Suvs

It's all crossovers these days. From the polo grounds of Malibu to the campgrounds of Maine, nearly a fifth of all vehicles sold in the U.S. last year resided somewhere in this netherworld between a car and an SUV. So the stakes were high for Toyota's overdue redesign of the RAV4, a pioneer of the segment in the mid-1990s that had grown stale in comparison with competitors. Often resembling small sport utility vehicles, crossovers are truck-like vehicles built on front-drive car platforms.

Nissan is recalling more than 19,000 of its Pathfinder and Infiniti JX sport utility vehicles because a faulty brake part could fail, making it difficult to stop and increasing the likelihood of a crash. The automaker said it had received no reports of crashes or injuries related to the problem. All of the vehicles in the recall are from the 2013 model year. PHOTOS: Kelley Blue Book's top 10 'green' cars for 2013 Documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration say the problem comes from brake torque members that were improperly cast and can be structurally weak.

Chrysler Group will recall more than 200,000 of its vehicles, including its Ram pickup truck,  Dodge Challengers and Chargers and Jeep Liberty and Patriots for a variety of problems. In the biggest recall, the automaker will inspect and fix about 120,000 Chrysler 300s, and Dodge Challenger and Chargers sedans from the 2011 and 2012 model years because of an airbag problem. The wrong-sized crimps were used in building the airbag wiring harness, and that can can cause the airbag warning light to illuminate.

Long Beach police Monday night were looking for at least three people who witnessed a 63-year-old man being set on fire last week as he sat inside his sport utility vehicle. Jerry Payne was trapped inside his green SUV as flames quickly devoured the vehicle Friday evening. Payne died Monday morning , the Long Beach Police Department said. Payne was alone in the SUV outside a 7-Eleven store in the 5100 block of Pacific Coast Highway when a man walked up to the driver's side and threw a flammable substance into the vehicle, which exploded into flames, police said.  Some people rushed to help Payne, who lived in Long Beach.

Honda is recalling more than 800,000 minivans and sport utility vehicles in the U.S. for an issue with the vehicles' ignition system. The company, which has its North American headquarters in Torrance, is recalling 318,000 Honda Odyssey minivans and 259,000 Honda Pilot SUVs made in 2003 and 2004. Also recalled are 230,000 Acura MDX SUVs made from 2003 to 2006. The vehicles are being recalled for faulty ignition interlock mechanisms. Honda says these can become worn with use, making it possible to remove the key from the ignition without first putting the transmission in park.

To see theevolution of the SUV market, park the all-new 2013 Nissan Pathfinder next to its first-generation ancestor from 1985. They share nothing but a name tag. That's hardly unique to Nissan Motor Co. When sport utility vehicles started crowding mall parking lots in the mid-1980s, they were little more than rear-wheel-drive truck frames with a square box strapped to their backs. Capable and rugged, they offered little comfort or efficiency. Three decades later, most SUVs are essentially station wagons with a hormone problem.

In parking lots, what do drivers of SUVs think the word spelled "c-o-m-p-a-c-t" means? SHIRLEY LAVENBERG Los Angeles

DETROIT -- Looking to fill a key hole in its U.S. lineup, Volkswagen on Monday unveiled a crossover SUV concept at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show. Dubbed the CrossBlue, the vehicle foreshadows a production crossover that Volkswagen will likely bring to the U.S. market in 2014. That vehicle is to come in six- or seven-passenger configurations and target other family crossovers such as the Ford Explorer, Dodge Durango and Nissan Pathfinder. The CrossBlue concept is a plug-in hybrid diesel with two electric motors.

Re "I Hate SUVs," letter, Dec. 30: I love SUVs. I love SUVs. I really love SUVs. Had my husband not been driving one recently, he would have been killed by the drunk driver who hit him. Time for a reality check. Rebecca Brusuelas-James Garden Grove

BEIJING — Fuel-efficient vehicles are the rage in the United States, but in China gas-guzzling SUVs are looming large. Automakers including Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group, Daimler and Land Rover are seizing on soaring popularity for the vehicles here, tailoring new models for Chinese consumers, and in some cases shifting manufacturing to China. Chinese drivers purchased about 2.1 million SUVs last year, according to LMC Automotive, a figure that's expected to double by 2014.

Police are trying to determine a motive for an attack in which a man sitting in his SUV was set on fire outside a 7-Eleven store in Long Beach. Raymond Sean Clark, 38, is accused of dousing the 62-year-old victim with a flammable substance while he was parked in front of the store at about 5 p.m. Friday, said Long Beach police Sgt. Aaron Eaton. There were reports that there had been an argument between Clark, who has been described as homeless, and the victim just before the attack, but Eaton said that had not been confirmed.

A series of tire slashings on luxury cars and SUVs early Saturday in northwest Glendale was a "random act" of vandalism, according to police. In some cases, all four tires were slashed on the high-end cars, most of which were parked in home driveways and on the dimly lighted streets of Vista Drive, West Mountain Street, Grandview and Winchester avenues, and Cumberland and Kenneth roads, according to Glendale police. One of the cars, a Cadillac CTS, belonged to City Manager Scott Ochoa and had all of its tires slashed.

Chrysler Group will recall more than 200,000 of its vehicles, including its Ram pickup truck,  Dodge Challengers and Chargers and Jeep Liberty and Patriots for a variety of problems. In the biggest recall, the automaker will inspect and fix about 120,000 Chrysler 300s, and Dodge Challenger and Chargers sedans from the 2011 and 2012 model years because of an airbag problem. The wrong-sized crimps were used in building the airbag wiring harness, and that can can cause the airbag warning light to illuminate.

A California teenager accused of being drunk when he crashed into another vehicle, killing five family members, will be arraigned Monday in Nevada. Authorities said beer bottles were found inside the SUV of Jean Soriano, 18, who on Sunday was charged with several counts including DUI. The accident occurred on Interstate 15 in southeastern Nevada early Saturday morning when Soriano crashed his Dodge Durango into the back of the family's Chevy Astro van. There were seven people in the van at the time, which spun around and overturned.

Five members of a Southern California family -- a man, his teenage daughter, and her aunt and two uncles -- were killed early Saturday in southeastern Nevada when a drunk-driving suspect crashed into the back of their Chevy Astro van on Interstate 15, authorities said. Loy Hixson of the Nevada Highway Patrol said 18-year-old Jean Soriano was driving a Dodge Durango on I-15 about 30 miles south of Mesquite around 3 a.m. when he struck the back of the Astro - which was carrying seven members of the same family.

A lawsuit filed against Ford Motor Co. alleges that several Ford and Lincoln vehicles manufactured between 2002 and 2010 are subject to unintentional acceleration and also lack "adequate fail-safe systems" to prevent crashes. The suit filed Thursday in federal court in West Virginia seeks class-action status on behalf of consumers in 14 states. It describes situations in which Ford's electronic throttle system allegedly caused vehicles to accelerate unexpectedly, leaving drivers unable to stop.

Luxury car and SUV sales and leases are up 11% so far this year after climbing 13.7% in 2012, according to a new analysis by Kelley Blue Book. The growth has been driven by sales at the lower end of the luxury segment, said Alec Gutierrez, senior analyst at auto price information company Kelley Blue Book. "The brands that are doing best are the entry level luxuries lines: Acura, Infiniti, Lexus," Gutierrez said. "Success at the entry level is why you see Mercedes-Benz introducing the CLA and BMW introducing the 320i.

Dodge rolled out a restyled Dodge Durango at the 2013 New York International Auto Show, offering some new technology in the cabin and a fuel-saving eight-speed transmission. The 2014 Durango, however, will not get the diesel engine option soon to be available in its corporate cousin, the Jeep Grand Cherokee , which debuted in redesigned form at the Detroit Auto Show .  PHOTOS:   Highlights of the 2013 New York Auto Show The Durango's new automatic gearbox -- which can be shifted with steering wheel paddles or a "rotary" shifter in the console -- will increase gas mileage by up to 9%, Dodge said.