Welcome to the height of summer. While hot summer temperatures can have an advantage, such as killing viruses and germs that may make their way into your car–Ford engineered a heat-driven germ-killing process to sanitize police cars during the Covid-19 pandemic– those temps can do a number on humans in cars. We know not to…
10 Surprising Things We Learned When Our Kids Turned Into Teen Drivers
We knew there would be lots to be terrified about when our kids morphed into teen drivers. But we didn’t know how much we would learn about ourselves—and them! When a teen gets a drivers license, there are so many things that go through a parent’s mind. Will he be safe? How will I know…
How to Potty Train on a Road Trip – and Not Hate Every Minute of It
The perils of potty training while traveling. On a recent flight, the two dads sitting in front of me had their toddler strapped into a car seat in the middle seat. Just as the buckle-your-seatbelts-we’re-about-to-land announcement went out over the public address system, the toddler announced that he had to pee. I don’t remember reading…
Exercise in the Car – From Kegels During a Commute to Kid Games for a Road Trip
No one loves sitting in the car for long periods of time. Whether it’s a daily commute or a summer road trip, bodies need to move! The average commute time for Americans is more than 25 minutes. That means lots of people are spending much more than 25 minutes in a car each morning and…
Is Your Car Road Trip Ready? Easy Checks Anyone Can Do – and What a Mechanic Should Look at – Before You Hit the Road
Our 12-point checklist offers peace of mind on the road this summer. Ah. The Great American Road Trip. Who doesn’t doesn’t need this more than ever these days? It’s worth cramming everyone and everything into your car for a trip to the lake or the beach and suffering yet another game of license plate bingo…
What Drives Her: Dorothy Glinton Fought Discrimination and Stereotypes to Force Change in The Auto Industry
Inspired to Build a Better Life For Her Kids, She Changed Her World, Too. When Sonari Rhodes Glinton, a business correspondent for National Public Radio, thinks of his mom and her friends—the women who raised him on the South Side of Chicago–he thinks of the movie “Hidden Figures.” Like those brilliant African-American women who toiled behind…
These Easy Winter Windshield Tricks Will End Your Fight With Ice
Ice the windshield fight with these 4 easy tricks. As I type this, the first of what we in Chicago call “lake effect snow’ is falling so hard that I can’t see across the street. Sigh. It might be December, but that doesn’t mean I feel prepared for winter. Not mentally prepared and not physically…
2017 Toyota Highlander Hybrid: A 7-Passenger SUV Made for the Road
Safety and creature comforts are key to road trip happiness. That and snacks. And the ability to easily access snacks. All are part of the well-designed 2017 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Add the great gas mileage from a hybrid and even those annoying interstate traffic jams get slightly less irritating. Or, at the very least, they…
Roomy 4 Door Cars – Why the Midsize 2017 VW Passat Works for Families
If you need room inside a car, the 2017 VW Passat has you covered. Since they were big enough to be out of car seats, my kids have complained there wasn’t enough leg room in the back seats of cars—including the SUV we drove for most of their teen years. Too bad for them we…
10 Reasons the 2018 Honda Odyssey Makes a Great Road Trip Car for Families
Just about any car can go on a road trip. But not just any car can be a great road trip car. The 2018 Honda Odyssey can proudly wear the title “Road Trip Car.” This hot little number is filled with creature comforts, storage space, terrific tech and just about everything a family needs to…