There's been a lot of talk in the news recently about how many people used Cash for Clunkers to swap old F-150 for a new F-150, yielding a fuel-economy increase of between 1 and 3 MPG. The conclusion, according to the pundits, is that the program was a failure. And my conclusion is that Microsoft should invent a way for me to reach through my monitor so I could grab said pundits' collective collar and do a little 'splainin. Read more...

There are a lot of people who think Lexus' new HS 250h hybrid is nothing but a tarted-up Toyota Prius with leather seats and a sedan shell. I actually thought that myself, to the point where I spent a full two days trying to come up with a funny way to combine "Lexus" and "Prius" into one word. (I failed. So far as I can tell, it can't be done. Anyone have Robin Williams' phone number?)

But a week of test-driving made it clear that the Lexus HS 250h is anything but a fancy Prius... which, as it turns out, is kind of a shame. Find out why in my 2010 Lexus HS 250h test drive and review. -- Aaron Gold

Photo © Aaron Gold

There are two different schools of thought regarding the Toyota Prius hybrid. Some see it as the future of transportation -- a roomy family car that uses about half the fuel of a typical mid-size sedan. Other see it as the anti-car, a joyless, soulless form of transportation completely lacking in the character which car fanatics love so much. Personally, I can see both side of the argument -- and apparently so can Toyota, because they've attempted to imbue the all-new Prius with something the old car lacked: Personality. Has it worked? Find out in my 2010 Toyota Prius test drive and review. -- Aaron Gold

Photo © Aaron Gold

http://cars.about.com/od/toyota/fr/10_prius.htm

I often go to press previews for new models. Before we drive, we're given a technical presentation, and most of these start with a "State of the Company" section. Naturally, all the talk has been about when the auto industry will recover. Some say recovery is just a few months away; others say things won't get back to normal until 2014 at the earliest.

So, I'm curious: When do you think the auto industry will recover? And by "recover", I mean that sales bounce back -- if not to pre-2006 numbers, at least to a level consistent with the growth we were seeing before the bottom fell out of the economy. Vote below, and if you'd like to elaborate on why you think what you think, by all means please click the "comments" link. -- Aaron Gold