Autoblog

Always looking for that perfect Christmas gift for the person who has everything, Neiman Marcus has put the ultimate commuter vehicle in this year's catalog - the Moller M400 Skycar. The ethanol-fueled Skycar is said to be capable of speeds over 350 mph, and gets 21 mpg.

The Skycar has been under development for a (very) long time, but according to NM, a "limited number" of the vertical takeoff and landing plane will be available within the next three years. Offered for sale this year is the prototype version. Considering that its first manned, un-tethered flight will only happen in the next couple of months, this has to be one of your riskier gifts. Oh, and the lucky recipient will need to get Federal Aviation Administration authorization.

How much does it cost? Let's just say, if you have to ask, you can't afford it.

Now there's a brand I can talk about from experience. In fact, I've purchased 2 Audis in the last 2 years. And they were both Certified Pre-Owned. One came from the dealer and the other was from a private-party sale of a CPO A4. Regarding the A3, I've driven it, but I'll defer the driving reviews to the car magazines (or Walt). Although we're talking about comparing two Audis, the CPO versus new question can be applied to a wide range of makes. James M., since your question was brief, I'll base this on an assumption that you want to spend about the same for the A3 and the A4 CPO, which puts you in a 2004 to 2002 with less than 30,000 miles.

After the jump, there's a summary for those of you not familiar with the Certified Pre-Owned car programs. (A4 wagon shown above)

We got our hands on the soundtrack list for Gran Turismo 4 and unfortunately we're not impressed. It looks like I'll be falling back on my tried and true method of playing my own music collection while having the sound effects on and music off on the game. I may be a music snob but I don't know many that will be liking the idea of two Papa Roach songs next to Bach and Mozart (for menu screens I'm hoping). At least there are a few decent artists like The Roots and Jimmy Eat World. Click through for the full soundtrack.

It is Buick's goal to become to Cadillac what BMW was to Mercedes before BMW also became totally ostentatious: a subtler yet still prestigious brand with nothing overstated. The Velite Concept, which may or may not materialize around 2007, shows the company working hard towards the aforementioned position with a powerful four-seater convertible that could quite possibly retail for under $40,000. The exterior incorporates several traditional Buick design cues, like the vertical-slat grille, the angular boattail rear end, and the ventiports gracing the front quarterpanels. The ideal engine would be a 400-hp twin-turboed V6, with room in the bay for an eight cylinder if necessary. The interior is a dreamy combination of brown and light blue leather, plus elegant chrome brightwork, and unless my eyes are going on me, an actual manual transmission. It may be relatively easy to get a concept car's interior right when cost is no object and it only has to be produced once, but I applaud Buick for moving away from the lifeless tan-on-taupe-on-beige combinations of recent snoremobiles.