2006 Chevrolet Aveo

The Chevrolet Aveo replaced the Chevrolet Metro (formerly the Geo Metro) as the small car in the Chevrolet lineup, starting at under $10,000 and available as either a 5-door hatchback as shown, or as a 4-door sedan.

2006 Cadillac XLR-V

The even bigger new for 2006 was Cadillac's new high-performance version of the XLR: the XLR-V.

Still a few months from being available to the public, the XLR-V was powered by a 443-horsepower supercharged 4.4-liter Northstar V8 engine with a 6-speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission, mounted in the rear to keep the car balanced, and could accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.6 seconds.

2006 Cadillac XLR Roadster

Cadillac's big news in 2006 was, of course, the XLR roadster, powered by a 320-horsepower 4.6-liter Northstar V8 engine with a 5-speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. It was not brand new on the market, but it was still pretty cool.

The XLR featured a retractable hardtop, pushbutton start, GPS-guided DVD navigation, adaptive cruise control and voice recognition.

2006 Pontiac GTO

Pontiac revived the great name GTO from 2004 to 2006 in a sleek rear-wheel drive coupe powered by a 400-horsepower 6.0-liter LS2 aluminum V8 engine and with either a 4-speed automatic or 6-speed manual transmission.

2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS

For 2006, Chevrolet expanded the Cobalt's line with the naturally-aspirated Cobalt SS. All Cobalts were powered by double overhead cam inline 4-cylinder engines, but the SS sedan (shown) and coupe were powered by a 171-horsepower 2.4-liter, an upgrade over the standard 140-horsepower 2.2-liter. The SS coupe was also available with a supercharged 205-horsepower 2.0-liter.

2006 Buick Rainier CXL

I have a soft spot for the 2006 Buick Rainier, as it shares the name of my hometown: Rainier, Oregon. Alas, in a couple years the Rainier, and its companion, the slightly smaller Rendezvous, would both be replaced by the Enclave, in 2006 still a concept car that apparently the Portland International Auto Show was not worthy of.

For 2006, the Rainier soldiered on, powered by a 195-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 or an optional 242-horsepower 3.6-liter double overhead cam V6 offering not only more power but also better gas mileage than the smaller engine. Front-wheel drive was standard; all-wheel drive was optional.

2006 Buick Lucerne CXL

The brand-new 2006 Buick Lucerne CXL: the car named after a brand of milk! How exciting! Yeah, I wasn't crazy about the name. The CXL was the mid-level trim. The standard engine was a 197-horsepower 3.8-liter V6. A 275-horsepower 4.6-liter Northstar double overhead cam V8 was optional in the CXL and standard in the CXS. This Lucerne had four portholes on its flanks, indicating it was equipped with the V8.