Jeep's Grand Cherokee touts power, toughness and luxury ... What could be more patriotic than a Jeep? And the brand, now part of Fiat-Chrysler, is celebrating 75 years of Jeepdom, although the test model wasn’t specially adorned. This was a dark metallic gray Grand Cherokee Limited with 4-wheel-drive, starting at a relatively sane $39,895 and... Continue Reading →
2017 Honda Ridgeline Black Edition
New Honda Ridgeline redefines pickups Honda has reinvented the pickup and it’s a darn sight nicer than whatever you’ve driven before. To be honest, it’s a suburban cowboy’s pickup, but that’s what so many pickups are used as anyway – kid haulers and the occasional run to a home improvement store or big-box garden center.... Continue Reading →
Audi Q7 3.0T Quattro
Audi's Q7 ute lives up to its hype ... I’d read some early reviews of the Audi Q7 full-size sport-utility and thought them suspiciously glowing, like a parent telling how great their kid’s violin concert had been. Well, count me among the converted. Big sport-utes are generally luxurious land barges that’ll pull a load and haul... Continue Reading →
2016 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro Crewmax
Tundra TRD Pro a big honkin' truck, with shortcomings ... You’d think all big pickups are pretty much alike. First, their grilles are massive, their stance is tall and imposing, their engines are mostly V8s and they’ll all haul a honkin’ big load. That’s true, but the devil is in the details and there are... Continue Reading →
2016 GMC Sierra 1500 Crew Cab SLT 4WD
GMC Sierra strong, powerful, luxurious, roomy ... No matter the TV truck commercials, be they for Chevy, or its cousin GMC, if you have a bear chasing you you’ll pick ANY big ol’ pickup you can haul your tushie into and away from the beast. Ah, but there’s the joke, any quarter-ton pickup you buy... Continue Reading →
2016 Ford Explorer Platinum 4×4
Ford Explorer less trucky, more luxury            Long gone is the truck-based Ford Explorer that fueled the SUV craze that begot today’s crossover craze. The 2016 Explorer while tall and muscular is car-based and luxurious, which explains both its popularity and in the tested unit’s Platinum trim, its price. A base Explorer starts at $31,595... Continue Reading →
2016 Kia Sorento SX Ltd. Turbo AWD
Handsome turbo-packing Sorento near faultless ...            Several drives in Kia’s handsome Sorento crossover during the past couple years still has me searching hard for its faults. There aren’t many. Most test drives leave me wanting a little more, or less, of something, but Sorento just keeps impressing. First, it has the ability to carry seven... Continue Reading →
2016 Lexus RX350 F Sport
Snazzy Lexus RX350 leaves me wanting more ... The Lexus RX350 has set the tone for mid-size luxury SUVs, now mostly crossovers, for about 20 years and with the 2016 model being totally restyled inside and out, I was expecting more of the same. That is, I expected to be wowed by the segment leader’s... Continue Reading →
2016 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport 4×4 Double Cab
Dominant Toyota Tacoma a stylish, muscular pickup Trucks are macho, always have been. But as our society becomes more confrontational and in-your-face attitudes more commonplace it’s only natural truck styling sheet metal follows suit. Today’s Toyota Tacoma will go toe-to-toe with any pickup in the attitudinal Olympics. Its fenders bulge like a body builder’s abs... Continue Reading →
2016 Subaru Forester Limited
Subaru Forester remains spunky, sure-footed Subaru’s Forester remains one of my favorite small SUVs because of its handling, spunky power, smooth CVT, quiet interior and sure-footed AWD capability. That doesn’t even get at its other attributes, like reasonable starting price, good gas mileage, comfortable interior, top-notch safety rating and its overall usefulness. The Forester was... Continue Reading →