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The 2021 Honda Odyssey is a modern minivan, and as such it's absolutely gigantic. That is obviously not news. And yet, the Odyssey still managed to blow me away with its cargo-carrying ability. 

Now, like the various three-row crossovers and SUVs I've luggage tested, I only checked to see how many pieces of luggage from my garage would fit behind the raised third-row seat. The most voluminous crossover I've tested and indeed one of the most voluminous three-row crossovers, period, the Hyundai Palisade, could fit the four biggest suitcases I own. Pretty good, but sorry Palisade, you're about to be crushed.

Over 1,700 motorists were stuck in traffic in Southern California on October 4, 2020, but it wasn't due to one of the region's horrendous traffic jams. They got together to form the largest parade of Subaru cars ever recorded.

Certified by Guinness as a new world record, the two-mile-long parade included 1,751 cars made by Subaru. Photos from the event show a diverse selection of models ranging from a late-model WRX STI to a 1980s GL. It doesn't look like the parade included a 360, the first car Subaru sold in America, but we spot a bright yellow Baja.

Infiniti just revealed an off-road prepped QX80 that will take on the Rebelle Rally this week. Beginning today, the Rebelle Rally is an all-female rally where racers navigate off-road terrain from Lake Tahoe to the Imperial Sand Dunes by the U.S.-Mexico border. It's 1,200 miles of rough terrain, so the luxurious QX80 needed a little help to get ready for it.

The big bruiser of an SUV was handed off to Calmini Products Inc. in California for the prep work. It got a three-inch lift, heavy-duty control arms, off-road performance shocks, high clearance front and rear bumpers and thicker skid plates. The new Off-Road Monster 18-inch wheels are wrapped with chunky Nitto Terra Grappler all-terrain tires. We wouldn't normally say this about an Infiniti, but this QX80 looks badass.

Vans are generally boring things. Oh, you can spray paint sexy, psychedelic valkryies on the side or buy some right-hand-steer Japanese import with a name like Sambar Try Dias, but by and large, they're boring. That goes triple for the minivan variety, but since their invention in the early 1980s, one minivan has been the obvious exception. There was and continues to be absolutely nothing boring about the Toyota Previa. In fact, it's one of the most interesting vehicles Toyota has sold in this country in the past 30 years. 

Early minivans were less cookie cutter in shape and layout than they are today, but even by that standard, the Previa was different. For starters, just look at the thing as it balloons above its tiny wheels and lower cladding. I imagine its design language was nouveaux blimp. There's so much glass! Just look at those windshield wipers. And remember, the Dodge Caravan looked like this when the Previa came out ... and Chrysler had just redesigned them. Yet, the styling is just the tip of the wacky pants iceberg.

Mazda teased out the possible return of the rotary engine as a range extender in the MX-30 earlier this year, but now the rotary's return appears to be official for Mazda's new crossover. In a video (below, skip to 7:34, and turn on English subtitles) streamed to Mazda's official YouTube channel, CEO Akira Marumoto confirmed that Mazda will use a rotary engine in the MX-30.

Just as it was initially teased out, Mazda plans to use the rotary as a range extender on the otherwise all-electric version of the MX-30. Marumoto said that it will begin testing with a small batch of prototypes next year. The goal is to have a production version of the MX-30 with a rotary engine on Japanese roads in 2022.

Look at this! It's the 2021 Honda Ridgeline, and it's fixing exactly what so many folks have complained about since this truck launched for the 2017 model year. Honda has finally made its truck look more like a truck, which (and you'd have never guessed this) is what truck buyers seem to want.

Now, we have had our own misgivings about the Ridgeline's design, but its excellence in categories outside of design have made us more forgiving of its soft, Pilot-like face. Every other midsize truck has a rough-and-tough character about it, and now the Ridgeline can say the same.

Lexus entered the hybrid segment before a vast majority of its rivals, but it has timidly stayed away from the plug-in hybrid arena. Trademark documents filed in Europe suggest that's going to change sooner rather than later.

Toyota's luxury division asked the European Union Intellectual Property Office to protect the RX450h+ nameplate, and it was granted the trademark in October 2020. It noted the name will be used on "automobiles and structural parts thereof," meaning it's likely going to be a nameplate. It's a familiar one, but the plus makes a big difference.

TOKYO — A joint battery venture of Toyota and Panasonic on Tuesday said it will produce lithium-ion batteries for hybrid cars at a plant in Western Japan from 2022 to meet growing demand for electric vehicles (EV).

The production line at a Panasonic factory in Tokushima prefecture will have enough capacity to build batteries for around 500,000 vehicles a year, Prime Planet Energy & Solutions Inc said in a statement.

Lexus and Expedition Overland have turned the LX 570 flagship SUV into the most capable version of itself.

Lexus transformed the LX, its biggest SUV, into a supercharged off-roader that sends chills down the Ford F-150 Raptor's spine. Although it's only a concept, it will attempt to tame the desert during the 2020 Rebelle Rally.

Based on the venerable Toyota Land Cruiser, the LX is a formidable off-roader even without any modifications. Many examples nonetheless end up decked out with aftermarket parts, and it's these go-anywhere rigs that inspired Lexus to create the J201. Its name comes from URJ201, which is the current LX's internal designation.

The 2021 Nissan Rogue is finally a competitive entry in this bustling crossover segment. While the last one sold well and made a good first impression, the more you drove it, the more disappointing it became. That's no longer the case for 2021, as the Rogue gains a much improved chassis, a touch more power and extra refinement that amount to a crossover that's considerably better to drive. 

Nissan also punches above its weight with interior design. It's a modern and usable tech haven, assuming it's equipped with all the available goodies. Nothing about the exterior design is revolutionary, but the new Rogue looks confident and worthy of its price tag. It successfully manages to look both premium and rugged at the same time. Available features like tri-zone climate control and the Divide N Hide cargo system aim to separate it from mainstays like the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V, but it's likely its expansive array of standard driver assistance technologies that are bound to make the biggest difference. Not only are more standard on the Rogue than on most competitors, they are well executed systems (that goes for the sophisticated ProPilot Assist option, too). Altogether, the new Rogue doesn't climb to the top of segment, especially since it doesn't offer a more powerful engine upgrade or a hybrid option, but it's much closer than before.

Toyota and its subsidiary Hino have agreed to jointly develop a Class 8 fuel cell electric truck (FCET) for the North American market.

Unveiled earlier this year and expected to enter production this month, the 2021 Toyota Camry brings a few upgrades for the new model year and small visual revisions that help set the trim levels apart.

Nissan put a Leaf on stilts to show how electric cars can help emergency response workers in the field. Cleverly called Re-Leaf, its latest concept was developed to deliver electricity where and when it's most needed.

Made by British race car builder RJN Motorsport, the design study is based on the Leaf Plus, which benefits from a bigger and more usable battery than the standard model. Normally, the 62-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack simply zaps the front wheels into motion. In the Re-Leaf, it can also dispense electricity via three sockets. Two are on the outside of the hatchback, under weatherproof covers, and the third is integrated into the trunk.