyundai Sonata Limited that we recently had in the fleet. As the mid-priced Sonata model, the SE gets a mid-line but still appealing interior; it features seats that are upholstered with both cloth and leather. The base Sonata GLS gets cloth, while the Limited gets leather. At first the combination seemed strange but I quickly grew to not mind it at all.inline_mediumwraptextright0027622409/reviews/editors_notebook/1004_2010_hyundai_sonata_se1004_09+2010_hyundai_sonata_sE+front_three_quarter_view.jpgtrue

To some people, the sound of a rotary engine revving at 9000 rpm is like nails on a chalkboard. Not me. But its constant, high-pitched hum sounds similar to that of a busy beehive. It's one of the most distinct sounds in the automotive world and has experienced great success both on the road and on the racetrack.inline_mediumwraptextright0027594569/reviews/editors_notebook/1004_2010_mazda_rx8_r31004_04+2010_mazda_rX-8_r3+side_view.jpgtrue

Today was the fourth time I've driven on the Nurburgring Nordschleife, the famously challenging, 13-mile racetrack in the Eifel Mountains of Germany. I had only two laps, but they were among the best I've had there, and they were in the unlikeliest of cars: the new 2011 Buick Regal. Yep, a Buick at the 'Ring. Who woulda thunk?inline_mediumwraptextright0027609932/reviews/driven/1004_2011_buick_regal2011-buick-regal-on-nurburgring-front.jpgtrue

Despite having only $1600 worth of "options," this John Cooper Works Mini Clubman costs a whopping $33,300. Given a price like that, I really wonder what the fate of the Clubman will be once the new Mini Countryman, Mini's first crossover SUV, goes on sale. Because it seems that Mini buyers will split into two camps: those who want the purest, most basic Mini two-door, whether it's a hardtop or a convertible; and those who want a "bigger" Mini. And I wonder if the people who want the Mini styling and attitude but with a little more space will just skip over the Clubman and go straight to the Countryman?inline_mediumwraptextright0032933613/reviews/editors_notebook/1004_2010_mini_john_cooper_works_clubman1004_01+2010_mini_john_cooper_works_clubman+front_three_quarter_view.jpgtrue

Well, now I understand what all the fuss is about: With one stroke, Hyundai has transformed the Sonata from rental-car, bottom-of-the-heap status to a legitimate threat to the kings of the lucrative and all-important mid-size-sedan segment, the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, and Nissan Altima. The four-cylinder engine and the six-speed transmission work very well together and should indeed meet the needs of many people who thought they wanted or needed a V-6 engine, and the bonus is an amazing 35-mpg highway fuel economy rating. With 198 hp on tap and a relatively modest curb weight of 3200 pounds, the Sonata had plenty of power for my brief stint on the freeway, where I easily merged into the traffic stream and accelerated to 90 mph.inline_mediumwraptextright28740268/reviews/editors_notebook/1004_2011_hyundai_sonata_limited1004_07+2011_hyundai_sonata_limited+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue