The Mazda B-Series has always been a good truck hiding in the shadow of its popular twin-under-the-skin, the Ford Ranger.  With Ford’s marketing might pumping out special editions and flashy updates to the Ranger every few months it seems, the more conservative Mazda has often gotten lost in the shuffle.

Basically the same truck since the early 1990s, the B-Series and Ranger share drivetrains, chassis, and a production line.  The lineup got a design “freshening” last year, which included a bigger engine.  For 2002, the B-Series is updated with new colors …

Okay, say what you like about the Lincoln Town Car.  It’s not cutting-edge.  It’s a relic of an era whose time has passed.  It’s downright shameless with its battleship-like proportions, big V8, and rear-wheel drive.  That’s what everyone (except, of course, the cadre of fiercely loyal Town Car buyers) says.  None of that matters in light of one simple fact:  No one makes a big, fat slab of automobile the way Lincoln can.  Challengers like the Mercedes S-Class and Lexus LS430 may have the edge in high technology and Euro-styling, …

We can forgive Lincoln for not getting it right the first time.  After all, the Navigator was the eighty-two year old manufacturer’s first foray into the world of trucks, and it helped to launch a whole new category besides.  The category of high-luxury, full-size SUVs was all but created by the Navigator and Cadillac Escalade.  As a freshman effort, the Navigator was acceptable.  It was a bit (well, a lot) too similar to the less expensive Ford Expedition, and it rode like a truck, and maybe it didn’t quite seem …

One glance and it’s obvious that the Lincoln Navigator shares a lot of its genes (and most of its letters) with the new Aviator.  Based on the Ford Explorer, Lincoln’s new mid-size SUV represents an almost perfect distillation of its super-size, super-luxurious sport-ute into a smaller package.

That smaller size makes the Aviator somewhat easier to like, too.  Since it’s uncommon to see full-size luxury sport-utes going off-road or even hauling soccer teams about, the Navigator’s tendency to serve as six-thousand pound, 11-mpg transport for just one or two people makes …

Warning:  This review may seem a bit enthusiastic and unabashed in its praise of the 2002 Lexus IS300 SportCross.  That’s because it is.  I liked the IS300 sport sedan when it made its debut in 2001, gunning for the BMW 3-series and largely finding its mark.  I’m also a big fan of station wagons, partly because they make good cargo-carrying alternatives to SUVs and minivans without sacrificing handling, and partly because they just look cool.  So it should be no surprise that a Lexus IS300 station wagon would be met …