By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

It's lively, agile, and excitingly fun to drive making the compact Volkswagen Tiguan crossover a driveway delight. It's no mystery why it's popularity has steadily grown over nearly four years on the market.

Tiguan sales nearly doubled from its first full year of production in 2009 when about 14,000 units left showrooms to 2011 when  sales hit 26,000. Growth continues in 2012 after a mid-cycle refreshening. Through the first four months of 2012, the Tiguan is on track to hit between 35,000 and 40,000 sales.

By Jim Meachen and Al Vinikour

One of the most memorial automotive catch phrases in history, "The Ultimate Driving Machine," got the green light from then BMW marketing chief Bob Lutz in the 1970s reviving a flagging German brand and helping make BMW cars wildly popular in the U.S.

What has made this ingenious tagline stick through the decades is that BMW has consistently backed it up with outstanding products led by the popular 3-Series — the ultimate driving machine, if you will.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Exterior styling tweaks, interior upgrades and the addition of the award-winning Pentastar V-6 engine has transformed the Chrysler Sebring convertible — rechristened the 200 — into a four-person droptop worthy of consideration.

The extreme makeover was accomplished last year in Chrysler's rush to get freshened — and improved — "made in Detroit" products out the door. A new generation of the Chrysler mid-sized sedan and convertible is still a year or two away, but for now the renamed Chrysler 200 convertible is a noteworthy replacement for the cheap-looking and cheap-feeling Sebring.

By Jim Meachen and Al Vinikour

A well-worn adage is “good things come in small packages.” Perhaps with the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth (pronounced ah-bart') that adage can be altered to "wicked things come in small packages." The odd moniker for the performance version of Fiat’s popular tiny world car comes from legendary racer Karl Abarth who is responsible for more than 10,000 individual race victories, 10 world records and 1,334 international titles.

By Russ Heaps
MyCarData

In the jam-packed world of crossovers, the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan carves its own niche. Targeting buyers looking for more "sport" than "utility" in their driving experience, Tiguan offers the only standard turbocharged engine in its segment. Add to this handling that has a distinctively European feel, and you have a fun-to-drive vehicle with a healthy dollop of utility.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

When speaking of the excellent new crop of compact cars now in American showrooms or on the way later this year, seldom is the Subaru Impreza part of the discussion. That may change with an all-new, stylish and more fuel efficient 2012 Impreza. The redesigned Subaru is better looking, has more interior space and is more fuel efficient than its predecessor.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

There was a time not long ago when you could buy a Buick that was a Buick in name only. A Buick that didn't live up to the storied Buick nameplate. The forgettable Skylark departed the scene in 1998. It made the phrase "a good, small Buick" an oxymoron.

Now for the first time in nearly 15 years a small Buick returns to the fold. The all-new compact 2012 Verano sedan is the antithesis of the Skylark. The Verano, indeed, is a good small Buick, based on the Chevrolet Cruze/Chevrolet Volt platform.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

We concede that the sexy new Range Rover Evoque possesses a moderate level of off-road capability and does not significantly diminish the brand's off-road image. But we are hard pressed to believe that anyone anywhere has purchased an Evoque — regardless of the Range Rover name attached — for serious off-road adventures.

The Evoque's considerable presence in the marketplace where it has won more than 90 awards worldwide including North American Truck of the Year stems first and foremost from its provocative styling and the considerable hype from London to New York that has made it trendy and chic.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Americans have made it known their love affair with sport utility vehicles is far from over. They have also made it known that they distain rising gas prices. This conundrum has led automakers to create lighter weight SUVs with more fuel-efficient engines.

While manufacturers are squeezing more mileage out of standard V-6 engines, there are other gas-saving technologies at work. For example, Ford has created a new engine design, creatively called EcoBoost.