Best cars

At first, we weren�t particularly interested in the announcement of an all-new crossover SUV�the 2007 Mazda CX-7. A new car-based �ute is about as rare as a Hollywood wedding. Mostly, they�re ungainly, unexciting vehicles that trade the stability and light weight of a car for extra cargo room and ground clearance that nobody uses. A few�

At the 2006 New York Auto Show, Hyundai, the Korean automaker that�s become the industry poster-child for the term �successful turnaround� introduced an all-new iteration of the car that, 20-plus year ago, originally brought the brand to the States � The Hyundai Elantra.

That original Hyundai Elantra was plagued with build quality and reliability problems, but by the time the most recent generation was introduced a few years back�

Lotus chose the 2006 New York Auto Show to debut the LotusSport line to the US market. LotusSport will focus on three main business models; building short runs of limited-edition street-legal cars, track-only cars, and providing aftermarket parts. The idea is to replicate in an official offering what a lot of Lotus customers have been doing with their cars already. Two

Upstart Japanese brand Suzuki brought out the big guns for their press conference at the 2006 New York International Auto Show. Actually, we�re not sure if he�s related at all, but the first speaker was Toshihiro Suzuki.

The first major debut by Mr. Suzuki was the all-new XL-7 midsize SUV. Replacing the old, Tracker-based seven-seat SUV from a decade ago, this new model looks absolutely more modern.

Suzuki also showed yet another all-new vehicle in New York. The SX4 is a small sport crossover, with clean styling and a motorcycle-inspired feel. Power is provided by a 2-liter four-banger, and all-wheel-drive is standard.

Struggling Japanese brand Mitsubishi shrugged off all profitability concerns for a very upbeat press conference at the 2006 New York International Auto Show. The big news was the debut of the all-new Outlander SUV. It looks like nothing so much as a Grand Vitara from the front end, but Mitsubishi stylists really went wild with the rear, where clear-les LED tail-lights set off a clean, angular design theme. Billed as�

Mazdaspeed3

Also on the Mazda stand was the long-awaited hot-rod Mazdaspeed version of the compact Mazda3. More than 250 horsepower is promised, from a turbocharged version of Mazda�s excellent 2.3-liter four-cylinder. The Mazda3 is itself a blast; this new Mazdaspeed version should be a real stormer.

As usual, Korean brand Kia put on one of the best shows at the New York Auto Show. Although their charismatic President is gone, the PR flaks still livened the event up by bringing out that wacky �power to the people� spokesperson from the Kia commercials. This is a guy who�s seemingly able to get excited about almost anything, and his introduction of the all-new 2007 Sorento SUV was no�

The sports-car and all-wheel-drive fiends at Subaru had a couple of interesting intros at the 2006 New York International Auto Show. First up is an even-more-special version of the Legacy sports sedan that�s won so many hearts and minds lately-the spec.B. A limited run of 500 units will be built-at first at least-with a new six-seed manual transmission, a tire-pressure monitoring system, and advanced Vehicle Dynamics Control.

Subaru Impreza WRX Sti Limited

Another limited run, this model will be built in a run of 800. The Limited model features the same 293-horse turbo motor, but wears a much more relaxed body kit, sans spoiler. The interior is also upgraded, with a power moonroof, Alcantara seats, and more electronic gadgets. New Enkei wheels are also featured.

New York International Auto Show Pictures, view 500+ Pictures

We�ve added nearly 500 pictures to the New York International Auto Show photo gallery and they�re pretty well organized so their easy to navigate. They�re also sized correctly so you can print them at Shutterfly or save them to your desktop as a screensaver. We�ll be adding another 100 or so images tomorrow evening so be sure and check back. See pictures of the new Bentley Continental GTC Convertible, the� MINI Cooper S with Works GP Kit

MINI USA was all about performance at the 2006 New York Auto Show. Debuted was a Mini Cooper S with a new John Cooper Works GP package. This is a two-seat only car, which can hit 150 m.p.h. due to the reduction in weight of over 100 pounds. Modifications are also made to the supercharger, intercooler, and engine management system, giving 46 more horsepower than a standard S, for a�