There is no doubt there has been some huge upheavals in the car industry over the last year of 2008. And there is also no doubt there is likely plenty more to come too, but for now we should put that aside and look at and celebrate some of the best cars of 2008.

Obvious highlights include a brave new start from Jaguar and Nissan’s GT-R – by any stretch one of the most exciting cars of recent years. It wasn’t all about fancy sports cars and supercars though, more everyday family hatches and superminis from the likes of Vauxhall and Ford have also shown that class isn’t confined to the upper names in the car market.

Ford Fiesta

As household budgets shrink this causes many drivers to reconsider their options, it’s nice to know the Fiesta – for many the benchmark of accessible, everyday transport – proves budget motoring needn’t feel cheap. Excitingly styled and brilliant to drive, the all-new Fiesta deserves every one of its glowing reviews. Ford are masters of building cheap to run, efficient, good-looking and fun to drive mass-market cars like the Fiesta. 

Audi Q5

It appears that Audi can do no wrong when it comes to designing cars. The firm continues to dominate the premium sector with hit after hit. And though both its key rivals have faltered in the mid-sized SUV field Audi has inevitablycome up trumps with the sleek Q5. The Q5 is a more sensible, usable size and its A4-derived running gear means it’s decent to drive too. Though hardly cheap as the Q5 means real class and quality in return for your investment. 

BMW X6

The polar opposite of the discreetly luxurious Q5, the X6 takes in your face SUV style and ramps it up to a whole new level. The result is a segment-busting luxury four-seat ‘coupé’, with looks best described as unapologetic and running gear derived from the superb X5, suitably upgraded to suit the X6′s sporty aspirations. The X6 is available in both the hard-hitting 286 BHP Diesel and 408 BHP Turbocharged Petrol V8. 

Jaguar XF

2008 has been a tough year for Jaguar and, 2009 doesn’t look like it’s going to get any easier. The reinvention of the product range, symbolised by the XF could be a positive for the company in 2009 though. Jaguar desperately needed to get with the times and this sleek, sporty saloon commands the best of the firm’s traditional strengths with a new, forward-looking attitude. 

Volkswagen Scirocco

Some people have claimed the Scirocco, is just a Golf in fancy, far less useful clothes. The Scirocco has proved how performance and practicality don’t have to be mutually exclusive and debuting a discreetly sporty, aggressive new look carried over into the new Golf, also unveiled this year. The Scirocco is available in Turbocharged petrol and diesel and has smooth shifting gearboxes and adjustable damping systems.

Toyota is to delay its rear-wheel drive coupe collaboration with Subaru until 2012, it has been reported. The collaboration was first announced in February this year and it was originally pencilled in to arrive some time this year – 2009.  

Sadly dwindling sales and the global economic crisis have claimed another victim and the compact rear-drive two-door has been delayed for at least three years. The coupe was expected to be branded the next-generation Scion tC in the US and if it is to be delayed the company will be forced to make substantial updates before its release to keep it fresh, which will mean more work in the factory, including even more tp be spent on the model than was first planned. 

No word yet on a delay for the Subaru version of the car but considering the carmaker has just been forced to pull out of WRC rest assured that it won’t be arriving any time soon, these current times are seeing so many amazing plans for new cars being scrapped, which is such a shame for both us as potential buyers and the industry itself as we are slowly starting to see the development of new and improved cars grinding to a halt.

Another day of economic crisis, another supercar emerges. This time it is from perhaps Russia’s first supercar manufacturer, Marussia.

Is there such thing as a sensible supercar? Yes, there is, the Marussia is a hybrid with the engine stated to be a 240bhp, 3.5-litre six-cylinder engine, most likely from Renault/Nissan.

It is too early to tell where the electrical components will come from but the company says it will use established companies, with around 35% of parts sourced from Russia. The Marussia is the branchild of Nikolay Fomenko, who also happens to be a popular singer, television news anchor, actor, and FIA N-GT champion.

It will be packed with gadgets, including a 10 Mbps internet connection that works at speeds of up to 120kph. 0-60mph is pencilled in to take around five seconds and the car will have a price tag of around $100,000.

Regardless of the fact the drivetrain hasn’t yet been finalised the company is predicting deliveries next Autumn and wants race versions to take part in the 2010 edition of FIA GT championship.

Honda have said today that the company have been forced to cancel the next-generation NSX because of the global economic conditions. The announcement was made during a speech outlining the carmaker’s revised economic forecast.

News has also been reported that the firm would not be bringing the Acura brand to Japan. ‘The situation is worsening by the day, and there is no prospect for recovery, is our understanding,’ Reporters were told. The NSX was expected to be a V10 sports car and it is reported that the car was almost production ready.

The project had encountered a number of problems but these problems had been overcome and it was in the late stages of development.

The Honda boss had previously told Autocar at the end of last year that the new NSX is ‘necessary for Honda’. The company reportedly indicated its operating profits will be 180 billion yen ($2 billion), down 67% from the forecasted 550 billion yen.

Honda is another manufacturer which has recently pulled out of motor sport to save money, as the firm pulled out of F1 as they were struggling with the costs of the expensive sport, the company had spent an estimated £300 million on F1 each year and in the current economic climate have decided it can no longer take part in the expensive sport. 

BMW has unveiled new version of the Z4 which features new curves, a folding hardtop and more electronic trickery to help drivers customise the setup.

The new goodies include Adaptive ‘M’ suspension, meaning electronically controlled dampers with three different settings and ride height adjustment.

The car now also features ‘Drive Dynamic Control’, a software suite allowing for adjustment of various other bits, including throttle and steering response, ride comfort level and DSC – which is dynamic stability control level.

The main changes to the Z4 are aesthetic and the body gets a makeover more in-line with the current BMW line-up, featuring another variation of the new family nose and the rear of the car has more of a hint of 6 Series.

The new Z4 is 148mm longer than the outgoing version at 4,239mm, and 9mm wider at 1,790mm. This allows for a modest increase in headroom and slightly boot capacity, but the new hardtop means boot space is more restricted. 

The hardtop roof is in two pieces and is electro-hydraulically operated and can be raised or lowered in 20 seconds. 

The engine has also changed slightly from the old 2.0-litre option. Three six-cylinder powerplants are now offered:

2.5-litre with 204bhp,

3.0-litre with 258bhp,

Twin-Turbo 3.0-litre with 306bhp. This being top of the range and will apparently hit 60mph in just over five seconds, which is pretty impressive considering that BMW also claim it’ll do 30mpg.

Here are some sneaky pictures of the new model in the video below -

Aston Martin’s major shareholder is looking to sell a 20% stake in the company to help refinance debt. Kuwait’s Investment Dar said on Sunday it was considering offers to sell up to 20% of the British carmaker and is understood to also be looking to borrow $1billion to help balance the books.

The Islamic investment company bought half of Aston last year but executive vice-president Amr Abou El-Seoud said it is now looking to sell a 10 to 20% stake. They have said that they have had offers and are in talks at the moment but the (sale) should be value-added whether financially or technically.

Seoud did not identify any possible buyers but revealed that shares could be sold to the public within three to five years. Aston, like many carmakers, has been hit hard by the recent economic downturn and said earlier this month it would cut 600 jobs in the UK.

Audi has released a video of its new R8 LMS, which was unveiled at the Essen Motor Show recently. The car is effectively a GT3 racing spec R8 and will cost around £206,000 – which is more than twice the price of a road-going version. 

But the modifications are not restricted to a few suspension bits and some extra carbon fibre… Customers will get a completely track-ready car now with ten cylinders and over 500 BHP.

The regulations state that the car can no longer be four-wheel drive, with the power is now being channelled through just the rear tyres.

A new six-speed sequential manual gearbox has also been developed and the car is now fitted with a huge rear wing and aerodynamic bodykit.

Most people who are knowledgeable about cars would assume that the KTM X-Bow is more at home on a fast track than it is trudging through the snowy Highlands of Scotland to see your mother-in-law at Christmas. But owning an X-Bow is no longer an excuse not to do the latter thanks to a new ‘Winter Package’ that will see you using the car whatever the weather.

The new pack offered by KTM’s Powerparts and PowerWear accessories collections starts with Pirelli Sottozero snow tyres and five-bolt wheels and for icy conditions snow chains are also available.

KTM’s next plan is to launch Power Wear which is specially designed winter clothing for the driver with Schöffel-designed driving clothes and a Schuberth helmet. The full outfit of helmet, jacket and trousers starts at 950 Euros.

It has been reported that Suzuki has pulled out of world rallying due to the global economic downturn. The carmaker only survived one season in the World Rally Championship having started in the junior WRC in 2002. 

In a statement the Japanese manufacturer said it had ‘decided to focus on the core business functions’. Like Honda, which recently withdrew from F1, Suzuki said its decision was based on the recent economic crisis.

‘In responding to the contraction of the automotive sales caused by recent global economic turmoil, Suzuki has been promptly taking possible countermeasures, including the reassessment of its global production output,’ said Suzuki’s statement.

‘To secure its own business environment for tomorrow, the organisation reviews every aspect of the operations and decided to focus on the core business functions such as the manufacturing system, environment technologies and development of new-generation powertrains. As a result, Suzuki concluded to suspend the WRC activities from 2009.’