There’s no doubt that Mazda gambled a bit with the CX-30, a compact sport utility vehicle that made its debut a year ago. The perplexing part from our vantage point is this: will the new SUV hinder sales of two other well-known Mazda vehicles – the highly-acclaimed Mazda 3 and the CX-3, a subcompact SUV? […]
Travel/Golf/Auto reviews
4Runner still rugged SUV
The 2021 Toyota 4Runner hasn’t changed much over the past decade – it’s a midsize sport utility vehicle workhorse that remains old school in so many ways. Make no mistake, the 4Runner is still popular among SUV buyers. Last year, sales hit 129,052 and have not dipped below 111,000 the past five years. If owning […]
Lexus GX 460 aging
Although it has added a spindle grille and headlight designs, the truck-like Lexis GX 460 is still an old-school, three-row SUV that remains outdated. The midsize luxury SUV is not all that different from 10 years ago when its last major redesign took place. While the 2021 Lexus GX 460 has remained mostly stagnant, much […]
Cadillac CT5 replaces CTS
When Cadillac decided to replace the aging CTS with a new luxury midsize sedan, the move seemed a sensible one. CTS sales had dipped during its last five full years of production, falling to a low of 6,965 in 2019. A replacement waiting in the wings – why not? However, what took place was the […]
Optima replaced by Kia K5
Bid farewell to the Kia Optima, a successful midsize sedan that enjoyed a shelf life of 19 years. The South Korean automaker not only renamed the Optima, the 2021 Kia K5 comes with a complete redesign that has lots of upside. The Optima had a nice run for nearly two decades. After modest sales the […]
Ford debuts F-150 hybrid truck
Always at or near the top in truck sales, Ford is recognized as one of the forerunners in revolutionizing the pickup. This year the renowned Michigan automaker came out with the 2021 Ford F-150 hybrid truck and arriving next spring is the highly-touted all-electric Ford F-150 Lightening. One might say the hybrid truck serves as […]
2021 Escalade luxurious SUV
Small sport utility vehicles remain the popular choice for most drivers. However, that doesn’t mean large behemoths like the Cadillac Escalade aren’t still residing in driveways throughout this country. Despite the increasing popularity of subcompact and compact SUVs, the Escalade has demonstrated fairly steady sales over the past six years, never dipping below 21,000 with […]
Ford Bronco makes comeback
Following a 24-year absence, the Ford Bronco is back. That’s right, the attractive sport utility vehicle that once famously transported OJ Simpson on his made-for-TV, low-speed police chase along a Los Angeles freeway has returned. And judging from early sales figures –23,356 sold in the first three months of 2021 – the Bronco comeback is […]
Buick Envision lacks luxury components
The Buick Envision suffers from an identity issue. The compact sport utility vehicle can more than hold its own among standard SUVs, yet it falls short when measured against luxury models in its class. Historically, Buicks have been marketed as a “premium” brand by General Motors, the parent company. GM has positioned the Envision above […]
Mercedes E450 wagon strong overall
Growing up in a family with six kids in the 1960s, we became quite acclimated to traveling in a station wagon. Although wagons are no longer mainstream vehicles, they have not totally disappeared. One of them is the 2021 Mercedes E450 wagon, a luxury vehicle that my family would have marveled at if my dad […]