For the first week of February 2019 we find ourselves dancing in the rain behind the wheel of 2019 Acura RDX A-Spec SH-AWD. Read why I’d buy one.

ANALYSIS AND OPINION: GM President Mark Reuss’ recent announcement of putting Cadillac as the lead brand against Tesla helped everything else but Cadillac. Cadillac just put their third gas CUV into their portfolio right after this announcement! A real all electric car company doesn’t do that! To be taken seriously by anyone you have to be reliable and believable, and that means having honesty, and to be honest, starting with yourself, you have to believe in yourself. Who’s fooling who?

The 2019 Chevrolet Suburban RST Performance Edition is an incredible machine, combining the 6.2-liter LT1, the new 10-speed automatic transmission, Brembo brakes and the newest version of GM’s Magnetic Ride Control suspension system into a huge sport utility vehicle – essentially introducing the performance components of the Camaro SS into the massive, hard-working SUV.

OPINION AND ANALYSIS: Nobody is taking these Russians seriously about the specs and their one year warranty to their recently proposed Russian Mustang BEV, but I tell you one thing: at least they got a spec sheet. They got renders. They got ideas. They even got a warranty for a car they haven’t built yet. They’re eager for publicity and/or to build. I say, where’s the people who invented the damn car to begin with? Do they even know what electricity is beyond a cigarette plug in the dash?

For decades Chinese car companies have all tried to enter the US car market to meet some kind of failure. Learning from the lessons of Chinese car companies past, one car maker known as Qiantu Motors (Dragonfly logo, means “freedom”), is teaming up with a California based electric car and energy startup to make its first foray into the US market with a battery electric sports car to take on Tesla’s portfolio. Qiantu starts the competition against the Roadster II, with the 2020 Qiantu K50.

OPINION AND ANALYSIS: With VW Group’s accelerated plans to cease gas car production sooner, Bentley needs to ask itself what kind of car company does it want to be? If Aston Martin stuffed battery packs inside the seats and boot spare tire wells and fenders of a Rapide, why there isn’t something similar done inside a Spur or a Mulsanne? Bentley isn’t doing that; they’re running counterculture to their heritage, and risk losing what they worked hard to get after leaving Rolls Royce: not becoming another Cadillac.

Check out the 2019 Mitsubishi Outlander SE 2.4 S-AWC. It offers a good bang for your buck.

Unveil Review: Rivian Automotive, the Michigan based startup that for ten years carefully, but secretly planned to find the right vehicle, at the right time, and at the right moment, to launch an all BEV the world hasn’t seen, seemed to find the right recipe to unveil that vehicle NOW, as they launched something that Tesla had expectations of doing first: to launch the first all electric pickup truck in the world. And Rivian did it. Not Ford. Not Tesla. This is a game changer . . .

I recently spent a week behind the wheel of the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse RS and I was pleased to find that it offers a far sportier feel on the road than expected while also providing a smoother ride than the sportier SUVs on the 3-row segment.

We’re now about a few days away from the launch of Rivian’s new mystery trucks, and instead of debunking myths, conjecture, theories, legends, and rumors, Rivian, purveyor of “electric adventure vehicles” only heightens them and with mystique. This time Rivian publishes a second teaser video showing their truck wading through 3 feet of water with 3 seconds of footage.

Ford contemplates a four-door fastback Mustang being put into production. This comes just months after a massive passenger car cancellation for the USA market starting next year, particularly cancelling a Lincoln that could’ve helped Ford with this project, that ires Ford’s loyal passenger car customers, Ford investors who must be sick and tired of Ford with their shenanigans by now, and me, frankly, because you really don’t want to piss me off about cars!

Kia has recalled 16,011 Stingers to fix a potential problem. The vehicles, built from 2017-18, have a problem in the left fender. Due to a burr in the fender, it is possible that a wiring harness may wearing. That wear could mean a fire.

In my frustrating effort to keep pushing the movement toward full electric cars, I often get frustrated by the lack of enthusiasm and missed steps the legacy car makers have taken. If they really were enthused and eager to adapt to electric cars, they would have an all electric option for both their halo sports and pony cars. They don’t. Still. With lackluster Camaro sales, Chevy needs a “comeback kid” car. The eCOPO Camaro is it.

While Tesla takes care of the other high end of the electric vehicle market with Models S, 3, X, and soon Y and U, Uniti, the Swedish electric car startup maker is trying to find an angle on the opposite end by soon shortly putting an unorthodox 2 seat high tech and feature rich micro BEV into production. This car will be a hit in the EU, India, and Brazil no doubt, but in NA? Hmm. Well I hope so.