Size does matter. And sometimes, the smaller the better. On today’s congested roads, the last thing you need is a double-parked Hummer, or a Maybach cautiously trying to parallel park in a space clearly meant for a Toyota iQ. Good things come in small packages, and when they’re really good, the best come back in smaller and updated packages. Case in point, the British Mini, or the BMW Mini.

Iconic during the psychedelic times of the 60s (remember George Harrison’s Tibetan and Sanskrit prayer painted Mini), the Mini is a common sight on UK roads today, at once cute, compact and stylish. It’s larger than its predecessor and weighs a bit more as well. However, retro rules today and its interior packs in Harman Kardon speakers seamlessly with auxiliary gauges. Lily Allen and Madonna have confessed to be die-hard Mini fans. The car’s even made it to Hollywood, featuring in Hitch, Austin Powers Goldmember, and a heist scene in the The Italian Job, giving it a good chance to show off its track driving abilities.

If you think just seeing one oldie back on the road doesn’t prove anything, think again. Volkswagen’s Beetle is still going strong. It’s expected to be phased out by 2011, to make way for possible variants including two-seater Beetle roadsters, SUV-type Beetles and the standard hard top.

The fat bubble Fiat 500 is back as well, rising from its death in the 70s. The new avatar is front-engined and front-wheel drive, and powered by a choice of three water-cooled engines (the original twin cylinder was air cooled) that include a 69bhp 1.2 petrol, a twin cam 100bhp 1.4 and a 75bhp 1.3 turbodiesel. Of course, there’s the usual paraphernalia of a built-in stereo with CD player and MP3 port, voice-activated Bluetooth phone integration, electric windows, power steering and a trip computer. It’s uber-stylish, and let’s face it, the Italians know their furniture so well, the interiors are worthy of their own showroom.

A visit to a vintage car rally reveals the human spirit to create the most bizarre things in the name of transport. The Goggomobil Dart, Messerschmitt cars, even Vespa cars, and the bubble-shaped BMW Isetta, which was originally designed by a refrigerator company with two doors, one at the front and the other at the back. Dare we hope to see a return of these? Or perhaps the Citroën 2CV and its classic Bauhaus body?

A return may take a while. In the meantime, there’s a whole new breed of smart city cars to look forward to: the Volkswagen Cross Polo is another new entry; the Aston Martin Cygnet is preparing to rival Toyota’s iQ; the sporty and incredibly expensive Audi A1. Both the Cygnet and A1 are expected at the end of 2010 and are priced between £14,000 to £25,000. If you’re feeling generous, they might be the greatest Christmas gift ideas ever. Especially if they’re just for yourself.

Wouldn’t it be nice to select cars from an automaker’s fleet the way you select lobsters from a tank?  Some, like King Juan Carlos of Spain, can do exactly that, and this is his latest lobster: a blackout-remixed Audi RS6 sedan. About the only things not given the midnight treatment are the headlights, taillights, and signal indicators on the mirrors. Even the exhaust tips are black.

A book last year alleged that the king owned 71 cars and had a team of 65 attendants to care for them. If true, this one makes a worthy 72nd. Somehow we don’t think the royal standards and light bars mounted behind the grille are normal Audi options – but we might ask next time we stop by the showroom. You can get a few more looks at it in the gallery of high-res photos below.

For the last few years Barrett-Jackson has become the place to sell “production firsts” like the Dodge Challenger, Corvette ZR1, and Shelby GT500 KR to name a few. For 2010, it seems we’ve run out of new muscle cars to auction off, but Cadillac decided to take advantage of a captive and wealthy audience to unload the very first production 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe. We’d probably be more interested if it was a CTS-V Coupe, as we don’t see a run-of-the-mill two-door CTS becoming a collectible, regardless of when it was produced.

Still, we can’t fault Cadillac too much for bringing the first CTS Coupe to Barrett-Jackson, since all of the winning bid minus the cost of the car will be donated to the College for Creative Studies. The top bidder doesn’t get this exact car, but instead gets to special-order his or her own CTS Coupe with the choice of color, engine, transmission, trim, and any options. So what’s it worth? The car sold yesterday for a respectable price of $95,700 including buyers commission.

The Jaguar XJ is is a near clean-sheet design for the 2011 model year with all-new sheet metal, interior bits and powertrains. All that change leads to a new price tag  when the biggest cat hits UK dealerships this April, and the MSRP ranges wildly depending on what you’re looking for. UK site Autocar reports that the XJ will range from £53,775 ($86,741 in U.S. funds, though that’s not directly comparable) for the 3.0 diesel Luxury model to £90,455 ($145,638 U.S.) for the “base” 5.0 Supersport LWB. Those prices will climb based on the options chosen, and we’re sure plenty of models will crest the £100,000 mark. The middling XJ 5.0 V8 Premium Luxury comes in at £64,355  and New Jaguar XJ Price ($103,579 U.S).

Jaguar will reportedly sell three different versions of the XJ, with powertrain options ranging from five versions of the 3.0-liter diesel model to four versions with the petrol-powered 5.0-liter V8 and finally two different supercharged 5.0-liter Supersport models. All models will reportedly be available with both standard and long wheelbases, with the longer Jags coming with a £3,000 price premium.

Keep in mind that UK pricing very often has very little to do with the XJ MSRP we’re likely to see here in the U.S. due to the much higher value of the British Pound versus the U.S. dollar and the UK’s wonky Value Added Tax. In other words, don’t read much into the pricing unless you live on a very large island just north of mainland Europe. Head over to Autocar to see cross-pond pricing for all ‘11 XJ models.

A November Nor’Easter had chewed its way up to New England, delivering a cataclysmic combination of rain and wind as we headed out on a late-night errand. Normally, such a prospect requires a potent blend of Italian roast and Krank20 to stay hyper alert. Instead, behind the helm of the 2010 Mercedes-Benz E350 4Matic, the going was serene and confident. In a word: Wow.

These moments of vehicular astonishment have thinned out in the last two decades. Just look around at the automotive landscape. Even more modest conveyances are kitted out like luxury cars of yore, packing tons of tech and safety features that were once the exclusive purview of the world’s well-to-do. Can anything be impressive anymore? As a matter of fact, yes. The E350, as it strafed along the pavement, solid as granite and ready for anything, made us feel like true kaisers of the strasse. Horsepower-addicted auto reviewers have complained that the 3.5-liter V6 needs more spinach. Fine. You want speed, spring for the AMG E63 and shut up. But for the above-average family man, the E350 manages to transcend its asthmatic lungs, soft-spoken tiller and supple feet to foment serious respect, if not outright desire.

Also among the stars of the Frankfurt Motor Show, we could not miss the stunning Audi R8 Spider, discoverable version of the German supercar. Line side, we note a flexible hood cover and a reshaped rear with new air intakes and engine side, the fair will be equipped with a 5.2 liter V8 FSI of 525 hp. Enjoy!

The history of the Chevrolet Camaro is littered with bold styling options and even bolder colors. “Bold” doesn’t always equal “good,” but there have been a lot of both since the 1967 introduction of Chevrolet’s original pony car. At SEMA this year, we saw more custom Camaros than we thought possible, a few of them done up by General Motors itself. The General even promised that we’d see some of those Camaro option packs on the regular production models in the future. One special Camaro that really caught our eye was the Synergy, mainly because of its eye-popping green paint.

Today, Chevy has made good on its promise to offer those SEMA-special touches to the masses by officially announcing the release of the Camaro Synergy Special Edition. We have no idea why GM’s announcement wasn’t part of media days at the Detroit Auto Show, but regardless, the Synergy will be available from February to May with a starting price of $26,790. It’s based on the 1LT, with its 304-horsepower, 3.6-liter, direct-injection V6. You can get it with the six-speed stick or an automatic, but the bespoke, specially-stitched shift knob will assuredly feel better when shifting for yourself.

The Synergy Green exterior color will be unique to this limited run and comes with Cyber Grey Rally Stripes, a rear spoiler, 19-inch painted wheels, Synergy Green instrument panel, door inserts and stitching. Synergy buyers will also pocket the Camaro Convenience and Connectivity Package, which add Bluetooth, USB port and remote vehicle start on slushbox models. By our estimation, that’s a lot of content and a lot of green for not a lot of green.

On the opening day of the Detroit Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz unveiled a carbonite sculpture depicting its future design direction, featuring two major elements set to infect the rest of the automaker’s line up.

The first is the massive SLS AMG-inspired fascia with its Flava-Flav-sized three-pointed sta,r and the second was a set of exaggerated rear fenders pulled from the E-Class. Although the sculpture was likely a teaser of the forthcoming CLS update, Mercedes is actively working on incorporating these new design details into the rest of its line and here we see the first recipient.

While the SL just underwent a refresh in 2008, the former flagship coupe/convertible was caught cold weather testing in Scandinavia wearing M-B’s new fascia, gaping maw and mammoth logo. The prototype headlamps don’t divulge much, but they’re more upright than the current units and don’t appear to stretch as far back onto the fenders. The hood is completely covered in plastic cladding, so it’s safe to assume that a few more ridges and creases will be added to tie the SL’s styling to the SLS’, and the camo-clad rear fenders are a clear indication that the upswept and extruded blisters seen on the E are set to arrive on the SL. Considering the CLS replacement is likely to arrive at the Geneva Motor Show this March, we’d suspect that the revised SL will debut later in the year, so the smart money’s on a Frankfurt rollout.

Remember when Ford thought so little of its longtime best-selling “Taurus” nameplate that it spent a fortune trying to push the replacement “500″ badge on customers? That lasted about as long as a “Project Runway” cycle. Well, Chrysler might be going the same route in the near future. Ward’s Automotive is reporting that Chrysler is about to drop its “Sebring” nameplate to shake the stink off its replacement expected later this year.

Chrysler is about to launch nine models in the coming year that are so thoroughly upgraded they are calling them “new.” The Sebring is one of those models. The butt of many jokes within the industry and a slow seller to boot, the Sebring has become a symbol of Chrysler’s long, slow slide into near oblivion. It’s not surprising then to hear that when the heavily revamped vehicle appears at the end of 2010, it’s not likely to wear the “Sebring” name.

We don’t think the name had much to do with Sebring’s failure, but we understand the desire to convince buyers that the replacement is a fresh start for this mid-size sedan, if not for Chrysler as a whole. A thoroughly reworked Sebring, however, might not be enough to capture new buyers if the name association is still so unpalatable. Maybe they should call it the Camry.

The panjandrums behind the New York Auto Show are happy to announce that Nissan and Infiniti will both be there this April. Not only that, Infiniti will be bringing a new, and very large, toy to unveil: the redesigned 2011 QX56 SUV. New York is Nissan’s premier designated market area, which could mean a lot for the fortunes of an SUV some thought would have already shuffle off this mortal coil.

Last year Nissan sounded a little bearish on the entire auto show enterprise, but that sentiment appears to have been forgotten entirely – it has eight new models on the way this year and will need to show them off. Now if we could just get them to add a ninth, that Essence coupe, we’d be as happy as the NYIAS folks. You can have a look at a couple angles of the QX56 in the gallery below.