Saturn’s Aura sedan was introduced two years ago, giving the former General Motors small-car brand a very nice midsize competitor to the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.

The first impression of any car is, of course, the outside; the shape, size and color. With that in mind, the 2008 Lexus RX 400h (base price $41,945 with freight) waiting in our driveway made a very good first impression with its icy blue color called Breakwater Blue, its low curves and just-right size.

There's a lot to love about the 2008 Mercedes-Benz S550. Sure, most of us will never be able to afford a car such as this, whose base price starts at $86,700 – more than some of us paid for our homes. But we can dream, can’t we?

Since it was barely dawn when I first entered the redesigned, 2008 Chrysler Town & Country minivan, the first “girly” thing I noticed was the “moonlight” interior lighting as I opened the door. Hello! This is one of the nicest little touches I found with this newest generation of the popular Chrysler/Dodge vans, which went on sale last month with a whole bunch of innovative new features.