By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

As sales dwindle and the brand looks for a new owner, the “right size” Hummer H3 sport utility vehicle is still an award winner.

In 2008 the H3 captured Four Wheeler magazine’s “Four Wheeler of the Year” award, Truck Trend magazine’s “Best in Class” honors, and Intellichoice’s “Best Overall Value of the Year” in the intermediate utility segment.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

When the cover was pulled off the next-generation Honda Pilot at the Detroit
Auto Show last January, you could almost hear a big “ho-hum” from the assembled journalists as they stifled a collective yawn.

Revealed was a revised version of the Pilot with its typically SUV-like boxy stance.

Journalists obviously, at least to us, were looking for a variant of the new swoopy aerodynamic crossover design popularized by Mazda and other manufacturers in recent years.

By Ted Biederman and Jim Meachen

After spending about 60 miles and a couple hours behind the wheel of a 2009 Honda Fit on the Saw Mill River Parkway and other vistas north of New York City, we were itching for a head-to-head comparison with a few competitive cars.

Honda was ready to oblige.

Honda not only supplied several vehicles made by Toyota, Nissan and others at a driving event, but had a couple of 2008 Fits on hand for comparison with the all-new 2009 edition.

By Ted Biederman and Jim Meachen

Ford says its truck team had a clear vision when developing the 2009 F-150 — redesign America’s best-selling pickup truck inside and out to “give customers unrivaled capability, unprecedented choice and a host of smart, game-changing features.”

A day spent at Ford’s Michigan Proving Grounds at Romeo, Mich., showed us that Ford has generally succeeded and in many instances exceeded, at least our expectations.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Let’s give Ford some well-deserved credit. It has built a practical people mover that looks like nothing else sold in America. In no way does it resemble a minivan, which has grown out of favor with many families, and it’s far removed from the newly popular curvaceous crossover design that sacrifices form over function.

Its interior volume approaches minivan size, but unlike a minivan it is capable of towing up to 4,500 pounds. And it comes in an all-wheel drive format for all-weather peace of mind.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

If we had an old trophy we would take it out of the attic, dust it off, re-engrave it and hand it to Dodge for best SUV crossover interior design.

It seems the Dodge boys have hit all the right notes when designing the inside space of the all-new mid-sized 2009 Dodge Journey.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

“This car is just stupid cool!”

That was the assessment of one of our occasional riders as he was climbing out of our Dodge Challenger R/T test car.

Those spontaneous seconds of admiration came from a life-long Chevrolet devotee who then added that the upcoming Chevrolet Camaro would have to be something beyond special to convince him to buy it over the new, hot Dodge.

And hot it is, at least in the minds of the car-loving public.

By Ted Biederman and Jim Meachen

It is a heck of a time to be introducing new, big trucks in a market that has taken a dramatic downturn. Sure today a gallon of gas is about $2.00. But a couple of months ago when Dodge introduced this new Ram 1500, gas was over $4.00 a gallon. We hate to throw dirt in an open wound but logic and gut tells us that $4.00 plus gasoline is probably in our future, again.

By Ted Biederman and Jim Meachen

The mid-sized Chrysler Sebring manufactured by troubled Chrysler LLC is a good example of how hard economic times can lead to even more hard times until diminishing returns eventually spell doom, then government intervention and then – well – who knows.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

We think improving fuel economy — even just a mile per gallon — is a good thing. So we were intrigued when we first got word that General Motors was developing a full hybrid system for its large truck-based sport utility vehicles that delivers in the neighborhood of 25 percent better fuel economy. Then in the fall of 2007 we got to drive a prototype Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid for a few miles and we were impressed.