Driven
Ferrari California, Infiniti G37S, infiniti FX50S, Renault Laguna Coupe, Ford Ka, Aston Martin DBS Touchtronic, Subaru Impreza WRXS, Audi S4, Jetstream SC250

Letters
Some of you have kindly written in and wished us a happy birthday. Still waiting for the cake with candles, though…

08 CAR OF THE YEAR
PART 1
We bring you 2008’s most epic test. We’ve agonised, whittled down and eventually settled on the 16 cars that have impressed us most over the last year. The first ten are all what we describe as ‘real world’ cars – those that most of us could imagine owning one day without needing to marry for money or short-sell shares in Volkswagen. We’re in Wales for this part and your down-to-earth scribbler is Henry Catchpole

PART 2
The winner from Wales then leaps across to page 96 and joins our top six surreal-world cars (those that only Harry can afford to buy) and blasts across to France. The old pit straight at Reims is our starting point, the spectacular Mont Ventoux is our final destination. At the end of it all, one car will be crowned champion and stand aloft the windy mountain’s blustery summit. David Vivian is your scribe with his head in the clouds

Flops of the Year
Make an ‘L’ with the thumb and forefinger of your right hand. Now attach it to your forehead and salute this year’s losers

Rallying
Catchpole reflects on the role of his valiant co-driver whilst getting to grips with Yorkshire gravel

Buying Guide: Lotus Exige
The Exige S2 is now a bargain.And it looks even prettier if parked next to a Skelta

Long-term tests
We beat the credit-recession-housing-bail-out-crunch by converting our Alpina to LPG. Ian Eveleigh also has a world exclusive drive of an SLK on a trackday

The Knowledge
If you spot any nistakes or inccuracies, email your corrections to stephend@evo.co.uk

Icon: Aston DB5