LAKE SEBAGO, NY -- GM may be in the dumper financially but they still have the strongest product lineup of the traditional Big Three automakers - soon to be Big Two? - and GM showed off some fascinating new and continuing products at GM Collection 2009, a ride and drive for the media in Harriman State Forest an hour north of New York City. See slideshow for the 10 hottest or most intriguing cars from the show.

Slideshow, 12 Hot New 2009 GM Cars: Click Here

GM also rolled out the production design version of the 2010 Chevrolet Volt. Translation: It's what the mostly electric car will look like when it ships in 2010, but it's still a non-drivable fiberglass rendering of what the shipping car will look like, and with a mostly functional cockpit. Just don't slam the doors too hard when you get out.

My take-away: If the road to recovery is a 12-step process for alcoholics and a 12-year process for automakers, GM is halfway there. The Cadillac line presents the only credible U.S. alternative to Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz. If the Cadillac CTS-V came in capsule form, DARE classes would warn against it. Chevrolet has a world-class midsize car in the Aura and what should be a capable seven-passenger crossover in the Traverse. Saturn is recovering with European transplants (Astra) and a two-mode hybrid Vue midsize crossover. Pontiac has a couple credible performance sedans. Buick, well, Buick has a good crossover in the Rendevouz and some smooth-riding cars for people who preferred the GM of a generation ago.