For most manufacturers, 2009 was a wretched year they'd like to forget, but Hyundai has been able to capitalize on the economic misery and grab a big chunk of market share. Where will additional gains come from in 2010? One place is likely to be the small SUV arena, where Hyundai's Tucson has been an underachiever, selling fewer than one-tenth as many as the segment-leading Honda CR-V.

A diminished Tokyo auto show had much less wackiness - instead, our favorite concepts were two small sports cars solidly grounded in reality.

Bob Shaw is one lucky fellow. After rearing a family, running a thriving steering-wheel business, and conquering some setbacks to his health, Shaw focused his energy on that universal aspiration - constructing the car of his dreams.inline_mediumwraptextright26832256/features/great_drives/0912_bob_shaw_excalibur_rs0912_03_z+excalibur_rS+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

Months in Fleet: Nine
Miles to Date: 31,967inline_mediumwraptextright23526259/reviews/12_month_car_reviews/0912_2009_bmw_750li_december_update0906_02_z+2009_bMW_750Li+rear_three_quarters_view.jpgTrue

Subaru bills the 2.5GT as its "enthusiast" model, and although it's not quite as fun as a WRX, it is by far the most enjoyable Legacy I've sampled in many years. There's no discounting the power offered by the turbocharged 2.5-liter flat-four, but mating it to a six-speed transmission is simply brilliant. Other midsize cars may offer manual transmissions, but they're only available on lower trim models that focus more on thrift than on thrust.inline_mediumwraptextright27444079/reviews/editors_notebook/0912_2010_subaru_legacy_25gt_limited0912_03_z+2010_subaru_legacy_25GT_limited+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

Details have now emerged of Fiat's plan for Chrysler, which slashes the current lineup while bringing Fiat-based new cars and reintroducing Alfa Romeo to America.

Months in Fleet: 11
Mileage: 28,931inline_mediumwraptextright25689467/reviews/12_month_car_reviews/0912_2009_hyundai_genesis_4_6_december_update0910_02_z+2009_hyundai_genesis_46+side_view.jpgTrue

Months in fleet: 11
Miles to date: 21,966inline_mediumwraptextright25873865/reviews/12_month_car_reviews/0912_2009_honda_fit_sport_5_door_december_update0911_03_z+2009_honda_fit_sport+rear_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

I was a bit shocked by the seats that look as if they were inspired by red pleather pants. It amazes me that car companies employ people who specialize in interior colors and materials and then deliver something like this. In addition to the fashion faux pas, these seats also look to be showing quite a bit of wear with just 9000 miles on the odometer.inline_mediumwraptextright26049494/reviews/editors_notebook/0911_2010_ford_fusion_sport_awd0911_09_z+2010_ford_fusion_sport_aWD+rear_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

In a market crowded with bland competence, we're happy that there's still a car so determinedly different and, frankly, as flawed as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. When the compact fireball first hit our shores six years ago, we delighted in the way it applied cutting-edge drivetrain technology to deliver visceral driving dynamics. Despite its many shortcomings - ride quality, noise, refinement - we named it our 2004 Automobile of the Year.inline_mediumwraptextright31575990/reviews/12_month_car_reviews/1001_2008_mitsubishi_lancer_evolution_mr_wrapup1001_01_z+2008_mitsubishi_lancer_evolution_mR+rear_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

The American auto industry has run into a ditch, but what many people may not realize is that Ford has been in a similar position before. In 1945, when Henry Ford II finally succeeded in taking control of the company after prying his near-senile grandfather's hands off the wheel, the Ford Motor Company was an atrophied enterprise. As civilian auto production resumed in 1946, Ford found itself in third place behind Chrysler and was fading fast. Young Henry brought in a team of outsiders who immediately embarked on a crash program to create Ford's first new postwar car. That car was the '49 Ford, and it was a huge advance over the previous model.inline_mediumwraptextright25708331/features/collectible_classic/0912_1949_1951_ford0912_01_z+1950_ford_tudor_sedan+side_view.jpgTrue

A bright red Mazdaspeed 3 recently showed up at the Automobile Magazine HQ, giving us the perfect chance to compare it side-by-side and back-to-back with our long-term Mazda 3s Grand Touring hatchback, which, conveniently, also happens to be red. After more than 10,000 miles in our long-term 3, how do our editors feel about getting behind the wheel of the boy-racer turbocharged edition?inline_mediumwraptextright26071442/reviews/editors_notebook/0911_2010_mazda3_vs_mazdaspeed30911_02_z+2010_mazda3_vS_mazdaspeed3+head_to_head.jpgTrue

Months in Service: Eight
Mileage to Date: 20,389inline_mediumwraptextright27421657/reviews/12_month_car_reviews/0912_2010_nissan_gtr_premium_december_update0912_08_z+2010_nissan_gtR_premium+side_view.jpgTrue

After October's hopeful results, November auto sales slid backward to the post-Clunkers doldrums of two months ago. So, while the financial markets are recovering and the TV talking heads debate whether the recession had ended, it's clear that there's no incipient recovery in the automobile business. There, the recession continues.

I find it funny that Hyundai, a Korean car company, is using "Blue" to identify its most fuel-efficient cars. This move reminds me of the Volkswagen BlueMotion models and the AdBlue name for diesel-exhaust after-treatment fluids, both of which are very German. Identifying products as "blue" makes me think of a marine application, and the label could be confusing for consumers who are looking for products to help save the environment, which are more typically referred to as "green."inline_mediumwraptextright27300631/reviews/editors_notebook/0911_2010_hyundai_elantra_blue0911_06_z+2010_hyundai_elantra_blue+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

The three volume German premium brands are about to introduce electric mobility from the top down - in new models like the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics, the electric Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, and the Audi E-tron. We got an early turn in the E-tron, which aims at the niche currently owned by the Tesla Roadster.inline_mediumwraptextright31379283/green/reviews/1001_audi_etron_plugin1001_01_z+audi_e-Tron+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

Months in fleet: One
Miles to date: 3648inline_mediumwraptextright31468374/reviews/12_month_car_reviews/0911_2010_audi_q5_3_2_november_update0911_05_z+2010_audi_q5_3_2+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

This is the first modern Bentley I've ever been excited about. Part of the appeal of the Supersports we're testing lies in the fact that virtually everything on the car is black, that the seats feature manual adjustments, and that the materials covering every inch of the interior are as soft and luxurious as it gets. The rest of the Supersports' appeal is apparent as soon as you put even the smallest amount of pressure on the accelerator pedal.inline_mediumwraptextright26065190/reviews/editors_notebook/0911_2010_bentley_continental_supersports0911_08_z+2010_bentley_continental_supersports+rear_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

Check out the exclusive content captured by Ford's guest editors at SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association. Contest winners of Ford's "The Coolest Things at SEMA - Editor for a Day contest" were invited to attend and experience SEMA first hand. These VIP Guest Editors were given credentials to this exclusive aftermarket trade show where they were given the opportunity to interact with editors from some of the leading Automotive publications such as Hot Rod, Motor Trend, Automobile Magazine, and Muscle Mustang & Fast Fords as well as asked to gather and share information on behalf of Ford via photographs, video, and blogs.inline_mediumwraptextright26172320/woamag/fords_vip_guest_editors_at_semaford_sema_banner.jpgTrue

Ford may be throwing a party for its new Fiesta at the 2009 Los Angeles auto show, but it's not the only automaker introducing a subcompact hatchback into North America. In fact, Mazda's using the same venue to launch its 2011 Mazda 2 into the New World.inline_mediumwraptextright31530639/features/news/0912_2011_mazda_mazda20912_06_z+2011_mazda_mazda2+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

Despite the demise of minivan programs at other automakers, Toyota plans to press forward with the traditional people mover formula. For those of you who still enjoy a minivan, feast your eyes on the 2011 Toyota Sienna which debuted at the 2009 Los Angeles auto show. Toyota hopes to become the segment leader by introducing more technology, comofort, and economy in its new minivan.inline_mediumwraptextright31553715/features/news/0912_2011_toyota_sienna2011-toyota-sienna-motion-view.jpgTrue

The nameplate "Giulietta" resonates with generations of car enthusiasts in Italy and elsewhere in the same way that "Corvette" and "Mustang" do here in the States. It was used, quite famously, on a sedan and coupe between 1954 and 1965 and then again on a sedan from 1977 to 1985. Just affixing it to a new product, as Alfa Romeo is doing to its all-new five-door hatchback set to debut at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show in March, is making a big statement about the company's expectations for the car and for the expectations that potential customers should have for it. Alfa Romeo's press release states: "In the Centenary year, the name is a tribute to an automobile myth and Alfa Romeo. The Giulietta is a car that, in the fifties, caught the imagination of generations of car enthusiasts, making the dream of owning an Alfa Romeo and enjoying the high level of comfort and technical excellence accessible for the first time. The Alfa Romeo Style Centre has produced a new Giulietta, a sports car capable of expressing both great agility on the most demanding routes and providing comfort on everyday roads."inline_mediumwraptextright27361885/features/news/0912_alfa_romeo_giulietta0912_AR_Giulietta01.jpgTrue

Another year, another special-edition Scion. The 2010 Scion xB Release Series 7.0 will debut this week at the 2009 Los Angeles auto show, and it carries some interesting special equipment.inline_mediumwraptextright31553223/features/news/0912_2010_scion_xb_release_series_70912_03_z+2010_scion_xB_release_series_7+front_three_quarters_view.jpgTrue

Crack as many jokes about the name as you want, but the Personal-Neo Urban Transport -- or P-NUT -- concept is another take on an ultra-futuristic Honda coupe.inline_mediumwraptextright2009 Honda P-NUT Coupe Concept26109119/features/news/0912_2009_honda_p_nut_coupe_conceptHonda_P-NUT_Concept_01.jpgTrue

If you were to merge Volkswagen’s L1 and E-Up! concepts shown at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show, you’d likely have something quite similar to the Up! Lite concept, which debuts at the 2009 Los Angeles auto show.inline_mediumwraptextright2009 Volkswagen Up! Lite Concept31552716/green/news/0912_2009_volkswagen_up_lite_conceptIMG_1885.jpgTrue