“Ezra, baby, we love your style! You’re the next P.J. Hunter Clarkson! But listen; we need something a little upbeat for the year’s end. A little sugar to sprinkle on top of all that rancid offal coming out of Motown. How about 2008 cars you love? Thanks… Uh, Ezra this is a list of muscle cars and sports cars. And they’re all powered by gas for Christ’s sake. This is the New York Times! Tell you what: write me a couple of hundred word intro on alt power stuff. What’s that battery-powered thing? Taser? Dazzler? Put that one in there. We’ll call it ‘Gas guzzling rocket ships are great but we can’t say that.” No, no. We’ll call it “Last Call for Horsepower.” You know, cake and eat it deal. Awesome. What’s that? Cars that suck? What do you think we are TTAC? Sigh. OK, list ’em at the end, be gentle and we’ll call it “not in my garage.” OK? And I’ll get back to you on the driving to Alaska in a Ferrari thing later. Love ya! [Ezra’s Reasons to be Cheerful Part One Through Eight after the jump]

1. Nissan GT-R – “To my mind, the fact that it doesn’t wear a fancy nameplate adds to its appeal.”

2. Mercedes-Bewnz ML320 BLUETEC – “I also like that it’s not plastered with decals proclaiming its virtue — just a few small Bluetec badges.”

3. Dodge Challenmger R/T – “It may be a dinosaur, but it’s an endearing dinosaur.”

4. Lotus Exige S240 – “It’s a strong flavor, not for everyone, and that’s why I like it.”

5. Chevrolet Corvetee ZR1 – “The pushrod V-8, it seems, has some life left in it.”

6. Pontiac G8 – “Rick Wagoner should have taken a G8 to Congress and challenged the legislators to find a better deal for 25 grand.”

7. BMW 135i – “You can get a larger 335i for not too much more money. Thanks, but I’ll take the car that’s lighter and costs less.”

8. Audi RS4 Cab – “This is my current answer to the question, ‘If you could only have one car for everything, what would it be?'”