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The first thing you notice about the Equinox is the interior. GM people have been banging on for some time about how they really get it now with interiors, and with the Equinox, you really see what they're talking about. The dashboard looks like it was lifted straight out of an Acura. There's plenty of style and good separation of function on the busy center stack (this example is optioned to the hilt with navigation, satellite radio, et cetera). Rear-seat riders get not one but two DVD screens. And the two-tone leather in this top-of-the-line LTZ looks great, though one wonders what the three lesser trim levels look like. Furthermore, the rear seat, which reclines and slides fore and aft, has loads of legroom (which is about the only respect in which the cabin echoes the previous Equinox); while huge doors and narrow sills make entry an exit a breeze.inline_mediumwraptextright29919492/reviews/editors_notebook/0909_2010_chevy_equinox_ltz_awd0909_05_z+2010_chevy_equinox_lTZ_aWD+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

These are dire days for high-end, high-performance automobiles, so dire that BMW has red-flagged the M1 Homage (which wowed the crowd at Villa d'Este in 2008) and the Z9 two-seater (which was to be derived from the four-door CS show car from Shanghai in 2007), but development work on the mid-engine Z10 continues. The car is being engineered as a coupe and a roadster; both body styles are proper two-plus-twos with substantially more interior room than a Porsche 911. The target weight of the Z10 is in the vicinity of 3300 pounds. When the original supercar idea was outlined a few years ago, a twin-turbo V-8 was the engine of choice. But now that Efficient Dynamics is the name of the game at BMW, engineers are concentrating on a 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight six rated at 450 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque (basically an uprated version of the engine that powers the next M3) paired with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic. Rumor has it that BMW is also toying with a twin-turbo V-6, which would be lighter and more compact, but those advantages are unlikely to offset shortcomings concerning prestige and heritage.

The WRX is a car that happily does duty as both an everyday driver and a machine to whoop it up on the back roads. The hatchback body style is extremely useful--the seats flip and fold down easily and make for a flat load floor that can accommodate long or odd-sized objects. I prefer the short-throw shifter in the WRX SPT version we had in earlier, but I don't really object to the standard shifter in this car, which has a fairly smooth action and is nicely mated to the 265-hp turbo four. Of course, that engine is the raison-d'etre of the WRX. It makes for great fun when you're hammering the car down a stretch of two-lane.inline_mediumwraptextright29844099/reviews/editors_notebook/0908_2009_subaru_impreza_wrx_premium0908_03_z+2009_subaru_impreza_wRX_premium+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

I sat in the back - the way-way back - of the Flex while someone else drove. I was pleasantly surprised by the level of comfort in the least-spacious area, and though headroom was tight, there was plenty of legroom. Unlike some crossovers that compromise rear-seat window size for style, the Flex gives third-row passengers a good view of the passing scenery. You don't feel like you are in a clunky minivan, although it's clear you're riding in the back of a long-wheelbase vehicle. Kudos to Ford engineers for making the Flex feel a lot more lithe than it is, at least for the passenger.inline_mediumwraptextright24973240/reviews/editors_notebook/0908_2010_ford_flex_ecoboost0908_03_z+2010_ford_flex_ecoBoost+profile.jpgTrue