CAR's review of 2009: the year's best sellers

The fat lady hasn’t sung Auld Lang Syne yet, so here are the UK’s top selling cars of 2009 for the year to date. Since we’re dabbling in nostalgia, we’ve also got 1999’s greatest hits for you. So what have 10 years done to our buying habits?

Mazda RX-8 – a tidy before the Mazda RX-9?

Mazda is updating the RX-8 for the European market, before the launch of the RX-9 in 2012 So what exactly is the new, updated Mazda RX-8 going to get? In all honesty, probably not much beyond a minor tweak or two. It will still use the 228bhp Wankel engine that sets it apart from the crowd, and should still be a bundle of fun to drive.

Infiniti Etherea: Infiniti’s compact concept revealed in Geneva

Infiniti Etherea Concept Despite our gripes that Infiniti seem half-hearted about their entry in to Europe – certainly in terms of their reluctance to get the product under people’s noses –  we can’t argue they’re not developing their range to suit the European market. Good case in point is the introduction of diesel lumps across the range, although we find the new Infiniti M35h Hybrid potentially more appealing than the M30d (we’ve surprised ourselves there). And now we get a proper European-sized concept revealed in Geneva – the Infiniti Etherea Concept – which is a compact, pillarless, suicide door endowed 3-Series competitor with a 2.5 litre S/C lump connected to an electric motor and driven through a CVT ‘box.