The Ford Escape is a compact crossover SUV manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company since the 2001 model year. The first Ford SUV derived from a car platform, the Escape fell below the Ford Explorer in size; the Escape is currently sized between the Ford EcoSport and Ford Edge. The 2004 Ford Escape Hybrid was the first hybrid-electric vehicle from Ford, and the first hybrid produced as an SUV.
The Mercury Milan is a mid-size car manufactured by Ford and marketed by its Mercury division of Ford Motor Company — as a rebadged variant of the Ford Fusion. Named after Milan, Italy, Mercury marketed the Milan for model years 2006-2011 in a single generation. The smaller of two model lines developed to replace the Mercury Sable, it indirectly succeeded the Mercury Mystique as the smallest Mercury sedan.
The Chevrolet Equinox is a crossover SUV introduced by Chevrolet in 2004 for the 2005 model year. It was intended to replace the North American Chevrolet Tracker and Chevrolet S-10 Blazer. The third-generation Equinox also replaced the first-generation Chevrolet Captiva.
Theta is General Motors' automobile platform for compact/mid-size crossover SUVs. The architecture debuted in 2002 with the Saturn Vue and was later used for the Chevrolet Equinox and Captiva and similar models.
The Chevrolet Malibu is a mid-size car that was manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet from 1964 to 1983 and from 1997 to 2024. The Malibu began as a trim-level of the Chevrolet Chevelle, becoming its own model line in 1978. Originally a rear-wheel drive intermediate, GM revived the Malibu nameplate as a front-wheel-drive car in 1997.
The Honda Pilot is a mid-size crossover SUV with three-row seating manufactured by Honda since 2002. Primarily aimed at the North American market, the Pilot is the largest SUV produced by Honda. Pilots are currently manufactured in Lincoln, Alabama, and the Pilot was produced in Alliston, Ontario until April 2007. The first generation Pilot was released in April 2002 as a 2003 model.
The Isuzu MU is a mid-size SUV which was produced by Japan-based manufacturer Isuzu from 1989 to 2004.
The Saturn Aura is a four-door, five-passenger front engine/front-wheel drive mid-sized sedan manufactured and marketed by GM's Saturn subsidiary over a single generation from 2006 to 2009. The car launched one year before the seventh generation Chevrolet Malibu, its most closely related platform companion.
The Hyundai Sonata is a mid-size car that has been manufactured by Hyundai since 1985. The first generation Sonata, which was introduced in 1985, was a facelifted version of the Hyundai Stellar with an engine upgrade, and was withdrawn from the market in two years due to poor customer reaction. While the nameplate was originally only sold in South Korea, the second generation of 1988 was widely exported.
The Kia K5, formerly known as the Kia Optima, is a mid-size car manufactured by Kia since 2000 and marketed globally through various nameplates. First generation cars were mostly marketed as the Optima, although the Kia Magentis name was used in Europe and Canada when sales began there in 2002. For the second-generation models, Kia used the Kia Lotze and Kia K5 name for the South Korean market, and the Magentis name globally, except in the United States, Canada, Malaysia and the Middle East, where the Optima name was retained until the 2021 model year. The K5 name is used for all markets since the introduction of the fifth generation in 2019.
The Chevrolet Captiva is a compact crossover SUV marketed by General Motors. The first generation was developed by GM Korea, based on the GM Theta platform and derived from the S3X concept car revealed in 2004. Released in 2006, it was sold internationally as Chevrolet Captiva, in Australia and New Zealand as Holden Captiva and in South Korea as Daewoo Winstorm until 2011, when the international name was adopted. The vehicle shares much its underpinnings with the similarly-styled Opel/Vauxhall Antara / second-generation Saturn Vue, with the Captiva offering optional third-row seating.
The Opel Antara is a compact crossover SUV which was marketed by Opel from 2006 to 2015. Based on the Theta platform, the Antara closely shared its underpinnings and powertrains with the Chevrolet Captiva. However, it only offered five seats instead of seven, and features a different exterior and interior design. Sales commenced in November 2006, as the indirect successor to the Isuzu-based Frontera range.
The Ford Fusion is a mid-size car that was manufactured and marketed by the Ford Motor Company. From the 2006 through 2020 model years, two generations of the Fusion have been produced in gasoline, gas/electric hybrid, and gas/plug-in electric hybrid variants. The Fusion was manufactured at Ford's Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly plant in Sonora, Mexico, alongside the Lincoln MKZ, and formerly the Mercury Milan, both of which share its CD3 platform.
The GMC Acadia is a crossover SUV manufactured by General Motors for its GMC division. The first-generation GMC Acadia shared the GM Lambda platform with the Saturn Outlook, the Chevrolet Traverse, and the Buick Enclave. The Acadia went on sale in 2006 as a 2007 model in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Acadia replaces three of the 7- or 8-seater vehicles on the Buick-Pontiac–GMC dealership network, the midsize GMC Safari van, the GMC Envoy, and the Pontiac Montana SV6 minivan for the domestic market. As of 2009, the Lambda vehicles had replaced the Buick Rainier, Buick Rendezvous, Buick Terraza, and the GMC Envoy XL and then subsequently the GMC Envoy, Chevrolet TrailBlazer and the Isuzu Ascender. A Denali version of the Acadia debuted for 2011. In 2017, the second generation Acadia was repositioned as a mid-size crossover utility vehicle in order to compete in the growing midsize SUV market against the likes of the Ford Explorer, Edge, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
The 4T40-E and 4T45-E are a series of automatic transaxles from General Motors. Designed for transverse engine configurations, the series includes 4 forward gears. The 4Txx family replaced the Turbo-Hydramatic 125 transverse three speed automatic introduced in 1980.
The Lincoln MKZ, is a four-door, five-passenger mid-size luxury sedan manufactured by Ford and marketed as the Zephyr and as the MKZ by Ford's Lincoln brand across two generations in both gasoline and hybrid gas/electric models.
The Hydra-Matic 6T40 and similar 6T30, 6T45, and 6T50 are transversely-mounted six speed automatic transmissions produced by General Motors. The 6T40, referred to in GM inner circles as the GF6, made its debut in the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu, available with the 2.4 L LE5Ecotec engine making 164 horsepower (122 kW), and has since also been made available on the Chevrolet Cruze, Daewoo Tosca and Buick LaCrosse. It features clutch-to-clutch shifting, eliminating the bands used on older transmission designs. GM chose an "on-axis" design as opposed to folding the gearset behind the engine and transferring power through the use of a chain, as is used in most other GM front wheel drive transaxles. Ford Motor Company also produces their own variant, called the 6F35. The Buick Encore uses the 6F35 mated to the 1.4 turbo.
The seventh-generation Honda Civic is an automobile produced by Honda from 2000 until 2005. It debuted in September 2000 as a 2001 model. Its exterior dimensions stayed similar to the outgoing predecessor, with interior space significantly increased, bumping it up to the compact car size designation. A notable feature was the flat rear floor that gave better comfort to the rear seat passengers. This generation abandoned the front double wishbone suspension, used previously from fourth to sixth generations, replacing it with MacPherson struts. This generation was the last to offer 4WD variants.
In the U.S., the seventh generation North American Honda Accord is a mid-size car that was available as a four-door sedan or a two-door coupe and was produced by Honda from September 2002 to 2007. The sedan was also marketed in parts of Latin America, Asia, Middle East, Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand markets, and also known as the Honda Inspire in Japan from 2003. The North American Honda Accord, with modifications for local market needs, was the launch vehicle of Honda in the South Korean market with sales beginning from May 20, 2004.
The ninth generation Accord is a mid-size car introduced by Honda in 2012 which received a refreshed front fascia, grille, headlights, tail lights and alloy wheel designs for the 2016 model year. With the discontinuation of the smaller European and Japanese market Accord in 2015, the larger North American Accord became the only version in production, with the Hybrid version taking over as the flagship of Honda's automotive product in many markets that once received the smaller Accord, The ninth generation Accord competed against the 2012-2015 Citroën C5, Citroën DS5, 2012-2014 Chrysler 200, 2014-2017 Chrysler 200, Chevrolet Malibu (2013–2015), 2012-2014 Ford Mondeo Mk4, Ford Fusion/Mondeo (2014-2017), Hyundai Sonata YF, Kia Optima TF, Nissan Teana L33, Nissan Altima L33, 2013-2016 Opel Insignia A, Mazda6 (GJ1/GL), Peugeot 508 W23, 2012-2015 Renault Laguna X91, 2015-2017 Renault Talisman, Renault Latitude, Škoda Superb Typ 3T, Subaru Legacy (2012–2014), Subaru Legacy (2014-2017), Suzuki Kizashi, 2011-2015 Toyota Avensis, Toyota Camry (XV50), Volkswagen Passat (B7), and Volkswagen Passat (B8).
