Car companies and doctors have more in common than you would think. To wit, Nissan’s Rogue compact crossover is the company’s best-selling car and one of the best-selling vehicles in the U.S. Nissan is in the midst of redesigning its entire product line, and now…
A small player in a land of giants, Mazda has created a unique survival strategy. It leverages its under-the-radar stature with engaging, fun-to-drive cars with “above class” refinement and style. In their upper trims, its vehicles approach European-level elan. The 2021 Mazda3, illustrates the point.…
If cars were ice cream, the 2021 Toyota RAV4 would be the Baskin-Robbins of compact crossovers. RAV is available with three powertrain choices. Its six-trim lineup that includes two with robust off-road capabilities. It’s not the roomiest, most elegant or best-handling car in the segment.…
I’ve been driving the string-straight roads of southern Wisconsin for the past month. The longer I’m here, the more I miss the rambling roads of home. It’s no surprise there are so few sporty cars here; there’s nowhere to drive them. Which threw a wet…
A few years back, a friend with an eye for handsome cars unloaded on Volvo. “Volvo builds ugly cars,” Bill said. He wasn’t malicious, but he was emphatic. He didn’t need to say, “And it always will”; his tone said it. For several years, flat…
A true test of the 2021 Honda Odyssey would involve a clutch of kids and a pile of gear. Load ‘em up and head out for a ski trip, a post-pandemic visit with the grands or a weekend or a weekend of camping at Priest.…
Like every automaker, Cadillac sells boatloads of crossovers but struggles to move sedans. GM’s luxury division has complicated the task by targeting its four-doors at the luxury sport segments where German cars dominate. This year, Cadillac takes a fresh run at the entry-level subcompact gang.…
My wife Diane and I just wrapped a 1,7750-mile road trip from our home just outside town to Kenosha, Wisconsin. We crossed mountains, took in the vast grandeur of the northern plains and marveled at the devastation — and stench — of the oil-well states.…
To spend a week driving a BMW 8 Series convertible is to be reminded that people love a beautiful car. Heads turned everywhere we drove. As BMW’s new flagship, it epitomizes the company’s stated quest to build the Ultimate Driving Machine. It doesn’t fully live…
Sometimes, revolutions begin quietly. Last year, Infiniti debuted the all-new four-cylinder VC-Turbo. Installed in the engine bay of the 2019 QX50 compact crossover, it’s the industry’s first production engine to feature variable compression ratios. Variable compression has been a holy grail for automakers for years.…
It’s not unfair to ask why a forward-thinking company like Mercedes-Benz would build a crossover that’s too powerful for American roads, gulps large quantities of high-test fuel and sports a $113,950 list price. They build them not because the world needs them but because people…
Last year, Ford resurrected its midsize Ranger pickup after an eight-year hiatus. Its timing was perfect. During the pandemic, Americans have been on a home-improvement spree. They’re creating stacks of dump-bound debris. A midsize truck like the Ranger answers the call of the dump and…
The Lexus RC F is one of a handful of Lexi designed to scratch Akiyo Toyoda’s performance itch. Toyoda is president of the Toyota/Lexus behemoth. He’s also a race-car driver. He took the reins in 2009 promising to energize the company with a slate of…
Hyundai hit pay dirt in 2018, when it debuted the Kona subcompact crossover The Kona dared to stand out in the segment. Exterior styling was bold enough to draw attention without slipping into novelty. The cabin is less exuberant than the sheet metal, but it’s…
Compact crossovers may be the industry’s hottest segment, but their midsize three-row cousins aren’t far behind. The segment is flush with new and updated models equipped with the latest and greatest. When it debuted in 2018, the Volkswagen Atlas won acclaim for its spacious cabin…
My own personal heaven will include a special section reserved for small sports cars. Because nothing captures the joy of driving like a responsive little sportster. By my lights, a proper sports car is a barebones affair. It needs a strong and rigid unibody, a…
Following a full makeover in 2018, Ford’s three-row Expedition SUV is back for 2020 with a batch of upgrades meant to broaden its appeal. The Expedition ($52,810) is a large, truck-based sport-utility vehicle that accommodates up to eight in three rows of adult-friendly seating. Unlike…
It’s not a tidal wave yet, or even a real surge, but an interesting wrinkle is reshaping the midsize-sedan market. Hoping to extend the appeal of sedans, some makers have begun fitting them with all-wheel-drive. For years, Subaru has fielded the midsize segment’s only AWD…
In 2018, Nissan dropped an all-new 2019 Altima. It was a refreshing return to form for the Japanese maker’s stalwart family sedan. The Altima had been Nissan’s best-selling car in the U.S. until 2016, when the Rogue crossover bumped it from that perch. Rather than…
It may not be obvious to the world at large, but big doings are afoot for Ford’s Mustang. For starters, the very existence of the 2020 Mustang must be celebrated. As Ford shifts its focus to crossovers, trucks and SUVs, it is killing off all…
There seems to be an endless demand for small crossovers. Or at least an endless supply of automakers willing to build them. Thanks to modern production efficiencies, manufacturers can spin out new models quickly and without incurring large development costs. In the process, they are…
Hyundai seems determined to play in every category on the market. Last week, we reviewed the Genesis G90, the flagship sedan of its luxury sub-brand Genesis. Today, the 2020 Hyundai Veloster N takes its turn. Veloster is a small three-door, front-wheel-drive hatchback. It’s fun, funky…
History repeats itself as another generation of automaker crashes the luxury segment. First, the Germans displaced the Americans, then Toyota elbowed its way in via Lexus. Now, the upstart Koreans are knocking on the door. Genesis is the Korean maker Hyundai’s luxury sub-brand. Launched in…
It’s one of the country’s smallest and most exclusive classes. So small and so exclusive it comprises just a quartet of vehicles from four premium builders. We’re talking subcompact luxury crossovers, a class that includes the 2020 Lexus NX200. Its prime competitors? BMW’s X1 is…
It is a bedrock certainty of the auto biz that no good idea will go un-copied. Toyota pioneered the three-row crossover craze with the 2001 debut of the midsize Highlander. In a single stroke, Toyota gave buyers itching to drop the family minivan a viable…
