Pursuits
Here Come the Crossovers
As sales of SUVs and minivans struggle, leaner, more fuel efficient crossovers are the auto industry’s next big thing
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Sometimes the latest and greatest isn't new at all. For the 2007-08 model year, auto manufacturers are banking big on so-called crossovers, vehicles built on car platforms that adopt SUV-like practicality and cargo room while maintaining reasonable fuel economy and often even zippy handling.
Though currently heralded as the antidote to the slump in SUV sales that has devastated the domestic auto manufacturers' bottoms lines, crossovers have been around for years. That hasn't stopped some carmakers—Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) in particular—from pushing the newest crop hard.