Cars

Bentley's iconic shape?
Is the Continental GT for Bentley what the 911 is for Porsche-an iconic shape that is only massaged, never fundamentally altered? The cars' owners seem to think so, and Bentley has apparently taken those sentiments to heart, in the first redesign of its bestselling coupe.

The new Infiniti M is one sexy, sultry machine. It looks tight, taut, and ready to pounce. It really makes a strong design statement, which is exactly what Infiniti should be doing. The interior is especially enticing, with an ambience that is at once ultramodern yet traditionally posh. I dare say that Infiniti and Jaguar are now leading the way in cabin design, a mantle once held by Audi. Or, at least, they are the equal of Audi.

Ben Bowlby, the evil genius behind the radical DeltaWing race car, ought to be decked out in combat fatigues, with an AK-47 slung over his shoulder. Or maybe dressed in a stiff Russian suit and one of those funky hats Lenin used to wear. He is, after all, the most dangerous revolutionary in the world of motorsports, the creator of a car that not only looks unlike anything ever raced on a track before but also threatens to render everything on the track today instantly obsolete.

The Ford F-150 SVT Raptor is without question the ultimate factory-built off-road truck, and Ford's SVT engineers aren't about to let it get stale. For 2011, a few tweaks enable the SVT Raptor to literally open more doors to the world of off-roading -- and do it with even more power underfoot.

The Durango has been a staple in Dodge's lineup since it debuted nearly twelve years ago, but realizing a shift in the market, Dodge has seen fit to completely overhaul its full-size SUV for 2011. After a year's absence from the lineup, the SUV has undergone an array of changes including a complete overhaul in looks, and is now based on a unibody frame that it shares with Jeep's new 2011 Grand Cherokee.

After the demise of the Dodge Magnum, it's refreshing to have a wagon offering from a domestic manufacturer. It's likely that the CTS wagon will find very few takers -- if the slow-selling Magnum and the now-redesigned wagon-like first generation Cadillac SRX are any indication -- but in my opinion, this CTS wagon looks great and is hard evidence that Cadillac is willing to take chances to regain its world class status.

So these two Swedes, Volvo and Saab, walk into a bar. Long story short: Plenty of crazy stuff happens before they depart, worse for wear and unable to walk out under their own steam. But, praise Thor and the other Norse gods, they're still with us now.

For those of you who always obey the speed limit and come to a complete stop, the following information probably won’t be of much interest. But those of you who might occasionally bend the rules should listen up: We’ve got the skinny on Ford’s newest police vehicle offerings. You’d better start scanning the landscape for shapes other than the familiar Crown Victoria, which is no longer being sold.

Months in fleet: Two
Miles to date: 7850

First, allow me to state the obvious: $35,000 is a silly amount of money to pay for a front-wheel-drive convertible with two usable seats and few luxury options (no leather, no nav, no automatic climate control). If someone were to ask me to recommend some smart ways to spend $35,000, the Mini Cooper JCW convertible would fall somewhere between "patent leather suit" and "old General Motors Corp stock." And yet, if I wanted some wind in my hair, I'd probably give the Mini some consideration. Why? One word: Fun.

Honda's CRX is something of a legend, one of those cars about which everyone seems to have memories. Fond memories at that, usually involving an ultracool college-age dude who drove the wheels off one. The first-generation Honda Insight, on the other hand, is a car that the in crowd probably doesn't even remember, but it was pure dork delight. With an aluminum unibody, it was the first hybrid to reach the U.S. and posted the highest EPA combined fuel economy number of all time: 53 mpg (49/61 mpg city/highway).