INDIANAPOLIS — It’s been snowing and icing all over.  Like, a lot.  Some cities are handling it better than others, which will likely cause some mayors to have longer tenures than others.  A European-engineered sport sedan with all-wheel-drive would be perfect for the nasty precipitation, making dust of city streets while still a blast when pavement clears. 

GREENVILLE, S.C. — At $50,400, you can hardly tout the Boxster as an every-man's Porsche, but it's about as close as you are going to come. Porsche took advantage of Boxster's total makeover last year to not only tweak the performance elements, but to sharpen the styling and upgrade the cabin. In other words, Boxster is still the entry-level Porsche; but you will be hard pressed to find anyone, who has driven the new Boxster, call it that.

INDIANAPOLIS — The fact that the 2014 Cadillac CTS won Motor Trend Magazine’s Car of the Year is not astonishing; the last-generation CTS did the same thing in 2008.  But this year, it won against redesigned Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5-Series sedans — a frontal attack on the German Bismarcks.  It also beat the Corvette Stingray, Mercedes S-Class, Infiniti Q50, Mazda3, Mazda6, and Kia Cadenza. Take a breath.

CARMEL, Calif. — Like the current Camry, the latest Highlander is a major re-do of the current platform. It’s also a vehicle where U.S. thinking is taking more of a lead as engineering and product development control for the model shifts away from Japan. That’s because Toyota is expecting U.S. sales to increase to 140,000 units.

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s a common complaint that cars are getting too expensive, but are they really?  As part of the Malibu’s 50th Anniversary coverage, we reached out to Chevrolet P.R. Manager Chad Lyons and the GM Heritage Center’s Jim Vehko for perspective.

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s a joy watching the looks on Corvette enthusiast faces as the next chapter in a revered history washes over them. Books will be written. Collections will be joined. Races will be won. Fantasies will be fulfilled. Any journalist, when asked what they thought of the seventh-generation (C7) 2014 Corvette during its Detroit auto show premiere last January; paused, took a deep breath, then slowly let it out before answering. It’s that hot.

NASHVILLE — Compact crossovers are hot. And the burgeoning segment is crowded with new products, many among the best-selling vehicles in North America, so it's with perfect timing that Nissan introduces an all-new Rogue for the 2014 model year. Based on our time with the stylish second-generation crossover in the music city, we think it will stand up quite nicely to such stalwarts as the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape and Toyota RAV4.

INDIANAPOLIS — Ford’s Euro-designed Fusion sedan is a pretty handsome ride and it’s loaded with all of the latest technology.  However, it is what you don’t see on first glance that will spark attention.  Check out the little round door on the front fender.  Strange place for gas, right?  It’s not a Porsche or old VW Beetle., so yep, this Fusion gets plugged.

VANCOUVER, B.C. — We’re on winding roads leading up into the mountains north of Whistler and the car we’re driving handles just about as well as any BWW. Yet it’s not a car it’s the all-new, third generation 2014 X5 SAV. BMW insists on calling its SUVs Sports Activity Vehicles, which, we guess, is really a more appropriate designation than Sport Utility Vehicle.

DETROIT — The Ford Fusion Hybrid’s reign as the top mid-size hybrid sedan didn’t last long. (Yes, I know, Toyota claims the Prius is a midsize sedan, but most buyers don’t equate the car’s two-box, fastback design and compact exterior with your average midsize sedan.) Along comes Honda with its Accord Hybrid, and — wait a minute — ties the Fusion with a 47 mpg combined rating?