By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The subcompact Chevrolet Trax was a bit late to the game of the exploding crossover segment, delayed over concerns regarding sales. It had been sold in other parts of the world for several years, and by not arriving here until the 2015 model year the Trax had the advantage of gaining some of the mid-cycle updates— including structural advancements — accorded its upscale platform mate, the Buick Encore.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

More than two decades ago four of us decided to do the ultimate baseball tour attending 10 major league stadiums in 12 days. It involved a lot of driving, eating what seemed like a ton of hamburgers and hot dogs, and keeping one guy on a diet of soft drinks so the other three could partake of the local brews.

By David Finkelstein

Subaru Motors introduced the newest generation of its WRX and WRX STI models in 2015. The sedan was featured with a newer styled body design including a significantly reworked underside chassis. This helped to set the stage in order to reach out to a broader customer base that welcomes a performance four door automobile.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Like an old horse, Acura's flagship RL sedan was getting extremely long in the tooth when a new sedan — renamed the RLX — was introduced in 2014. The RLX is a modern, near-full-sized luxury passenger car that comes loaded with the latest in safety and entertainment technology, a competent direct-injection V6 engine, and a supremely quiet and comfortable cabin loaded with rich leather and wood trim.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Subcompact crossovers are all the rage these days in luxury and non-luxury guise, small enough to toss around on the road yet big enough to haul four adults with a modicum of cargo in a relatively fuel efficient package. On the luxury side, the Audi Q3 entered the U.S. market for the 2015 model year after being sold in Europe and elsewhere since 2011 proving it's never too late to jump into a growing segment. 

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Scion has added a new sedan and hatchback for the 2016 model year in an effort to infuse new life into the struggling brand, but the best all-around and most interesting Scion in the stable of the quirky Toyota off-shoot is still the FR-S four-place rear-driven coupe introduced in 2013.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The fact that the 2016 Honda Pilot shares its platform with the award-winning Acura MDX crossover may be all you need to know about the first all-new Pilot in seven years, but diving deep into the new mid-sized crossover's attributes — from technology to safety to comfort — reveals a family-friendly vehicle that will put it back in the conversation when discussing which is the best full-sized family crossover in North America.