Skirting Mono Lake in a 2013 Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible, I think back to the last time I was in this part of California. I was in grade school on vacation with my mother, grandmother, and younger sister. We were in grandma's aging Chrysler minivan, and its three-speed automatic transmission was not long for this world.

If it feels as if Bentley has delivered a barrage of new Continental models lately, it's because it has. After the second-generation Continental GT debuted late in 2011, Bentley followed up with a new GTC convertible, a pair of V-8-powered models, several high-performance Speed variants, and even a race-prepped coupe built to GT3 class rules.

You would be forgiven for forgetting that this is a quarter-million-dollar car because it just doesn't feel special. Yes, the eight-cylinder is a well of seemingly infinite power and every surface that looks like metal, leather, or glass is what is looks, but there is some ephemeral sensation missing. It's as though this Bentley ticks all the boxes on what a ultra-luxury car should have: it has a specialized, high-end audio system designed by Naim and bespoke to the car; it has ornate, cross-hatched metal detailing; and a powerful 500-hp 4.0-liter V-8 engine. But none of those pieces feel as though they are a step above the mainline luxury fray, as should be the case in a car with this price tag. In fact, the engine was co-developed with Audi for use in most of the lesser brand's products.

During the weekend I had the Continental GT, I used it as a grocery getter, to haul myself and two friends to a Rufus Wainwright concert at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, to take the visiting father of one of our young Web editors for a triple-digit ride, and as my chariot to a dinner party. The hostess of the dinner expressed her belief that the Continental might be challenging to drive. "Oh, no," I replied. "It's as easy to drive as a Buick." And, indeed, it is, although I've never driven a Buick powered by a twelve-cylinder engine producing 567 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. There's simply no learning curve to driving the Conti GT; you just put your foot on the brake, slide the gear lever into Drive, and go. This is one reason, I imagine, it has been so popular. Ferraris and Lamborghinis can be off-putting to a lot of people because of their perceived complexity. The only thing that might be off-putting about driving the Continental is the knowledge that it costs as much as a modest house. I say, just think Buick, and you'll be fine.

When the V-8-powered Bentley Continental GT rolled out earlier this year, critics pointed out that the V-8's smooth brutishness rendered the W-12 sort of superfluous. The secret sauce is the transmission, since the 500-horsepower V-8 uses the new ZF eight-speed while the 567-horsepower W-12 is bolted to an older six-speed. Nonetheless, rationality is apparently not a huge factor in dream-car purchase decisions, since so far this year 70 percent of Continental GT buyers have gone for the W-12. Even allowing for a head start (the V-8 wasn't immediately available earlier in the year), it appears the V-8 might be seen as too close a relative to proletarian machinery like the Audi S8. I guess when you're spending Bentley GT money, you want the price to include that signature off-kilter W-12 thrum that seems to emanate from grinding tectonic plates on some distant fault line.

If you were the proud owner of a luxury convertible and you lived in the snowy Midwest, late January might seem like the perfect time to drive your droptop to Miami, Palm Springs, or some other sun-baked locale.

We've already heard quite a bit about Bentley's SUV project. Bentley chairman and CEO Wolfgang Durheimer has excitedly talked up the luxury SUV for some time now, shedding light on various details regarding the new project. At the annual Volkswagen Group Night extravaganza before the start of the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, Durheimer finally gets to show off his new baby in the form of a concept version of a possible new SUV, the Bentley EXP 9 F Concept.

Under previous chairman Franz-Josef Paefgen, Bentley recorded several remarkable achievements: It returned to Le Mans with a cleverly disguised Audi R10 and won. It sold more than 10,000 cars for the first time in 2007. It expanded its model range to six different body styles. So why is Bentley today not swimming in cash and commanding long waiting lists? Because management applied the classic "wood and leather and bagfuls of torque" formula instead of considering more timely approaches like low weight, high fuel efficiency, and a more varied portfolio. Enter Wolfgang Duerheimer, who now handles Bentley, Bugatti, and the VW Group's motorsports activities. Asked for his recipe to restore the winged B to its former glory, the new chairman answers immediately: "I am confident that we are going to see five figures again, but I need a bit more time to get there. Le Mans? It's like betting all your money on one rather dark horse. For Porsche, this is a no-brainer, but despite the admittedly interesting efficiency-based new homologation rules, Bentley won't compete there. I have a different idea. It revolves around a popular race series that is staged in North America, Europe, and Asia. That's a big podium -- big enough for Bentley, Audi, and Porsche. A rotational scheme could put the three brands through their paces in the three most important world markets with minimum investment and maximum effect. New products? Can't talk about them, obviously. But it's an open secret that Bentley is working on an SUV. It will be based on the next Cayenne/Q7 and is bound to attract at least 5000 buyers per year. In the States alone, I can see 20,000 potential customers -- all of them current Bentley owners. And all of them have an SUV in the garage."

The numbers, put into perspective
The new Bentley Continental GT V-8 is 55 pounds lighter than the W-12.
That's good, but not great. At least, the weight was removed where it matters most: on top of the front wheels.

The Mulsanne is the ultimate Bentley sedan, a car that combines tradition, engineering, and luxury like no other. It boasts aluminum front fenders and a composite trunk lid in a largely vain effort to save weight, but that hardly matters since there's a twin-turbo V-8 under the hood sending an incredible 752 lb-ft of torque through an eight-speed automatic transmission. Bentley quotes a top speed of 184 mph, not bad for a 5700-pound sedan lined with your choice of eight standard wood veneers and twenty-four standard interior leather colors. (Any custom color you want is available through Bentley's Mulliner specialty division.) Indeed, this is a car that deftly combines the old and the new. Bentley assembly specialists spend 170 hours handcrafting the interior of each car, and it shows. If you ever have the privilege of riding in a Mulsanne, you might just decide to move in and live there. Who could blame you? The infotainment system (featuring an eight-inch color screen, navigation, a 60-gigabyte hard drive, and Bluetooth) hides discreetly behind a power-operated veneered wood door. Likewise, a media player storage drawer, lined in leather, holds iPods and other devices that can be played on the standard fourteen-speaker stereo system or the optional 2200-watt Naim stereo. Deep pile carpets beg you to remove your shoes, dig in your toes, and stay awhile, but the truth is, you'll want to leave your driving moccasins on, because the Mulsanne is as good to drive as to be driven in.

The all-new Continental GT coupe that went on sale in spring 2011 is joined for 2012 by the Continental GTC convertible, which shares its striking new sheetmetal, LED running lamps, and much-improved navigation system. The first-generation Continental, for its part, sticks around in the form of two special-edition, high-performance models: the $285,598 Supersports convertible and the $297,495 Supersports convertible ISR (Ice Speed Record). The ISR convertible is an homage to a world record run on the frozen Baltic Sea by Finnish rally champion Juha Kankkunen, who summoned the courage to take a similar version to 205.48 mph on the ice. If you can summon the courage to pay a grossly inflated price for what is essentially a limited-edition paint and trim package, by all means, indulge yourself in either one of those outdated droptops. Our money is on the new Continental GTC, which, at $215,595, looks fantastic and will save you enough cash to fully indulge yourself in Bentley's never-ending list of sybaritic options. Both of the second-generation Continental models -- GT coupe and GTC convertible -- have exquisitely detailed and handcrafted cabins, a sumptuous array of available colors and fabrics, and a surfeit of speed. They are more than pretty, though. They offer the responsiveness of a supercar with the comfort and ease of operation of a luxury grand tourer. These two-door Bentleys handle, steer, and ride with a sense of purpose and substance that few cars can equal.

The Continental Flying Spur sedan is a long-wheelbase version of the Continental GT coupe and convertible. Unlike those two-door models, which have just been redone, the Flying Spur is still based on the first-generation Continental, which dates to 2003. Bentley is in no particular hurry to update the Flying Spur because it still sells quite well, and truth be told, it still looks great, even if the much newer, much more expensive, much more exclusive, and much more over-the-top Mulsanne has overshadowed it as the ultimate Bentley sedan. The all-wheel-drive Flying Spur's claim to fame is that it manages, like all Bentleys, to overcome the laws of physics. It's a large and heavy (5380 pound) sedan that summons the forces produced by its mighty twin-turbocharged W-12 engine to propel itself to speeds that would do any lightweight, carbon-fiber supercar proud: 194 mph in the Flying Spur and an incredible 200 mph in the Flying Spur Speed. With a sumptuous and spacious cabin that's lined with richly detailed leather, wood inlays, and lamb's wool carpets, this effectively means that the Flying Spur is a $200,000, 200-mph living room. We consider that to be quite an achievement. We suspect one of the reasons the Flying Spur is so popular is that it is actually fairly discreet. Unlike the Mulsanne, which screams, "I'm rich," to anyone who so much as glances at it, the Flying Spur can slip through traffic largely unnoticed; many people perceive it as just an anonymous big fancy car and have no idea that it costs twice as much as a Mercedes-Benz S-class.

The Bentley Continental GTC sells mostly to current and previous Bentley owners. What will they think of the new version, the long-awaited follow-up to the original GTC, which had its debut in 2006? Well, conventional wisdom holds that luxury-car buyers do not like to be shocked by change, and they're unlikely to be shocked by the new GTC.

It's a challenge for anyone to keep up with the constantly changing roster of cars on dealership lots. For car lovers it's an even tougher task, because beyond knowing that a certain model exists, you need to know where it fits in the automotive firmament. That's why we've gathered every new model due by the first half of 2012 and categorized them, not alphabetically or by some government-defined size class, but by their relevance to buyers, enthusiasts, and the companies that build them. Some cars thrust automakers into new segments, while others drive just like last year's model. Some cars protect the sanctity of the manual transmission, while others advance performance with the latest technology. Some cars address rising fuel-economy standards, while others disguise obscene speed in stealthy sheetmetal. Here are the 85 new arrivals shaping the automotive world for 2012.

When the Bentley Continental GT was first launched, in 2003, it was three years before a convertible GTC joined the hardtop coupe. For 2011, the Continental GT was redesigned, and so far this year, Bentley has been selling the old-style GTC convertible alongside it. Oh sure, the company has rolled out its characteristic special editions to maintain the appearance of freshness (Continental Supersports ISR convertible, anyone?), but the brand's keenest buyers know what's coming: a new GTC. And Bentley executives say, they've been impatiently asking for it.

At board meetings, on test tracks, and in design studios, decisions are being made today that will influence what you drive tomorrow. Automakers are hard at work creating the next generation of automobiles -- cars that are faster, sexier, more efficient -- while trying to keep their development secret. Like you, we are nosy as hell. Unlike you, we have a vast network of snoops, gossips, and disgruntled former employees who have helped us uncover the information we present here. Our annual Sneak Preview feature contains the industry's future products -- as far out as 2019 -- that are worth saving your milk money for.

After eight years on the market, and an array of special editions, the Bentley Continental GT has finally gone in for its first redesign. But German powers that be at Bentley (the British marque is part of the Volkswagen Group) are loath to fundamentally change a car that has been such an undeniable success, as the Continental is the first Bentley ever to sell in significant numbers. The result is that the 2011 Continental GT doesn't stake out new ground but instead seeks to enhance the existing formula.

There's something in the water in Finland -- or should we say, ice? Just two weeks ago, Finnish rally champion Juha Kankkunen drove a Bentley Supersports convertible to a world-record top speed of 205.48 mph across the frozen Baltic Sea. Now, to commemorate the record, Bentley is releasing a limited series of 100 'Ice Speed Record' Supersports convertibles to clients around the world. First come, first served.

Sum Up

The Bentley Continental Coupe is what many people think of when they hear the name Bentley. The Continental GT coupe has been one of the most popular models for Bindley since 2003 when they split from the Rolls-Royce namesake. This coupe offers some of the most lush and luxurious interior and exterior design that can be found on any vehicle in production today. There are now 2 different coupes available to Bentley customers, the Base GT coupe and the GTC convertible. Both body styles come standard with a 552 HP 6.0 liter W-12 engine. The Bentley coupe is not a very light vehicle so the power from this huge engine is needed to make it a powerful contender with other similar luxury coupes in its class.

Consumers that are looking for the top of line in luxury have always been familiar with the Bentley name. The Bentley Continental Flying Spur is the luxury sedan to beat. With every luxury feature one could imagine along with a powerhouse of an engine the Bentley Continental Flying Spur offers some of the most gorgeous design combined with some amazing engineering. The standard 6.0 liter W-12 engine produces 552 horsepower and this is more than plenty even considering this vehicles weight.

The Bentley Mulsanne is one of the newest sedan models from Bentley. This model has been meticulously planned by this luxury auto maker for over half of a century and it was definitely worth the wait. The Mulsanne offers the highest level of quality in every part on the vehicle. There is no detail to small and there is no design or engineering concept that has not been thought out carefully to design one of the world's most impressive luxury vehicles.

You don't need a high-riding SUV or crossover to get the winter traction benefits of four-wheel drive. There are myriad sedans, wagons, coupes, and even convertibles that offer four-wheel drive (usually called all-wheel drive in passenger cars) either as standard or optional equipment. We've gathered up a complete list of AWD passenger cars; the list is long and the choices are many. Although the advantages of four driven wheels are obvious in slippery road conditions, the technology comes at a cost. There is usually a cost premium associated with all-wheel drive, and sometimes a fuel economy penalty as well. So for each car listed we've indicated the extra cost of the all-wheel-drive option, or the cost differential compared with the equivalent two-wheel-drive model, as well as its EPA gas mileage ratings, and the fuel economy penalty versus the two-wheel-drive version of the same car.

In our recent drive of the outgoing, first-generation Bentley Continental, several of us expressed the desire, perhaps naïve, that the new Conti GT might have its engine in a different location than in front of the front axle. What, did we think they were going to wedge that W-12 into the back seat? Silly us. There's simply no getting around the fact that the Conti GT has been, and will continue to be, a short-nosed car that's packing a lot of hardware into a very small space. And, as Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen, Bentley's patrician chief, explains, if they were to mount the engine on top of the axle, the car would have a very high center of gravity.

This is the swan song for the current Continental GT, which I first drove in July 2003 in Scotland, and a memorable drive it was. Later, I drove a different Conti GT at 165 mph in Death Valley; another drive for the mental scrapbook. As have always been the case, straight-line speed and acceleration are remarkable. Great exhaust note. But there are signs of age, and it is certainly time for the new Continental, which is going on sale in early 2011 and which we will be driving soon.