This diverse segment offers the widest price range and obviously our Best Buys are somewhere in between. We think that the Acura RL is a steal at $44,000 fully equipped. Though it is a front-drive V6 in a field of V8 rear-drive models, it has a great ride, plenty of power, and is quite luxurious. The refined Lexus LS 430 can't be beat for comfort and features at just under $55,000. Mercedes-Benz E-Class, though a bit long in the tooth, also continues to impress with its impeccable road manners and luxurious comfort.

If you are looking for something a bit more sporting, we Recommend the BMW 5-Series. If your taste ranges more toward the luxury end, then take a look at the roomy Cadillac DeVille or Lexus GS 300.

A8 sales were just 2362 in 2000 and exactly 2300 in calendar '01. A mere 747 were retailed in the first half of 2002, a sizeable 38.3 percent year-to-year drop. As ever, the A8 is at a price disadvantage against class rivals due to its expensive, aluminum-intensive construction. And it's a much older design, dating from 1994.

An all-new A8 is due to reach U.S. dealers by summer 2004, perhaps as an early '05 model. That's a year behind sister VW's big new Phaeton luxury sedan, which uses the same basic design. A higher-peformance S8 should be on our roads by mid-2005.

Looking like a larger version of Audi's middle-size A6 sedan, the new A8 features a stronger but lighter aluminum space-frame structure and a lighter quattro all-wheel-drive system with reduced internal friction for better performance and mileage. Standard and long-wheelbase A8L models stick with a 4.2-liter V8, but standard horsepower goes up by 20 to 330, torque by 8 lb-ft to 310. A new 6-speed automatic transmission with Tiptronic manual shift feature replaces today's 5-speed unit. Also newly standard are air suspension and 17-inch wheels (vs 16s). One source says 18- and 19-inch wheels will be optional. Finally, the next A8 introduces "Multi-Media Interface," Audi's answer to the modern luxury-car problem of how to control a growing gaggle of features--audio, climate, phone, navigation--without undue driver distraction. We haven't yet seen it, but we can only hope it's less distracting than BMW's "i-Drive" or Mercedes' equally daunting COMAND system.