Crossover

Do you need to shuffle varied numbers of people and amounts of cargo from one place to another, daily? If you've done some shopping around you know that it can be tough finding just the right crossover or SUV to fit the bill, in terms of price, features, versatility, safety, and styling. For 2013, there are a number of redesigned vehicles to consider, ranging from compact family SUVs and crossovers all the way to full-size family-friendly haulers. Compact 2013 Buick Encore With the addition of the 2013 Buick...

For Mac users stuck in a Windows-dominated office, there is hope. Virtualization software such as Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion let you run the Windows operating system and Windows-only programs on a Mac, but the install process is complex and time-consuming, and the programs can slow down even a speedy Mac. As an alternative, Codeweavers CrossOver Mac Professional 7.0.2 uses just the Windows application programming interface (API)...

The Maryland House of Delegates advanced more than 125 bills on Saturday, including measures to legalize medical marijuana and to make "cyber bullying" a crime, as the 90-day legislative session headed into a very busy home stretch. Meeting in a rare Saturday session in Annapolis, the House also passed a measure to crack down on toll violators but balked at a proposal to allow all Maryland counties to impose bag taxes. With two weeks remaining, a crush of bills remains on the General...

The plug-in electric Chevrolet Volt is fascinating. But it isn't the product that will revive General Motors. That task will fall to substantially more affordable and accessible models, such as this week's subject vehicle, the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox LT. The Equinox, a compact crossover utility vehicle, is in a brutally competitive segment occupied by the likes of the Honda CR-V, Toyota Rav4 and the increasingly popular Nissan Rogue. It is the money zone of today's U.S. automobile market -- the place that families and empty...

In the music business you have crossover hits that appeal to music lovers of every stripe. In home building, you have "crossover features" designed to appeal to one group of buyers that resonate with others. For example, details intended to help older buyers stay in their houses as they age can make a house feel bigger, add storage and help parents with the care of very small children. Design features intended to help elderly homeowners "age in place" are now being marketed to much...

First unveiled as a concept in late 2011, Nissan's all-out-insane Juke-R crossover has since gone on to tour much of the world, causing much excitement, particularly in the Middle East, where at least three people were willing to pay the astronomical asking price of $600k to see the car become a production reality. Nissan has now revealed the first production Juke-R, which is finished in white and features a plaque bearing "Juke-R #001" on its dash. The car will be delivered to its owner in...

A modest proposal for people in the home remodeling business: Consider Acura, the luxury division of Honda Motor Co. Therein is your best example of product quality, pride in execution and genius in the matter of customer satisfaction. You'll find no loose fits, unfinished edges or fudged errors masquerading as a final fix. Look at the paint job on this week's subject vehicle, the 2013 Acura RDX crossover utility wagon. The color is what Acura's designers call "Basque...

A new subcompact Honda crossover due in 2014 will take its cues from the Urban SUV Concept, shown for the first time at the 2013 Detroit auto show. The concept SUV is just 169.3 inches long, making it nine inches shorter than the compact Honda CR-V crossover. It's styled without any overt SUV influences--instead, the rear doors have hidden handles to give the concept a more coupe-like look. Honda promises the production version of the Urban SUV Concept will highlight fuel efficiency and flexible interior...

"Hybrid," "crossover" and "sport" aren't generally words we use in the same sentence, but then again there aren't many vehicles like Lexus' newly revealed RX 450h F-Sport . Lexus' latest crossover is trying to cover all bases by appealing to buyers who need a crossover, but don't want to sacrifice fuel economy or handling. All 2013 Lexus RX models get the now-familiar "spindle" grille, as seen on the revamped GS 350 . The F-Sport variant of the Lexus 450h gets a more...

Name: Keiffer Jackson Mitchell, Jr. Occupation: Delegate, District 44 (Baltimore) Hometown: Baltimore Party: Democrat Age: 45 Things seem like they're really picking up in Annapolis. We're getting into the busy time. This is the time where you have to check in on any legislation in 15 minute intervals. Things change very quickly, with crossover coming. Can you explain crossover? All the House bills have to be sent over to the Senate and all the Senate bills have to be sent to the...

When suburbia was overrun by large, inefficient SUVs, along came the crossover to make the anti-minivan crowd happy. General Motors' three-row crossover triplets — the Chevy Traverse, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia — hit all those shoppers' needs. They're the largest crossovers in terms of cargo and interior room while still feeling relatively nimble around parking lots and carpool lanes. For 2013, all three have been updated. You can compare the 2013 and 2012 GMC Acadia here . The 2013 GMC Acadia's biggest change is on the outside,...

RICHMOND — This year's General Assembly session hit its midpoint, called "crossover," Tuesday night, marking the day when bills must pass one house or the other or die for the session. Here's how some of the legislation fared this session. Defeated Uranium mining : Called for lifting the state's 30-year moratorium on mining the radioactive element in Southside, a rural part of the state near the North Carolina border. Gun show loophole : Would have required all gun show...

If the somewhat larger Forester that emerged for 2009 was Subaru's first grab at a wider group of American family shoppers, the latest all-new 2014 Forester is an official coming-out to the mainstream—and at last, a direct rival again to the likes of the RAV4 and CR-V, as well as the Ford Escape and others. While we hope to put the Forester more thoroughly through the rigors of grocery runs and weekend errands sometime in the very near future—and see that it measures up with those models—we recently attended an...

A new subcompact Honda crossover due in 2014 will take its cues from the Urban SUV Concept, shown for the first time at the 2013 Detroit auto show. The concept SUV is just 169.3 inches long, making it nine inches shorter than the compact Honda CR-V crossover. It's styled without any overt SUV influences--instead, the rear doors have hidden handles to give the concept a more coupe-like look. Honda promises the production version of the Urban SUV Concept will highlight fuel...

Ten years ago, the composer David Lang was a maverick outsider who was tolerated but somewhat patronized by the classical music establishment: too light, too pop-influenced, too superficial. Today, David Lang has won the Pulitzer Prize and a Grammy, been featured at Carnegie Hall, and has just been named Musical America's Composer of the Year. "I'm really sort of amused by it," says Lang, 55, of his newfound prestige. "After [you win] the Pulitzer, people go, ‘It's okay to...

A bit more glamorous, a bit more mature, and a bit less performance-oriented than most of the smaller luxury crossover market, the Mercedes-Benz GLK stakes out its own territory and defends it well, selling just under 25,000 copies last year. For 2013, the GLK gets a handful of updates plus a new GLK250 BlueTEC diesel model that intrigues us. With 190 horsepower (kind of meh) but 369 poound-feet of torque (kind of awesome), the 2.1-liter four-cylinder GLK250 diesel might just be the new hotness in...

Until now, you'd have been hard-pressed to find the words "Buick" and "compact five-door crossover" in the same sentence. But as of this month's Detroit Auto Show, the 2013 Buick Encore--available at dealers roughly a year from now --takes GM's entry luxury brand into new territory. It's a five-door hatchback crossover that's actually built on a platform adapted from the 2012 Chevy Sonic subcompact. The 2013 Encore crossover carries traditional Buick styling cues on the outside, in...

Bottom line:  The 2013 Ford Escape is a genuinely competitive entry in the class for compact crossover-utility vehicles. It gets a strong "buy" rating here. Ride, handling, acceleration: It gets excellent marks in all three. But it is a wagon/crossover utility. You can't take this one to the races, real or imaginary. Head-turning quotient: Super-slick. I'd argue that it is the most attractive vehicle in its class. Body style/layout: The 2013 Ford Escape is a front-engine, compact wagon/crossover-utility vehicle sold...