ArcaMax

One of Mercedes' most successful vehicles ever was the M-Class SUV, which Mercedes no longer makes. (The last year was 2015.) Its place has been taken by two SUVs -- both of them so similar it's hard to tell them apart.

One, the GLE is a little bit larger than the old M. The other, the GLC, is a little smaller.

But it's just gotten a little ...Read more

The Nissan Frontier, like the Ford Ranger and the Toyota Tacoma and the Chevy Colorado, used to be a compact-size truck that almost anyone who wanted a new truck could afford to buy because its base price was less than that of almost any new car.

Today's Frontier, like the Ranger, Tacoma and Colorado, is an almost full-size truck (by the ...Read more

There was a time -- it was not a long time ago -- when V8s were pretty common in the luxury car class and V12s were exotic.

This was circa the late 1990s/early 2000s.

Now, it's V8s that are becoming exotic. Most of the midpriced luxury cars that used to at least offer them now come standard with four-cylinder engines; a six is the usual ...Read more

Last year -- which is still actually this model year -- Subaru's Crosstrek was pretty much the only small crossover that still came standard with a manual transmission.

Or even offered one.

Next model year -- which is still this calendar year -- the Crosstrek joins the rest of its rivals in being automatic only.

That's a shame -- ...Read more

There's a reason why people buy things. It is because the things people buy are appealing to the people who spend money on them.

That has been the secret of the Honda Civic's success for the past 50 years.

But why, specifically?

The answer is easy: The Civic meets buyers' needs -- and their wants. It is practical, efficient and affordable. It...Read more

Electric vehicles are all the rage -- but with an average price of almost $50,000, only a relative few can afford them.

The Toyota Prius hybrid, on the other hand, is an almost-electric car almost anyone can afford. It may not offer "ludicrous speed," but it does get almost 60 mpg on average, and a range approaching 700 miles in between fill-...Read more

What could be better than a more-than-400-horsepower twin-turbo six, paired with a manual transmission and rear-wheel drive?

How about paying about $12,000 less for it?

In a nutshell, that's the $62,200 BMW M2, which is a lot like the $74,700 BMW M4.

Just a lot less expensive.

What It Is

The M2 is like the M4 in that both are high-...Read more

Mercedes sells two EQEs.

One of them is an electric sedan and the other an electric crossover SUV. They don't look the same, but they're both named EQE, which is kind of like naming a pair of fraternal twins Jack and Jack.

It can be a little confusing.

But though they're related, they're also different, even though they're both about the same...Read more

Back in 1979, Pontiac announced the last call for a big-engine Trans Am. No more 400s -- the 6.6-liter V8s that set apart the late-1970s TA as something unlike anything else you could buy at the time.

The word got out quickly. Deposits were made. The cars were sold before they were built. "It shall not pass this way again," noted a wistful ...Read more

A sports car without a manual transmission is kind of like a roadster without a soft top.

Oddly enough, there are two such cars, each without the one thing the other one comes standard with (or at least offers).

One's a Toyota, called the Supra. The other's a BMW, the Z4. And they're both the same thing, as well as very different.

What It Is ...Read more

Jeep sells a lot of 4x4s -- as in SUVs with four-wheel drive. It also sells some that look like 4x4s but are more like the crossovers everyone else sells a lot of.

One of these models also offers more than just looks: the Jeep Compass.

Rather, it can do things that most crossovers cannot, because it has a few things functionally in ...Read more

When the Lexus RX came out way back in 1998 (as a new '99 model), it had the advantage of being the first luxury crossover SUV. No one else had anything like it.

Now everyone else does.

Mercedes-Benz has the GLE-Class, which competes with the latest iteration of the RX as well as a plethora of other midsize luxury crossovers including the BMW ...Read more