I can't say I ever thought our Four Seasons Jaguar XF Supercharged needed more power, but the XFR's extra 90 hp is an absolute hoot. The XF's superb chassis easily handles the extra power, and subtle differences in the interior and exterior details let enthusiasts know your XFR is something special.

In photos, you can't tell the size of the 2009 WheeGo Whip. They look tiny -- perhaps the size of a Smart ForTwo. In person, all that changes. Regardless of which powertrain is fitted under the Whip's hood, this car is bigger than you expect.

Doing something new often requires taking baby steps, and this axiom seems to ring true when it comes to the excruciatingly slow proliferation (or not) of electric vehicles in the U.S.

I know this isn't the first thing I should be commenting on after my first-ever drive in a Porsche 911, but, wow, what a gorgeous interior. The no-nonsense, leather-swathed cabin says "expensive and fast" better than our Audi R8, with all of its carbon fiber trim, or our Nissan GT-R, with its multiple electronic display screens.

The AMG Driving Academy at the Nürburgring is a trifecta of automotive scholarly brilliance: there are cars and then there are AMGs; there are tracks and then there's the Nürburgring, and there are schools, and then there's the AMG Driving Academy. But I'm not yet aware of this as my shuttle picks me up from the Frankfurt airport. As we get closer to the famed 'Ring, Porsche after tuned Porsche drives by in the other direction, a gaggle of Nissan Skylines buzz past us, wastegates whistling. An old bi-plane flies by, doing loop-de-loops in the sky above us into the sunset. I smile as I realize that I'm at Ground Zero in the promised land of engine-powered mayhem.

Is the Horsepower War Almost Over?
War is hell, unless it's a horsepower war, in which case it's kind of fun. For more than a decade, the cars from AMG have been on the front lines of the horsepower wars, which have seen the top autobahn rockets - most, naturally, from Germany - zoom past 300, then 400, and now 500 horsepower. But all good wars must one day come to an end, and for the horsepower wars, that day is starting to feel very close indeed. The new E63 AMG, for example, uses the same engine as the previous model (AMG's near-ubiquitous 6.2-liter V-8) and pushes its headline figure ahead by only 11 hp.

In pursuit of better fuel economy, carmakers have created various forms of hybrids. In pursuit of a childhood dream, Chris Lentz created a wild hybrid.

Months in Fleet: Four
Mileage to Date: 17,752

I have to admit, out of all the GL550's features, I found myself playing with the push-button ride-height control the most. After I pulled into my driveway, I summoned my neighbor from his house to show him how it raises and lowers the vehicle at a push of a button. For some reason, he didn't really care. I know this technology has been around for a while and is not necessarily groundbreaking, but it's still fun.