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…
USED: 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…
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…
USED: Next Generation Miata: 2017 Mazda MX 5 is a Hot Car at a Cool Price
A hot sports car for around $30,000? Yes, ma’am. When this gorgeous red sports car was delivered to my driveway, it was a show stopper. And that was before I opened the hard top. That spiffy little 12-second process had the neighbors stopping to stare. I’m not a car freak. For nearly a dozen years…
The Exhilaration of Acceleration: 9 Things to Know Before Your 1st Track Driving Lesson
It’s surprising how exhilarating it can be to drive over 100 mph. Exhilarating and addicting. I’ll admit it: I was a little apprehensive about the idea of learning to drive on a track. But if we aren’t learning, we aren’t growing, right? So when the Midwest Automotive Media Association (nickname: MAMA, it’s a Chicago-based group…
7 Road Trip Packing Tips for Long Road Trips
A Great American road trip requires a Great American packing strategy! Hubby and I drive from Chicago to Florida and back at least once a year. We’ve done it in one day and we’ve taken as much as a week to make the drive. We definitely prefer the lazy, meandering approach. But spending any more…
7 Summer Car Care Tips to Help You (and Your Car) Keep Cool
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…
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…