Excluding the M6 with its 500-hp V10, the V8-powered 650i is BMW’s top-of-the-line coupe. The 6-series returned in 2003, after being absent from the US market since 1989, and BMW enthusiasts couldn’t be happier. It has a 4.8-liter V8, making 360 horsepower and 360 lb.-ft. of torque, and is a worthy successor to BMW’s old supercoupe.

Now, we’ve got to thank BMW for one thing. They offer the 6-series with a choice of three transmissions. But instead of sending us the automatic or their patented Sequential Manual Gearbox, they gave us a genuine six-speed manual. What better way to enjoy the ultimate driving machine than with a pure, fully manual transmission? Using your left foot and having to match revs yourself makes all the difference when it comes to driving excitement, and we’re glad to see it in a market that’s currently obsessed with so-called ‘manumatics.’

Now, despite weighing 3800 lbs, this car’s BMW genes shine through – even if I were blindfolded, I’d know what I was driving. The 650i’s steering is nicely weighted, but nimble – a BMW trademark. Turn-in is astoundingly quick and sure, and there’s never a hint of understeer in anything but the most aggressive situations. This motor is a true work of art – peak torque arrives at just 3400 rpm, so you can drive it normally, but there’s enough power on tap for whenever you want to have a little fun.

The 4.8 is a tremendous motor, and in this car with a true manual gearbox you can really appreciate it. It sounds really beastly when you get on it, but we wish it were just a little louder…a BMW small-block sounds musical if you let it breathe a little bit.

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This is a challenging car, as a sports car should be – it’s not exactly easy to figure out. You need to be careful not to break the posted limit, and the iDrive system will take you a couple of days to master. But once you get comfortable, there’s nothing more rewarding than a high-end BMW that you can shift yourself. Everything is about the driver – the controls are simple, unless you want to make them complicated. Even the armrest is adjustable for more comfortable shifting.

This car is a puzzle, in a way. It is technically a luxury coupe, but there really aren’t many distractions in the cabin. You’ve got two cupholders, no hidden compartments, and nothing that really distracts you from the road. It’s as if the Germans decided to build a Mustang Cobra to conquer the world. But in the end, it’s a cross between a luxury coupe, a grand tourer, and a genuine sports car. In short, it can be what its owner wants it to be.

There’s only one thing we’d like to see changed – we love the large sunroof, but all it does is tilt. No sliding action. We suppose that’s an aerodynamic concern, brought about by the 650’s sharply raked profile. The roof panel itself is rather small, so there wouldn’t be enough space to slide this gigantic roof back. We love this car the way it is, but wish there were a way to make a sliding function work.

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Our 6-series had an as-tested price of right around $83,000. But for a car that offers this kind of effortless acceleration, boundless aesthetic appeal, and BMW’s unique combination of ride and handling, there’s no price too high. Try as we might, we can’t think of any direct competition for this BMW. It’s more luxurious than a 911, but sportier than a Mercedes-Benz CL. And the base sticker is around $73K, so although it feels strange to say so, we think this car is, well…kind of a bargain.

The 2007 Toyota Highlander is a Toyota through and through. It’s capable, roomy, and inoffensive. Like all vehicles from the world’s largest carmaker, it has few weaknesses, and proudly carries its vanilla personality like a war medal.

The story with the Highlander is value. Toyota doesn’t make the cheapest cars on the market, and their options packages can get a little pricey. However, our Highlander Limited came in at less than thirty-five grand. That’s with leather, sunroof, and heated seats up front. Not to mention the trick third row of seats.

The Highlander, introduced in 2001, shares platforms and components with the wildly successful Lexus RX, one of the first crossover utility vehicles and arguably the benchmark for SUVs that drive like cars. In overall size and price, the Highlander slots in between the compact (ish) RAV4, and the off-road-focused FJ Cruiser and 4-Runner.

Like the RX, the Highlander is tailored for on-road use. But unlike the RX, it offers an available third row of seats. Our tester, a top-of-the-line Limited model, was equipped with the third row. It’s a tad small for larger folks, but works just fine for small children or even smaller adults. It’s easy to operate, and springs out of the flat cargo area with one tug of a canvas loop.

Gaining access to the third row via the Highlander’s doors is easy: one pull of a handle slides the second row forward for easy entry, and the same lever can be pulled from the third-row seat for easy exit as well. It’s also got heating controls, although they’re not independent of the main climate control system.

You can alsoview the 2007 Toyota Highlander Limited car review video and many others at YouTube.

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The Highlander uses Toyota’s corporate 3.3L V6, which has variable valve timing, and is paired with a five-speed automatic. You probably won’t be surprised to hear that it delivers an outstanding combination of power and fuel economy. With 215 hp and 222 lb-ft of torque on tap, this mid-size crossover utility scoots to 60 in just around 8 seconds, while still returning an EPA mileage rating of 18 city and 24 highway.

Inside, the Highlander delivers. It has an abundance of cupholders – two in each of the rear passenger doors and two in the rear center armrest, as well as the ones up front and in the third row – and a large, open storage area underneath the shifter console that can be accessed from either of the front seats. In a nod to the needs of all passengers, the second row of seats – in addition to having the handy 60/40 split – reclines for added comfort.

Although the interior styling is somewhat dated, it has been subtly tweaked since the Highlander’s 2001 debut, and our Limited had an abundance of leather and wood that added a heightened aesthetic impression to our tester’s cabin.

At some point, Toyota must have realized that many of its 4-Runner buyers probably wanted something a little more refined, a little more carlike, to use a tired cliché. So, they built this. And you have to give them credit – a lot of other manufacturers might have balked at the idea of having two SUVs so close in size. But true to Toyota form, they filled a consumer need perfectly, and this thing has sold well since it was introduced in 2001. In fact, it’s now Toyota’s best-selling SUV, despite being its second-newest utility offering.

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When you drive the Highlander, you can just imagine the kind of consumer Toyota built it for. A suburban couple or family perhaps, that wants the commanding ride height, cargo capacity, and all-weather capability of an SUV. It’s a smart consumer, one that realizes they don’t need a monster truck to get all of that. The fuel mileage and general driving dynamics are much more forgiving than some lumbering Hummer, and the entire car is just sensible and no-nonsense.

All in all, our 4×4 Limited’s base price was just north of 32 grand. Heated front seats ($440), a tow prep package ($160), and one value package ($2,500 minus a $1,540 discount) pushed our as-tested total to $34,623. Ignore the safe aesthetics and the 3,500-lb towing capacity; comfort, reliability, resale value, and predictability are this crossover’s main virtues.

If substance over style is your thing, and you don’t feel the need to play “Mine is bigger” with your neighbor, I can’t think of too many better ways to spend thirty-five grand.

Subaru’s Forester has always been an appropriately restrained example of a compact SUV. It’s a little unorthodox compared to the competition – the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V ride higher and are more truck-like – but its quirkiness pays big dividends in practical areas.

First off, the Forester is based on Subaru’s Impreza, a superlatively sporty sedan/wagon that has competed with great success in the World Rally Championship, one of the most grueling race series on the planet. This DNA endows the Forester with exceptional handling and sure-footedness, as well as outstanding traction when equipped with all-wheel-drive.

Although we tested the Forester in warm weather, we feel confident that it would prove to be outstanding in inclement weather. Why? Because it’s a Subaru, that’s why. Subaru has been building hardy, all-wheel-drive wagons for decades now, long before such things came into vogue. And like Audi with their Quattro system, Subaru have built their reputation on the strength of their Symmetrical all-wheel-drive.

There is a trade-off, of course, and that is ground clearance. The Forester is not a serious off-roader in the vein of a Jeep Liberty or Wrangler, but Subaru has gambled that most buyers don’t place a high enough priority on that to warrant a heavier-duty vehicle. And they’ve been right – the Forester has been wildly successful ever since it was introduced. The automotive press has lavished it with praise; the Forester was Car and Driver’s best small SUV in 2004, 2005, and 2006.

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For 2007, the US model lineup was expanded to include our L.L. Bean edition, a variation on the base 2.5X model. Somewhat like the Eddie Bauer Explorer or Orvis Grand Cherokee, the L.L. Bean Edition offers a popular mix of options, an outdoorsy aesthetic, and a competitive price tag well south of the model’s highest trim level.

True to that standard, our Forester came with a lot of stuff we were glad to have, and we didn’t feel any particular void when it came to features and options. The interior was well designed for a car that’s not exactly new when it comes down to brass tacks, and the materials (woven headliner, alcantara inserts on the leather seats) were top-notch. Little touches, like a sporty genuine MOMO steering wheel, added a little spice.

One bauble we couldn’t have lived without was our tester’s giant sunroof. It was double the size of a normal roof, and adds a ton of light to what is already a substantial greenhouse. The Forester’s tall, boxy shape (in addition to endowing it with lots of cargo hauling capabilities) makes for a light and airy cabin due to its huge windows. The addition of the sunroof makes it feel almost like a targa-top sports car.

Another neat option was the cargo area organizer-thing, which makes for easy hauling of smaller items like groceries or gifts. It’s a giant plastic contraption, and has two flaps that open up to become the walls. There are little cargo-net partitions, perfectly sized for smaller items you might pick up as you trundle through a shopping mall. It’s also light as a feather, and has a heavy-duty elastic band on the backside, presumably for hanging in a garage.

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The Forester is full of little nooks and crannies that you can stuff your stuff into. The dash has a pop-up panel that would hold this correspondent’s wallet, keys, and cell phone with room to spare for a candy bar or EZ-Pass.

We would have preferred the Forester XT, with its 230-hp turbocharged engine and six-speed manual. The L.L. Bean brought its trusty 173-hp motor, mated to a four-speed automatic transmission.

The Forester, like most other Subarus, utilizes a 2.5L ‘boxer’ engine, which arranges its cylinders in a horizontally opposed configuration rather than a traditional line or V-shape like most manufacturers use. This gives the entire Forester range a lower center of gravity and a smooth swell of torque at low rpm, as boxer motors are naturally much smoother and less prone to vibration than other engine configurations.

Our one issue with the car was the transmission. We would have preferred a manual in order to take advantage of the engine’s unique characteristics, and the four-speed automatic in our tester didn’t help, as there was no manual shift mode. That was really our only complaint with what is otherwise a very practical – yet never dull – compact SUV. And we’ll readily concede that the majority of SUV buyers don’t share our hot-rod sensibilities.

Another area in which the Forester bests its taller, heavier competitors is in fuel economy. Our tester wore an EPA rating of 23 city mpg/28 highway mpg. That’s more in line with its Impreza cousin, not its V6-powered competitors.

The Forester isn’t glamorous, and it isn’t big and brawny. It’s a real meat-and-potatoes utility vehicle that truly focuses on practical matters: hauling, handling, stability, visibility, and predictability. In these areas, it excels. Check your ego at the door, and stop fooling yourself into thinking that you might go off-road one day, or that you need to sit as high as a tractor-trailer to see properly. The Subaru Forester is the kind of capable, yet eminently responsible SUV that everyone should be driving. And with a base price of $26,695 ($29,633 as-tested, including destination charges) you can truly say you’ve made the sensible choice.

At the recent 2007 New York International Auto Show, I was fortunate to catch Larry Dominique, VP of product planning for Nissan and Infiniti, for a quick interview. He has been with the Nissan Brand since 1989, and before working with the Infiniti G37 Coupe, he worked with vehicles like the Nissan Xterra, Pathfinder, Armada, and the InfinitiQX56 SUV. We here at Roadfly were particularly interested in the all-new 2008 Infiniti G37 Coupe and the premiere 2007 Nissan NISMO 350Z.

Laura Burkholder: The Infiniti G37 Coupe: What demographic are you catering towards?
Larry Dominique: Historically, coupes draw a little more heavily from male than female. What you see with our Infiniti brand, in general, is we’re a younger brand than some of the other luxury brands. Our typical demographic is in the early 40s, not 50s and 60s, so we tend to draw younger demographic, very affluent but they like to drive, which is part of what Infiniti is about. Therefore, with our G37, one of the things we believe we’re going to be able to do with this car is probably bring more women into the franchise than we have before. It’s still super performance, better performance than the last coupe, but we’ve tried to improve the mixture of the ride comfort and body roll a little bit, so we think it will draw a pretty broad audience.

LB: How have you handled your transition from active cars to the G37 Coupe?
LD: Sedan markets are obviously the biggest markets. But if you really look at coupe markets, they tend to expand and contract a lot; it is very dependent upon the new products that come into the marketplace. For coupes, if you have 2-3 or three kids, coupes are not the best products for you. I mean ingress/egress of the backseat is not very good and usually rear seat roominess is not very good, so you have to find a specific kind off demographic target to shoot towards and it really varies from time to time. We don’t get the same number of singles and coupes all of the time, so when we went into the coupe, we really wanted it to be a nice brand extension of the G35 sedan and it took off. The [initial] volume was double what we expected and it has stayed very strong. We think we have enough loyalty behind it now that the people [will] seek out our coupe. We think the G37 is going to be that much better.

LB: How are you going to enter the market that has been predominately the BMW-type luxury class?
LD: That’s interesting: Our G35 sedan competes against the BMW 3 Series, and we actually do a percentage of their sales. We sell about 50,000 sedans a year. When we introduced our first generation G Coupe, we actually outsold BMW 3 Series every year. We expect that kind of relationship to continue with the next generation.

LB: Are you going to take the approach of lifestyle branding, like the 7 Days in a Sentra campaign, for the 24/7 lifestyle?
LD: Well, coupe people are a little more different than sedan people. Coupe people, just by the nature of who they are, don’t have to convince them that is the kind of lifestyle that they lead; they know that is who they are. With the Sentra, we were kind of repositioning the Sentra into a new price range and competitive market. With the coupe, what we’re actually hoping for is a lot of loyalty from our original coupe buyers. So again, it’s a lot of wealthy men and women who like the sporty image, like the coupe, and are typically not big family people, so they’re couples or singles.

LB: Will you be using YouTube and other outlets like the Yahoo! Live music sets?
LD: Certainly, our proliferation in utilizing the Internet has been with very selective sites, i.e. really targeted. That’s the beauty of like spot-cable and internet: you can now find a specific demographic and target, and you can slice it down to micro-thing if you wanted, so I think you’re going to see a lot more of that.

LB: The Rouge: How are you going to put it out into the market?
LD: When we developed the Rouge, we looked at the marketplace for small crossover products. First of all, we thought that none of them had any energy or life to them. They were all kind of mundane and very heavily female-slanted. What we found, when we did our research, was that there are a lot of young families out there, especially the men of the families that say, “You know, I love my sedan/I love my coupe, but I really need a vehicle that can hold my family now, but God, I really don’t want to own a minivan.” So, what we found is that we wished we could have a vehicle in this small crossover segment that was more emotional, more fun to drive, and that was what the Rogue was developed for. If you look at the design of it, it’s sportier than its competitors, the QR25 engine is very high performance with 170hp, and it drives great. We added vector control on the AWD system to help corner and drive better, so we think we’ve addressed all the things these young men want with their families, including the utility they need for their families.

LB: Finally, NISMO. Why is it a good market to get into?
LD: NISMO, for us, is a brand that Nissan has been famous for, for years and years in Japan. It’s always been known for very high-performance parts and components. So for us, as we try to grow our brand in the United States, we feel that expanding the NISMO opportunity in the US and building some brand strength behind the NISMO brand is very important for because it means that more revenue for us, more revenue for our dealers. Customers who buy these high-performance vehicles from us, love it too. So the NISMO Z which we’re offering for the first time from the factory, is really our first foray of coming into that kind of opportunity.