In its quest for world automotive domination, Hyundai has been busy of late. Before their glimmer twins, the Genesis sedan and coupe, hit the road, they were known as suppliers of decent, but not great transportation. That’s why the 10-year, 100,000 mile warranty plan was implemented: To put buyers’ minds at ease over their purchases. That was then. This is now.

The Audi TTS Coupe is the devil on your shoulder wagging his tail and poking you with his pitch fork as he encourages you to go faster, faster, faster! — and not just because this particular TTS press fleet vehicle was painted Lucifer red.

As we make our way through Southeastern Michigan’s picturesque countryside in the freshly redesigned 2010 Chevrolet Equinox, the gorgeous farms and homes – both large and small – dot the landscape and remind us why many people from Michigan, never leave Michigan. But despite the pleasant surroundings just far enough from Detroit, a question lingers.

Lightning must strike every ten years or so in Dearborn since that was the last time we saw a Taurus SHO roll out of a Ford factory. The polarizing style of the jellybean-shaped Taurus was one that you either loved or hated, but by 1999, the car was merely a shadow of its former self.

A long time coming, but it’s finally here: The 2010 Ford Taurus. The one that Ford’s Alan Mulally said should have been built in the first place. Gone is the J Mays-influenced Passat-on-’roids cum Ford Five Hundred with enough headroom for a stovepipe hat worn by none other than honest Abe himself.

We’ve built our whole world around the automobile, and yet we’ve avoided figuring out what we’re going to do when fossil fuels can no longer meet our needs. It’s unlikely that oil, a finite resource, will continue to be able to sustain a modernizing world of nearly seven billion people. There are also serious concerns about the environment, not to mention the economic problems associated with oil’s price instability. But none of this means passenger cars have to go away. Rather, they must undergo a massive transformation.

A sterling blue metallic Hyundai Genesis sitting quietly at the curb is a very non-threatening scene. You would never think of the Genesis as a car that makes noises usually reserved for pony cars. You would never think of it as a car whose 0-60 time starts with the number 5. You would never think of it as a car capable of a burn out.

Kia and parent company Hyundai have been on a wild tear of late and it shows no signs of letting up. The most recent example of this is the stylish new entry-level Forte sedan that the automaker hopes will steal some sales away from the class-leading rivals from Japan.

Certainly one of the most dramatic transformations this year, Ford’s Fusion went from rental car fleet darling to a genuine class leader by offering an impressive level of engineering and refinement at a decent price. For 2010, Lincoln, not wanting to miss out, gets a refreshed version of its Fusion variant, the MKZ.

Some things change for the better, while some change for the worse. Yet others appear to change, but in reality end up walking the same line as before. The Subaru Impreza 2.5 GT, a new-for-2009 model aimed at a slightly different audience than before, happens to fall into at least two of these categories.

Looking every bit like a miniature Land Cruiser, Toyota’s Highlander couldn’t be any different than its wrapper would suggest. Where the Land Cruiser is a rugged brute wrapped in softly bulging sheetmetal, the Highlander is a Camry wagon on stilts with all the off road capability of a riding mower. And that seems to be just fine for shoppers.

“That’s a Kia?” The comment you’ll often hear when dismounting from the Kia’s largest SUV, the Borrego. Ask for an explanation from the bewildered onlookers and you’ll get the same story over and over: They still think of a Kia as a company that makes nothing but very small, very cheaply made cars. And for good reason: This is exactly what Hyundai-Kia made for much of its existence.

This is the review that shouldn’t be written. Just hours before Pontiac’s most powerful car ever, the G8 GXP, arrived in our driveway for a week-long evaluation, General Motors announced the termination of the historic Pontiac brand. Talk about bad timing.

Almost a year ago, we spent a day with Lincoln’s then-new MKS. It was a pleasant enough drive through the Virginia countryside, on roads that could show off the handling and features of the car that was penned to help save the division. We came away impressed, within the limits that we were able to discover during a four-hour drive.

The BMW 3-Series has become a legend in its own time. Both revered and despised, it is a polarizing, emotional vehicle in the North American market, where enthusiasts either gush over its sports sedan virtues or they claim it’s an overrated ride for yuppies.

Peachtree Street runs rings around Hotlanta, but is not an easy place for the new Hyundai Genesis Coupe to stretch its legs. Dealing with pedestrians, gawkers and people who just plain don’t know how to drive has gotten on our last raw nerve. But this fraternal twin, as Hyundai’s ad agency would like you to believe, is an opportunist, taking advantage of every gap in traffic as a means of getting onto I-75. A few minutes later, we leave the big Peach behind to really get a chance to see what this coupe has got.

Despite hot sales since its luxury-laden arrival nearly 20 years ago, Toyota’s premium division, Lexus, isn’t content to rest on its laurels. Having really only dabbled in more performance-oriented hybrids, the brand has decided to capitalize on its parent company’s successful Prius by offering an eco-minded hybrid of its own: The HS 250h.

It pays to be able to read lips. Otherwise you would have a tough time knowing what bystanders were uttering from the street corners as we passed in a fire engine red and carbon fiber-striped Audi R8. It seems there is a lot of blessed manure or something like that out there as that was the single most uttered phrase we “read” from the lips of those we passed on our way around Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

About a decade ago, while partying like it was 1999 (because it was), I first drove a brand new Ford Focus. Enthralled at the prospect of an essentially European-market small car available to American consumers, I, like many, was smitten by the Focus’ unique, rather un-Escort-like flavor.

Watching Bravo TV’s Real Wives of Orange County is like slowing to gawk at a car accident on the side of the road. You really know you should continue onward, but you just can’t help it. It should mean something, then, that in Newport Beach, where Bentleys are economy cars, residents slowed to take long, lingering glances at Lexus‘ newest two-door, the IS 350C.