Live Q&As

Practicality is in the mind of the beholder, which is why I would choose the Six-Series BMW.  I can do more with that car than I can with a 911 coupe...and still have a great driving experience for a similar amount of money. Think: Practicality and "fun to drive" are not inherently exclusive values.

I believe the American electorate is far more intelligent and insightful than the media that cover it, or the politicians who supposedly represent it, or the many businesses and financial institutions that daily work to exploit it.

That being the case, I believe the American electorate is smart enough to understand that no president  or political party controls oil prices, that no amount of "drill-baby-drill" rhetoric will decrease or otherwise abate rapidly growing global demand for a rapidly diminishing and increasingly difficult to get and expensive to bring to market resource.

I also believe that most Americans aren't dumb enough to think we can burn the carbonized remains of our ancestors, human and otherwise, ad infinitum without consequence.

That being the case, I think Americans are smart enough to dismiss as charlatans  politicians who are dumb enough to pretend that they have a formula for controlling something over which they have absolutely no control.

Most of us have learned and accepted the truth that the United States can not and does not run the world.

Not yet. Soon, I hope.

True: All of those rumors exist.

True: No one has shown us the money, or a business plan.

Probable: Somebody somewhere will resurrect SAAB.

By the 2011 or 2012  model Odyssey--perhaps the best Odyssey minivan ever.

You've answered your own question. You don't really need that SUV. Nor do you need its various liabilities. As for the times when a SUV would help--rent or borrow one. At the moment, you are paying carrying charges (fees, insurance, taxes) on a vehicle that seldom carries anything.

Many. Check out the Green Car Journal, or Green Cars (Decisive Magazine, where I am an editor), edmunds.com or kbb.com for the best, most specific recommendations. Or...Consumer Reports.

Every single vehicle manufacturer in the world has had scary problems of one sort or another, one time or another. Ford is no different. But smart manufacturers have corrected and overcome those problems yielding high-quality, reliable, safe products. Ford, especially under its current boss, Alan Mulally, is a smart manufacturer. The Fusion mid-size sedan is one of its products.

Kia Sorento, Mazda CX-5, Chevrolet Equinox, Chrysler 200, Subaru Impreza, something along those lines. You are looking for price, utility, safety, relaibility, reasonable comfort and likability. The above-mentioned vehicles meet those criteria.

I really get so tired of this kind of baloney journalism. Of course, most economic changes such as an uptick in fuel prices will produce winners and losers. That's analysis? What about: Will we "win" in the U.S. by continuing to have the cheapest gasoline in the developed world? By maintaining our dependence on foreign oil, are we winning are losing? Market speculation on the availability of fossil fuel reserves boosts or lowers prices every time someone in the Middle East or Nigeria sneezes. Exactly, how do we control that? Cut off their politically irritable noses? At what costs? Shouldn't we in the United States really be concentrating on the development of alternative forms of energy, or on finding ways to use less of a resource whose availability is compromised every time we hit a "start" switch? If we keep swallowing oil at the rate we've been consuming it today, what will our tommorows look like in terms of fossil-fuel availability and pricing, or the air we breathe? What are we sacrificing now in pursuit of the cheapest gasoline possible?

Mini will come out with more colors. I just hope they come out with a product that is less expensive to maintain and repair. When we get rid of the Cooper coupe (Indigo blue and white) we have now, that's it. We'll go back to Ford, Chevrolet, Chrysler, or Mazda. Fun to drive is one thing. Paying the piper painfully is quite another. We're getting older. We have much better things to do with our money.

Lou Ann and I will be in Geneva next week checking out all of those rumors. We'll report to you Friday, March 9. Please stay tuned.

I like the new Prius V wagon and would recommend you take a look at that. And I seriously think you'd be cheating yourself not to look at the excellent Ford Fusion hybrid.

Everybody borrows from everybody and everything, including past designs and engineering theories. A few companies, such as McLaren Automotive in Surrey, England, are super-engineering wonk houses that come up with new materials and new ways of producing and using them. But even McLaren borrows from ideas long ago discarded or not totally developed. Ideas are much like matter. You never really create or destroy them. You discover, or rediscover, and latch onto the moment.

Question One: I'd search out an auto detailing shop. One-A: You can tell if a bumper or other external part needs to be replaced. Use your best judgment. One-B: It's a competitive world. Deal only with those busineses that respect your dignity and intelligence. You'll know who they are by the way they treat you.

Question Two: Go to Carmax. Check out a used Hyundai Santa Fe.

Driving is much like dancing. Your moves improve with practice. Roads have their various rhythms and movement cues. Again, you learn them with experience. Some basics in learning include proper hand posture on the steering wheel--both hands, please, with left and right thumbs atop the steering wheel. Shuffle steer, which avoids all of that time-wasting hand-over-hand stuff. Shuffle to the right if you are turning right. Shuffle to the left if turning left. Anticipate the road--best done by looking ahead while also being mindful of what's immediately in front of you. The eyes have it. You tend to move in the direction of what you're looking at. Make sure you are paying rapt attention to where you are trying to go, which means no texting, phoning, or other distracting foolishness. Understand that you are your neighbor's keeper on the road, regardless of your actual religious beliefs. Suppress any temptation to act out or act up behind the wheel. The consequences of such behavior too often involve tragedy. Forgiveness today is much better than crying and grief tomorrow.

I like the BMW Five Series and I'd try to get it in diesel if at all possible. Wonderful torque and excellent fuel economy in a mid-size sedan.

My apologies for misunderstanding your question. All of the things you mentioned are important in purchasing a used vehicle. Add the reputation and actual abilities of the retailer. To wit: Does the retailer have the personnel and equipment to take care of your car should and when you need it?