Cars of the year 2010

Despite the industry gloom and doom, extraordinary things are happening in the car business. Ford is leading an American comeback. Fiat, of all automakers, is saving Chrysler. The VW Group, now number three in the world, bought Porsche. Mighty Toyota has been blindsided by quality issues, including a wayward floor mat. And Korean carmakers are surging. We're witnessing tremendous progress in safety innovation, affordable horsepower and, most of all, fuel-efficient technology. With such heated competition among brands, there's tremendous value available to the consumer, playboy will always look for style and high performance. We've traveled the globe, driving everything on wheels. Here are our picks for 2010.

For Ferrari, reviving the California name invites comparison with a legend. The origi­nal debuted in 1957 (think of the car in Ferris Bueller's Day Off) and was made in Enzo Ferrari's factory in Maranello, Italy expressly for the American market. With its sleek lines and three-liter engine, it quickly became as iconic as the celebrities who drove it (Brigitte Bardot, et al.). Only 106 were made. A 1961 California owned by James Coburn sold in 2008 for $10.9 million. The new iteration sports several Ferrari firsts, such as a retractable hardtop, a front-engine V8 with direct injection, a stacked exhaust, a slick new Getrag seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and a launch-control system that zooms you from zero to 60 in under four seconds. We drove one in Carmel Valley, California near Highway 68, using twisty, steep Laureles Grade Road as our private mini-track. Upshifting is swift and automatic, and the 4.3-liter engine's four-pipe rumble will make you feel like Felipe Massa out on the highway. Convertibles and chassis rigidity aren't usually compatible, but the born-again California's solid bones are superstiff. The ride is compliant, the steering precise, the Italian leather luscious, and those enormous carbon ceramic brakes work without annoying snatches. Like a beautiful woman, this car is fast, exciting and very hard to get. Even if you can afford it, you'll have to be patient—the waiting list is 18 months long.

HORSEPOWER VALUE:

Engine:

DOHC V6

Zero to 60:

Price:

18 city/ "ay ,130

Nissan's Z sports coupe has long been a performance bargain. The original 240Z appeared in the States in 1970 under the Datsun badge, and with its beautiful shape, punchy throttle and low price, it was a great choice for young Americans who couldn't afford Jags or BMWs. Nissan has been making Zs ever since, and the new Nismo (short for Nissan Motorsports) is the best Z yet, a not so thinly disguised tuner car for the street. The first thing you notice is the tweaked body. The sensually sculpted Nismo is seven inches longer than the stock Z, thanks to the radically restyled aerodynamic nose with integrated chin spoilers, a larger rear wing and a functional air diffuser. Nismo mods also include a new front strut tower brace, stiffer springs and up-rated shocks, plus wider, stickier Yokohama Advan Sport tires on forged alloy Rays wheels. We loved the crisp-shifting six-speed manual (the only tranny available) with Nissan's SynchroRev, which expertly revs the engine as you downshift. There's enough Nismo badging to ensure people know you've paid the difference, if you care. For half the price of Nissan's GT-R (last year's playboy Car of the Year), this Japanese beauty is a lot of GT.

FOR YOUR BUC

2.3-liter DOHC turbo 1-4

5.6 seconds

IB citv/

Once again, the Mazdaspeed3 proves size doesn't matter; it's how you shake it. Consider this bit of zoom-zoom a Mazda5 on steroids (the two models share most of the same sheet metal) but with a cheeky grille grin, a Subaru-esque hood scoop (which helps force air into the high-mounted intercooler), not so subtle aero bodywork, plenty of power and a sticker that's irresistible. The six-speed manual is a treat. Even if you add the $1,895 Tech package, featuring a cute nav screen, serious Bose audio and Bluetooth capability, you're still under $26,000 out the door in a hot-looking ass kicker that rips up turns and delivers on the acceleration front (expect a little torque steer, though). The thing actually seats five, with decent luggage space under its hatch. There's a little MX-5 Miata in every Mazda, and after hustling this one through the swooping elevation changes of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, we were convinced that goes double for this screamer.

RMWW VS.

Porsche Panamera

Battle of the ultimate luxury sport sedans

by A.J. Baime

or my money, the BMW M5 is the

standard-bearer for luxury sedans

you'd want to drive on a racetrack.

here are those who kneel at the altar of

MW engineering, and I'm among them.

5o we pitted our Car of the Year—Porsche's

anamera Turbo sedan—against the M5 at

lew Jersey Motorsports Park's awesome

ightning Raceway. Yes, we know: com-

paring apples to oranges. The Porsche is about $45,000 more than the BMW. So it should be a one-sided contest, right? Driv­ing against me was Bloomberg car colum­nist Jason Harper. I started in the BMW. My goal? To show Jason how it's done. Out on the track I hammered the M5's five-liter V10, the tach needle rocketing toward the 8,200 rpm redline. It was a club day, so

Diesel

IS BACK:

two-liter DOHC < turbo 1-4 ,

9.1 seconds

$29,950

German carmakers have united for the time being behind clean diesel as the green engineering of the future. Case in point: Audi's R15 TDI diesel Le Mans racing car, so efficient it cruises by at more than 200 mph while barely making a sound (quite a sight in the black of night). Both BMW and Audi launched wonderful diesels in the States in 2009. Audi's A3 TDI—considered one of Europe's cleanest and most fuel-efficient models—gets our nod for clean diesel of the year. We zipped one around New York City and up into the Catskill foothills, loving the two-liter four cylinder's low-end torque (236 foot-pounds at 1,750 rpm), phenomenal highway mile­age and eye-pleasing Euro packaging. Not to mention the killer price tag. A squat, compact hatchback (Audi calls it a sportback), it's surprisingly roomy; with 19.5 cubic feet of storage behind the rear seat, it has plenty of room for a set of clubs. Go for the optional S-Tronic dual-clutch transmission. Switch on the fly from drive to sport mode and the gearbox will offer up quicker shifts and leave you in a lower gear longer, allowing more access to that delicious low-end torque.

REBORN BEAUTY:

Engine:

Price:

Ford Motor Company is America's success story these days, and the Taurus—a very decent piece in basic form—takes on a new personality when those SHO badges are affixed. The SHO (Super High Output) first appeared two decades ago with a 220 bhp V6, a serious alternative to pricier Euro sedans despite its plain wrapper. The new third-gen SHO is less understated, with brawny good looks, all-wheel drive and a torrid 365 bhp V6 with EcoBoost, which uses a twin-turbo system combined with direct injection to deliver high power efficiently. No lightweight at 4,368 pounds, the SHO needs all its 350 foot-pounds of torque to charge up hills, but the behind-the-back punch is solid, with no noticeable turbo lag. You'll think it's a V8. For the money, you'd pay a lot more for an xDrive 5 Series BMW and not get much difference in truly usable on-road performance. Ford offers an optional Performance Pack with added punch in the pedal if you really want to chase Bimmers. We've driven a Ford lately, and we like it. On with the SHO....

there were other cars out there, some seri­ous machinery. Shrieking out of a carousel-like turn onto a half-mile straight, the M5 hit 130 mph before I had to jump on the brakes, steering into a sharp uphill right­hander in tight traffic. Thanks to those big vented cross-drilled disc brakes, all my limbs are still attached. For a burly machine (4,012 pounds), the M5 eats up corners.

Still, I couldn't catch Jason in the Pana­mera. Was he the better driver, or was the Panamera the superior car? We switched. With its 4.8-liter twin-turbo V8, the Pana­mera Turbo darts to 60 in four seconds, outdoing the M5 by a half second. It's blis­tering fast, hitting 140 on the straight. The Porsche is longer and heavier, and I could feel the extra 300 pounds in the corners.

Four NFL linemen could sit comfortably in this beast. But coming out of those comers, hard on the pedal, the Porsche accelerated with fury, the shrill exhaust note Wagnerian. Still, I couldn't catch Jason in the M5. Con­clusions? Man. that guy can drive. And I'd be proud to have either car in my garage. To each his own, but if you've got the extra 45 grand, I'd go for the Porsche.

5T CROSSOVE

5.4 seconds

twin-turbo V8

BMW's long-standing success as a definitive German brand whose vehicles consistently deliver on a spirited ride allows the Muncheners to occasionally depart from their carefully prepared text and offer up something totally unexpected. The new 5 Series GT is an example, a streamlined fastback sedan with a clever two-piece tailgate that can function as either a hatchback or a trunk. Some buyers may be hesitant about this model's unusual styling (we're not), but even if you are, you'll love its bristling performance. The powerful 407 bhp twin-turbo V8 manhandled just about everything else on the road in northern New Jersey, where we tested the GT near BMW's North American headquarters. With roomy and comfortable backseats (the designers say they had a jetliner in mind), this GT is a fast, go-anywhere all-purpose utility vehicle with none of the annoying trucklike features of an SUV. Competent, taut and very BMW-ish, this could be the new roomier and more practical shape of sedans to come.

R

fficiency has resulted, n an unparalleled -" engineering renaissance

Flsker Karma

e've seen more innovation in car technology in the past five years than we saw in the last half century. Why? Buyers are thinking with their wal­lets and with the future of the planet in mind. We've seen cars that run on everything from hydrogen to

to Toyota's tiny green giant, the Prius, luxury brands like Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti and BMW are all producing hybrids this year or next. Even Ferrari says it is testing hybrid prototypes. Nissan hopes to snag 20,000 reserva­tions by the end of 2010 for its all-electric 2012 Leaf hatchback sedan, while Audi's e-tron sports car will follow in the blazing track of the Tesia as an all-electric light­ning-fast two-seater. Even Rolls-Royce is talking about an electric Phantom. And then of course there's the highly anticipated

N AND GREEN:

Horsep Zero to I

Chevy Volt. The sexiest green car on the horizon? Fisker's Karma (pictured above), which debuts later in 2010. A $100,000 mad-sexy sport sedan, it's billed to run 50 miles on electric power alone before kicking on the gas power plant. So what's out there now? We're tipping our hat to

Ford's Fusion Hybrid as playboy's Green Car of the Year. Thanks to the Fusion, driving a hybrid doesn't mean you have to suffer kooky exterior styling, amusement-park-ride linear dynamics and pathetic acceleration. With 41 mpg city and 36 mpg highway EPA rat­ings, the Fusion is the most fuel-efficient midsize sedan available. Best of all, the Fusion can operate in electric-only mode at up to 47 mph. The Prius can battery boogie at only half that speed. With its six-speaker stereo, traction con­trol, ABS and more, you're not giving up a thing to go green.

4.4 seconds

Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG

13 city/ Ihway $88,750

There's discernible musculature under the taut skin of MB's new E 63 AMG, a sense of purpose about its lowered stance and the muted growl from those four huge tailpipes. We drove the car on German autobahns and in the Austrian Alps, where it was right at home in the fast lane. We passed cars helter-skelter and wailed on the mountain twisties in a delightfully undignified manner. Com­pletely reworked from the stock E-class sedan at MB's AMG facility in Affalterbach, Germany, this ride gilds the performance lily with its wicked 6.2-liter V8 that'll rev past seven grand. Naturally the Benz brigade loaded it with every high-tech feature you can imagine: optional push-button start, seven-speed manumatic with a wet-plate clutch, RS (Race Start) launch-setting button, an Attention Assist drowsiness-detection system, optional Night View Assist Plus.... Want more? How about an option to bypass the 155 mph governor for a heady 186 mph top speed? Stick Grandma in the backseat and see how she likes it. You won't get much change back from your $100,000 bill, but we'd stack this baby up against more expensive Maseratis or even Bentleys for serious sport-sedan laurels.

Inside, the Pana-mera is luxury-saloon elegant and as high tech as tomorrow, with every conceivable driver aid. The leather coddles, and the rear seats are big enough to hold two six-footers comfortably. Go for the Bose upgrade, which features no fewer than 14 speakers: You'll think Mick and Keith are sitting in the car with you, jamming away.

CAR OF THE YEAR:

Just think about it: Porsche's first-ever sedan. Germany's leading sports car manufacturer has packed everything it learned in half a century of great road cars and world-class racing into a remarkable four-door achievement. It's available in three variants—the two-wheel-drive S (589,800), the all-wheel-drive 4S (S93.800) and the top-of-the-line Turbo (our pick). We put on the miles in all three— on the road and on two racetracks, including Road America, one of the most storied racing venues in the U.S. A big car with vast interior space, the Turbo swept through the track's famed high-speed Carousel turn with confidence, stormed the straights and juked through turns like an all-star running back. The seven-speed PDK dual-clutch manual gearbox is creamy smooth. Composite ceramic brakes are an option, but the standard ventilated stoppers do the job. A stop-start feature shuts down the engine during long idles and restarts it the second the brake pedal is released, just like a hybrid. Though the direct-injection 500 bhp V8 is mounted up front. Porsche has captured all the visceral feel you'd expect, the essential DNA of a 911. That's why the Panamera is playboy's 2010 Car of the Year.