Last month I got invited to drive two new Mazda's in San Diego - the CX-5 and the MX-5 RF. After weeks of counting down the days till I could get behind the wheel, when I saw the itinerary I was crushed to see that I'd be sitting in design seminars for as much (maybe more?) time than we'd actually be behind the wheel. Nothing quite made sense. After all, this was a car launch event and driving matters... right? After some initial disappointment though I decided to simply make the best of the situation and try to learn something. I'm glad I did! While there was the minutia of how many bushings were created and how sound were avoided by adding an extra micron of padding here and there, the ultimate takeaway was something greater. Mazda guys really live and breath a design philosophy that quite frankly has created some of the finest cars in the industry today. 

I've been fortunate to embark on countless adventures, conquering diverse terrains from driving a Baja Challenge car through Mexico to navigating an old Toyota across Java. I even joined forces with the BMW GS Trophy team for some exhilarating off-road experiences on two wheels. But let me tell you, my recent three-day escapade in Moab with the CAM Mobility crew left me awe-struck and taught me more than I ever imagined.

NASCAR haulers are an absolute marvel that has the ability to transform from a truck that hauls stuff from race to race into a high-tech mobile command center. Over the years, I've walked by hundreds of NASCAR haulers but never had the opportunity to go inside and see what it looks like and how the team actually uses it on a race weekend. Thanks to Kelley Blue Book though, I got my opportunity when they invited me to join them at the New Hampshire Motorspeedway.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend at NASCAR race as a guest of Kelley Blue Book. Over the course of the weekend, I came to realize that like any sport there is a high level of complexity involved in NASCAR that may be confusing to new fans. With NASCAR racing though, I think it gets even more complicated since it all seems so simple initially. So many people think all that it is simply a driver pressing the gas pedal down and turning left. In reality though, there are so many levels of complexity that the races can be fun to watch for new and old fans alike... but with a little help getting started.

Ford's Mustang is one of the most iconic vehicles on the market today. Very few vehicles have survived the generations the way this one has and chances are that you father and grandfather lusted after one the way you do now. While there have been good design years and bad years, the current generation 2019 Mustang is clearly a winner. With looks to kill, a super comfortable interior, and a distinct engine / muffler noise that can be modulated from quietly start out of the garage in the morning... to a F&$@ YEAH! I'm in a Mustang roar that will wake up the neighborhood.

Do you dream of driving the General Lee? How about the Batmobile or the Back to the Future Delorean? So do we! Here's our roundup of our favorite movie cars...

We had the honor of being among the first people outside of Chevrolet to test drive the all-new 2023 Chevy Colorado this week and while the shiny, expensive, fast, comfortable new vehicle is always the one we clamor to drive on trips like this... I was most impressed with the Work Truck trim. In fact, it is now at the top of my list of vehicles that I'm considering as our "winter car" when I move to Michigan later this year.

Toyota's Land Cruiser is one of the most iconic vehicles that I've ever driven. From a purely objective perspective, the 2021 model year Land Cruiser was expensive, slow, horrendously fuel inefficient but it was also one of my favorite SUVs to drive. Sadly, while the rest of the world is getting an updated model on a completely new platform... here in the United States we only have our memories and dreams of what might have been.

The outgoing second-gen Toyota Tundra underwent three facelifts during its 14-year production life from 2007 to 2021. Finally, in 2022, the all-new third-generation Toyota Tundra began rolling out of the assembly line at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing plant in San Antonio, Texas. Bumper to bumper, the 2023 Toyota Tundra is a notably different beast from the outgoing model. 

Mazda has made its name in motorsports but more recently their focus on vehicles has been a more affordable luxury product that sits somewhere between mass-consumer brands like Chevy or Toyota and Cadillac or Lexus. Instead of splitting the brand they have developed a fantastic line of cars that drive well and are designed around maximizing the experience of driving.

Driving a truck is amazing. There are so many great things about owning a truck, from being able to haul heavy loads to having the horsepower needed to go on excursions and adventures off the beaten path. One of the things that may make the experience less than pleasant is if your seats and truck are less than comfortable. It’s important to not only ensure that the shocks and struts are working great but also try these little things to ensure a comfortable ride no matter where your truck takes you.

Love driving, long road trips, big engines, and the freedom of virtually never having to go sit in a cubical ever again? The trucking industry booming and while it's not an easy lifestyle, you can make a solid living while seeing new parts of the country. Here are some tips and advice for aspiring long haul truck drivers.

History channel has got another hit on its hands! We just got a preview of their newest show, Truck Night in America and I absolutely love it. They managed to capture everything I love about the off road truck community and combine it with competitive sports-TV shows like American Ninja Warrior. One of the competitors featured in the first season is Teresa Lummus from Idaho and we got a chance to chat more with her about her love of trucks and the experience of being part of Truck Night in America. 

Toyota is still the master of hybrid cars and crossovers and when the current generation of RAV4 launched in 2019, we were immediately drawn to the hybrid version. Not only did it offer a more exciting driving experience but it also offered the obvious boost in mpgs too. Now, with the RAV4 Prime, Toyota takes it to the next level with a combined 302 hp, 0-60 in 5.7 seconds and an EPA-estimated 42 miles of range on battery alone... resulting in an EPA-estimated 94 MPGe!

Improving your vehicle's engine performance delivers several excellent benefits to you as a driver. You can help your vehicle to run more smoothly and you might be able to make your car more fuel-efficient too. Improved performance could mean that your engine has more power and it's more capable of the things that you want it to do. There are multiple changes that you can make to your engine and even other parts of your vehicle if you want to improve the engine performance. If you're happy to tinker around, you could even make some of these changes yourself.

Bigger, stronger and smarter - that's how GMC is describing their newest trucks - the 2020 Sierra HD 2500 and 3500 due out late summer 2019. Building on one of our favorite trucks because of how easy it is to maneuver around tight spaces and the existing reputation for focusing not just on the raw numbers game but actually making towing easier and safer. This includes a variety of technologies that we're looking forward to spending more time exploring when it comes out. Here's a summary of the key updates that you can look forward to when it hits dealer lots in just a few short months.

There's a lot of options in the market for off road-trucks right now but most focus on ulta-ruggedness, while others are honestly more of an appearance package than anything else. With the launch of the GMC Sierra AT4 though, there's a new option for those that want to spend time trail riding in comfort and style, but still have great capability including a 2" lift, off-road tuned Rancho shocks, locking rear differential, skid plates, and more. To test test it out, GMC invited us to join them on a trail ride in San Diego and we had a blast.

I've worked with a lot of different automakers over the years but this preview I attended in Detroit a few days ago was my first exposure to the Lincoln brand. What impressed me about this vehicle so much was the attention to detail and a focus on not merely making it packed with specs and features but rather the desire to make this a vehicle that truly connected with potential customers on an emotional level. True luxury is more than bullet points and Lincoln gets that!

Summer is almost over but that doesn't mean we can't savor every last moment. Despite what some may say - right now is a great time to be alive and I'm always ready to celebrate some of my favorite things. When Chevrolet invited me for an afternoon that included a tour of a baseball bat factory, batting practice, and an opportunity to drive a Silverado truck through Orange County, CA traffic... I said heck yeah! 

Let's just get this out of the way, the CT4-V Blackwing is a powerful vehicle in a very compact (subcompact) package... it is also not a car for truck-sized guys like me. As such I honestly felt a bit awkward reviewing it in the way where you know it can do more than you're physically able to accommodate safely. That sucks because this is a very fun little car that offers a unique curve hugging nimbleness that you'd otherwise find only in a vehicle such as the Corvette.