By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The Dodge Durango started in 1998 as an alternative to the mid-sized sport utilities, none of which came with a third-row seat in those days. Size wise it was also a good alternative to the full-sized harder-to-manage sport utilities such as the Chevrolet Tahoe and Ford Expedition.
 

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The unique and stylish Chrysler Pacifica was introduced earlier this year just as the domestic automobile market went into a deeper funk causing what could be called a soft launch. And it didn’t help that Pacifica came in at a rather lofty starting price of $32,980 for the all-wheel drive model, the only version available initially.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Head-turning two-seat sports cars for less than 35 grand have made a comeback over the last few years. One of the newest of this desirable breed of exciting transportation is the Chrysler Crossfire, a rear wheel-drive car so exotically styled that it will literally grab your attention the first few times you see it on the street.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Open-air driving has taken a great leap in popularity over the past couple of years.
 
Traditional convertibles with soft tops have proliferated. There are more models to pick from than in decades. New stuff includes such unusual yet appetizing entries as the Volkswagen Beetle convertible and the PT Cruiser convertible.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The heavy duty configuration behind a truck name connotes ruggedness, a truck designed for rough treatment, blueprinted for hauling big loads and configured for pulling big things.

And without exception this is true. A case in point is the Chevrolet Silverado 2500 Heavy Duty 4-wheel drive.

This is a truck capable of prodigious feats; capable of going far off road. You might think of one of the many Chevy “Like a Rock” commercials to get the idea of what this big boy can do.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

For years the Monte Carlo has been the great poseur.

The Chevrolet coupe, the biggest winner in NASCAR history, has come decked out in Dale Earnhardt colors and has also been sold as a Jeff Gordon edition. Marketing muck and worse since the Monte Carlo that has been offered to the public is about as far removed from NASCAR as a go-cart.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, in addition to a handful of other imports including the Volkswagen Passat, have become the benchmarks for the mid-sized family sedan.

To successfully compete in this still-lucrative segment, a car needs to emulate the Japanese and German products in build quality, content, reliability, drivability and design.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Take heart, our newly minted high school graduate. If you want new, you can get new, and you can land a very serviceable car to carry you through four years of college for around 12 grand.

Of course, you can also purchase a good used car, probably with a few more amenities, for the same price. But new is new and you get that new car warranty as well.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

We had some driving to do, some business to take care of on a recent warm spring weekend. So we made good use of our test car.

It’s not that way every weekend. On those weekends when there isn’t anything on the agenda we drive for fun.

And we drive to put a vehicle through its paces on roads that bring out the best and worst in cars, trucks and sport utilities. We drive them on several test loops that we’ve mapped out ranging in distance from 30 miles to more than 75 miles.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The first time we experienced the Cadillac SRX was in the dead of winter. It was an ice event, the kind of winter storm that is inherent to eastern North Carolina.