Every year Car and Driver judges cars in three general areas: performance, ability to engage and price.

Each car gets only one shot at making the 10Best list, but many stay on it for years. This year, all cars had to have a base price no higher than $72,000. Eligible cars must be on sale no later than January 2008, and the manufacturer must deliver an example for our evaluations.

Car and Driver’s 2008 10Best:

1. 2008 BMW 3-series
2. 2008 Cadillac CTS
3. 2008 Chevrolet Corvette
4. 2008 Chevrolet Malibu
5. 2008 Honda Accord
6. 2008 Honda Fit
7. 2008 Mazda MX-5
8. 2008 Mazdaspeed 3
9. 2008 Porsche Boxster and Cayman
10. 2008 Volkswagen GTI