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This is, by far, the coolest vehicle I've ever driven. On the outside it doesn't look very special, but inside it's very modern and luxurious. The V-8 provides tons of power, and it sounds awesome.

Months in fleet: Three
Miles to date: 5,564

Months in service: Eight months in service
Miles to date: 20,100

Months in service: Eight months in service
Miles to date: 20,100

The four-seat premium convertible segment has become stagnant, but that's about to change. BMW fired a new 3-series convertible at its competition for the 2008 model year, and two years later, shots are finally ringing back. The 2010 Audi S5 cabriolet - along with its less sporty A5 brother - will be among the first to join the fight, closely followed by the Infiniti G37, Lexus IS, and Mercedes-Benz E-class droptops.

Perhaps the TTS coupe and roadster that graced our fleet before this regular TT coupe have altered my expectations of the TT and its DSG transmission, but I was disappointed in this car. I found the power to be a bit lower than I remembered, and the DSG seemed to be sluggish on downshifts as well as unrefined when leaving a stop. Is the TTS that much better than the TT, or is this not a typical example of the base TT?

Toyota's Land Cruiser is truly a global vehicle. In the past fifty-five years, some four million Land Cruisers have been sold in more than 125 countries. Originally a crude but highly utilitarian off-roader patterned after American military jeeps, the Land Cruiser has branched out to encompass a plethora of shapes, styles, and amenities. Toyota's oldest nameplate, the Land Cruiser has been built in the form of a pickup and an SUV, as a softtop and a hardtop, with two doors and four. Today, the Land Cruiser sold in America comes in only one body style and a single trim level, an eight-seat SUV loaded with at least as many luxury features as off-road items. It's exactly the sort of vehicle we love having in our Four Seasons fleet, even if the price of gas conspired against it over the course of the year.

This Jetta SportWagen TDI is exactly what we should have in our long-term fleet. The DSG transmission is much nicer than our six-speed manual for daily driving, and it's only a 1-mpg penalty at the pump. Being able to bang off a quick, clean 6-4 downshift for passing is a huge advantage over the manual car, although I wish our tester had paddle shifters like a GTI. I instinctively look for those paddles when I'm driving a DSG car and need to make a quick pass. Reaching down to bump over the shifter isn't as natural.

It all started out innocently enough back in 2004, when Toyota brought over its Japanese-market bB and called it the Scion xB. To everyone's surprise (including Toyota), it caught on like wildfire, outselling the more conventional xA by a margin of nearly two-to-one.

What's better than an all-new, supercharged V-8 engine that makes 90 hp and 48 lb-ft of torque more than its predecessor while improving the Jaguar XKR's 0-to-60-mph time from a claimed 4.9 to 4.6 seconds? An all-new, supercharged V-8 that does all that without a concomitant increase in fuel consumption, that's what.

In an effort to go green, many tire manufacturers are introducing new products to the market that provide less rolling resistance, which helps boost fuel economy. It's a fine line being walked between ride quality, performance, and handling. Trying to get all three in one tire is nearly impossible. The fine folks from Goodyear were nice enough to stop by our office this week and give us a presentation on the new Assurance Fuel Max tire that went on sale in February 2009.

I'm amazed at what seems to be a considerable amount of variance between the two-mode hybrid system in this Escalade, and the one fitted to the GMC Sierra Hybrid that was also in our press car fleet. The GMC seemed quite apt to slip into EV mode, while the Caddy was all too eager to fire up its 6.0-liter V-8.

Mileage to Date: 15,573
Months in Fleet: Six

The Miata turns twenty this year, and from the looks of its cartoonish face, it's never been happier. The front fascia's wide-eyed smile isn't the only smirk you'll be seeing, though, as the diminutive roadster has been tweaked to deliver even more fun behind the wheel.