New Year's List - Best of 2008

Happy New Years! As is the trend at this time of year, I decided to take a semi-serious look back at some of the best and worst cars of 2008. Let me start with the the serious ones.

Best Cars of 2008
Best domestic: Chevy Malibu / Saturn Aura. Even though GM is in desperate trouble and has had difficulty competing with the Accord and Camry, the Malibu/Aura twins are leaps forward that can only be measured in astronomical units. Attractive, well-featured, and interesting (unusual for a midsize), they should be the inspiration for a resurgent American car industry. Will it happen ... ?

Best foreign: Honda Fit / Hyundai Genesis (tie). At opposite ends of the spectrum, these two cars represent class-busters. They do their job as advertised and better than anything else in their category. Innovative and good values.

Most surprising: Hyundai Genesis coupe. Another Hyundai on the top cars list? Give credit where credit is due. This rear-wheel drive coupe will give the Inifiniti G37 coupe a run for its money (while still underselling it for thousands, and with an available V8). Hyundai might start shaking off the budget-car image if they keep making interesting cars like this.

Best Car to Show Off In: BMW 335i coupe. Need to make a statement, but not overdo it? With a nearly perfect motor, good looks, and BMW handling, you can flaunt it without being a pretentious jerk.

Best Car to Shamelessly Show Off In: Bentley Flying Spur. BMW too subtle for you? This Bentley is going to take care of that. And if you have to ask you can't afford it.

The "Anime Fan Boy Fantasy" Award: Nissan GTR. The hometown hero in Japan comes to the US and elicits drools from every 14-26 year old guy who ever owned a Playstation.

Sexiest Car: Maserati Granturismo. Just look at it. Don't really have to elaborate with this one.