By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Hatchbacks are remarkably functional. They turn a small car into a practical car capable of hauling a lot of stuff in addition to two front-seat passengers.

And with gas prices having become a major concern, the practicality of hatchbacks is being revisited by manufacturers. That’s because most of the really useful hatch designs are found on compact-sized cars with small appetites for fuel.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Let’s give the Chrysler brand a big atta-boy. Its first-ever sport utility carries about as much eye-catching chrome accents as the Cadillac Escalade, the high-riding king of glitter.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The timing of the January launch of an all-new Chevrolet Tahoe couldn’t be worse said industry analysts in September 2005 following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Katrina had just ravished a wide area of the Gulf Coast and the impact on gas prices highlighted a worst-case scenario for Detroit’s largest automaker: As gasoline prices rise, the product mix shifts away from big SUVs and profits evaporate.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

1936 was an insignificant year for most of us who weren’t there to witness it first hand and aren’t history buffs or avid watchers of the History Channel. But 1936 was notable for many things including the re-election of President Franklin Roosevelt and the first full year of Social Security.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

What has made the Cadillac Escalade so popular with professional athletes, hip-hop stars and other celebrity millionaires has been ramped up a notch in the all-new 2007 version.

Cadillac officials know they sell infinitely more Escalades to doctors, lawyers and businessmen than the high-profile set, but they also know that the “bling-bling” publicity generated by sports stars and music entertainers has been priceless.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

If you had to name one production car that is loaded with more technology, performance and luxury than anything else on the road you could make an excellent argument for the BMW 7-Series.

After a week behind the wheel of the flagship Bimmer, a stretched 750Li outfitted with a potent V-8 engine, we had barely scratched through the surface layer of gizmos and gadgets available to the owner of one of these amazing German sedans.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

We revised our list of favorite cars the other day. Yes a new model enthusiastically caught our attention and you probably won’t be surprised to find it’s a member of the Ultimate Driving Machine (oh how we hate that ubiquitous ad tag) family, the all-new 2007 BMW 335i coupe.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Don't expect your neighbor to do a double take when you park your new 2007 BMW X5 in the driveway for the first time. It looks much like all the previous models dating back to its inception in 2000, except if you put them side by side, then you get the “wow, that’s changed hasn’t it,” factor.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Audi left Jaguar the only luxury nameplate without a sport utility vehicle in its lineup when it introduced the Q7 early in 2006. Of course Jaguar has Land Rover as a sibling.

The German automaker had inexplicably been left standing on the platform after the sport utility train had departed the station. The all played catch-up and Audi has finally climbed on board entering the luxury segment with a large stylish wagon-like vehicle that adequately fills the niche for people with a lot of disposable income who love Audi and want something bold and a little different.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The automotive mantra when a manufacturer launches a new or significantly upgraded vehicle is that it has held the line on prices, particularly when figuring in equipment now standard that was optional last year.

But Acura is making no such claim for its all-new MDX premium sport utility. And it can’t, because prices have shot up between 7.6 and 8.1 percent depending on packages selected. Acura says it has figured in all the new features now available as standard equipment and the price hike is just 6.2 percent.