With the weight of an entire corporation riding on its success, can the fourth-generation 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee deliver? In a word, YES!

It's been just over a year since Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy and, with one exception (the heavy-duty version of the Ram truck), its new-product cupboard has been bare. New products are the lifeblood of any auto manufacturer, and this is a hyper-competitive marketplace--with shorter-than-ever product cycles and outstanding products coming from every direction in every category (especially from South Korea). Chrysler's lack of new products has put the company at an extreme disadvantage. It's into this situation that Jeep launches its core, high-volume model, the iconic Jeep Grand Cherokee. But does the fourth generation measure up to its competition? And which vehicles are actually its most direct competitors? Does it compete against large, car-based crossovers like the Honda Pilot? Sport-focused vehicles like the BMW X5? Or truck-based SUVs like the Chevrolet Tahoe? The answer is yes, it competes against all of them. And that's the problem faced by the Grand Cherokee's designers and engineers: How can one vehicle take on all comers?

Sure, it was a Camaro that stole her heart... but it was the notion that luxury is more about performance than status that captured our guest writer's mind during three months driving a Caddy named Cosima

I have this recurring dream: I'm driving down an Arizona highway in a bright-yellow Chevy Camaro. The sunroof and windows are open, XM's Soultown station is playing Marvin Gaye, and there's a fresh latte in the drink holder. At 75 m.p.h., it feels like I'm gliding.

I pass exit after exit. I don't want to stop. I just want to keep driving--into the warm, into the summer, under the bright sun or the evening stars.

Of course, it's not a dream as much as it is a recent memory. I drove two Camaros during the course of this journey, and I really haven't been the same since. There was a sense of freedom and fun in driving this comeback retro Chevy that I just haven't been able to shake. Even the handsome and well-appointed Buick LaCrosse (see my first Automotive Traveler post) could not totally relieve me of my Camaro crush.

Let's face it. I fell in love. Hard. And love doesn't just go away no matter how many handsome-beautiful-fully loaded-high performance cars come after a tragic break-up. The Camaros (I named them Sunny and Lola) needed their space, Chevy told me. It wasn't me, it was them. They were part of a media fleet--they were meant to flirt with many writing drivers, not just be coveted by one.

Ford rolls out its B-segment competitor in San Francisco, the 2011 Fiesta sedan and hatchback. Can it compete with the Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, and Toyota Yaris? Our first drive provides the answer.

Ford has produced more than 12 million subcompact Fiestas since 1976. The vehicle was a fairly common sight on U.S. roads in the late Seventies in the aftermath of the first OPEC oil embargo. That is, until it was discontinued here in 1980 due to both unfavorable exchange rates and Americans returning to larger cars as the price and availability of gasoline stabilized. Yet in countries where the price of gas has continued to be an issue, the Fiesta remained popular through six generations, the last of which was launched internationally in 2008. That launch took place just about the time the current auto recession started, with domestic gas prices topping $4 a gallon that summer. Reeling from losses and declining market share, Ford embarked on its One Ford strategy: The automaker divested itself of its Premier Auto Group (Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo) and decided that volume Ford models (such as the Fiesta and the next-generation Focus, coming in 2012) would be designed to a common platform and manufactured at Ford facilities all over the world. In the case of the Fiesta, that includes plants in Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa, and Venezuela. The Fiesta is truly a "World Car" in the best sense of the definition.

One more thing. The Fiesta may have starred in one of the most hilarious segments ever broadcast on the popular U.K. television program, Top Gear. (Click on graphic to the left to view the video.)