Audi has deemed the Detroit auto show just the place to unveil its latest sporting creation -- or should we say "modification?" See, the Audi TTS isn't an entirely new car, but rather the creme de la creme of the TT sport coupe and convertible line. Yes, it will be available in both coupe and roadster forms, and to put things simply, transforms the already-willing TT into something even more fun to drive.

Cadzilla! Meet the fastest, most powerful Cadillac ever built. This is it. The fastest, most powerful Cadillac ever built. The fastest, most powerful American sedan in history, for that matter. Locked, loaded, and gunning for Europe's heavy-hitting sport sedans-BMW M5, Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, Audi RS6. Read all that again. Now pinch yourself. No, you're not dreaming. Motown-well, GM at least-has its mojo back. Meet Cadillac's monster new CTS-V. Cadzilla, if you will.Here are the raw numbers: 550 horsepower at 6200 rpm. 550 pound-feet of torque at 4000 rpm. They're only official "estimates," but as the engine under the new CTS-V's power-domed hood is fundamentally the same as the supercharged V-8 that's credited with 620-plus horsepower and at least 600 pound-feet in the hot new Corvette ZR1, you can safely assume the real SAE-certified figures will be close. "I'm confident we'll disappoint nobody with the numbers," says Ed Piatek, the CTS-V's program engineering manager.

If it doesn't impress you that Hyundai is about to bring its first rear-drive sedan to the U.S., starting under $30,000 and rising to $36,000 to $40,000-plus with the optional all-aluminum V-8, think of General Motors and Ford. Think of what GM is going through to bring sub-Cadillac rear-drive sedans back to the market. Of how Ford Motor Company doesn't have the cash to develop one. Think of how Chrysler got a lot of help from Mercedes-Benz to do it. And think of the Chrysler 300 and 300C, as well as Pontiac G8, Toyota Avalon, and Nissan Maxima, as the Genesis's primary competition.

Ford's Explorer America concept -- a possible future vision of what Ford's fallen SUV king could become -- will be revealed to the world at the upcoming 2008 Detroit Auto Show. Ford says the forward-looking concept was designed to address the changes in the SUV market over the past 15 years, from rugged off-roaders to civilized suburban people haulers.

The 9-4x will be built on a new version of an existing platform called "Premium Theta." Regular Theta underpins the Chevy Equinox, Pontiac Torrent, Suzuki XL-7, Saturn Vue, and Opel Antara. Saab will share Premium Theta with the 2010 Cadillac BRX, and both will be two-row-only crossovers. It gives Saab an SUV it can sell against BMW X3, Infiniti EX35 and others of that ilk, including Volvo's upcoming XC60. The Saab Premium Theta will stand out for its Aero X concept-inspired three-hole grille and sculptured hood, wraparound windshield, fuselage side surfacing, and signature Saab 900-inspired C-pillar. It also features a ski-equipment storage system designed with partner Salomon and, of course, the ignition key on the floor. Saab stylists referenced ice sculpture and Swedish design icon Hasselblad cameras for the 9-4x.

Small. Nimble. Modular. These are adjectives that would never be used to describe Hummers, until now. GM's tough, off-road brand is facing something of an identity crisis as the public's love affair with jumbo-size SUVs wanes in the wake of rising gas prices. A production model based off of the HX Concept you see here could be key for GM if it wants to keep Hummer alive as a viable, volume brand.

Cadillac is about to become General Motors's technology leader. The parent company undoubtedly figured it should do that when accounting for the costs of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid. You can absorb more cost with the sticker price of a Caddy, and besides, there's that old tradition of trickle-down.

There's no biz like show biz: The Top 20 movers, shakers, heart-breakers in the mercurial world of autodom.

Been spending a lot of time on the Interstates over the past month or so-almost 1000 miles in the new Chevy Malibu as part of our grueling 11,306-mile test across America (see page 34), nearly 800 miles in our Jaguar XKR long termer for a Thanksgiving trip to San Francisco and the Napa Valley, and more than 400 miles to Yosemite National Park and back for an exhilarating blast over the 9945-feet Tioga Pass in the 600-horsepower Bentley Continental GT Speed before the snow closed it until next May. I think it was somewhere north of Boise, Idaho, at the wheel of the surprisingly accomplished Malibu, that I suddenly realized America's Interstates are a national treasure.

What you see here is not a Mini Clubman, but rather a development mule for the upcoming Mini Crossman crossover. It rides slightly higher and sits on bigger wheels, but the telltale sign that this is not just a Clubman is the presence of a rear differential, which gives away its all-wheel drive nature.