It was a bright sunny day this week as Colorado Auto Dealers Association President Tim Jackson drove me to Phil Long Ford in Littleton to pick up a 2013 C-Max Hybrid SEL, for the first leg of the 2013 Colorado Green Car Convoy.

The all-new 2013 Toyota RAV4 has lost the identifying rear-mounted spare tire, but has gained richly in added value in the fourth generation of the Recreational Activity Vehicle.

It has been many moons since the Buick brand offered a high quality compact option but with the 2013 Buick Verano, General Motors has an affordable compact sedan that offers a luxurious interior, a superb ride and drivetrain that is both powerful and efficient that makes the Verano exactly what Buick has been needing.

The 2013 Lexus GS350 F Sport is a premium luxury sport sedan fitted with all of the amenities and features that a car claiming to be both luxury and sporty should have – with these attributes combining to create a roomy sedan that is a blast to drive while also being packed to the roof with the greatest of creature comforts.

The Fiat 500 Abarth might not be the fastest or the most high tech sports car in America but with a price starting just under $23,000, fuel economy measures in the 30-34 mile per gallon range and driving characteristics that make it just as much fun to drive as far more power and far more expensive sports cars – it is my belief that the Fiat 500 Abarth is not only the most engaging compact car sold in America but it is also the most exciting car sold in the US with a price tag under $25,000.

The German auto industry is ripe with sports cars that can offer an exhilarating driving experience with a stylish exterior combined with a luxurious, high tech interior but few do it as efficiently as the 2012 Audi TT 2.0 Quattro S-Tronic Coupe – a compact sports coupe that offers everything that you would expect from a European luxury sport model.

Now in its forth generation, the 2013 Toyota Avalon now for the first time offers a hybrid version, which takes full advantage of the revised Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive to achieve a potential 39-40 mpg in both city and highway driving.

Now those who own a car without OnStar installed at the GM factory can enjoy its benefits

I recently found that the receiver lock on my Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab was getting harder and harder to deal with when I was changing my hitch receiver so I began shopping around for a new lock. I was first introduced to the BOLT products at the SEMA Show with their “one key lock technology” and considering how handy their product appears – I picked one up for my own truck.

Still in its first generation, the 2012 VW Tiguan was adopted by Volkswagen from Auto 5000 and is still working on its first million in global sales.

When the Chrysler 300 was first introduced in the 1950s, the high performance sedan was informally referred to as the “businessman’s muscle car” and with the introduction of the 2012 Chrysler 300C SRT8 – the 300 moniker is as much of a muscle car as it has ever been with more power and luxury than has ever been offered by the Chrysler brand in the past 50 years.

In the world of the compact sport utility vehicle, the battle of the most efficient offering is heating up but with the ability to average better than 30 miles per gallon with a mix of city and highway driving – the 2013 Mazda CX5 is the current king of the hill in terms of being the most efficient SUV available.

Last week the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press hosted their first annual 4XFall event, providing the opportunity to test the performance of the highly upgraded 2013 GMC Terrain Denali and Acadia Denali offroad in the historic Gold Rush site of Caribou CO.

I recently had the pleasure of spending 8 days behind the wheel of the 2012 Audi Q5 3.2 Quattro and I cannot emphasize more what a pleasure it truly was – with an aggressive exterior, a luxurious interior and a drivetrain that provides a driving experience that is hard to find in a sport utility vehicle.