Well, here we are, nearing the end of the first decade of the 21st century. Wow. Doesn't seem all that long ago, but there it is; pushing ten years since we all worried about Y2K. Being the eternal car guy, I've been pondering the ten best cars, either in my own experience, or just by virtue of outright car-lust that came out in the last ten years. Here, then, in no particular order, are my choices for best and most notable since Y2K:

• '05-'10 Ford Mustang This car single-handedly fired the first shot in the new age of ponycar wars, also spawning the first Shelby GT500 since the 60s, and a vehicle that does no injustice to the name. Unquestionably the best thing to wear the Mustang badge in a long time.
  
• '05-up Ford GT The most unrepentantly bal*sy piece of work ever produced by Ford Motor Company without the distinct intent of racing in mind. Some have been, you can't have a car this trick and not expect someone to want to test its mettle. But this thing was also available with a Mackintosh audiophile sound system, although I find myself questioning whether you could really hear it above the exhaust. As to the cut-in doors, I whacked my head more than once on them while in the employ of Roush Industries, but strangely the pain didn't hang around very long when you remembered what you were driving.
  
• '00-'10 Ford Focus Keeping in mind that this car replaced the Ford Escort, which, back in 1981, replaced the Ford Pinto, the Ford small car has come a long way, baby. Tight, fun, a little strange and not the easiest car to work on, but about as modern and enlightened as small cars get.
  
• '02-'05 Nissan Sentra SE-R and SE-R SpecV About as bad-a*s as small cars have gotten in recent years, bar none, at any price. With a 2.5 litre, 175-horsepower four, the torque (and consequential torque-steer, unfortunately,) made it an almost unending slingshot. Granted the shifter on the six-speed in the SpecV was no better than so-so, (the 4-5 shift bordered on hypothetical, and 5-6 was pretty much a guess,) but it made up for it with 17" tires and on-rails handling.
  
• '03-'10 Nissan 350/370Z and Infiniti G-Coupe Carved from the same unendingly incredible chassis, the new-age Z is unquestionably the best one ever. The '90-'96 iteration was a dynamic miracle, but countered by being a technician's nightmare; every operation on these takes 5 times as long as it should, due to the "front-mid-engine," (everything under the hood is smashed up against the firewall,) design. Thank God Nissan at least learned not to repeat that mistake.
  
• '03-'04 Audi RS6 A 450-horespower V-8, all-wheel-drive, and an exhaust note that sends shivers down my spine. There's not much more else to want in a car; pricey when new, but worth every penny in my opinion. The hot rod for all seasons.
  
• '05-'07 Cadillac CTS-V With 4 doors, and well-nigh 600 horsepower on tap, nothing this size is anywhere near this audacious unless your last name happens to be Earnhardt or Andretti.
  
• '08-'09 Pontiac G8 Pontiac's replacement for the ages-old Bonneville is an Aussie with attitude, and one of the reasons it's such a da*n shame General Motors didn't have the good sense to preserve the Pontiac Motor division and send Buick packing, rather than the other way around. Not nearly as impenitently nasty as the CTS, but a serious contender for BMW's domination of the sports sedan universe.
  
• '08-'10 Dodge Challenger Hemi power never hurt any car, we've known that for eons. The retro-sexy looks are stunning, even if the thing is kinda porky. (An SRT Challenger is 4100 pounds-plus, about as much as my old '84 Continental.) By all accounts, not the dynamic rapier the Mustang is, but, given the right set of circumstances, you wouldn't kick Jessica Simpson outta bed just for not being the brightest bulb in the pack, either.
  
• '05-'06 Mercedes CLS-class About as sexy as the 4-door sedan has been in I-don't-know-how-long, I would unquestionably have one, based simply on that.