MOAB, Utah — The GMC Canyon is the costlier up market counterpart to the Chevrolet Colorado midsize pickup truck. After a two year hiatus due to low demand and slumping sales GM brought back the trucks for 2015. It was seen as a surprise because other smaller trucks such as the Ford Ranger, Honda Ridgeline and Dodge Dakota had already left the market. That left just the Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier and, neither of those trucks had seen a redesign since 2005 until the Tacoma this year.

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Cadillac’s highly anticipated CT6 large flagship luxury sedan is just now beginning to show up in dealer showrooms. The CT6 is about the same size as a BMW 7 series and is intended to reassert itself as a worthy alternative with large, super-luxury sedans like the 7 series, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Lexus at a lower price point.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Roman author Seneca once said, “Hang on to your youthful enthusiasms – you’ll be able to use them better when you’re older.” So to put it briefly, I’m taking his advice. The 2016 Ford Shelby GT350R Mustang is the evolution of the Shelby Mustang GT350 first introduced in 1965, and the racing version, the Shelby GT350R, which followed shortly thereafter.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Leaving its best-selling model basically untouched for 2015, product planners made some sweeping changes to the Infiniti Q50’s powertrain elements for 2016. Even Q50 owners would be hard pressed to identify which is which when faced with a 2015 and a 2016 parked side by side, but the differences are striking when you goose the accelerator.

INDIANAPOLIS — The BMW M2 is a cute little nightmare. There’s something about it that makes you want to run up to hug it before running for the hills without even stopping to warn your village peeps. There’s both elegantly classic BMW styling and monstrous testosterone splashing from every pore. It sounds like a hot date, but is BMW’s gift to boys and girls who appreciate going fast with flair.

MOAB, Utah — It’s a military vehicle in most of the world including the U.S. Marine Corps and in the civilian market it’s hugely popular with the likes of the Russian mafia, professional superballers who can consistently hit 3-point falling away jump shots, cardiothoracic surgeons (for some odd reason) and heavily armed gun toting bad guys in action movies.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — For the most part, minivans live out their existence lonely and unloved, with owners who are all too self-conscious of and embarrassment associated with driving one. To be sure, the minivan is not an aspirational vehicle. Nope. They are strictly life-stage vehicles, ready to fill the void between the third-trimester and the age when the kids no longer want to be seen with their parents — especially in a minivan at Wal-Mart.

SAN DIEGO — You only need to look around you and it's easy to see that the compact crossover SUV, or CUV as many like to call it, has become one of the most popular type of vehicle on the road. It's not surprising perhaps as these car-based SUVs are more like a car — dare we say it, they are more akin to a hatchback or small station wagon — than they are a traditional truck-based SUV.

SEDONA, Ariz. — Range Rovers are sold around the world, and fully half of them are equipped with diesel engines. In the Queen’s motherland, that number soars to fully 90 percent. Now, for the first time, the folks at Jaguar/Land Rover are introducing diesel powertrains to the U.S. market. Both the 2016 Land Rover Range Rover and Range Rover Sport can now be purchased with a 3.0-liter turbo diesel engine.

INDIANAPOLIS — Chevy Malibu is a storied nameplate, dating to 1964, with generations behind it — some icons and others bombs.  Two generations ago, Malibu debuted with elegant European styling, two-tone interiors, and rear legroom that was the envy of mainstream mid-sizers.  Then, Chevrolet moved Malibu to its shorter mid-size architecture and gave it granny styling that crunched rear legs and left it blending into a sea of sculpted competitors.  It wasn’t a bad car — just boring.  That changes for 2016.