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Washington, D.C., Bureau Chief

Fred Meier

D.C. Bureau Chief Fred Meier, who lives every day with Washington gridlock, has an un-American love of small wagons and hatchbacks.

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The Honda CR-V compact SUV continues to be the automaker’s bestselling model by far, and it has long been a fixture in school pickup lines and a favorite for fuel-efficient SUV shoppers.
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Despite some horror stories, there are no data so far that EVs overall are a lot more expensive to fix than ICE vehicles that are comparable in age and price.
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An increasing number of vehicles with sticker prices of $40,000 or less, some much less, offer heated mirrors.
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Wheel warming has gone mainstream, with the feature standard or optional not just on luxury vehicles, but on an increasing number of models with sticker prices of $40,000 or less.
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The 2023 Escalade is virtually the same SUV for about the same money in most trim levels and configurations, so there’s no reason to wait for the 2024 model to go on sale.
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There are many EVs on the market now that can handle light- or medium-weight trailers, and a handful of new electric light-duty pickup trucks can even go “tow-to-tow” with their gasoline counterparts.
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The Kia Telluride carries over virtually unchanged for the 2024 model year after a freshening for 2023 and continues to be a good value in the competition among mid-size, three-row family SUVs.
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Read here to find out which model-year 2023-24 EVs on sale in the U.S. feature all-wheel drive.
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The Jeep Grand Cherokee line carries over virtually unchanged for the 2024 model year aside from some new wheels for a couple of trim levels.
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The 2024 Honda CR-V adds a new trim level but otherwise carries over with few changes after a full redesign for the 2023 model year.