This is the first time Jaguar has offered all-wheel drive as an option on its full-size sedan.

FORBES: Test Drive: 2013 Jaguar XJ Gets All Wheel Drive, And It's Great

This week, for instance, Honda is introducing a redesigned version of its Accord mid-size sedan with an infotainment system that pipes Facebook into the car.

FORBES: Ford Is Cut Up By Cutting Edge Of Car-Infotainment Technology

The brand began offering push-button start in 2007 on its Altima mid-size sedan, a mainstream product if ever there was one, and has continued to expand the offering across its portfolio.

FORBES: Drivers -- But Not All -- Love Vehicles' Push-Button Starts

Diesel-version sales of the Volkswagen Passat already have reached about 26 percent of all U.S. sales of the Tennessee-built mid-size sedan, and Volkswagen of America executives believe that figure could soon range as high as 30 percent.

FORBES: VW Looks For Passat Diesel Demand to Rise to 30 Percent

Sales of the new RAV4, as well as a new version of the Avalon full-size sedan, have started off strong this year, and the expanded Prius line continues to add to its dominance of the hybrid segment worldwide.

FORBES: Back-On-Top Toyota Tests Gains With New Version of Tundra

Headlights are flatter to help the sedan-size vehicle seem more imposing.

FORBES: Have It Your Way

But Buick sales fell 3 percent, and sales of the Impala full-size car and Malibu midsize sedan plummeted more than 30 percent.

NPR: US Auto Sales See Big Gains In May

It killed entire brands, Pontiac included, and axed high-performance cars like the G8, a full-size, V8-powered sedan very similar to the new Chevy SS. It even went so far as to completely disband its long-standing High Performance Vehicle Operations unit, which had developed such fast, gas-guzzling cars as the Cadillac CTS-V and Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1.

FORBES: 2014 Chevrolet SS Revives Rear-Wheel-Drive Tradition, Is A Sign Of Strength At GM