By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Crossover utility vehicles are the rage with sales expected to double by the end of the decade.

They are the station wagons of the 21st Century, the new people haulers replacing truck-based sport utilities. Although they’re built on a car platform, they retain the high ride and bad-weather capability of the traditional SUV. And they usually come with a car-like ride and gas mileage closer to a sedan than a truck.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Rewarding utility meets awesome power in the 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI.

Grocery-hauling attributes combine with the fast and furious for the man who has family responsibilities, but also the need for incredible speed.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The face that no one could love is gone.

The controversial front-end of the Subaru B9 Tribeca has been revised and now looks much like several mainstream vehicles, but perhaps most like a Chrysler Pacifica.

It’s merely a ho-hum change, but one that was needed. The previous Tribeca, on the market for two years, had an airplane-shaped grille that drew considerable criticism and derision. No doubt it cost Subaru sales. Any change was a good change.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Comfortable and quick! That’s how we found the 2009 Subaru Impreza 2.5 GT compact hatchback after several days behind the wheel.

And for good measure, it comes with built in bad-weather prowess because all Subaru vehicles have been for many years outfitted with all-wheel drive as standard equipment.

By Ted Biederman and Jim Meachen

Our first stop in the 2009 Subaru Forester was the liquor store.

No, we didn’t need a pint of gin to whip up a martini.

We needed boxes. And through the years we’ve found that the liquor store is a grand place to find boxes just the right size for moving books, clothes and other small objects.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Month in and month out for more than a year there have been new and depressing automotive sales statistics, for one brand or another. While the government’s Clunker's program had a positive impact and things now appear to be stabilizing few carmakers have been as fortunate as Subaru, which has been in the black every month of 2009 showing gains in month over month comparisons to 2008.