INDIANAPOLIS — Last year, I drove the Ford Maverick Tremor and thought it was very cool with its gold accents, black wheels, and enhanced off-road capability.  But, let’s be honest, the Maverick is essentially a compact crossover with a bed that’s better suited to light lawn duty than heavy hauling.  For that, we step up to the 2024 Ford F-150 Tremor that’s just as stylish, but far more capable.

MIAMI — When it comes to motor vehicles, America has a long established love affair of pickup trucks as evidenced by the fact that the top three sellers traditionally are pickups from Ford (F-Series), Chevrolet (Silverado), and Ram. And those are full-size babies, not the cute little modified SUVs that some manufacturers have come out with in recent years. Real workhorses with top-of-the-line models offering a combination of luxury, utility, and versatility that not even the ubiquitous SUV can beat.

PHOENIX — As SUVs and pickup trucks garner all of the attention and the lion's share of sales, Mercedes is quick to remind us they still find value in the sedan market as verified by the new-for-last-year fifth-generation mid-sized C-Class sedan. And, with that comes a new four-door AMG model that foregoes its 385-hp twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 in favor of more powerful 402-hp but smaller hybrid integrated electrically charged turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with power delivered to all four wheels passing through a nine-speed automatic transmission.

PHOENIX — The Kia Telluride remains as a carry over into 2024 virtually unchanged from 2023 after a styling refresh and updating, the first since it launched for the 2020 model year. Last year's refresh included a new updated grille, redesigned LED headlamps, a new front bumper and fascia on the exterior. Inside, there was an all-new digital instrument panel with dual 12.3 inch panoramic LED screens that serve as the infotainment center and gauge displays.

PHOENIX — There's a stigma associated with owning and driving a minivan that somehow you've reached maturity and now a fully responsible adult signaling to the world and your family that among those at the school "drop your kids off lane" you're the sensible adult here. When you were younger and pre-parenthood, minivans' sole purpose was seemingly the hideous monster of the automotive world, monstrously ugly, that sucked all the life and fun out driving.

MIAMI — In a prior life, the Buick Envista that debuts as a 2024 model might have been dubbed a hatchback coupe. But in keeping with company’s vehicle E-style nomenclature Buick prefers to call it a crossover SUV,  joining compacts Envision and Encore GX and the mid-size Enclave in the company’s North American portfolio.

PHOENIX — Just recently, Ford introduced an all-new seventh generation Ford Mustang as a 2024 model. To say I'm a bit surprised isn't much of a reach. Against all odds and in the face of a consumer onslaught of buying trucks, SUVs, and fully electric vehicles, the top brass in Dearborn remains convinced that a goodly number of Americans still aspire to what a Mustang offers.

PHOENIX — Along with Tesla's quirky Model X and Jaguar iPace, the Audi e-tron was among the first fully electric SUVs introduced to the buying public with e-tron first arriving in the spring of 2019. Fast forward five years and these early pioneers are now surrounded with market competitors including the BMW iX, Cadillac Lyric, Mercedes EQE SUV and others.

PHOENIX — Not unlike European high performance marques including the AMG moniker from Mercedes and BMW's M division, Cadillac threw its horsepower into the competition with its own performance-focused skunkworks within the brand by creating the V-Series some two decades ago.