Honda is known for four-cylinder magic, and in model year 2000 they did just that: The S2000, at its introduction, upped the ante by wringing out 120 hp per litre from its F20C jewel. Rated at 240 hp from just two litres. They shoed it into one of the most svelte two doors in their arsenal. Balance is this car's forte. It is an aficonados gunship. Two speeds and six forward gears gave wind in the hair like no other. Impractical, but beautiful to drive. According to Honda sources The 'Esse' is gone at the end of the current model year.

Retro styling became way cool again in the late '90s. Chrysler's Prowler led the revolution, which is still going on today and inspired mega dollar cars like the retro Ford Thunderbird And new for 2010 Chevy Camaro. But Chrysler also created the PT cruiser, a car that was not quite a car, with its hatchback and generous room for four. And it is not quite a wagon, since its configuration officially classifies it as a light truck. But for a vehicle that does not know what it is, it was the coolest thing on American roads since they brought back the bug. PT Cruiser was one of the few profitable cars Chrysler made. No more. Lights off on the production line at the end of '09.

The Saturn sky is kind of the brand's last hurrah. With the bailout package granted by Congress came stipulations that GM's sidekick has to go. The entire Saturn line will be history in a few months. It's too bad, though, the Sky was an idea whose time had come. It has ergonomic problems, the convertible top was difficult to put down, and had no trunk space ... but it, too, was a pretty face, and it held its own on the performance side, as well. Dial in the turbo package and that package became pure unadulterated fun. But like Pontiac's Fiero of the eighties, this final iteration was too little, too late.

Through 2008, no brand of automobile suffered a greater drop off in sales than GM's SUV-only brand. GM promised to sell or cancel the brand when the company asked Congress for federal aid last year, but by that time, GM executives had already spent months looking fruitlessly for a buyer. Consequently, Hummer will probably be eliminated outright in 2009.

The brand's least expensive machine, however, remains a fine work of engineering. On the road, the H3 is barely a competent SUV. But off the road, it has almost no equal. It's the only vehicle ever built with both an independent front suspension and full-locking front differential. With an available 4:1 transfer case and a serious set of monster tyres, it climbs rocks many dedicated off-road vehicles shy away from. And unlike its towering H2 sibling, the H3 is small enough to fit on many trails.

Combine legendary Lexus-build quality, a sumptuous passenger cabin (in Pebble Beach Edition trim, it approaches the comfort of million-dollar coach-built cars), and the freedom to put the top down, and you have the Lexus SC - perhaps the most elegant convertible mass-produced today. There aren't many true luxury convertibles left, and this one is the most comfortable.

When Viper was introduced in the early '90s, it quickly became the status quo. So what if it sounded like a milk truck. So what if you burned your calf exiting the car. Those lake-style pipes were the ultimate of cool, and so was this factory hot rod. V10 engine, near 500 horses and an oh-my-God 500--lb ft torque curve. Zero to 60 in almost four seconds, and probably less if you boiled the hides before your run. The body style sizzled - or was that calf skin boiling off the lake-style pipes? Three generations and countless competition wins later, Chrysler has pulled the plug.