2021

Kia Telluride — Award-winning crossover


2021 Kia Telluride Nightfall Edition

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

(July 22, 2021) The mid-sized three-row Telluride crossover SUV has been a huge hit for Kia from the standpoint of awards, favorable press reviews, and — more importantly — excellent sales. Customers are flocking to Kia stores to check out and purchase the Telluride since its inception almost two years ago as a 2020 model

Ram TRX — The pinnacle of pickup performance



By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

(July 18, 2021) Ram has finally built a high-performance full-sized pickup truck to do battle with the Ford F-150 Raptor, up until now the premiere fire-breathing off-road-ready performance truck. The Hellcat-powered Ram TRX is an impressive and intimidating truck and has the Raptor squarely in its sights. It's propelled by another version of the now-famous Hellcat Hemi V-8 engine — this rendition making 702 horsepower.




Ford Bronco Sport — A more affordable Bronco


MotorwayAmerica.com photo

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

(July 11, 2021) Back in the last century Ford advertised that it had "a better idea." Its "better idea" campaigns usually came attached to a new vehicle such as the early Mustang. Now in the year 2021 Ford has a better idea — perhaps we should call it a "good" idea — build a smaller version of the all-new ultra-popular Bronco, with all the styling cues of the larger truck, but at a price point many people can afford. And call it the Bronco Sport.

BMW M440i convertible — Open-air thrills


MotorwayAmerica.com photo

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

(July 4, 2021) We drove the 2021 BMW M440i coupe earlier this year and loved it. So we were delighted to get the convertible version in the same week we were taking a beach trip. What a glorious time and place for top-down driving — along the beach with 70 degree temperatures and wind in the hair.

Toyota Sienna — Modern people mover



By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

(June 27, 2021) Toyota has redesigned its Sienna minivan for the 2021 model year turning it into a stylish curvaceous vehicle. The minivan's contemporary body, wide-mouth grille, and squinty headlamps give the van a more SUV-like persona. The traditional boxy people-mover appearance has been left behind with the fourth-generation Sienna.

2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1



PHOENIX — Since it was first introduced back in 1964 — almost 60 years ago — Mustang has been on the short list of cars most everyone wants to own. For decades Ford has created its own Mustang ecosystem with an interconnected stable of high-performance offerings like the Boss 302 and 429, Mustang Bullitt offered three times — 2001, 2008 and 2019, Mach 1 and the super rare SVT Cobra R, with only 300 copies ever built — all in red, to name just a few of many over the years.

2021 Mercedes-AMG GLA 45



PHOENIX — There’s a certain metronomic cadence relative to some of Mercedes’ new product introductions that’s reassuringly Germanic. Having previously driven the staggeringly powerful Mercedes-AMG A 45 sedan, I knew it was only a matter of time before the wizards of Affalterbach performance got their hands on Mercedes’s baby GLA SUV (built on the same platform) by fitting it with the hand-built searingly powerful and ridiculously quick 382-horsepower 2.0-liter twin-scroll turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

Ford Mustang Mach-E — Electric-car perfection


MotowayAmeica.com photo

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

(June 20, 2021) Even though many people have defended Ford's use of the iconic Mustang name, you can argue with us the whole live-long day and we won't be convinced that the new Ford Mustang Mach-E is really a two-door Mustang pony car. What the Mustang Mach-E is we discovered is a well-done, lightning-fast electric crossover — sans the rumbling Mustang V-8 engine — that has some familiar Mustang styling cues highlighted by the galloping Mustang logo and the tri-bar taillamps.

2021 Ford Bronco Sport



MIAMI — Ford put the Bronco on what would become a 25-year production hiatus after the 1996 model year even though just two years earlier it had been the most widely viewed SUV in the country. That was, of course, on June 17, 1994, when television cameras focused on Los Angeles freeways as A.J. Cowlings led LAPD and California Highway Patrol  officers on a slow-speed chase with his former Buffalo Bills teammate, O.J. Simpson, in the back holding a pistol and allegedly threatening suicide rather than face murder charges over the stabbing death of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Brown.

Kia Sorento X-Line — Impressive compact crossover



By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

(June 13, 2021) Earlier this year we spent a week with the hybrid version of the all-new 2021 Kia Sorento and we were impressed with the compact crossover's combination of fuel efficiency and performance. In fact we were as impressed with the whole package that delivers ample passenger and cargo space, which includes a small third-row seat; comfortable seats including a great driver's perch; the latest in safety technology; and all-around class-leading styling.