As the owner of an original 240Z purchased in 1970, I felt cheated by the first Z-car to arrive during the reign of Carlos Ghosn in 2001. Its stubby lines and flashy interior radiated none of the elegance or presence of my car, which came in British Racing Green, and which I thought of as my Japanese Jaguar.

I felt none of those shortcomings, though, about the electric blue 2009 370Z that turned up in my garage recently. Although it is shorter and wider than its predecessor, it is more graceful, especially in the rear section where the roof tapers suavely into the hatch. The die-cut style headlamps and tail lamps, with their whimsical shapes, gave designers a real opportunity to go overboard, but the fixtures are executed with such refinement that they amplify the overall elegance of the car’s exterior.

The interior and instrument panel are designed to a similar standard. The three-layer layout groups the instruments by how essential they are to the driver. The speedo and tach are located smack in front of your eyes, with a small window in between that tells you what gear you are in – a huge help when driving a manual transmission. Three secondary gauges are mounted slightly deeper in the IP, while the gas supply is registered by a dotted meter that takes the guesswork out of refills.

Underway, the 370Z delivers performance to match its appearance. At first, power from the 332-horsepower 3.7 liter V-6 threatened to overwhelm my left foot as I eased off the clutch, but I quickly adapted, making the Z surprisingly tractable in traffic. When the opportunity to air it out arrives, the Z responds with alacrity. Zero to 60 miles per hour has been measured at a super-quick 5.1 seconds. Steering and cornering are a match for cars costing twice as much; I have never felt more confident rounding a corner or exiting on a thruway ramp. Better still, the Z extracts few penalties for its exceptional performance in ride harshness or road noise.

You can get into a 2009 Z for $29,930 plus $695 for destination charges. My Sport Package model, with the synchro rev transmission that automatically matches engine revs on downshifts, along with special wheels and tires, added another $3000.

Back in 1970, my slightly bruised 240Z cost me $3,450 and rusted away after a few Michigan winters. When I reluctantly dropped off the 370Z at Bradley International Airport outside Hartford, I thought about relative value. The inflation-adjusted price of the 240 in 2009 would be $18,913 – still a great value from the era of the cheap yen.

But the 350 has twice the horsepower, a whole raft of features unimaginable back then, and it isn’t prone to rust. Despite being nearly twice the money, it would be my choice today.

Now, I wonder if it comes in green….

Does driving a car that carries an MSRP of $227,205 guarantee you are going to love it immediately?

Not me. By the time you cross the $100,000 threshold, the degree of specialness implied by the stratospheric price usually translates into flawed ergonomics, inferior controls and instrumentation, and the general unease that comes from having anything that expensive put under your custodianship (even temporarily).

So my first hours with the Bentley Continental GT Speed were a little uncomfortable. It wasn’t until the third day of my test period that I came to appreciate its unique virtues.

I was motoring north on Connecticut’s Route Eight late at night. Traffic was light, but I was unfamiliar with the road, which twisted as it went through old factory towns like Waterbury, and I was reacting slowly to the curves.

The Bentley took it all in stride. The 6-liter, twin-turbocharged 12-cylinder engine provided effortless power, while the perfectly-balanced steering guided me through the turns as the disciplined suspension kept me on an even keel.

All very nice, but why in 2009 would anyone even consider paying this much for a car?

One is exclusivity. Of the 13.1 million cars sold in 2008, only 2864 were Bentleys. That number will be alot smaller this year – sales so far are down 69% – and the number of Speed models smaller still.

Second is Anglophilia. Bentleys have been made in Britain since the 1920s. Although Bentley is now owned by Volkswagen and 55% of the Speed’s parts come from Germany, it is still assembled in Crewe, Bentley’s home since World War II. Hail Britannia!

Then there is provenance: The GT Speed traces its lineage to the Speed Six introduced in 1928, renowned for its powerful engine and lightweight chassis, and winner of the 24 hours of Le Mans. Bentley owners get a little piece of that history.

At 5,180 pounds, the GT Speed is no lightweight, but its performance is more than up to snuff. Should you have the opportunity to do so, 60 miles per hour arrives in 4.3 seconds, according to the factory, and top speed is 202 mph.

Nobody needs that much horsepower, nor an engine that gobbles a gallon of high-test every 16 miles. But having some Bentleys around is like having a tangible piece of automotive history. It is nice that there are a few drivers willing to foot the bill.

Despite being one of the pioneers of the gas-electric hybrid, Honda has taken its lumps in recent years.

More of a science project than a passenger car, the original Insight hybrid faded quickly from consumers’ consciences while the Toyota Prius went on to become the industry standard. Subsequent hybrid adaptions of the Civic and Accord failed to set the world on fire, trading, as they did, headline- grabbing gas mileage for simplicity and affordability.

Now comes the second-generation Insight, Honda’s latest attempt to reclaim bragging rights in the hybrid wars. Let’s cut right to the chase: No science project, this is an attractive, drivable compact car that you’d be happy to park in your garage; it starts at less than $20,000 and it got better than 44 miles per gallon in a combination of 200 miles of highway and country driving I did recently.

When you’re behind the wheel of an Insight, you’ll have no trouble remembering what you’re driving – and onlookers won’t either. With its fast-sloping front-end and high, hatch-backed rear – a shape imposed by the demands for aerodynamic efficiency – the Insight looks like nothing else on the road except a Prius.

Behind the wheel, you feel like you are piloting the Starship Enterprise. A large green digital speedometer glows green to encourage you to use high-mileage driving techniques like not accelerating uphill, while a large round dial allows you to easily check the state of battery charge or discharge. Should you want to raise your environmental consciousness to an even higher level, an “eco” button allows you to gear everything down – including the air conditioner – to squeeze another couple of miles out of a gallon of gas.

On the highway, all this emphasis on fuel economy extracts some penalties. The low-rolling resistance tires are over-matched on expansion joints and pot holes, while the CVT transmission causes the engine to noisily rev before it can catch up. The Insight goes on sale April 22 – Earth Day – and is likely to find slow going for a couple of months while gas remains cheap and auto sales remain depressed. The launch of the third-generation Prius later this year will likely expand interest in the hybrid segment but also make things even tougher for Honda to increase interest in the whole hybrid category.

The Prius is a larger and plusher car that gets better mileage – 50 mpg – and Toyota has signaled that it will be very aggressive in its pricing. In Japan, the Prius starts at less than $1,000 more than the Insight. With its hard-won status as the affordable hybrid up for grabs, the Insight could find itself trailing the leader once again.