08/08/2008 00:12. Gasoline prices, if dropping slightly from recent record highs, are still expensive. And vehicle sales reflect that. For many years the best-selling vehicles in the US were full-size pickup trucks. Now that honor goes to compact sedans, and the Toyota Corolla among the most popular.

That should come as no surprise. In the time since its debut in 1966 and American introduction in 1968, more than 30 million Corollas have been sold. It has a solid record. But, as is the Toyota Way, the Corolla does not rest on that record. It keeps improving, as evidenced by the nearly all-new 2009 example I've driven for the past week.

2009 marks the debut of the tenth generation of Corolla to the American marketplace. It is most changed in looks, with sleek and sporty Italian-influenced lines, but the... // Autochannel