Cars! Cars! Cars!

What Should I Buy: Crossovers

Part V in our series of helping you pick the car that's best for you. It's the question everyone has -- what car should I buy? Well, in order to solve the problem of what car people should buy, we've devised a five-part series called: What Should I Buy? Today we tackle Crossovers.

A crossover? I know, I know. Look, if you don't regularly follow the automotive world it's understandable to not know what the heck a crossover is. And being in NYC, it's understandable if you mistake crossovers for something else altogether. But here's the deal. Automobile manufacturers feel many consumers have issues (or preconceived notions of boringness) with: minivans, station wagons and certainly hatchbacks. So when manufacturers build anything that sorta resembles any of those "boring" vehicles, they then lump 'em into this new crossover category. It's confusing to say the least. Even super-connected Edmunds is slapping a lot of vehicles into the crossover category. In fact, here's Edmunds list of crossovers:

Acura MDX SUV
Audi allroad quattro Wagon
BMW X3 SUV
BMW X5 SUV
Buick Rendezvous SUV
Cadillac SRX SUV
Chevrolet Avalanche Truck
Chevrolet Equinox SUV
Chrysler Pacifica Wagon
Ford Escape SUV
Honda CR-V SUV
Honda Element SUV
Honda Pilot SUV
HUMMER H2 SUT Truck
Hyundai Santa Fe SUV
Infiniti FX35 SUV
Infiniti FX45 SUV
Land Rover Freelander SUV
Lexus RX 330 SUV
Mazda Tribute SUV
Mitsubishi Endeavor SUV
Mitsubishi Outlander SUV
Nissan Murano SUV
Pontiac Aztek SUV
Porsche Cayenne SUV
Saturn VUE SUV
Subaru Baja Truck
Subaru Forester Wagon
Subaru Impreza Wagon
Subaru Outback Wagon
Subaru Outback Sedan
Toyota Highlander SUV
Toyota RAV4 SUV
Volkswagen Touareg Midsize SUV
Volvo XC70 Midsize Wagon
Volvo XC90 Midsize SUV

We at Cars! Cars! Cars! have a hard time with this list because either the cars are obviously station wagons or SUVs. There are really very few original crossovers. In fact, we'd pick the following as true crossovers:

Chrysler Pacifica
Infiniti FX35 SUV
Infiniti FX45 SUV
Nissan Murano
Subaru Forester

To us, a crossover is something that doesn't readily fall into any traditional category. So out of that bunch of five what do we recommend? All of them! How can that be... there must be a winner?! While these models do compete with one another in that they are in the same category, they aren't exactly the same.

The Chrysler Pacifica (starting at: $28,250), with its three rows and more attention to comfort during big-time highway cruising is ideal for someone who is looking to replace minivan with a versatile vehicle that's more upscale. It has three rows of seating (good luck to adults trying to get that row, however).

The Murano (our personal favorite but starting at $28,860) is less upscale (err, let's say more rugged) than the Pacifica. And, really, it's the station wagon replacement for most families. The Murano only has two rows of seats compared to the Pacifica's three rows.

The FX series (35 is the 3.5 liter V-6 while the 45 is the 4.5 liter V-8) is certainly more upscale than the three others listed here we don't care for the styling. Still, if you want more luxury, a lot of power and some show-off looks (20-inch wheels!) the FX is worth checking out.

The Forester (starting at $21,770) is an interesting model because it's been around longer than the more recent crossovers. In fact, you could say Subaru created the category. The Forester is a small, less expensive vehicle. Subaru has a great reputation for building rugged vehicles that run forever. Oh, there's a killer version of the Forester (the Forester2.5 XT) that's faster than most sports cars!

What would we buy? If we had several older children (over 10 years old) we might opt for the Chrysler. If we were a smaller family, the Murano. If we wanted something a little smaller, the Forester is the clear winner. Keep in mind the Pacifica, Murano and FXs are very heavy and gas mileage for both is close to poor.

Finally, make sure to test the most recent minivans if you are looking to the crossover segment. Minivans are often as versatile, less expensive, get better mileage and as comfortable than most anything else on the road.

This article was updated to correct some information.

What Should I Buy: Minivans

Part IV in our series of helping you pick the car that's best for you. It's the question everyone has -- what car should I buy? Well, in order to solve the problem of what car people should buy, we've devised a five-part series called: What Should I Buy? Today we tackle Minivans.

Minivans are a textbook example of the Japanese taking something that is (was?) wholly American (minivans were invented by Chrysler in 1984) and reenginnering it so superbly that it makes the American versions look shoddy.

Even sales figures since the start of the year are a telling sign: Nissan Quest up 500%, Toyota Sienna up 135% and Kia Sedora up 29%. Meanwhile, on the U.S. side you have the Chevrolet Venture down 22%, Oldsmobile down 28% and even Chrysler's Town & Country off by 1%. But it's not always worth putting your stock in statistics... so what else is there?

How about this: The current American models are of far older designs than their Japanese counterparts and therefore may not have the latest in convenience or safety features (i.e. the 2005 Chrysler Town & Country still doesn't offer stability control). And don't be fooled by name changes: Ford's new Freestar is really just an updated Windstar. We like the Freestar but it's still not as good as the current crop of Japanese competition. In fact, even the Honda Odyssey (last redesigned 1999 and in need of updating) is still better than the 2004 Ford Freestar.

Simply put, here's the deal with minivans: The Japanese manufacturers Rock (with a capital R) when it comes to minivans -- so much so we don't recommend any American manufacturers at all. With better build quality, more available options (or at least having them first) and superior design (inside and out) we feel your money is best spent on a Japanese minivans. The three minivans we recommend taking out for a test drive are (in no order):

Toyota Sienna ($23,495 - $37,690)
Honda Odyssey ($24,980 - $30,980)
Nissan Quest ($24,900 - $32,800)

If you don't believe us, take a look at these yahoos: Car and Driver picks a best minivan.

If you simply must look at an American minivan, we'd say give the Ford Freestar a try.

What Should I Buy: Wagons/Hatchbacks

Part III in our series of helping you pick the car that's best for you. It's the question everyone has -- what car should I buy? Well, in order to solve the problem of what car people should buy, we've devised a five-part series called: What Should I Buy? Today we tackle wagons and hatchbacks. We define hatchbacks as something that will actually hold a respectable amount of our crap -- not like the hatchback in the very fine, but not very practical, Chrysler Crossfire. And we're such big fans of wagons and hatchbacks we picked two sets... Finally, we're eliminating any wiseass remarks and getting right to the nitty-gritty:

Under $20k	Under $30k	Under $40k	Under $50k
Mazda 3	Mazda 6	Saab 9-5	Audi allroad
Toyota Matrix	Chevy Malibu Maxx	Volvo XC 70

It's interesting to note that there's been a revival in the hatchback/wagon segment -- something we are very thankful for. More hatchbacks/wagons being offered means less SUVs being purchased (although the higher prices in fuel have done the same thing).

If you think hatchbacks are silly or ugly, a quick glance at the most recent crop will surely change your mind. (i.e. the Mazda6... schweeet!).

BMW and iPod: Perfect Together?

Our favorite electronics site, Gizmodo, has a special sneak preview of Apple's rockin' iPod working with BMWs.

It's not as exciting as it could be (read more at Gizmodo)... Alpine, on the other hand, is supposed to come out with a unit that controls the iPod and retain the same interface the iPod already uses (which is smart because the iPod has a good interface). This means a true integration. The problem? Alpine announced this in January '04 and we still can't find it on Alpine's site. If we're wrong about that please let us know.

Outing on the Radio

Man, those guys at Car Talk rock. Not only do they offer up answers to car questions, review new cars and help you find a mechanic in your area, they also do some fun features.

Their most recent fun feature is "Out an SUV driver" and we not only recommend reading it, we recommend outing an SUV driver! What's that mean? Ray and Tom want you to let them know of someone who is driving an SUV but doesn't really need to be (they don't go off road or they don't carry anyone but themselves). And once you're done with all of that, give Car Talk a listen. Real Audio required

Best Driving Roads

Dan Lienert, writing for Forbes.com, lets us know about the best Summer drives for 2004. He insists you have to have a convertible and while we don't necessarily disagree, we think you can get away with whatever you're driving -- just clean all the windows before you start out so you can still enjoy the views.

Mr. Lienert mentions a drive in Oregon: Bend to La Pine. We haven't made that trip but we have driven from Portland to Bend and we whole-heartily recommend it. The drive takes you through mountains, valleys and the high desert. Not only does following the edges of mountains require a lot of attention (which is complicated by the drop-dead gorgeous scenery) the constant changing altitude (which ends up at 3200 feet above sea level... from Portland's mere 12 feet above sea level) also requires you to maintain speed.

Now that the warm weather is here (in the U.S.) we hope you'll get a chance to get out on the open road, away from the confines of the routine "stop, honk and go."

The masses are asses

The lead from this Autoweek article pretty much says it all:

For a man who has been reviled on the web as a "diabolical super robot sent from the future by Mercedes-Benz to destroy BMW," Chris Bangle is a pretty calm, cool and collected guy.

But all we know is if everyone hates what you are doing, you're on to something. Long live Bangle! And bring that 1 series over to the U.S. pronto! Oh, the quote "the masses are asses" came from a good friend who stole it from another special person.

NYT: Saab's Beginning of the End?

Rounding out today's "Crap all over Saab Day" (make sure to get your limited edition t-shirts) is an article from the New York Times. It's almost as if the NYT wrote it just for us here at Cars! Cars! Cars! In the article, the NYT wonders if it's the beginning of Saab's end. And to answer, we say, "Duh, of course it is."

Some notes we took from the article:

In 2002, Debra Kelly-Ennis was named president of Saab’s American operations. With just three years’ experience in the car business (most of it at G.M.’s moribund Oldsmobile division, where she was charged with turning out the lights), she had little prior exposure to the Saab culture.

The 9-7X, by contrast, is a lightly restyled Chevrolet TrailBlazer built in Ohio. In its bulk and its cumbersome ways, with its optional V-8 engine’s thirst and heavy carbon-dioxide emissions, it is the very antithesis of the Saab ethos.

So, there you have it. Saab has hired a clean-up person (some might say an undertaker). And now Saab makes a truck that's far from unique and far, far from Trollhattan. Saab might continue to make cars for many years and maybe, just maybe, sell more than they do now. But the Saab that used to be is dying. And pretty soon no one will even know the difference.

Saabs Not Long For Sweden?

Well, this is a bit of bad news: seems Saabs might not even be built in Sweden in the future. Now, we at Cars! Cars! Cars! aren't claiming to be good business men so maybe it does make sense to build your cars elsewhere if it's more profitable. After all, Honda and Toyota have been making cars in the U.S. for years and years and we're aren't going on about that. So why the fuss?

The fuss, you see, is that GM is taking Saab down a bad road and we don't like it. To make a profit, GM is going to sacrafice a company's soul, a company's heritage and, hell, it's just wrong. But maybe it doesn't make any difference: Saab's already having "Saabs" built in Japan (which won't even be sold in Sweden) and don't forget GM is having Saab build a truck (which also won't be built or sold in Sweden) so perhaps it's too late. So, dammit, go ahead GM. Make Saab the next brand you ruin and ultimately have to shut down. If we want to go Swedish, we'll look to Volvo.

Gosh, we're so bummed out that we have to eat yet another bag of delicious Swedish fish.

This is What Passes for a Saab today? Sheesh!

Ever since our first new car, a 1994 Saab 900s (and by new we don't mean new to us... this sucker was new new new as in, "This is my new girlfriend... she's inflatable!" new), we've been fans of Saabs. Even when Saab took the (Fiat-based) Saab 9000 from a hatchback to a wagon (at the same time renaming it to the 9-5) we were still fans of Saabs. The 9-5 was a good upgrade to a fine car. And, as intended, the wagon did help improve sales over the hatchback. We were equally thrilled when Saab took the 900 and improved it enough to change the name to 9-3. But then Saab (now a GM company) changed the 9-3 from a hatch to a regular sedan. And while sales have improved we feel it's only temporary... the 9-3 costs more than other sedans but essentially looks the same as other sedans yet doesn't offer the same performance as the competition. So why buy it?

Anyway, this is about the new Saab 9-2. Hey, a hatchback. Hey, it does look like a Subaru Impreza. Hey, it does cost $3,000 more than the Subaru. Hey, it is made by Subaru. In Japan... by Fuji Heavy Industries. It won't even be sold in Sweden.

So long Saab, it was good knowing you.