Now that Super Bowl XLV has come and gone and the Green Bay Packers are bringing the Lombardi Trophy back home to Titletown, it's now time to sit back and reflect on all the happenings of the day.

Seeing as we're a car site, we're going to leave the sports analysis of the Packers' 31-25 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers to other sites. Instead, we're going to focus on something that hits close to home to us: cars.

In particular, all the car commercials that we saw before, during, and after the Super Bowl. We don't have the time to run through all the car ads that we saw, in part because some of them weren't very good. Despite that, there were still some ads that struck a nerve in us. Whether it's a funny commercial involving a pint-size version of a famous sci-fi villain or a serious message about a fallen city looking to rise back to prominence, we've picked out the 5 best car commercials from Super Bowl XLV.

If you watched the game and caught a hold of all the ads, feel free to chime in with your own Top 5. But if you want to check out which ones we thought deserved mentioning, head over after the jump to see our list.

5. BMW X3 - "Defying Logic"

There's nothing funny or tear-jerking about this commercial, but we loved it for being as direct-to-the-point as any car commercial we saw during the game. In a time when the recession plagued so many car brands all over the world - especially in the US - BMW->ke178 stood tall and went against the grain, digging in, and building an enormous production facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina. A lot of this might not make sense to a lot of people, but for the folks over at BMW, it was as clear as day.

The result is a facility in a small town in the South that makes all the BMW X3->ke255's in the world, proving that some things don't have to make sense to be true.

4. Audi A8 - "Release The Hounds"

Nothing gives us a bigger kick than watching a car brand take not-so-subtle shots at a competing brand. Sure, we enjoyed Kenny G.'s participation in the ad, but Audi->ke14's new commercial for the A8->ke1089 centered around the "Luxury Prison" found its way into this list by it's oh-so-obvious shots at Mercedes' 'old luxury' image.

What better way to promote your new luxury car than to do it at the expense of a competitor.

3. Mercedes - "Welcome"

Mercedes may be described as 'old luxury' by competing German cars, but these boys still know how to produce an awesome commercial.

Never mind the fact that the ad was centered on introducing the newest models in the Mercedes->ke187 fleet, what we enjoyed the most was the dramatic way it was introduced by its brethren. From the classics to the new breed, each Mercedes left the confines of home to welcome the newest members of the family, even if it meant leaving a barn, a museum, and P. Diddy's garage.

2. Chrysler 200 - "Imported From Detroit"

Much maligned for all the problems that it has, a lot of people seem to have forgotten that Detroit is, and will forever be, the home of America's auto industry. The two-minute Chrysler 200 ad touches on the heartbreak festering in Detroit while also reminding everyone that this city's true identity is based on blue-collar hard work and conviction, a resolve to put the misconception about this city to bed, and a determination to prove that despite how it's image as a fallen city, Detroit will one again rise from the ashes.

In so many words, the city's most famous ambassador tells us, "This is the Motor City. And this is what we do."

1. Volkswagen Passat - "The Force"

As far as we're concerned, this Volkswagen->ke94 commercial is the best commercial of the Super Bowl. Overall.

The adventures of Li'l Darth Vader to use 'The Force' on anything he sees and the subsequent child-like frustration, mixed with the way he brushed off his father when the latter got home and the startled reaction when the Passat->ke94 "miraculously" turned on combines all the elements of what a Super Bowl commercial should be.

It's funny, endearing, and captures the automaker's message - all at the same time. An awesome ad that should be watched over and over again.