Porsche Cayenne ups its game

The 2011 Cayenne looks better, specs out better, and drives better than its disappointing forbear.

When the first Cayenne SUV came out in 2002, unlike most Porsche purists, I was immediately attracted by the idea of a Porsche with four doors. It was the family man's Porsche; the addition of the usable back seat meant it wouldn't be restricted to drives on Sunday afternoon.

But I, along with the purists, was MORE

Alcoa and the great North Carolina power grab

The company closed its aluminum plant on the Yadkin River, but the dams it built still make power.  Who should benefit?

By Ken Otterbourg, contributor

Alcoa's 50-year lease to operate the Narrows Dam Expired two years ago.

Badin, N.C.: They used to make aluminum here. The smelter ran next to a pretty lake, and the heat inside was so intense that the quick on the back of a man's fingers would tingle.

Aluminum MORE

What goes into a gift card

How many gift cards are you going to receive this year? And how many are going to gather dust in a drawer? Here's where all that money goes.

By Jessica Shambora / Graphic by Jason Lee

Gift cards may make perfect little stocking stuffers, but they're a huge business, with estimates putting the total value of merchant-issued cards at as much as $73 billion. Around 10% of sales come from the MORE

From Korea with love: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze 2LT

One of the up-and-coming stars of the new General Motors is a Korean-born designer named Taewan Kim, who was educated both at the Royal College of Art in the U.K. and Brigham Young University, practiced his design chops at Fiat working on the Punto and Cinquecento, and now oversees the design studio at GM's Daewoo Auto & Technology in Seoul.

The charismatic Kim, who blends an easy charm with a deep MORE

2010 Businessperson of the Year: The covers

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To see the full list and to read about the top businesspeople of the year -- from No.1 to  No. 50 -- check out the gallery here: fortune.com/bpoy.

To see who the readers picked, visit the Reader's Choice page here.

2011 Mazda2: Invigorating for a subcompact

One of the benefits of being a voter for end-of-the-year car awards is the opportunity to drive automobiles that ordinarily wouldn't find a place on my schedule.

With the interests of Fortune readers top of mind, I don't look for a seat in too many hot hatches or heavy duty pickups.

But the responsibility of a juror is to get a first-hand impression of all the nominated vehicles, regardless of class. So MORE

Why storytelling is essential for business leaders

Great storytellers can cut through the noise and can produce tremendous value for organizations at a very low cost. Telling a solid story is just as essential as developing a great product.

By Chris Grams, contributor

One of the most important roles to fill when trying to build a passionate community is the storyteller.

Edelman SVP Steve Rubel hit the nail on the head in a recent blog post entitled The Rise of MORE

Why your toilet paper is shrinking

When times are tough, companies don't want to raise prices. Instead the things we take for granted get a little smaller.

By Beth Kowitt, writer-reporter / Graphic by L-Dopa

Everything shrinks in a recession: GDP, investment portfolios, even the products on store shelves. Consumer  goods companies know that customers won't go for price increases during a downturn. Instead they often use a different tactic to offset things such as new competition or MORE

Taking on the big boys

Industry giants, beware! These smaller rival - an online clothing retailer, a maker of green cleaning products, and a business software maven - are on the rise.

By Jessica Shambora, writer-reporter

Bonobos vs. J. Crew

The challenge: Beat preppy retailer J. Crew (JCG) at its own game by selling better-fitting men's pants and blazers online.

What they did: Bonobos founder and CEO Andy Dunn and co-founder Brian Spaly were MBA students at Stanford when MORE

Empty container city

By Beth Kowitt, writer-reporter

Importing more than you export means lots of empty containers. That visual manifestation of our trade deficit is what drivers see as they pass the Port of New York and New Jersey on the New Jersey Turnpike. In the first eight months of 2010, the port saw the equivalent of 700,000 more full 20-foot containers enter than leave.