There are always ten or a dozen great new cars to see at a major auto show. And that's the case even at an event such as this year's New York International Auto Show, which took on a cost-conscious air.

Some automakers downsized their booths, used cheaper carpeting, or spent less on after-hours booze for visiting writers and analysts. (Less but not none, fortunately.) GM's booth, for instance, is carpet with cars perched on top and not much else. If there was a theme of the show it was: look downsized, look green, look energy-efficient, look buyable. Even if the first thing you see walking in the door is the Rolls-Royce display (photo above).

One of GM's highlights, for instance, was a midsize SUV, the GMC Terrain, with a grille big enough for a Peterbilt and a little-bitty four-cylinder engine. The show director urged visitors to get out there and "touch the models," but with few booth babes on site, they apparently meant the cars. You might also take comfort in knowing the president of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association said, "There's never been a better time to buy a car." Here's my take on the top mainstream cars (we've got a separate report on the top green cars) of the New York International Auto Show, which runs through Sunday, April 19, at the Javits Center in Manhattan. And don't miss Brian Heater's PCMag NYAIS photoblog.

Scion iQ Microcar Concept

Scion has the most, most-fascinating cars and concept cars at the show. This iQ is a conceptual takeoff on the 127-inch car actually selling in Europe with a pop-up 10-inch LCD display. It's intended for an urban dweller trying to fit into tight parking spaces. Think of it as a smarter-than-Smart For Two with luggage space for two. While you're there, look at the entire Scion display: Every car and concept is fascinating.

Ford Transit Connect Family One Concept

The Ford Transit Connect arrives stateside this year from Europe as a tall utility wagon for plumbers, locksmiths, and small rock bands. The conceptual family-friendly version has electronics up the wazoo: cellular wireless, two 12-inch rear seat displays and a 10-incher in front, and an RFID locater that tells you if all the kids' scooters, helmets, and walkie-talkies are back on board before you leave the skate park. This more than any other FoMoCo vehicle at the New York Show inspires faith in Ford as a survivor and possible a thriving survivor.

BMW X6 M

Not every investment banker is out of work and money. For them, the M (motorsports) version of the relatively new BMW X6 X6 provides an even greater excess of horsepower (555 hp not 400 hp), wider tires, and the red-blue-powder blue M logo that tells BMW insiders you're driving the sportiest model. Expect to pay $80,000-plus later this year. Critics say this is the wrong car at the wrong time, and they're right except for one thing: For a lot of us, the car is an extension of our persona. Who wants to be a Chevy Aveo kind of person?

Acura ZDX Prototype

How can a Ziff-Davis Media (ZDM) website not like a vehicle named the ZDX? As the fastback BMW X6 is based on the X5 SUV, so this fastback-coupe-SUV is based on the Acura MDX SUV, which means it should hold its own nicely on country roads and cost $10,000 less than the X6, way less than the X6 M. The side-view styling is less polarizing than BMW's high water pants look, but the ZDX has the Acura medallion front grille that unsettles Acura traditionalists. (For good reason.) Look for a production ZDX in a couple months.

2010 Volkswagen Golf, Golf GTI

The sixth-generation Golf looks a like the fifth generation Golf because VW didn't want to mess with the success it found selling a car that manages to look (and handle) sportier than all the Japanese economy compacts you can't tell apart except for some Mazdas. And it will be "Golf" not "Rabbit" - VW is sticking with one name for the world market. On sale in late summer, you'll pay $17,000 for a stripper model up to $30,000 for the pocket rocket Golf GTI (in photo). Turbodiesel models will be available.

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

If there's still a Chrysler a year from now, Jeep Grand Cherokee buyers will finally find a luxurious interior and the first fitment of a Garmin navigation system that is installed at the factory, in the dash, not suction-cupped atop the dash. There'll be, of course, off-road options and further-off-road options, it being a Jeep and all. It may help Jeep loyalists forget the Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot.

2010 GMC Terrain

The monster grill and big fenders recall the days of "that thing got a hemi?" (yes, we know it's a Chrysler tagline) but the four-cylinder base engine has direct fuel injection and gets 30 mpg, GM says. It's a corporate sibling to the midsize Chevrolet Chevrolet Equinox and the 2010 Cadillac SRX, which (SRX) abandons its tall wagon status to become more of an SUV. Look for the Terrain this summer. For those who can't abide an itty-bitty engine in an SUV, a V6 is available. No hemi V8.

Hyundai Equus

If the groundbreaking $40,000 Hyundai Genesis is the flagship in the U.S., how would you position the larger Hyundai Equus? It has a bigger V8 and all manner of technology (lane departure warning, eight-speed automatic, iDrive-y controllers front and rear) and its $100,000 price tag outside the U.S. Good question that doesn't need an answer because Hyundai says the Equus is only visiting here for feedback from auto show attendees. Would it sell in the U.S.? It's one thing when the Genesis goes one-on-one with a Lexus LS 460, matches it on ride and luxury and costs half as much -- and another at the $100K mark where snobbery comes even more heavily into play.

Volvo XC60

The midsize crossover Volvo XC60 is perfect for crowded urban streets. Its City Safety feature stops you, automatically, if low-speed traffic suddenly stops ahead of you, or if other obstacles pop up, at speeds up to 18 mph. A forward-facing laser scans the road immediately ahead and applies the brakes. And it's a very low-cost feature, unlike active cruise control that can cost $2,000 and doesn't work below 60 mph.

2010 Buick LaCrosse

Among mainstream family sedans, the upcoming Ford Taurus is crucial to Ford's success, while the Buick LaCrosse is a nice-if-it-succeeds mainstreamer for GM. The LaCrosse is the one that's nicer to look at outside and better appointed inside. It looks more international (read: not another chromed, dated Detroit design) than the Taurus with its bulbous nose. (The LaCrosse name sells well in China, too.) Buick used the show to announce base-pricing of $2,835 for a cloth-seat entry luxury model to $33,765 for a leathery all-wheel drive CXS. That's about the same as the soft-riding Toyota Avalon, the Japanese Buick, $2,000 more than the Taurus.