ArcaMax

There used to be luxury brands. Most of them have morphed into luxury-sport brands. The distinction is important -- if you don't especially want a "sporty" ride but do very much want a luxurious one.

In that case, you may like the Lincoln Nautilus.

What It Is

The midsize Nautilus is a midsize crossover with two rows of seats, and like all of ...Read more

They say a bachelor's degree is what a high school degree used to be. In the same way, a 2500 is what a 1500 used to be -- in that most 2500s still come standard with a regular cab, an 8-foot bed and a V8 engine, all of which have become harder to find (and are usually optional) in new half-ton trucks.

You can also get a diesel in a ...Read more

How much is not having a third row worth to you? How about $24,200? That is the difference -- in base price -- between a new Range Rover and the Range Rover Sport, which is basically the same full-size, ultra-premium SUV.

Aside from about 3 inches in length -- and the availability of a third row.

It's available with the same array of engines, ...Read more

There are lots of crossovers that look like SUVs but aren't. Few can pull more than 3,500 pounds, and none are built on a truck-type, rear-wheel-drive based layout. That's why they are crossovers rather than SUVs.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. Crossovers are fine for people who want a vehicle that's good in the snow and ...Read more

The Forester is one of Subaru's most important models -- to Subaru, in that it is one of Subaru's bestselling models. For this reason it's really important -- to Subaru -- to not fix what isn't broken.

That's always a risk whenever a model that sells well as it is gets redesigned. Of course, not redesigning it also runs the risk of it getting ...Read more

Until recently, big vehicles -- big SUVs especially -- generally came with big engines. The Infiniti QX80 was no exception. Since its 2004 debut -- as the QX56 -- all the way through to last year -- it has always come standard with a 5.6-liter V8.

The just-updated 2025 QX80 breaks with that tradition -- and, as is usually the case when there is...Read more

There are no small trucks anymore. They've all been replaced by "midsize" trucks like the 2025 GMC Canyon and its competitors -- which are longer and taller than the full-size trucks of the early 2000s.

And most of them come standard with shorter (5-foot) beds than the compact trucks that used to be available.

They're also a lot more ...Read more

Can you envision a Buick that is made in China?

It's more than just that too. Buick -- as a brand -- probably owes its survival to the fact that Buicks are very popular in China. Pontiac and Oldsmobile, not so much -- which is why those brands have been retired.

But why might an American want to consider buying this made-in-China ...Read more

Like its main rival, the Mercedes E-Class sedan, the BMW 5 used to come standard with a six-cylinder engine -- as people used to expect when they spent what it costs to buy a midsize luxury sedan. Both of them now come standard with 2.0-liter fours -- and neither of them has gotten any less expensive.

This isn't to say the BMW 5 Series...Read more

Mazda is one of the few brands still selling a sedan, and it's one of the even fewer sedans that's also available as a hatchback sedan -- and with a manual transmission -- and that's something as rare to find in anything new today as cigarette lighters.

What It Is

The Mazda3 is a compact sedan/hatchback (five doors) and the competes with the ...Read more

Until three years ago, you couldn't buy a small truck in this country. And you still can't.

But you can buy a small pickup that looks like a truck and can do many of the things you could do with a small truck, such as carry a load in a bed and pull a 5,000-pound trailer.

Which, for the record, is something many of the small trucks you can't ...Read more

A few years from now -- maybe as soon as a year from now -- we may look back upon the 2025 Honda Pilot very much as we look back on the V12-powered (and even V8-powered) ultra-luxury vehicles of 20 years ago.

Because the Pilot comes standard with a V6 -- and that's getting to be a luxury. Even in luxury-brand (and luxury-priced) crossovers from...Read more

What is the difference between Volkswagen's Taos -- and the better-known Tiguan?

About $5,000.

There's more to it than that, of course. But also less.

What It Is

The Taos is a compact crossover -- and so is the Tiguan. The latter was VW's smallest (and least expensive) crossover until the Taos slid into that slot when VW added it to the ...Read more