Cars and Car Reviews

I've been driving cars for a really long time and have owned over a dozen different vehicles throughout the years. I love all the modern features and additions, but I have to admit, there's something about some of the earlier designs that still has more wow factor...

I didn't realize when I moved from the West Coast to Colorado that I had switched from the land of sportscars and sedans to one of SUVs and trucks. There are trucks everywhere, however, ranging from silly little mini-trucks in name only to monsters that have beds big...

Let's get this out of the way right at the beginning: You are not going to want to drive a Fiat 500e across the country. It's an electric vehicle with a max range of 162 miles. Okay, maybe you could drive it from New York City to Los Angeles if you were really...

Nissan was one of the first companies to sell a fully electric vehicle in the United States market with its popular Nissan Leaf vehicle. It was introduced back in 2010 with a range of 73 miles. Seventy-three miles. And we think we have range anxiety with 300 miles!...

One of the secrets of the auto industry is that car manufacturers often partner up on technology and even underlying components. The dashboard of a Toyota model might be designed by Mazda, for example, or a VW might share an engine component or even seats with its...

Toyota has had a hit on its hands with the Tacoma pickup truck for quite a few years. It's one of the best-selling vehicles in the Toyota lineup and one of the most popular pickups of its size. The Tacoma showed up in North America in 1995, replacing the Toyota Pickup...

It's common for modern manufacturers to leave poorly designed features untouched for far too long. Perhaps it's the market pressure of always having to release new and improved everything. It's also one big reason that I enjoyed a week with the Honda Passport; the...

The evolution of the Toyota Prius since being introduced in 1997 is the journey of consumer preference changes in car design. Starting out as the very first mass-produced hybrid vehicle and, to be candid, a dorky little sedan, the Prius has gone through multiple major...

A lot of people complain to me about the high cost of cars nowadays, and I get it. The average car I review is probably around $50,000, which is a lotta Samolians, however you slice it. Put 15% down, get a typical 6-year loan at the current rate and you're paying...

Too many EVs on the road nowadays trade off engineering and functionality against comfort, leaving EV fans with fairly austere vehicles that replace a physical interface with the far cheaper touch panel. A few years ago, that was just the state of the automotive...

Day one of the Rocky Mountain Driving Experience wrapped up with a delightful dinner, followed by me chilling out in my quite lovely room, watching some HBO, and falling asleep. Well, somewhat falling asleep. After dozens of trips to higher elevations (I live at 5200...

I've been a member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press for quite a few years now. I fell into writing about cars many years ago thanks to Kia and the Dad 2.0 conference. Now I spend about 50% of my time behind the wheel of loaner cars rather than my own trusty...

I had a chance to spend some time driving a 2023 Alfa Romeo Tonale through the majestic Rocky Mountains of Colorado at the 2023 Rocky Mountain Drive Event. I loved the color but found the overall experience disappointing (read more here). It's not the first time that...

There's so much to like about the Ford Ranger you can immediately tell that it's made by a manufacturer that has been fine-tuning its truck and pickup design for decades. But... there's also a question that you'll ask yourself again and again as you experience the...

I've always liked smaller pickup trucks, though most of what I see on the roads here in Colorado are the big half-ton or three-quarter-ton monsters that tower above all the SUVs and sedans on the street. Half the time it's one person in the truck and the back's so...

Nissan created the Infiniti luxury brand quite a few years ago now and they've managed to go through many iterative designs of their premium vehicles. But mid-level luxury vehicles are a booming market with just about every manufacturer seeming to offer something in...

The automotive industry has been evolving over the last few decades, with entry level car makers pushing into more luxurious designs and fancier trim packages. Brands that were synonymous with "first car" now offer vehicles with all the bells and whistles that were...

There are compact daily commute vehicles that sip delicately at the fuel in the tank and there are monsters that are out to clear your way, gulping down the fuel as they go. Most people use their vehicles to get from point A to point B so it's no surprise that small...

For years, American car manufacturers were playing catch-up to their foreign competitors, but in the last decade or so, the big three have come quite close to parity with their European and Asian peers. This pattern seems to repeat itself with each new car category...

Toyota is the best selling car brand in the world so it seems reasonable to have high expectations when getting into a Toyota vehicle. I used to be tightly aligned with the brand too, having owned a Tercel, a Supra, and a Prius in the past. My son has a 2022 Toyota...

Imagine you've spent your whole life eating Spaghettios from a can. You heat it up and dump it into a bowl. That's your definition of great Italian food. Until one day when a Michelin-rated chef prepares some pasta for you, at which point you suddenly realize how...