The Year in Cars: January 2007

Today we start our look back at the year that was 2007 from the perspective of the car buyer, shopper and enthusiast. Over the next few weeks, we’ll give a brief overview of what happened and what impact the news of the day had on the year overall. Each day we’ll highlight a different month leading up to the new year. Tell us what your favorite happenings were in the comments below.

January always starts the year in cars off with a bang in Detroit with the annual North American International Auto Show. It showed off some great cars this year, including the new Chevy Malibu, Cadillac CTS and Nissan Rogue, but the show was stolen by the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt concept car, which we would hear about throughout 2007.

From there, things just kept getting more and more interesting:

• For some reason, Mercedes reveals the stunning new C-Class online just two weeks after the Detroit show.
• First rumors of an XM and Sirius Satellite Radio merger pop up.
• Cars.com announces its first Lifestyle Awards.
• NHTSA says it will make its crash tests tougher, meaning no more automatic five-star ratings for automakers.   
• Jeep gives a free Patriot SUV to a New York man who leaped in front of a subway train to save a man from certain doom. A Jeep that couldn’t avoid said doom was the Commander, as it gets slated to end its lifecycle in 2009.
• We get our first look at Ford’s innovative new Sync system. It will take nine more months for it to come to market.
• News emerges that recalls took a tumble in 2006.
• We get an Urban Dink on KickingTires, while the Suburban Dad cruises around in an FJ Cruiser.
• Consumer Reports suffers a major media outcry after incorrectly administering child-seat crash tests. We weren’t so surprised to hear that most seats didn’t hold up in simulated crashes of 70 mph instead of 38 mph.
• Smart unveils its American domination plan a full year before a single car goes on sale. 
• Just a few weeks after GM’s Volt debuts, Ford rolls out a plug-in electric hybrid of its own in Washington, D.C.
• The first real rumblings of the BMW 1 Series coming to the U.S. start up. It’ll be six more months before confirmation.
• We put the Acura RDX and BMW X3 through a light Faceoff, 16 manuals and all.
• Cars.com picks TV’s Top 10 Most Memorable cars.
• Before the month is over, we’re seeing new cars SUVs appear in advance of the Chicago Auto Show, slated for February. This would be a reoccurring trend over the course of the auto show season.