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What do we have to kick around now that the bloc-built Yugo is in neutral pending the outcome of its bankruptcy filing and five months of financial perestroika ? The new Volkswagen Jetta has to be a contender. It will be sold as a diesel, for heaven's sake, a form of wheezy propulsion where the only real success stories have involved London taxi cabs and RTD buses. Faint, Faint Praise The Chrysler-Maserati TC could be another perfect scapegoat. It has received more bad reviews than "Howard the Duck."

Chevrolet has found a bit of mojo over the past 24 months in a segment of the automotive landscape that, historically, hasn't been its strong suit: small cars. The compact Cruze was a sales leader for much of 2011 and after slowing a bit for some of 2012, was the bestselling car in its class for August. Meanwhile, GM (Chevrolet's parent) says people bought almost 74,000 of its sub-compact Sonic in its first 12 months on the market. So Chevrolet is going even smaller with the Spark.

For all the advantages of diesel cars - fuel economy, robust torque, bomb-proof durability - many U.S. buyers just aren't that into them. Volkswagen knows as much. So despite offering a wide range of fuel-efficient diesels, the company is now moving into hybrid territory. It took its first hybrid step with the Touareg SUV, which costs an eye-popping $63,000. Now VW is offering a Jetta Hybrid sedan. It's also not cheap: the loaded model we tested came to $31,975. Photos: Volkswagen Jetta Turbo Hybrid VW actually prefers you call it the Jetta Turbo Hybrid.

BMW is recalling about 500,000 vehicles in the U.S., including recent model year 3 Series sedans, its most popular vehicle, as well as its 1 Series coupe and the Z4 sports car because a battery cable can fail, causing the cars to stall unexpectedly. In all, the recall includes 3 Series sedans, wagons, convertibles and coupes from the 2007 through 2011 model years, 1 Series coupes and convertibles from the 2008 through 2012 model years and the Z4 from 2009 through 2011. The automaker has document a crash in Canada caused by the problem but doesn't know of any accidents or injuries in the U.S. In all the recalled cars, the battery is located in the trunk and there is a long battery cable from the battery to the fuse box, located between the glove compartment and the dash panel.

Lincoln is several weeks away from introducing its all-new MKZ sedan, which means you can expect bits of information to begin trickling out now. Like today. Ford's luxo-nameplate announced Monday morning that the hybrid version of the 2013 MKZ had been rated by the EPA at 45 mpg in the city, highway and combined. This should come as no surprise as the car the MKZ is largely based on, the 2013 Ford Fusion, was recently rated at 47 mpg across the board. This mpg rating means the MKZ Hybrid is the most fuel-efficient luxury car available and is a much-needed arrow for Lincoln's quiver in its fight against Lexus.

Car: 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL "Gull Wing" Coupe. Owners: Tom and Toni Burniston. Annual mileage: 1,000. Total miles: 151,500. Annual maintenance costs: Under $100. Price when new: $6,200. Present value: $150,000 (estimated). Tom Burniston bought his two-seat Mercedes rocket at a used-car lot in Long Beach in 1961 and for the next 20 years used it pretty much as a daily driver.

He drives through rain, sleet and snow to deliver your letters. You may be grateful, but think about this: Would you buy a used car from that mail carrier? Down at the Oxnard post office's transportation yard, they hope so. Since last month, U.S. Postal Service officials have been quietly opening the department's biggest sale of retired delivery jeeps in more than five years.

Just because German luxury brands are bringing smaller vehicles to the U.S., that doesn't mean they're coming here with smaller price tags. Case in point: the compact BMW X1. The X1 starts at a reasonable $31,695. But the price of the all-wheel-drive model we tested quickly ballooned to $45,595 after items were added that BMW buyers would reasonably expect in a luxury vehicle. Still, American buyers have snatched up more than 14,000 X1s since they went on sale in the fall of 2012, according to BMW. This small crossover charms with its eager handling and functional interior space.

Parents aren't supposed to pick favorites, but it's clear Hyundai has a soft spot for its Santa Fe. To hear the Korean automaker tell it, the crossover played a key role in Hyundai's transformation from maker of meek little econoboxes with shoddy reliability to a brand that rivals the best from Honda and Toyota. The third generation of the Santa Fe, rolling into dealerships now, demonstrates how far the company has come. This handsomely redesigned crossover is packed with utility and comes in two sizes: a five-passenger version and a seven-passenger model.

Consumer Reports is blasting the new slate of turbocharged cars, saying they fail to live up to fuel economy claims. Ford Motor Co. comes in for particularly harsh grading. The newly released tests revealing that two turbo versions of its bread-and-butter Fusion midsize sedan fail to deliver either the power or the efficiency of non-turbo competitors such as the Honda Accord. The magazine found similar results for turbocharged versions of Ford's Escape small SUV and Ford F-150 pickup truck.