This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Escort Radar + Laser Detectors for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Honestly this was a lot of fun and I was afraid for a few moments that I was going to end up paying the San Diego police department for the pleasure of reviewing the product instead of making some money myself. However, I'm happy to share that this is an awesome device that while you should never speed - is a good thing to have in your car to help make you more aware of what's going on around you.

At some point in your driving career, you will exceed the speed limit and most of us will get a ticket at least once in our lives. That doesn't make you a bad person, but there are ways you can help prevent that. One is to be more diligent about your speed and the posted limits. The other way is to employ a device such as a radar detector that helps to alert you when you might be in trouble.

A few months ago I had the chance to take a spin in the 2015 Optima and now I have had the chance to put the all-new 2016 version through it's paces too. Kia refers to their objective with the Optima as being to "Defy Ordinary" and that's why they chose the setting of Aspen, Colorado to showcase their latest version of this great family sedan.

Last week I had the chance to attend one of the most amazing trade shows ever - The SEMA Show. If you've ever wondered what might happen if you brought thousands of car geeks together to show off their creations and passion for all things car related then you have to visit this show. Thankfully I was invited as a special guest of Kia to see some of their latest creations as part of this year's marketing theme #KiaWanderlust.

I'm lucky - not a month goes by where I don't get a chance to hop in an awesome new car and take it for a spin. While many of my friends get jealous when I talk about jetting off to Aspen or some other exotic locale, the reality is that you can have a similar experience even closer to home by visiting your local auto show and checking out the Kia Ride & Drive.

Anyone can "drive somewhere" but to make an absolutely awesome road trip, you've got to combine a few things: friends, vehicle, and setting. It simply isn't enough to just strap in to a car and drive somewhere. The folks at Ford totally get this and developed an incredible route from Vancouver, British Columbia down to Albuquerque, New Mexico to showcase the stunningly awesome 2016 Ford Explorer. For the third part, "friends"... well they invited a bunch of bloggers and other media people to drive the route along with them.

I’ve seen it all before: You just got a new car, but it isn’t exactly the souped-up muscle machine of your dreams. Instead of waiting 40 years and saving up for that fantastic beast, you have decided to mod out the dinky model you can afford today. There’s just one problem: You don’t know anything about modding.

Are you getting ready for fall by dusting off that rake and raising the mower blade to mulch leaves? While you are getting ready for fall chores don't forget to check your tires too. After a long summer driving on hot dusty roads, you need to make sure that they are ready for the ice and snow that's coming soon.

It's tough being a guy with a family, in the past you could have that two-seat coupe and be the envy of the guys at the office, but now you have kids, a wife, mortgage and you gotta be practical. (Or at least that's what your wife keeps telling you!)

For far too long, "practical" meant being boring and conservative while sacrificing "style" and "vroom" for "safety" and "space for the kids". As you know, I love Kia and I am a Kia owner myself, so I was really excited to check out the 2015 Optima prior to our trip next month for the launch of the 2016 version.

If you're looking for a rocket for a great price then you really can't beat the 2015 Genesis Coupe. It's an interesting beast since it shares it's name with a phenomenal luxury sedan that we're going to be checking out in a few weeks, but it is all about sports performance.

This weekend while watching NASCAR it's hard to miss the overt commercialism of the sport. As you watch cars fly by with logos on almost every square inch of space where a camera just might pan to during the race it's sort of crazy. That's true for the World Challenge Racing League that Kia competes in too, but instead of blasting Kia logos and oil companies, Kia and the team owners Kinetic Racing decided to do something special and focus on promoting two very important and awesome charities - B.R.A.K.E.S. and DonorsChoose.org. Sure, there's a Kia logo on the side, but in press materials and on the track, these cars are referred to as the No. 36 DonorsChoose.org Optima turbo and the No. 38 B.R.A.K.E.S. Optima turbo.

That says something about the company when they lead by promoting two amazing charities rather than focusing just on their own brand, and I found that refreshing.

The Indianapolis 500 has been run 99 times in the past 104 years. Beginning with the very first Indianapolis 500 in 1911 a pace car has led the field to the green flag. During the previous 98 races there have been some odd, improbable and just plain goofy vehicles selected or modified to lead the field, but the Indianapolis 500 established the role of the pace for the race and all other circuit-style races.

If you are anything like me, road trips and snacking are synonymous and that can either be a fun experience for everyone involved... or like I found out a couple years ago, not so much! See, normally I'm pretty straight-edge and go for cookies or crackers, and maybe some Twizzlers Twists or other candy that doesn't melt. During a stop in Maytag, Iowa though I was overcome by how cheap Maytag blue cheese was and so I just had to buy some. Let me tell you - after a few hours sitting on the dashboard a few things happened. First - the car smelled really bad. Second - I started to feel sick (eating blue cheese in a hot car during the summer is just dumb). Third - my brand new car earned it's first "love mark" since the cheese melted a bit and the enzymes and grease ate a spot on the dashboard that two years later I still can't get rid of!

Are you planning a trip this summer? If so, I think it is awesome that there are so many new options for dog friendly hotels, restaurants with dog friendly patios and at least here in California you can even take your dog into a lot of retail stores too. Niki Belle loves to travel with me and one of her favorite things to do is look out the window as we do so.

Raise your hand if you'll be taking a road trip this year. Probably most of you reading are planning a trip with the family or maybe out with the guys and you've likely thought about the importance of checking your oil before you go but it's also critical to consider the part that actually keeps you on the road and safely between the lines. Yup, that's right - I'm talking about your tires!

A few months ago we got a chance to test drive the "not a minivan" Kia Sedona and while it was fun to drive around the streets of Dana Point, I couldn't help but feel that where it would really shine would be on a long road trip.  Between the peppy engine, comfortable seats, great complement of electronic gadget, and some bad-ass passenger seats that recline almost like International First Class airline seats this is the car that you would want to drive if you were wanting to see America with your best friends.

Sure, it's winter right now but that doesn't mean that we can't think about planning our road trips for when the weather gets better. The folks over at Wish.co.uk have prepared this infographic with trivia, archetypes, and lessons that we can learn from Hollywood's most famous road trip movies.

While it hardly seems like winter here in San Diego, the rest of you guys are probably bundled up and looking at the snow starting to pile up at your favorite resorts around the country.

The question is, how are you going to get there in your Geo Metro :)  

The folks over at Chevy have an answer - the new 2015 Chevy Silverado - perfect for carrying your skis, plenty of room to pack in a few guys in the crew cab, and heck you could pull your campervan behind too so you don't even need to worry about finding a slope side condo.