Car Nation

As the auto industry stays cautiously optimistic and pickup truck sales incrementally march on a soft upward trajectory, there are some obvious bright spots, not the least of which is the strong sales climb Ford's SVT Raptor.

Through July, sales for the all-terrain power truck are up 26 percent compared with last year, and for the month, Raptor is up 36 percent. This puts year-end Raptor sales,...

2012 is a big year for Lexus. The Japanese luxury carmaker is getting nine new or refreshed models during it. In fact, it's such a big year that Bob Carter, senior vice president of Toyota, has dubbed 2012 "The Year of Lexus." Big entries include the new Lexus ES and ES Hybrid, Lexus GS and GS Hybrid and the refreshed Lexus LX.

That leaves a few more models to be unveiled, and one...

THE CAR AND ITS OWNER 1988 BMW M6 coupe owned by David N. Millman WHAT MAKES IT INTERESTING The 6-series BMW coupes built from 1973 to 1989 are highly prized for their svelte design and Autobahn-level performance, especially the “M” sports models sold during the last six years of production. “I considered the M6 and a variety of its competitors over a time period of many months before I decided...

THE CAR AND ITS OWNER 1977 Ford Pinto wagon owned by Dominick Speziale WHAT MAKES IT INTERESTING The subcompact Pinto -- built in sedan, hatchback and wagon versions for model years 1971 through 1980 -- managed to suffer through a gas tank fire controversy and a subsequent recall to sell over two million copies during its lifetime. Speziale’s white ‘77 pushes the buttons of two current collecting...

This is a strange development to say the least. The somewhat popular but short-lived second-generation Saturn Vue is coming back to the United States as the 2012 Chevrolet Captiva Sport.

You'll see it on the streets, but you won't be able to buy one new, and you'll probably see it at used-car dealerships over time. That's because the Captiva Sport is coming for the sole purpose of fulfilling...

As we've expected for a few months, Honda will update its Civic for 2013, just one model year after redesigning the popular compact. It's a response to criticisms, including ours, over the car's lackluster handling and cheap interior, though we still recommend the Civic for its roomy cabin and comfortable seats.

The criticism fell on receptive ears. John Mendel, head of American Honda, acknowledged...

Q. Do any crossovers have better visibility than the Toyota Venza? I thought I had settled on buying a Toyota Venza but have read several bad reviews about visibility. Is that just a problem with all crossovers, or is it more of a problem with the Venza? A. The Venza has plenty of company in regards to poor visibility to the rear and over the right shoulder among crossover SUVs and a large number...

On the surface, I take no issue with SUVs -- take a pickup truck, throw a “capped”-looking body on the chassis, and you’ve got some ground clearance and offroad fun. The problem is, we live on Earth, not inside a Jeep commercial. Most of us will only ever commute in our vehicles.

Which means you’ll probably be stuck behind someone in a Pilot or Yukon on your way to work tomorrow, the road...

Jerry Seinfeld just launched this web show called “Comedians in Cars getting Coffee.” It’s about, well … You go check it out. Ricky Gervais laughs nervously for 8 minutes and Larry David has tea instead of coffee. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.  

Seinfeld is always funny. I almost watched “B-Movie” but then I realized that the live action coming attraction wasn’t going to...

THE CAR AND ITS OWNER 1956 Continental Mark II convertible owned by Glynette and Barry Wolk WHAT MAKES IT INTERESTING American luxury cars were riding high in the 1950s, but not high enough for Ford, which decided to target Rolls-Royce by offering the sumptuous Mark II sport coupe for $10,000, about double the price of a Cadillac. “It was actually built by a separate division of Ford Motor Company...