What do you think of when you hear the name Kia? Is it small, crappy, econobox? In the past, you may have been correct - but no longer! Kia has asked me to test drive some of their latest creations and they started me out with the fun and sporty 2013 Rio 5-door for a road trip review.

While this car is undoubtedly intended to zip around town vs a 3-4 hour road trip, it felt comfortable on the drive from Chicago to Indianapolis. Possibly more importantly, the car looks great!

What do you take when you start with a great all-around great suburban family car, toss in a bit of style, and then take Nissan's determination to make it the best car in the segment? I call it the new 2013 Altima. With an industry leading 38 mpg, chic modern styling, super comfortable seats, and a peppy engine tied to a silky smooth CVT transmission, this car is perfect for picking up clients, taking your daughter to her piano recital, OR zooming down the road with the buddies on a road trip!

As you may remember from our last road trip review of the Altima, we loved the car - and our only main complaint was that the 4 cylinder engine wasn't peppy enough for us to call it "fun". With this review, Nissan outfitted us with a 3.5 L V6 with 270-hp instead. That immediately eliminated that issue for us and there was much rejoicing!

For over 100 years, the name Cadillac has brought to mind images of over the top luxury and a car packed with gadgets that are useful - and others that you didn't know you ever needed (cup cooler / heater???). In many ways, this makes a perfect brand to consider when thinking about what to take with you on a mancation road trip.

The awesome folks at GM let me borrow an Escalade for a week when we went down to St Louis last fall - here are my thoughts on the adventure!

Nissan recently invited us to a swanky party to celebrate the launch of the 2013 370z at the Chicago Auto Show, so I wanted to share some photos from the event with you guys.

Earlier this summer I took an awesome road trip from Chicago to Charleston, SC. My chariot this time? One of the BEST road trip cars I have ever had! The Ford Flex Platinum Edition is everything you would want from a a road trip car.

Honestly, it would be a pleasure to have this as my every-day alternative to a mini-van or SUV if you need that extra space for kids / soccer gear etc. too.

While road trips may typically feature big bulky SUVs or at least roomy sedans, sometimes it is fun to take shorter trips in a car that is just plain fun to drive. The 2011 Ford Fiesta is one such car - small and compact but surprisingly zippy and one of the most fun driving experiences I have had in a long time.

Every so often a car comes along that really impresses me. The 2011 Ford Explorer is one such example. Sure, we all know the Explorer line and in many ways, it is the iconic SUV. What Ford has done with the new version however, just blows me away by combining two of my favorite SUV's - the Edge and a Land Rover.

Fast cars are nice, family cars are good, but a nice beefy luxury SUV just makes a road trip fantastic! For our trip to Cleveland last month we were lucky to have an opportunity to drive the 2010 Buick Enclave.

If you haven't seen a Buick recently, you should really go check one out. This isn't the same General Motors interior that you know and love(?). Maybe its just me, but my perception of GM cars over the past 10 years has been that they are cheap, moderatly styled, and "nice" but not really where I would drop $60,000 on a new car.

While we are privileged to be able to play with some amazing cars, sometimes it is good to remember that the best car for a mancation is the one sitting in your garage. Yes, the one that is as fun to drive as it is practical and affordable for everyday use. On our recent  trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville we asked around for a car that was 1) fun to drive 2) as fuel efficient as possible and 3) could perform equally well on the plains of Indiana as the mountains of North Carolina.

When imagining the a road trip you probably don't think of the Ford Mustang. Instead, you might have visions of a big SUV with plenty of room for the guys and gear. What if I told you that you can now have a bad-ass Mustang featuring tons of trunk space, the latest in navigation systems, fantastic gas mileage and it is also a blast to drive?

Last week Ford invited me out to LA as one of the first media in the world to test out exactly how awesome this car was. I wasn't expecting more than just a sports car - but I was wrong!

On our road trip from Chicago to Nashville, we were fortunate to have Nissan provide a fantastic car for the journey.

The 2010 Nissan Maxima is being promoted as the Return of the 4-Door Sports Car, and it is a great car for any guy who is looking for a car that is luxurious enough to impress any client, looks sexy enough to impress the ladies, and has enough power and sportiness to make it a heck of a lot of fun to drive!

Our route was pretty simple and involved a lot of highway driving, but we also took the Maxima around town, and on some country roads in Dayton, OH as well to test the handling.