The Chevrolet Tahoe - Full-sized Utility with a Dash of Luxury

While the Tahoe, which debuted in its latest iteration last year, may not win any best buy pricing competitions; it does have a much more upscale fit and finish than generations past. If you need the towing, room and utility that only a full-size SUV can provide, the newest Chevrolet Tahoe may suit your needs well.

Although Chevrolet was successful in redesigning the Tahoe to offer more power plus increase fuel efficiency, EPA estimates of 14/mpg city and 19 mpg on the highway are only admirable for this rather thirsty segment. But with its sleeker exterior, added safety features and ride comfort, there is much to admire and take buyers minds away from gasoline prices. A lot of attention was paid to reducing noise with special tires and seals to great success. One of the only remaining design flaws, is a third row that needs to be manually lifted and removed to make way for cargo. Also the Tahoe's reliability record has been below average.

In terms of sheer towing ability, the Tahoe is hard to beat. If you don't need to haul as much, the Ford Expedition and Dodge Durango are worthy alternatives to check out.

Robotic Chevy Tahoe Shows DARPA Who's "Boss"

This past weekend the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency sponsored their third race to support the development of robotically-controlled vehicles in Victorville, CA.

The first-prize award of 2 million dollars was won by a Chevy Tahoe named "Boss". The winning vehicle was developed by a team from Carnegie Mellon University and sponsored by GM, Google, Caterpillar and Continental.

Out of 11 finalists that competed last Saturday, 6 un-manned vehicles equipped with laser scanners, sensors, radar and powerful processors completed the 60 mile mission that included a variety of tasks.

While even robotic experts admit we are still years away from replacing human drivers in a real-life environment, this year's race marked a true advance for autonomous vehicles. The race's varied obstacles made decision-making during the course a requirement; and over the half the finalists were successful.

There are some real-world goals that are being worked towards by holding these races every 18 months. DARPA wants to replace a third of military logistics vehicles with robots by 2015. And most teams believe that major auto manufacturers will utilize robotic technologies to make their vehicles safer. For example, Lexus is already planning to unveil a vehicle that will automatically brake in a near-crash situation if the system detects that a driver is distracted at a key moment.

To read more about robotic cars and the Urban Challenge that was held this past weekend, check out these articles in Forbes and The New York Times.