GALLERY - 2010 MERCEDES-BENZ E63 AMG - 21 PHOTOS

Ever so slightly restrained aggression seems to be the sedan design mantra at AMG, in-house tuners of Mercedes-Benz. Thank goodness. Of recent, AMG has managed to turn some very fuddy-duddy machinery into monsters... and that's before we get to the engine.

True, the new E-Class isn't exactly "fuddy-duddy", but she's no beauty. Modern midsize luxury is split between handsome (Audi A6 & Jaguar XF) and odd (BMW 5-Series & Mercedes-Benz E-Class) with some offensive (Acura TL) and dull (Lexus GS) thrown in for good measure. In AMG form, as the E63 AMG, the E-Class is just so mean that one can't manage to complain about its unnecessarily edgy headlamps, excessively rectangular taillamps, or its same-as-always profile. Oh, that does sound somewhat like a backhanded compliment, doesn't it?

Regardless, the 6.2L powermaker sits under the hood and sends 525 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels by way of a 7-speed AMG Speedshift automatic tranny. Fun.

And frugal.... relatively speaking. The new E63 AMG travels and approximately 2.6 more miles for every gallon of premium fuel. Check out all 21 photos of the new E63 AMG in the Gallery below.

GALLERY - 2010 SUBARU LEGACY - 23 PICTURES

GoodCarBadCar.net is a biased operation. That's the beauty of it rather than something to lay blame on. For example, Audi and Subaru and Lamborghini can almost-sort-of-kinda do no wrong. Well, they can do wrong, but an explanation and excuse will be provided by The Good Car Guy. Up until now.

In the 23 pictures below, you can see the new face of the new-for-2010 Subaru Legacy. What will undoubtedly be a very good sedan and wagon and Outback is seriously let down by a face that no mother could love. The 2010 Subaru Legacy's headlights are inspired by the nostrils of a hippopotamus. Its grille is a bit smirky but would be otherwise unoffensive were it not for the hippo nostril headlights. In fact, one would never assume that the front end of the 2010 Subaru Legacy could be so disturbing had they only seen the absolute dullness of the rear end. The taillights and rear fascia appear heavily influenced by the box they came in.

170-bhp 2.5L boxer engines are standard. Power is up in the turbocharged 2.5s of the 2.5GT to 265-bhp. Strangely, a new 3.6L boxer six-cylinder makes just 256 horsepower and is only slightly torquier than the 2.5L four-cylinder turbo. Transmissions are now 6-speed manual or, optionally, a CVT. By the way, the 3.6L is paired with a 5-speed auto.

GALLERY - BMW X5 M & BMW X6 M - 90 PICTURES

Crazy, isn't it, that when BMW first introduced the X5 "SAV" - which we all knew was an SUV - there was an uproar from purists. Such purists had to be put at ease as BMW made very clear that the M badge didn't belong on vehicles that lacked a low centre of gravity and for which performance wasn't a major characteristic.

BMW gave X5 lovers hi-po versions anyway. The German automaker simply called them something else. The BMW X5 from last generation was available as the astounding 4.6iS. The current availability of 350 horsepower in the X5 xDrive48i isn't shabby either. The drearily ugly and Bad 8 Supersize-winning BMW X6 can be optioned up to hold a twin-turbocharged 4.4L V8 producing 400 horsepower.

Apparently, that's not enough. Besides, BMW's M badge; like Mercedes AMG and Audi RS; is a cash cow. Supply customers with a better engine and sportier suspension and they'll pay ridiculously high markups. At the cost of diluting the brand? It seems BMW doesn't believe that's an issue anymore. Now we have the BMW X5 M and BMW X6 M. Powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.4L V8, the power monsters produce 555 ponies and 501 lb-ft of torque. Being the only BMW M models with all-wheel drive, configuring that system to allow a natural M-like flow of power was a challenge.

These are also the only BMW M models with a strict automatic transmission. Even the 7-speed SMG is really a clutchless manual and the direct-shift gearbox more recently found in the M3 is a dual-clutch automatic. Acceleration is identical, another figure which calls into question the need for an X6 that is less capacious and ten times uglier than anything in the BMW lineup. Regardless, the Gallery for each model is seen here. Confusingly, BMW mentioned that "the truly outstanding potential of both models comes out clearly in their looks and design", whatever that means.

WATCH TESLA MODEL S IN MOTION

Tesla boss Elon Musk takes the concept version of the 2011 Tesla Model S out for a spin. Yes, the commentary can be a bit annoying, but the excitement is palpable. Forgive.

Tesla's new sedan is a 7-seater capable of 0-60mph in under 6 seconds with a fill-up price of under $7.00 and a range of about 300 miles. For more on the car, click here. In order to listen to the electric whir, click play below.

ACROSS THE POND - THE BEST VIDEOS FROM evo, CAR, and TOP GEAR

Almost every Friday, The Good Car Guy travels (virtually) Across The Pond. This has resulted in profiles of the Dacia Duster, Skoda Yeti, the Tata Nano, and the Vauxhall Astra VXR 888, among others. In other words, it's all about the cars you can't have here in North America.

This week, Across The Pond is different. Three British auto media outlets, Top Gear, evo, and CAR, are big players in multimedia now. It's difficult to sell magazines these days, but it's not hard to get people to watch entertaining and informative streaming video. Thus, The Good Car Guy offers up terrific video links and even a couple embedded movies you ought to watch - all thanks to the Britons.

Firstly, waste away your morning by checking out new video of evo really giving the beans to the new Ford Focus RS. Along with the RenaultSport Megane R26.R, the sound alone is worth clicking this link. For more video of the crazy and outlandishly back-to-basics Megane, watch Henry Catchpole's video of the R26.R on rally roads in Corsica. Meanwhile, an older video profile of the Volkswagen Scirocco, the better-than-GTI hatchback we can't have, offers up some good sideways action.

If you weren't an avid viewer of Top Gear TV this past season, this video of Jeremy Clarkson and cohorts at the Bonneville Salt Flats is 8:33 of your time. In a Corvette ZR1, Clarkson aims for 170mph. May and Hammond use a Cadillac CTS-v and a Dodge Challenger SRT8 in order to reach 160mph and 150mph, respectively. No, the cars aren't from Across The Pond, but the British perspective of the Salt Flats is humourous, to say the least.

Finally, the embedded video below of two-time WRC champion Marcus Gronholm in a Ford Focus ST on country backroads is interesting. CAR has other former World Rally drivers in the same scenario, too. Farther below, check out evo's comparison of the Caterham R400 and the Ariel Atom. Yowzah.

CANADA AUTO SALES MARCH 2009

In March of 2009, Americans were only able to buy cars on 25 different days. In March of 2008, Americans could buy cars on 26 different days. Seen in this light, Subaru and Kia actually sold more cars per day in the USA this March than they did last March. That's an achievement. However, every automaker competing for sales in the States last month sold fewer total cars than they did in March of last year. In fact, Saturn sales were down 59.6% south of the border in March. Even Hyundai sales were off by 4.8%.

The story is growing more similar in Canada with each passing month. Venerable import brands like Honda, Toyota, and Mazda struggled mightily under the weight of job losses and worried consumers. True, huge incentives from General Motors (no-charge maintenance for three years, free OnStar and sat-radio) helped March's downfall seem.... well, not as terrible as February's.

Anyway, in order of total sales, here are the Canadian auto Sales Stats for the month of March, 2009. Autoblog.com has the American numbers in an easy-to-read format.

General Motors: -17.6% to 24,695

Ford: -15.1% to 17,021

Chrysler: -26.6% to 15,846

Toyota: -25.5% to 14,538

Honda: -20% to 11,359

Hyundai: +25.5% to 8,818

Mazda: -22% to 7,060

Nissan: -6.5% to 7,024

Kia: +12.6% to 3,555

Volkswagen: -10.6% to 3,156

Mercedes-Benz: +26% to 2,181

Mitsubishi: +8.9% to 1,983

Subaru: +14.6% to 1,878

BMW: +8% to 1,711

Lexus: +21% to 1,363

Acura: -42% to 1,211

Audi: +25.4% to 979

Suzuki: -14.4% to 948

Infiniti: -29.8% to 581

Volvo: +5.6% to 491

Mini: +3.7% to 307

smart: -34.6%% to 212

Saab: +117.7% to 172

Porsche: +9.6% to 172

Land Rover: -26.9% to 171

Jaguar: -57.8% to 57

GM REVIVES LUMINA, CAVALIER, AND AZTEK NAMEPLATES

News that Volkswagen will forsake the Rabbit name in North America once and for all smells of the recent induction of the Ford "500" nameplate to the shredder. Attempting to rehash good ol' VeeDub values with an 80s name like Rabbit didn't bring more success to a car that ought to have been called - and will be called in 2010 - the Golf. Ford, on the other hand, wanted to rid themselves of a dying nameplate and came up with 500 as a way to invite new customers to the brand. Ford found out that, apparently, they should have just stuck with Taurus.

Now it's time for General Motors to rethink the naming process. The relatively recent switch from Cavalier to Cobalt allowed our minds to escape from years of a dreadful compact. But now GM wants to return our minds to a time when the massive automaker wasn't in the financial doldrums. Rather than install Cruze, as was preordained, on the back of the next GM small car, Chevrolet will turn back time and roll the dice with Cavalier again. Hmm. Outside of North America, Cruze will be Cruze.

That's not all. Despite its status as North American Car of the Year, the "good" Malibu (as opposed to the version we were served in the late 90s up until 2007) is symbolic of the new GM. You know, the GM that's forever having money problems. Sources say GM has come to the conclusion that buyers want to think positively, and despite a blaa relationship with the Chevrolet Lumina of '90-'01, that badge will replace Malibu effective as of the 2010 model year. Those cars should start to roll off the line soon.

Ah, but here's the kicker. Remember when the Pontiac Aztek wasn't a symbol of Rick Wagoner's malpractice but was simply an ugly SUV joke inside a company that was surviving? Well, new CEO Fritz Henderson figures that GM will look financially stable if they can appear to devalue a vehicle. Thus, the Pontiac Vibe and Torrent will become the Pontiac Aztek and Pontiac Aztek Grande. With the Italian pronunciation.

Moreover, rumours are starting up about potential production cost savings which would arise by actually building the old cars. All the engineering is done; the commercials have been produced. Plant retooling would be easy. Beyond turning the Cruze into the Cavalier or the Malibu into the Lumina or the Vibe and Torrent into the Aztek and Aztek Grande, reinstalling the old Lumina and Cavalier and Aztek into the lineup could be real money savers. So they say.

UPDATE 12:01: April Fools :)