Buying a car is more than just picking out interiors and how much horsepower it has but more importantly how it makes you feel.  Mazda lives by the motto, “Hashiru Yorokobi” the “exhilaration and liberation felt from being moved.”  They believe that “We exist to make people experience the unique Mazda feeling of exhilaration, joy and wellbeing that will enrich their everyday lives and make them smile.”  Have you ever heard a car manufacturer talk about how you feel in the car except for asking if the seat is positioned correctly?  I certainly have never heard anyone explain how they make cars the way Mazda does.  

An advantage of living in San Diego is that I am only 5.5 hours away from the Phoenix metro area by car to see the "Boys Of Summer" in Spring Training.  My husband and I have done this trip a few years back but this time Toyota invited us an epic spring training trip we could not refuse!

In August my husband and I were able to test drive three different Jeeps for a week each and now I am in love!  I have always thought that they were very cool vehicles with all of their off-roading capabilities  The Jeeps we drove were the 2016 Jeep Renegade, the 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT and the 2016 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.  I will tell you which one was my favorite a little later.

I am sure when I say road trip, certain destinations come in mind that you want to do.  I have a couple myself and thanks to Toyota I got to have an epic southwest adventure!

We flew from San Diego to Dallas and picked up the new Avalon Hybrid to drive back to San Diego. I have to admit I am pretty anal about packing and what goes where so of course when we started putting our luggage in the car I had a method for where things went since one bag had some food and photography gear. The Avalon had more than enough space for me to arrange things for easy access and for me to recline in the passenger seat when not driving.

Time has really flown by since I went on a camping trip to Joshua Tree National Park with Mazda. I got to drive a CX-5 to Joshua Tree and around the area. I also got to drive the CX-3. Mazda's tagline #DivingMatters really hit home with this trip because if I did not drive I would not have been able to see all the things I saw on this amazing trip.

Chick Vacations was invited to try out the new Nissan Juke in Chicago and we loved it.  The Juke has such great style and maneuverability.  In a world where most cars look almost identical to each other the Juke really stands out.

Nissan has been having test drives of the Juke throughout the country before they release it for purchase in early October.  When I arrived to test drive the Juke we were told that they had a plan for us to see how the Juke really worked so we were going on a scavenger hunt through Chicago's streets and expressways.  After a tour of the car and explanation of all the great details in the car we were allowed to choose a car to drive.