It was an eventful Friday night at Gateway for the start of the Truck Series playoffs, including an extended power outage that caused a long red flag, but in the end Sheldon Creed won yet again at arguably his best track, and advanced in the playoffs.

Also of note, rookie Hailie Deegan, 20, who is not a playoff contender, scored the first Truck Series top-10 of her career.

Deegan became the fourth female competitor in the series to achieve a top-10, but was the first to do it at a non-superspeedway track. Previously, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Angela Ruch and Natalie Decker have achieved this feat in superspeedway competition.

As vehicles get larger and larger, fewer subcompact cars remain in the marketplace.

But they are not extinct yet.

While automakers have mainly given up on them, your options include the Hyundai Accent, Chevy Spark, Nissan Versa, and the car I recently tested — the 2021 Kia Rio.

Most recently redesigned back in 2018, the 2021 version of the Rio features some upgrades, including new styling on the front and rear portions of the vehicle, and an improved infotainment system with wireless phone connectivity.

When discussing fast and beautiful luxury cars, BMW’s lineup is always in the middle of the conversation. While not everyone’s favorite, the long-respected luxury competitor continues to up its game both in terms of looks and design, as well as performance and get-up-and-go.

The 4-series is one of the most popular BMW lineups, and it recently got a controversial upgrade for 2021, including a massive change on the front end.

I recently spent some time in a 2021 BMW 430i xDrive Coupe, and I’m back with a full report on what all the hype is about.

Minivans are sort of a love-it-or-hate-it thing in the automotive world.

Many people might say they hate minivans, but a vocal minority are minivan lovers.

With the completely new 2022 Kia Carnival, a reinvention of the vehicle formerly known as the Kia Sedona, the Korean automaker is hoping to turn some of those haters into members of the minivan fan club, and create potential customers.

After some time tooling around in this family-friendly ride, I’m back with a full report on how the Carnival measures up, as it takes on the Chrysler Pacifica, Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna and Chrysler Voyager on the minivan battleground. 

ATC Drivetrain, an independent global remanufacturer of automotive powertrain and drivetrain systems, announced today that it is launching remanufacturing capabilities for electric vehicle systems at its Oklahoma City facility to serve the North American automotive market, and at its Zhangjiang, China facility to serve the Asian automotive market. The announcement was made by ATC President & CEO, Greg Heald.

These investments will allow ATC to remanufacture batteries and electric drive units for both plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles. This move represents the next step in the company’s electrification strategy and builds on the competencies and processes initially developed in ATC’s UK facility.

If there’s one thing Chevy does not lack for, it’s SUVs.

From the tiny Trax to the massive Suburban, there’s a grand total of seven offerings in their SUV range, so they have something at literally every size and capability level.

One of the newer entries in that list brings the return of a familiar nameplate — the Trailblazer.

No, it’s not the same as the old TrailBlazer, which was a larger SUV from 2001 through 2008, which eventually morphed into the Traverse model.

More than a decade later, the name is back (minus the capital “B”), but this time as another compact SUV option. It slots in between the smaller Trax and larger Equinox in the Chevy lineup, and I recently got the chance to spend some time in a Trailblazer to see how it stands up in today’s crowded vehicle marketplace.

Even as all the buzz in the auto industry continues to focus on EVs and going all-electric, hybrids remain a key part of the eco-friendly solutions being offered to car buyers.

Take, for example, the Kia Niro, a compact SUV that’s been around a few years and fits a niche in the hybrid world where there are few competitors.

This tech-savvy model is larger than popular hybrids like the Toyota Prius and Hyundai Ioniq, but also smaller and more affordable than hybrid SUVs like the Toyota Venza and Ford Escape. For 2021, the Niro lineup boosts the quality and quantity of its tech and safety offerings, including inclusion of wireless connectivity for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

I recently spent time in a Kia Niro and I’m back with a full report.

When the Toyota Corolla first went on sale, Lyndon Baines Johnson was president. In the 55 years since, the vehicle has sold more than 45 million units worldwide. That’s quite a run, one of the best ever in fact, and there is no end in sight, with the Corolla selling over 237,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2020.

Those are impressive numbers considering how the pandemic hit the industry last year, and are helped by the fact that the vehicle got a sharp redesign for 2020. Even more positive are the numbers in 2021 so far, with the Corolla on track to far exceed last year’s total.

I recently spent some time in a 2021 Corolla, and I’m back with a full report on how it measures up in the small car segment.

Straddling the line between more modest SUVs and the luxury world, the Buick Envision finds itself in an interesting position in this vast SUV landscape.

For the 2021 model year, Buick has redesigned this midsize, five-passenger SUV, aiming at those who want something a bit fancier, but without going full luxury in terms of design and price tag — something between a Toyota RAV4 and a Audi Q5.

The Envision sits in the middle of the Buick SUV lineup, between the smaller Encore and larger Enclave. Among the highlights of the redesign are an improved infotainment system, a boost in the number of safety features included, and an updated engine.

I recently spent time in a 2021 Envision, and here is a full report.