Auto News 5

After a good first quarter, the auto industry entered the spring selling season with its engine still revving. Deliveries topped 1 million, for an annualized selling rate of 13.2 million units. If that pace can be maintained, it would make for a very healthy jump over 2010's 11.6 million vehicles, but it would still be a couple million short of the bubble years.

In a segment about as competitive as the application pool for Harvard, the Elantra stands out as one of the most well rounded entries. It has a ton of standard equipment, gets great fuel economy, and has an attractive and comfortable interior. It also drives very competently, if not engagingly. The only flaw is ride quality. It's not terrible in any conventional sense of the word - I drove the Elantra for several hours on the highway and then through some rough city roads and was never really uncomfortable. As with those Harvard wannabes though, small issues become magnified because the other candidates are so darn good. Models like the Ford Focus, the new Honda Civic, and the Chevrolet Cruze offer similar (if not quite equal) equipment and fuel economy, but ride like luxury cars. The Focus is also much more rewarding to drive, as is the Mazda 3. Of course, each of the models I just mentioned has a few imperfections of its own, so it really comes down to a buyer's priorities. Those looking primarily for value and fuel economy who don't often drive on awful roads - in other words, most compact car customers who live in the southern half of the United States - can do no better than the Elantra.

The Dodge Durango slipped under the waves during Chrysler's bout with bankruptcy, tossed overboard as the mother ship took on water. Now the floodwaters of financial duress have receded, and Chrysler has brought back the Durango. Formerly a pickup-truck-based, body-on-frame SUV, the new version is based on the Jeep Grand Cherokee architecture, which means it has the unibody construction of a crossover vehicle.