2005 New York Auto Show

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Why does a city where walking and taking the subway constitute the two most popular forms of transit care about new cars and trucks? Who knows, but it hasn't stopped the Big Apple from hosting one of the country's oldest and most well-attended auto shows for over a hundred years.

This year's round of debuts once again focused on speed as each member of the Big Three rolled out a high-performance version of their standard models. Chrysler continued to extend its SRT performance brand with a hopped-up version of its Grand Cherokee sport ute. Ford's SVT division showed off the all-new Shelby Mustang complete with a 5.4-liter supercharged V8, and even Cadillac got in on the game with a supercharged vehicle of its own in the form of the XLR V-Series roadster. Performance of a somewhat different nature was on display at the Lexus stand where it showed off the GS 450, a hybrid version of the GS sedan that promises even higher performance than the standard V8 model.

Those looking for something a little more practical will want to check out the Mercedes R-Class and Jeep Commander. The former has three rows of seats, plenty of Mercedes luxury and a sleek body to boot. The latter is a full-size SUV with macho styling, Hemi V8 power and serious backcountry capability.