In 1902, Cadillac Automobile Company is organized in Detroit by Henry M. Leland, a precision manufacturer of automotive components.
In 1905, Cadillac produces the Osceola, a single-cylinder favorite of Henry Leland and the first step-in closed-car design. The body was built under the supervision of Fred J. Fisher (who later founded Fisher Body with his brothers) in the Wilson Body Company plant in Detroit.

The ongoing belt-tightening in America has seen small cars move upmarket, with many boasting attractive designs and premium features unheard of in the segment as recent as five years ago. But just as other manufacturers are moving onward and upward, Nissan has taken a few steps back with its 2012 Versa sedan, a car that shoots for (and hits) the bottom of the barrel.

Never mind that it's been America's bestselling passenger car in 13 of the past 14 years-the past nine consecutively-and appears to be headed for another sales title this year. Never mind that a financial or marketing exec might observe that those numbers are the only kind of respect that really matters. The Camry don't get no respect at Car and Driver, and it has only rarely elsewhere over that entire run. But the 2012 Camry, due in showrooms in October, could end-or at least moderate-our disdain.

Compact crossovers are a little like toothbrushes. They perform a necessary function, but they're rarely exciting. Everybody needs a toothbrush, though, and toothbrush manufacturers want to outsell their competitors, so we have wear-indicating bristles, flexible split heads, integrated tongue-and-cheek scrapers, and the like.

Yes, it's a minivan. But it's a minivan with an interesting distinction: It wears an R/T badge, signifying membership in Chrysler's Road and Track performance fraternity. One of four new R/T treatments at last February's Chicago auto show, this Grand Caravan was initially greeted with polite skepticism. But when Ralph Gilles, erstwhile Dodge design chief and now head of all things SRT, revealed that his product planners were calling it the "man van," polite skepticism gave way to outright mirth. You won't see the phrase "man van" in any formal marketing messages.

Now for what could be construed as damning with faint praise: The GLI is the best Jetta sedan that Volkswagen makes. (Note the "sedan" in the previous sentence and recall that VW still sells the SportWagen, which is based on the last-gen Jetta.) U.S.-specific Jetta cost cutting called for the removal of its soft-touch dash and multilink rear suspension, replacing both with cheaper, harder pieces-in the suspension's case, the hard bit is a torsion-beam axle. To create the GLI, those Euro-grade parts are put back in.

It's the third-generation Dodge Durango, and it marks the nameplate's return from the sabbatical it took for the 2010 model year. Built on a lengthened version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee's unibody platform-instead of the old body-on-frame underpinnings of its forebears-the Durango retains a rear-drive layout, but a full-time all-wheel-drive system as tested here is an option on each of the five trims. We've already tested an entry-level rear-drive V-6 Durango and an all-wheel-drive V-8. This is our first go with the more affordable all-wheel-drive and V-6 combo.

While the standard, ninth-generation Honda Civic goes down the road with almost no fervor, the iconic small car has become more comfortable, more advanced, and easier to live with as it matures. ?As it did with its conventionally powered model, Honda has made a significant number of improvements to the Civic hybrid for 2012. Also as with the nonhybrid Civics, Honda has taken a careful approach, and the changes amount to something short of revolution.

The GS is Lexus's answer to the BMW 5-series and Mercedes-Benz E-class, but it has never quite measured up to those two sedans in sales numbers. As the car enters its fourth generation, Lexus tells us the GS will be sportier and more focused on the driving experience.

Nissan is made up of a richly diverse group of people, as reflected in the company's leadership team and the numerous corporate outreach programs in which they participate in the community. If number-crunching is what is needed, they've got that kind of behind-the-scenes information, too. Together, they have what it takes to build cars and trucks with the power to change both the way you view the world and the way you move in it.