Auto News 5

With help from a big finish over Memorial Day weekend, the auto industry pushed the bad days of 2009 further into the past, with sales increasing 19% over last year. That equates to a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 11.8 million units, which is not only a damned sight better than 10.4 million at this point last year, but is even a bit ahead of last month's 11.5 million rate.

BMW's X3 -- the small SUV that critics love to hate -- has finally earned a comprehensive rethink. Born seven years ago two strides behind the also controversial X5, the original 3-series-based X3 excelled in handling but suffered from a brutal ride, cramped accommodations, austere furnishings, and a dear price. In spite of those shortcomings, the Austrian-built X3 sold well and earned an avid following, in large part because BMW implemented numerous year-by-year course corrections.

At long last
The new Saab 9-5 might not be the most-anticipated new car this year, but it is perhaps the longest anticipated. It replaces a model that had lingered for thirteen years, a glaring testament to Saab parent company General Motors' fecklessness with regards to its Swedish ward. "Saab was at the bottom of the food chain at GM," says the brand's new CEO, Victor Muller, he of tiny exotic carmaker Spyker, which pulled off an eleventh-hour purchase/rescue of Saab in February.

As a child of the minivan era, I've always respected these vehicles for their excellent versatility. To wit, I used the Sienna to pick up a new dining table and six chairs, still boxed, and the Toyota swallowed all contents fairly easily and without having to fold the middle-row seats (which can't fold down into the floor anyway). Once I unloaded the furniture, I marveled at how far the middle seats can slide back and forth. Minivans are ideal for families with children, but if four dads wanted to get away for a long road trip, the Sienna would excel in that application, too. The guys in the middle row can slide their seats all the way back for truly limousine-like legroom, still leaving plenty o room in the way back for luggage. Even better, the middle captain's chairs have La-Z-Boy-style footrests, so the guys in back (especially if they're five-foot-six or shorter) can get some solid business-class-style sleep while the other pair drives and navigates. The Sienna's occupants might not feel very cool, but they'd certainly be comfortable.