Inside Line Road Test Videos Edmunds' Inside Line Road Test Videos

You don't choose cars like these, you succumb to them. They creep up on you like thin hair and thick ankles. One minute you're rolling a 3 Series coupe, the next minute your wife needs room to haul her gardening stuff and the kids want rear doors and a DVD player.It's about that time when wagon-style things like the 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour and 2009 Toyota Venza start to look attractive. OK, plausible maybe.

We don't know if anyone's ever called the Porsche Boxster the Beverly Hills Miata, but we're going to. It's maddening. The landscape of Los Angeles' richest suburb is littered with Boxsters. They're driven by soccer moms while their kids are with the nanny; by USC co-eds living off their parents' Amex Black card; and by movie agents yet to make the scene and jump to a 911 Cabriolet. It's enough to make you ignore the history of Porsche engineering and motorsports that this car's retro-style round face and plump bodywork are meant to evoke.

The 2010 Dodge Ram Power Wagon marks the second generation of the company's off-road-fettled heavy-duty pickup, and Dodge didn't muck with the plot. That's good news for serious truck users, as the Raptor is no substitute for the Power Wagon, and vice versa.

Oh, you haven't heard? The 5 Series wagon is gone for 2011. Only 878 Americans bought one in 2009 (yeah, nice going, you guys), and the most BMW ever sold was 2,351 back in 2005.

Consider that the 2010 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG is nowhere near as quick as the 2010 Porsche Panamera Turbo and you might be disappointed. With four doors and a power figure beginning with the number five, the E63 should be capable of a toe-to-toe showdown with the sedan from Stuttgart, right? But it's not even close, because the Porsche is 0.7 second quicker in the quarter-mile and embarrasses the Benz to 60 mph by a merciless 1.1 seconds.

Yes, we have enjoyed a steady stream of modified 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS tuner cars. It's been a regular Camarogasm 'round these parts. Some have performed, others never showed up, and one that made at least 700 horsepower ate its clutch.First, we tested an HPE550 Camaro from Hennessey. Then we tested one from Vortech Engineering. Then we borrowed the Hennessey HPE700 LS9 Camaro. This year's SEMA show even provided a tasteless Camaro Hall of Shame.