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Car comparison: Which hatchback is right for you?

By John Aaron

Editor’s note: This is the second in a five-part series comparing a range of cars leading up to prime buying season.

WASHINGTON — Sport Utility Vehicles aren’t the only option for car shoppers who want something useful. And for the most part, SUVs don’t really offer much in the way of sportiness. For those who want something different as the end-of-year car-buying season ramps up, there are some sporty cars that come complete with a rear hatch, making them more fun to drive than an SUV, but still plenty practical for a Costco run.

WTOP’s John Aaron and Mike Parris tested the Audi S5, the Kia Stinger GT2 and the Hyundai Veloster R Spec and detail the pros and cons of each — as well as which ones you should get behind the wheel of.

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Read all five parts of the Car Comparison series:

Part 1: 3-row SUVs

Part 2: Hatchbacks

Part 3: Family cars

Part 4: Muscle cars

Part 5: Flashy SUVs

The Iran war could drive up costs for petroleum-derived products like clothes and crayons

By The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — It might be hard to imagine the Iran war weighing on stuffed toys with names like Snuggle Glove, Bizzikins and Wobblies, but even plush playthings are not immune when oil shipments from the Middle East are constrained. Like many soft toys, the creatures developed by a manufacturer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, are made with polyester and acrylic, synthetic fibers derived from petroleum. Three weeks after the war started, suppliers in China notified Aleni Brands that getting the materials already was costing them 10% to 15% more, CEO Ricardo Venegas said. “I think this situation demonstrates how much oil permeates throughout our system, and we can’t get away from it,” said Venegas, who founded Aleni Brands last year and is in the process of adding product lines. “Who would have thought that the price of a toy would have a direct relationship with oil?” It's not just toys. Petrochemicals derived from oil and natural gas go into making more than 6,000 consumer products, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Computer keyboards, lipstick, tennis rackets, pajamas, soft contact lenses, detergent, chewing gum, shoes, crayons, shaving cream, pillows, aspirin, dentures, tape, umbrellas and nylon guitar strings are just a few of them.
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