| | German sports car maker Porsche is the only auto company this year to post overall higher SUV sales than it had last year. And Porsche has only one SUV: the Cayenne. Even more surprising, perhaps, is the fact the Cayenne is shining at Porsche's U.S. showrooms, while sales of the brand's road-hugging and iconic cars have dipped from last year's levels.
...[MORE] Forget the old, big Lincoln Town Car. Remember three letters instead: MKS.
New for 2009, the MKS is Lincoln's full-size sedan flagship, and it's way different from the tired, long-lived Town Car.
...[MORE] Sales of pickup trucks are dropping precipitously this year because buyers don't want big, gasoline-guzzling vehicles. But the 2008 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab isn't a big, V-8 powered pickup truck. It's a mid-size pickup with strong V-6, an accommodating interior and two sizes of truck bed -- 5 and 6 feet long.
...[MORE] With a stronger engine, more features than ever and a roomier interior, the Kia Sedona is a much-improved minivan today compared with its first-generation model.
So, why isn't the second-generation Sedona - with pleasing ride, attractive styling, comfortable seating for seven and top safety ratings - selling as well as its predecessor?
...[MORE] The value-priced, practical Hyundai Santa Fe doesn't get a lot of headlines. But it made news this year when it beat out the Honda Pilot as the top mid-size sport utility vehicle chosen by Consumer Reports magazine for 2008.
...[MORE] The 2008 BMW X6 is not a sport utility vehicle - at least according to the people at BMW. Officials at the German maker of sporty luxury cars, who have insisted for years that their high-riding, all-wheel drive X3 and X5 models are sport activity vehicles - not hated SUVs - want the new X6 to be known as a sport activity coupe.
...[MORE] We parked the Audi RS 4 Cabriolet quattro MT6 - painted a Phantom Black Pearl - in the hotel's valet area next to a striking electric-blue Spyker, the Dutch supercar.
...[MORE] Not every sport utility vehicle is a gas guzzler. Take the 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid SUV - with new standard safety equipment, an improved ride, more power and new features. It has a higher fuel economy rating than some cars, including diminutive minis and non-hybrid Toyota Camry sedans.
...[MORE] The 2008 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG shows why shoppers can't tell just by the size of a car whether it's a high-mileage vehicle or a gas guzzler. The C63 AMG is a five-passenger compact sedan, which puts it in the same size category as a Honda Civic. But this small Mercedes is no fuel-thrifty Honda.
...[MORE] The largest mainstream gas-electric hybrid car on the U.S. market isn't a Toyota or a Honda.
It's the new-for-2008, family-size Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid, which stretches 16 feet from bumper to bumper, has a roomy, mid-size sedan trunk and carries more than 16 gallons of gasoline.
...[MORE] The 2008 Saturn Astra is a compact car with decent fuel economy, attractive styling and, of all things, a European flair. Get behind the wheel of this lowest-priced Saturn and you'll notice such European cues as firmly supportive seats, thick steering wheel, different style of radio controls, exemplary steering and competent handling.
...[MORE] Don't worry that young people are almost universally unimpressed by the Buick Lucerne. Buick's largest sedan - which is one of the few left on the market that can seat up to six passengers - isn't for them, anyway.
...[MORE] Known for being a practical, affordable vehicle, the Subaru Forester is more so for 2009. The five-passenger, new Forester is bigger than its predecessor for greater interior room and has new, sport utility-like styling outside and more safety features than ever.
...[MORE] Dodge, the brand with powerful Hemi V-8 engines and a brawny image, is showing less brawn in its latest sport utility vehicle
...[MORE] OK, I confess.
When I saw the Porsche Boxster for the first time at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show in the late 1990s, it was lust at first sight.
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