While it might be difficult for most to believe, let alone accept, few marriages last forever. And conjecture this is not; it is a reality substantiated by multiple studies. One of those studies was not too long ago published by Forbes, an international media company focusing on business, investing, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, and lifestyle. In that study, researchers revealed that nearly 690,000 marriages ended in divorce in 2021. While this might cause some people to lose hope in the institute of marriage, divorce rates have been trending downward since reaching more than 944,0 ..read more

Jeep has come a long way from its original vehicle, the Willys MB, a tough and durable car for wartime. Sold to the US Army in the 1940s, the Jeep 4×4 became one of the enduring symbols of World War II, and the first commercial Jeep, the CJ, was introduced immediately post-war, to great acclaim. The original price? $738 per unit. Adjusted for inflation, that’s about $12,000. Suffice to say, when Jeep invited me to spend a week driving the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland 4xe PHEV with an MSRP of $75,000, I expected quite a few improvements from that original 1940s utility vehicle! In fact, th ..read more

The compact SUV space is hot, and there are a lot of great options for today’s car buyers, from the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 to the Mazda CX-5. In the Chevrolet lineup, the compact but roomy Chevy Equinox offers yet another solid option, though whether it’s truly competitive is another story entirely. In fact, people still view companies like Chevrolet as based in America to compare with foreign car companies like Toyota and Honda, but the Equinox I test drove was made in Mexico with an engine and transmission also manufactured in Mexico. Nonetheless, I still consider companies like Ford and ..read more

One benefit of being a car writer is that I get to spend lots more time behind the wheel of various vehicles than a regular Joe. When I decided to trade in my Toyota Highlander a few years ago, I leveraged that experience to choose what has proven a really great compact SUV for my needs: A 2017 Mazda CX-5 Limited. While it’s become a bit small as my kids have grown up to be rather tall adults, it’s still a reliable and trustworthy car that has proven its worth over many road trips. It’s also no surprise that I keep close track of Mazda and its new vehicles, particularly as it begins to roll ou ..read more

Honda has been selling rugged, off-road vehicles for decades and its Passport is one of the most popular Honda vehicles with a young, male demographic. It’s clear that the vehicle is intended to take on the Toyota 4Runner head-to-head and much of the Honda marketing material focuses on the differences between these two vehicles. With Toyota falling behind in its interior redesign efforts over the last few years, Honda’s well poised to redirect lots of 4Runner fans into the Honda brand too. Honda offered me a chance to spend a week trying out the 2022 Honda Passport Trailsport AWD and I quickly ..read more

I’ve spent the last week driving a Graphite Shadow 2023 Infiniti QX50 Sport AWD and while I found it a comfortable, enjoyable ride, it was also rather forgettable. Perhaps it’s a problem with comparing hundreds of cars over time; they start to blur together. Pick a category like Sports Utility Vehicles and you’ll begin to be convinced that any given vehicle is a mashup of the elements of previous vehicles you’ve evaluated. There’s nothing at all wrong with the QX50 Sport, but there’s nothing exceptional about it either. Is that a problem? Hmm… To start, the 2022 QX50 lineup featured five trim ..read more

Most car writers have a preference for big, fast, expensive vehicles, and I get it. There’s something about the design and drive experience of a $100K+ vehicle that is pretty delightful. And those admiring looks you get from fellow auto enthusiasts aren’t bad either. But most people don’t drop $100,000 or more on a vehicle, and a whole category of buyers seek the least expensive auto that will work for their families and get them from that proverbial point A to point B without any fuss. A quarter-million-miles lifespan doesn’t hurt; lots of people really dislike buying a new car so want theirs ..read more

Imagine the early days of motorcars. Every manufacturer had a few different styles, but for the most part, each brand had its spot in the hierarchy of functional sedans to luxury motorcars, with many of those brands still around today. Manufacturers didn’t tend to spin off completely different lines, but instead expanding through acquisition and consolidation, hence conglomerates like General Motors. Autos also used to be more regional, with Americans buying American cars, Germans buying German cars, and so on. Things change, and now quite a few global brands have their luxury brands, typicall ..read more

It’s early November which means that it’s time for another election. Your first opportunity to vote comes after you’re done with high school, however, so there’s no universal way to learn how to vote or even how to understand what you’re voting for. People who seek positions are obviously important, but often the greater impact is on measures, propositions, amendments, ballot initiatives, and tax levies. We’re supposed to be educating citizens so we can cast...Read More ..read more

When I had the chance a few years ago to drive the 2020 Chevy Bolt, I really enjoyed it quite a bit, naming it one of my favorite cars. Here’s my writeup if you want to get the full scoop: One of My Favorite Cars: The 2020 Chevy Bolt EV. The problem with the Bolt EV is that it’s pretty small. Not quite SmartCar small, but still, quite cozy even compared to my Mazda CX-5....Read More ..read more