What has over 300 miles of range, is luxuriously quiet, seats seven, and is all electric? If you guessed the new Kia EV9, you’d be right. It’s a well-designed three-row sport utility that is also electric.
There aren’t many sedans left on the market today. The Nissan Sentra remains one of the few truly affordable options outside of the subcompact genre. It’s sized about right, delivers good fuel economy, and has a lot of equipment and comfort for its diminutive price tag.
Subaru will no longer make the Legacy sedan after the 2025 model year. The Legacy was a long-running and popular model for Subaru, being it’s most upscale of offerings to consumers.
When tracked by percentage, people with automotive loans in Wyoming are far less likely to get behind or default on those loans than are people in any other state. Wyoming ranks dead last in percentage of auto loans that fall into delinquency. That’s something to be proud of in today’s tough economy.
The new Toyota Crown is beautiful. Not everyone will agree with this, but not everyone has a good eye for these things.
We really like the mission statement and execution of Toyota’s new Grand Highlander. It’s practical, well-designed, and fits a clear need.
Electric vehicles and the infrastructure around them is still very new. And for consumers, the idea of an EV might sound great, but it’s a lifestyle change that may require some added work outside of the vehicle purchase itself. I’ve been going through that learning curve myself.
Mopar has revealed its customized, limited-production 2024 Jeep Gladiator pickup. And the parts and accessories arm of Stellantis only plans to make 250 of them, exclusively for the US market.
Polaris has announced an all-new model lineup for the popular Sportsman 570 utilities. These all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are the most popular sellers in the Polaris lineup, and haven't seen significant change in over a decade.
This weekend saw the 2024 Shell Rotella SuperRigs Competition. The event is held annually in various parts of the country. This year, the competition was at the Texas Motor Speedway in Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX.
Three automakers that have made it clear that jumping headfirst into the electric vehicle waters is not their plan have announced a collaboration on development of combustion engines. Mazda, Subaru, and Toyota have publicly stated in the past that battery electric vehicles will require a lot of time to meet mainstream consumer demands and that hybrid-electrics and alternative fuels are a better pathway towards efficiency goals. Now they are collaborating on combustion engine designs that will help with those transitory goals.
A super-rare 1938 Talbot-Lago T150 C Lago Speciale Teardrop Coupe, one of the most beautiful cars ever designed, is heading to auction. Broad Arrow Auctions and Hagerty have announced that the car will be auctioned on consignment at the upcoming Hagerty Motorlux in Monterey.
Wyoming automotive columnist Aaron Turpen test drove a Mercedes-Benz EQE, a BMW i4, and a Genesis GV60. He charged them all at the Electrify America chargers at the Target parking lot in Cheyenne. He was less than impressed.
General Motors has been working with electrifying vehicles for most of its existence. One of its most promising experiments was in the 1960s with the Corvair rear-engine, air-cooled car. The experiment, dubbed the Electrovair, made a battery-electric version of the Corvair. Twice.
Back in 2021, Toyota introduced this new Sienna design as the fourth generation for the beloved minivan. The 2024 model continues that top shelf excellence, especially in fuel economy.
The all-new Lexus GX has moved on from its sleek, curved styling to a more robust, squared-off look. This sea change in how Lexus presents itself is bold and emphasizes the GX’s Toyota Land Cruiser roots.
Wyoming automotive writer Aaron Turpen writes, "By mid-July, most manufacturers will be offering heavy incentives to buy new. If you’re looking to buy, this summer might be your chance to get past some of those high prices that might have made you wince."
The 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLA was introduced in its second generation in 2020 and receives several updates for 2024. As an affordable, small four-door luxury sedan, the CLA combines a sleek fastback roofline with sporty design. The CLA comes with a great list of standard features, refreshed styling cues, more engine power, and the same attainable luxury it’s always had.
Introduced last year, the Mercedes-Benz EQE is the electric version of the E Series sedan, but built on Mercedes’ new electric vehicle chassis and made into a crossover-SUV. It shares its platform with several other EQ-designated vehicles. For 2024, the EQE gets a slighly larger battery pack.
The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and the GMC Sierra 1500 are nearly identical trucks. The major differences between a Chevrolet and a GMC truck lie mostly in their looks and interiors. GMC is, by branding, more upscale.
Recently, I went to East High to talk to an AVID class about what I do for a living. Being a class full of teenagers, none of them were particularly interested when I, a middle-aged guy with a “get off my lawn” beard and “I don’t like haircuts” style got up on the little stage-like platform in Mrs. Martin’s class. Such is the way of teenagers, no matter the generation.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued new vehicle fuel economy standards for model years 2027-2031. These final Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules increase fuel efficiency requirements by 2 percent for model years 2027-2031 and the same amount for light trucks for models years 2029-2031.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has published new ratings for most 2024 model year vehicles. The numbers show that large sport utilities are not inherently safe due to their size. Out of all of the large SUVs crash tested, only the 2024 Jeep Wagoneer achieved a Top Safety Pick award.
Iconic, legendary, and highly capable are all terms that describe the current Land Rover Defender. If you can swing the price tag and aren’t a long-term owner, this is an excellent machine.
The 2024 Toyota Sienna defaults to hybrid efficiency. That’s a big deal when compared to other minivan options that all exude excellence.
The all-new Kia EV9 quickly became a favorite family hauler for us. It’s a right-sized three-row vehicle that doesn’t enter into the six-figure category most of its rivals do.
Not the best choice on the market, the Silverado 1500 is nonetheless one of the most easily configured to match a need.
It’s budget-friendly, no-nonsense, and has an upscale interior. There’s a lot to like about the Sentra. So long as you’re not in a hurry.
The design of the Ioniq 6 is very Porsche-like. That might be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on whether you like Porsches. We like it.
We wish that the 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLS 450 were appealing to those other than the 3-year lease buyers or 4-years to trade-in owners. It’s such a beautiful SUV.
Truck people will say that the Ridgeline is not a truck and shouldn’t be considered useful like a truck. Ignore those people. The Ridgeline is a perfect match for non-truck people who need the utility of a truck.
The Can-Am Defender is the workhorse of the utility vehicle maker’s lineup. With a pickup-truck-style dump bed, a high-torque powertrain, and “get there to do that” attitude, the Can-Am Defender is a tool rather than a toy.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a $1.7 billion grant giveaway to automakers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to support the conversion of shuttered or at-risk manufacturing and assembly facilities. The grant aims at electric vehicle manufacture and supply chains across eight U.S. states.
Nascar and ABB have announced the ABB NASCAR Electrification Innovation Partnership with a new electric vehicle prototype. This makes ABB the first official partner of the Nascar Impact, which advances the racing league’s strategic sustainability ambitions.
Most mid-size three-row vehicles offer a choice between seven passengers or seven passengers’ stuff. But not simultaneously. I have a family of five. When we go somewhere, we bring a lot of stuff: folding chairs, musical instruments, snacks, sunscreen, extra shoes – all of the accouterments that go with children, teenagers and their adult chaperones. So seeing an electric SUV with a usable third row and cargo space ... well, the EV9 just hits right.
BMW introduced the i4 with the new 4 Series back in 2022 as the all-electric version of the sedan. Unlike many EVs on the market, the i4 is almost exactly like its internal combustion engine siblings in the 4 Series lineup and is, instead, just another powertrain option. It’s a BMW and we like that approach.
The 2025 Toyota Camry enters as the ninth generation of the midsize car that has been a best seller most of its life. For 2025, the Camry gets completely remodeled and becomes a hybrid by default.
The last few years has seen a veritable explosion in the number of car washes opening around us. It seems like every third building being erected in Cheyenne is a car wash. The other two being banks and drive-thru coffee shops. There’s a reason for the sudden popularity in (usually franchise) automated car washes: subscriptions.
The Ford Ranger gets a full redesign for the 2024 model year. While most of our complaints from the previous-gen Ranger were addressed, some still remain. The jumpy turbocharged engine, for example, is still terrible for towing. But the interior is far superior to the previous one and ride quality is much better now.
The current generation Mazda 3 was released in 2019 and continues to be one of the best and most fun options in the compact category. Like most Mazda vehicles, its interior feels premium and its drive quality is zoomie.
The BMW X2 has entered a second generation with an all-new design inside and out. Most of the changes are good improvements, with high seat comfort, all-wheel drive as standard, new infotainment and instrument cluster techs, and more.
Hyundai has redesigned the Santa Fe for the 2024 model year. It’s no longer the quaint little crossover. Instead, the Santa Fe has become a boxy and rugged SUV. Well, on the outside at least.
The Sequoia was completely revamped for the 2023 model year. This marks the third generation for the Sequoia, which saw upgrades to include a turbocharged hybrid powertrain, an aggressive body style, and retention of the SUV’s truck-based roots. Also remaining was a badly-designed third row.
The average Wyoming driver drives 24,000 miles per year. No other state is remotely close to that. Vermont is in second place with 13,000 miles per year. By contrast, drivers in Rhode Island drive the least amount at 9,900 miles per dear.
A new “superlubricious” coating, detailed in a study by New York’s SUNY Polytechnic Institute, could reduce friction dramatically. The idea of “superlubricity” is not new, but has only been observed at the nanoscale. The SUNY researchers think they’ve figured out how to scale it up to the macroscale.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released a paper titled The Future of Vehicle Grid Integration: Harnessing the Flexibility of EV Charging as part of its EVGrid Assist initiative. The document was developed with broad stakeholder input and outlines a shared vision for vehicle-to-grid (V2G) integration (VGI). The document is meant as a guidepost for the transition of automotive as more and more electric vehicles begin plugging in.
A lot of the time, friends and family come to me as “that car guy” to ask about vehicles. Occasionally, though, I step out of that role and do something different – I work with tools. And that is exactly what the Can-Am Defender is.
Aaron Turpen writes, "A while back, I wrote about gas saving tips, debunking some of the common misconceptions and validating a few others. Now let’s look at some other automotive myths and see if they have any footing in reality."
BMW is getting good at building polished, driver-centric cars that happen to be electric. Viewing the EV option as a choice instead of a must makes the electric Bimmers more appealing.
The Jaguar brand is going to disappear for a little while. At least in North America. The reason? A switch to an all-electric lineup of vehicle offerings coming for the 2026 model year.
