Auto News 5

Hey, it's spring, so even though it was cloudy and only 53 degrees this morning, I lowered the G37's fully automatic hard top and drove the six miles to work al fresco. It takes about 20 or 25 seconds to put down the top and about the same to bring it back up, using a well-marked button on the center console. The seat heater worked quickly, and with the two front side windows up, I was quite comfortable. Once I reached town and 35-mph speeds, I lowered all of the windows. I had no problems hearing the Diane Rehm Show, and then I switched to WKAR Classical from Michigan State University, and it was coming through nicely, too, despite the loss of a predictable acoustic environment.

Driving usually isn't much of a challenge, but sometimes we make it one: Attempting to beat our best time for a trip. Trying to perfectly execute a heel-and-toe downshift. Plotting to nab the best possible parking space. Such activities add interest to the routine. What about the challenge of coaxing the most miles out of every gallon of gasoline? For us, that was a new one.

Automobile Magazine has just driven the new, 2010 Lincoln MKT crossover, and although it's not the first Ford vehicle we've driven with the new EcoBoost powertrain, it's the first one we can tell you about (check back here on July 22 for our take on the new Ford Taurus SHO with EcoBoost). The MKT, of course, is the all-new production vehicle based on the similar 2008 MKT concept from the 2008 Detroit auto show. It's based on the same Volvo-derived platform as the Ford Flex and the Lincoln MKS flagship sedan, but it has a completely different interior and exterior from the Flex. It goes on sale late this summer starting at about $45,000.

Maserati's latest progeny is a Gran Turismo coupe combining the hotter 433-hp 4.7-liter V-8 engine introduced last year for the Gran Turismo S with a contemporary 6-speed ZF automatic. This new third prong in the Trident's spear is a full-bodied 2+2 groomed with a balanced blend of poise and performance.

Chopping the top off a car isn't as easy as it sounds, especially when the fixed roof is replaced with a folding one of the steel variety - the panels and system of motors and hinges add significant weight. Worse, in order to get the whole mess to fit in the trunk, a folding hard top often requires a bubbly, arching roofline and an ungainly, long rear deck. If you've had the displeasure of studying a Volkswagen Eos, you know what we're talking about.

When I first got into the Audi A6 3.0T, I thought that something had gone wrong with the MMI, because when I pressed the nav button, the system told me navigation wasn't installed. I thought this was a software glitch, as I've never seen an MMI-equipped Audi without navigation, but a little research revealed the Q7 and the A6 come with a full MMI system but no navigation. Bummer. I know I'd be upset seeing that nav button and not having the $1800 option.

Months in Fleet: Seven
Mileage to Date: 16,507

If you're looking for a practical, inexpensive wagon with European driving dynamics, you might want to visit your local Hyundai dealer. Seriously. The 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring shares most of its name with the Elantra sedan, but the two are actually different vehicles. The wagon - which is 1.2 inches shorter but rides on a wheelbase two inches longer - is based on the European-market Hyundai i30 CW.

Months in Fleet: Nine
Mileage to Date: 23,420

Company founder Colin Chapman's apocryphal credo - "simplicate and add lightness" - may have to be amended in honor of Lotus' new 2+2, the Evora. Of course, "complicate and add relaxation" doesn't sound as good, but that's what the new car does, with excellent, possibly even brilliant results that will tempt not just the Lotus faithful, but more than a few Porsche 911 intenders.

At 12,198 feet, Mount Teide might be the highest point in all of the territories that comprise Spain and one of the main tourist sites in the Canary Islands. But on this particular Thursday in March, at the parking lot of the viewing center nestled in the volcanic rock near its summit, El Teide is definitely a second-string attraction for the tourists milling about. That's because the mountain, which last erupted in 1909, has been upstaged by the fleet of 2010 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyders that just came roaring in. A single example of the ragtop version of the revised Gallardo coupe that debuted last year would garner attention wherever it went, even if it were painted generic silver. But what we have here at the top of Tenerife is a flotilla of more than a dozen Gallardo Spyders painted dayglow yellow, electric lime green, brilliant blue, matte black, and crisp white with black wheels, among other eye-popping shades. The cabins are just as colorful and enticing, every inch of them lined with exquisitely detailed leather. (Our favorite? Pearlescent white paint over rich, dark brown hides. Scrumptious.)

Back in the 1980s, Mercedes sold its midsize E-class in both four-door and two-door form, the latter with either a fixed steel roof or a convertible cloth top. It wasn't a particularly sporty car, but it-like all 124-chassis Mercedes E-classes-was built like a nuclear bunker. And priced accordingly.

Automobile Magazine's New York Bureau Chief, Jamie Kitman, has won the 2009 National Magazine Award in the Columns and Commentary category for his monthly column, Noise, Vibration, and Harshness.