Vehicles & Gear




2017 Lexus ES 300h Offers Luxury Ride with Hybrid Drive

When Lexus launched the sixth-generation ES premium midsize sedan a few years back it used the tagline of ‘Impossible to ignore, impossible to forget.’ More recently, the luxury division of Toyota Motor Company has given the ES lineup a mild makeover, and over the holidays we took delivery of the 2017 Lexus ES 300h hybrid sedan in the test driveway.


Grinding Gears Top 5 from 2016

It still surprises me just how many vehicles grace the test driveway each calendar year. It also surprises me what has not yet made it down our way when I look at the number of new or refreshed vehicles that have hit the market this year. Here is a look at my top five faves from 2016.




2017 Acura MDX Gets New Face, New Content

Acura rolled out the third generation of its MDX three-row crossover utility vehicle three years ago and for model year 2017 it receives a bit of a makeover. Along with sporting a new beak the 2017 MDX arrived with a host of new technologies as well.



2016 Volkswagen Golf GTI Is the Real Hot Hatch

Volkswagen says its GTI defined the term hot hatch – a fun-to-drive hatchback offering power, playful performance, refinement, and style. The latest iteration was North American Car of the Year for 2015 and recently we spent time behind the wheel of the 2016 Golf GTI. If ever there was truth in advertising it is the embodiment of the Golf GTI. Volkswagen got things right with this one despite its struggles with TDI models. The Golf GTI is offered (for now) in two- and four-door models with our tester arriving as the latter. At the heart of the fun is a…



2017 GMC Acadia Is Downsizing Done Right

Honey, I shrunk the Acadia. Those were my exact thoughts when I first saw the redesigned 2017 Acadia three-row family crossover from GMC. And I kept thinking that when I learned it was powered by a four-cylinder engine. Can this new model fill the shoes of its previous generation?





Chevy Suburban and GMC Yukon XL: Carryalls that Carry On

General Motors must think I have a large family or something, as they have sent me one version or another of their extra-large family sport ute (AKA Carryall). I admit I am a fan of the Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon XL vehicles, but five in the test driveway over the past two years – overload, perhaps?



2017 Kia Forte Sedan More Attractive with Mid-Cycle Updates

It was just three years ago that we reviewed the then all-new, second-generation Kia Forte sedan. We proclaimed our amazement at how far the Korean automaker had come in a relatively short time in this market, as well as just how good the new Forte was. Fast-forward to model year 2017 and the Kia Forte gets a makeover.


2016 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Hard Rock Edition Was a Blast!

Happy Anniversary, Jeep! Born in 1941, the iconic brand is celebrating 75 years of off-road toughness and its go anywhere, do anything attitude. We recently marked the stellar occasion by spending a week behind the wheel of a 2016 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Hard Rock Edition as we celebrated our anniversary in the Texas Hill Country.


2016 Volkswagen Jetta GLI Is the Jetta That Does

Several months ago I reviewed the 2016 Volkswagen Jetta sedan. I liked the car but it was a sedate, average daily driver. Recently I received the Jetta GLI, and I gotta tell ya, where the Jetta 1.8T left off the GLI begins, and for 2016 the GLI gets some nice upgrades.


Ram Power Wagon Right at Home in the Big Country

As Ram and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles prepare to roll out a redesigned 2017 2500 Power Wagon this fall, they sent us a new 2016 version recently that we used for a weekend road trip visiting some out of the way places west of the sprawling Metroplex in North Texas.