The auto industry is making a valiant attempt to insert the term "Crossover" into the vernacular, referring to car-based SUVs, as opposed to truck-based (body-on-frame) SUVs. Everything from the Toyota RAV4 to the Cadillac SRX is being called a "Crossover," and you can expect more to come.
I did a quick Google search for "Crossovers," just to see what turned up. It seems that there are a bunch of different uses of the word, from many different corners -- over 4 million hits, in fact.
I knew about crossovers for speakers. I had forgotten about basketball crossovers -- which could be one of the reasons that I find driving the lane so challenging. There's also a fictional crossover, where a character from one work shows in another, and crossover episodes, like when the Brady Bunch showed up on Barnaby Jones, or something like that.
I'm not sure that running away from the term "SUV" is going to prop up sagging sales in the face of higher gas prices. The SUV backlash is on, and will soon impact the sales floor. People know what these vehicles are when they see them, and names won't fool them for long.
Some folks fight against the minivan with all their might. There are men who feel that the minivan marks them as domesticated animals. There are women who reject the minivan as the badge of the soccer mom. They are missing the point. The minivan is the ultimate sleeper. Check out this video of the turbovan, a project car by a guy who just wanted to make his minivan move. You can also check out the details on his homepage.
I drove a minivan for years, a 1986 Toyota Minivan, partly out of necessity, and partly because I just plain liked it. It drove well, could carry a ton of stuff, and I never got a ticket, no matter how fast I drove. I found the minivan to be more useful than a pickup truck, and every time I take one out for a test drive, I am tempted to trade in my SUV. You can learn a lot about minivans from About Minivans and Guide Jeff James.
I just finished a week in the worst-named vehicle on the market -- the Subaru B9 Tribeca.
Not that the vehicle is the worst -- far from it, actually -- just the name. Colin drove the 2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca last year, and gave it a four star rating at About Trucks, and I think when my review is finished, I'll come to a similar conclusion.
But that name. Every time I tried to explain the name to a friend or acquaintance, they never heard it correctly the first time.
My favorite response from one of my New York friends: "Benign Tribeca? Seems like an oxymoron."
It made me think about other bad car names. Of course, the classic is the Chevy Nova -- a fine name in English-speaking countries, horrible in Spanish, where "No Va" translates as "Doesn't Go." "Vega" was rumored to mean something horrible, though I can't figure out what.
It seems as if the global economy may spell the death knell for great car names -- and that's a shame. It's hard to work up an emotional reaction to the "3," the "A4" or the "335i," no matter how nice the cars may be.
I'm so proud of the little Mazda5 Touring. I feel quite paternal toward the little minivan, though I know I don't really have any right to -- I only reviewed it for About Minivans Guide Jeff James' site, I didn't actually design it after all.
Jeff recently wrote an article about The Top 5 Fuel Saving Minivans, and the Mazda5 was right up at the top of the list.
When I reviewed it, I concluded that "I'm not a minivan guy, but I could easily see living with the Mazda5's convenience, flexibility and practicality. The Mazda5 might just be the minivan for people who hate minivans."
My usual beat is SUVs. I like it that way, most of the time.
That is, until I have a week like the one coming up. I have to drive from my home in Burbank, CA down to Fountain Valley, in Orange County, CA, every morning, and back again every evening. The drive itself is bad enough -- but what I'm really dreading are the gas bills. Even with a fairly efficient SUV, I'll average under 20 mpg in traffic. That's why About Cars Guide Aaron Gold's recent article Ten Small Cars You Can Live With caught my interest.
Could I, the SUVs Guide, live with a small car? Another $45 fill-up, and we may find out -- ouch!
It's hard for me to work up any sympathy for a rich young heir. But I think I might be able to feel sorry for Bill Ford.
William Clay Ford Jr. is the great-grandson of Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, and Harvey Firestone, founder of Firestone Tire. By all rights, he should have been a layabout and ne'er-do-well. But he wasn't. He went to Princeton and MIT, earned his MBA, and went to work in the family business, eventually assuming the CEO position. And now he's taking the fall for his company's hard times. He recently resigned his post as CEO, and has been replaced by Alan Mulally, who has been credited with turning around the Boeing Company.
So why do I feel sorry for Bill Ford? Because I think he's going to be a convenient scapegoat for Ford for a good long while. Dale Wickell, About's Guide to Trucks, is taking a look at Ford's prospects for 2007. Dale's an optimist by nature, but the picture is bleak.
Nissan hasn't been making a whole lot of noise lately. Sure, they make good cars, trucks and SUVs, but most of the news about Nissan has really been about GM. Well, after a protracted series of discussions with GM, Nissan/Renault released the following statement on their website:
General Motors, Renault and Nissan said today that they had agreed to terminate discussions regarding a proposed alliance among the three companies.
The parties mutually recognized that significant aggregate synergies might result from the alliance. However the parties did not agree on either the total amount of aggregate synergies or the distribution of those benefits.
Based on its conclusions, GM had proposed that Renault-Nissan provide compensation as part of a potential alliance and for potentially precluding GM from entering other alliance opportunities if Renault-Nissan had made a significant investment in GM.
Renault and Nissan consider that the principle of compensation is contrary to the spirit of any successful alliance.
The GM negotiation has overshadowed what I consider to be the real news of the day for Nissan: The premiere of the 2007 Nissan Altima Hybrid at the Orange County Auto Show on October 4, 2006. According to The Los Angeles Times, Nissan licensed Toyota's hybrid technology for the Altima, which will hit showroom floors in early 2007.
It appears that hybrid cars are moving closer to center on the automotive radar screen. Read more about hybrids and other alternative fuel vehicles on Guide Eric Powers' informative About Hybrid Cars pages.
Earlier in his career, Aaron spent time in the UK interning for "What Car?" magazine. Because of their efficiency, diesel engines are much more common in the UK and across Europe. So efficient that people have been willing to overlook diesel's perceived downsides -- noise, smoke, lack of horsepower and excessive vibration. Where I see a low power, Aaron points to great torque. Where I see smoke, Aaron highlights EPA compliance and lowered emissions. Where I hear noise, Aaron hears the sweet music of an efficient engine.
Maybe he's right, when it comes to the 2007 Mercedes-Benz E320 BLUETEC. He praises the new Merc's clean-diesel technology and 26 mpg city/37 mpg highway fuel economy -- astounding numbers for a car the size of the E320.
My most recent experience with a diesel was not so great -- I drove the Jeep Liberty Limited 4x4 CRD, and I have to say, I was unimpressed.
What are your feelings about diesel? Would you drive a diesel car or SUV?
I spend most of my life on four wheels -- driving cars, trucks and SUVs. If I had my way, I'd spend a lot more time on two wheels, though. I love motorcycles.
I ride a 1993 Harley-Davidson Sportster Deluxe, which I have owned since about 1996. Motorcycle technology has taken great leaps and bounds since the first Sportsters hit the road in the 1950s, and even in the last fourteen years, since my bike was built. Though Sportster is still a pretty elemental bike, the 2007 Harley-Davidson Sportster is now rubber-mounted, and actually pretty comfortable to ride for long distances (unlike my bike, which will leave your hands and feet numb after a couple of hundred miles).
Walt Kern, About's Guide to Motorcycles, has put together a very extensive set of motorcycle specifications for 2007, and maintains specs for motorcycles as far back as 2004. It's a great resource if you're thinking of giving up two of your wheels, or just adding another pair to your stable.
The big complaint that most anti-SUV folk have about SUVs is that they never get used offroad, so what's the point?
I have to admit -- I don't go offroad with my SUV. Never. Even though I drive a very capable offroader, a Toyota 4Runner, as my daily driver, the closest my SUV comes to offroading is when I pull into the parking lot at Kmart. But there is a big offroading community out there, and a vibrant aftermarket that serves the vehicles that hit the dirt.
Jim Walczak, About's Guide to 4-Wheel Drive, has compiled a wide-ranging set of articles about the history of 4-Wheel Drive and other facts about the sport. Did you know that SUVs probably evolved from "Depot Hacks" -- modified taxis that were designed to transport passengers and cargo from train depots to remote locations in the early part of the 20th century? That's utility. The sport part came later, and Jim writes about that, too.
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