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Written by Brandy Schaffels
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 I'm typing this on an airplane on my way home to Los Angeles, marveling over where my travels have taken me over the last week:
More than 8000 miles on three airlines (Northwest, American, Frontier), six different airports (Los Angeles 4x, Chicago Midway 2x, Las Vegas McCarren, Denver 2x, Chicago OHare, and Detroit 2x), and a total of eight separate planes (On Friday, I identified each animal emblazoned on the tails of my four Frontier flights; I've since forgotten their cute names, but the animals were a wolf, a rabbit, an elk, and a moose). Needless to say, I'm a little travel weary.
My job as an automotive journalist and blogger has provided many opportunities to travel; auto shows, vehicle product reveals, and educational conferences take me away from home about once a month. This week, I had two short trips bookended around Mother's Day: The first was the "Marketing 2 Women" conference in Chicago, and the second was an overnighter to Detroit to co-star in a short Prestone video intended to help moms get ready for summer road trips .
While the opportunities are exciting enough on their own, Monday's flight brought a whole new adventure to traveling.
Continue reading 'On My Way Home, Again.'  Comments (1) | Views: 18
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Written by D.H. Lecter
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It’s summer vacation time and you’re looking for a portable navigation system. The question is which one?
Continue reading 'GPS Portable Navigation Systems with Real-Time Tra...' Be first to comment on this article | Views: 51 |
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Written by Rich Truesdell
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"Classic Motorsport Routes: 30 Legendary Routes You Can Drive Today" by Richard Meaden
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I am a road trip junkie; this should come as no surprise since I edit a magazine called Automotive Traveler. Road trips are and remain an important part of my life. They are literally what drives me. I often joke about the weight of the large number of travel guidebooks that cause the shelves of the bookcases that line my office to groan.
Continue reading 'The Automotive Traveler Bookshelf - Classic Motors...' Be first to comment on this article | Views: 162 |
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Written by Rich Truesdell
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Be a part of the virtual Automotive Traveler editorial team and help us choose the version of the Challenger Vanishing Point feature that will appear in our next issue.
The Automotive Traveler editorial team is currently working hard on issue five. We know that it’s been a while since we’ve last published a complete issue and we’ve used some of that time to get added content to automotivetraveler.com. Most of the delay has been due in part to new enhancements to our presentation we want to incorporate, many of which were suggested by our readers. Continue reading 'Automotive Traveler Editors Want Your Input' Be first to comment on this article | Views: 119 |
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Written by Rich Truesdell
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GM builds a word-class sports sedan that hits on all cylinders
 With its revitalization of Cadillac, GM has proven that when their designers, stylists, and engineers are unleashed, they can produce world class products. Nowhere is that more evident than with the all-new 2008 Cadillac CTS. In one fell swoop, Cadillac has gone from a bit player in the under $40,000 sport sedan category, to a world class competitor with the leading brands from Germany (Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz) and Japan (Infiniti and Lexus). It’s a game-changing paradigm shift.
Continue reading '2008 Cadillac CTS DI Performance Sedan' Be first to comment on this article | Views: 133 |
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Written by Richard Truesdell
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Automotive Traveler's Editorial Director reviews his choices for the ten most spectacular drives and the cars that make the most of each route.
 I can honestly say that life's treated me pretty damn well. I had a run as a high school social studies teacher immediately after graduating college, I owned an automotive electronics specialty store for 15 years, and since then have lived the life of an automotive journalist combining my two life's passions: driving some of the world's greatest cars on some of this planet's most challenging roads. The journey led me to establish Automotive Traveler, an online-only digital magazine dedicated to the proposition that every trip is an adventure.
Many times over the years I've been asked about my favorite driving roads. Up until six months ago I had never seriously compiled such a list. I've updated my original selections, keeping eight and replacing two, based on dozens of trip notes and thousands of photographs I've taken over the last 25 years.
- The Inca Trail in a Ferrari 599
- The Vanishing Point Route in a Dodge Challenger
- The Nurburgring to Le Mans in a Ford GT
- The Furka Pass in Switzerland in a Chrysler Crossfire SRT6
- Route 66 in four classic American muscle cars
- London to Maranello in a Dodge Viper
- The Hafeet Mountain Road in the UAE
- The Alaskan and Dalton Highways in an Audi A6 Avant quattro
- The Normandy beaches in a WW II-era Jeep
- A832 in NW Scotland in a European Ford Focus coupe-cabriolet
If you'd like to share my impressions of each of these combinations, read on.
Continue reading 'Top 10 Adventure Drives' Be first to comment on this article | Views: 123 |
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Written by Rich Truesdell
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When the soft-roader in question is as complete and competent as the all-new 2009 Subaru Forester.
 In a class populated by posers and wannabees, Subaru has literally taken the high road with a completely new Forester that raises the bar in the increasingly-competitive small CUV or crossover utility category. While some call these vehicles "soft-roaders" because their off-road abilities are so compromised, the Forester proves conclusively that this need not be the case; here's a compact CUV that can play with the big boys.
Continue reading 'When Is a Soft-Roader Not a Soft-Roader?' Be first to comment on this article | Views: 150 |
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Written by Rich Truesdell
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 As I travel by air up to 20 weeks out of the year, I’m always looking for new tools that help me get the lowest price, the most convenient flights, and the greatest comfort while in the air. It’s an ever-changing matrix, especially in this era of $125/barrel oil as airlines try to adjust to a playing field that changes every day. In the past kayak.com has been my primary search site for airfares, with orbitz.com coming in a close second, and seatguru.com helping me find the most comfortable seat. Now I’m adding three more web sites to the mix: insidetrip.com, vayama.com, and yapta.com.
Continue reading 'Getting the Best Price, Schedule, and Seat on Your...' Comments (1) | Views: 149 |
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Written by Rich Truesdell
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 Over the years I’ve made no secret of my opinion that the travel section in each Friday’s issue of USA Today, called Destinations & Diversions, is among the best in the nation. It’s something I look forward to each Friday morning with that first cup of joe while watching Morning Joe on MSNBC. Each week's top ten list is, in my opinion, the best of its kind.
As a road warrior and very frequent flyer, I’ve long turned to USA Today’s aviation blogger Ben Mutzabaugh for the latest information on airports, airlines, and the overall flying experience. On occasion, I’ve contributed to his forum. You can check out my rant yesterday, under my “autotronic” screen name, on the potential merger between United and US Airways.
Yesterday, Ben’s blog received a visual upgrade to first class and “Today in the Sky” is now more useful than ever. I suggest that you check it out at www.flights.usatoday.com.
Be first to comment on this article | Views: 125 |
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Written by Rich Truesdell
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 Like everyone here at Automotive Traveler, our friends over at CarDomain.com, who covered our recent Dodge Challenger Dream Drive extensively, are always up for a good road trip. No one is more so than online editor Jen Dunnaway. She’s in the hot seat in a Subaru STi, part of the Boxer4Racing team on this year’s One Lap of America. Follow all of her travails at her blog over on CarDomain.com.
Continue reading 'CarDomain.com on the One Lap of America' Be first to comment on this article | Views: 175 |
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Written by Brandy Schaffels on behalf of Chaucer the Dog
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Chaucer the Terrier, best known around these parts for his starring role in the AutomotiveTraveler.com column Travels with Chaucey sent out this letter today, and asked me to share it with you.
 Howdy, Friends!
Today is a day of celebration: It is both "Cinco de Mayo" AND the Official launch date of my fully redesigned and expanded website, ChaucerSeesAmerica.com!
"Wait a moment, little terrier," I hear you saying. "What does a holiday with a Spanish name have to do with the launch of a site called Chaucer Sees AMERICA? And, is that a genuine serape you're wearing?!"
Continue reading 'Speak, Chaucer, Speak!' Be first to comment on this article | Views: 210 |
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Written by Rich Truesdell
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World Exclusive
 In just a matter of weeks the all-new 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 will go on sale, promising to be this year’s car du jour. Inspired by its iconic namesake, the 1970 to 1974 Dodge Challenger, the new Challenger updates the formula, culling design cues from the past and combining them with a highly efficient modern drivetrain. The question remains: will we find the combination irresistible or an arrow that misses the mark? We’ll have 3,000 miles to find out on a very special road trip as our backdrop.
Continue reading '2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 3000-Mile Road Test' Comments (3) | Views: 895 |
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Written by Cindy-Lou Dale
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 I was expecting to see a side to SA that television documentaries don’t show, which is something only a local knows - where it’s all secreted away. You see you need to live in a country, not just drive through it to get a feel for the place. And the feel I got was one of a ticking time-bomb. The black/white hostilities are still there and probably always will be and the gap between the haves and the have not’s is ever widening.
Continue reading 'The Rainbow Nation' Be first to comment on this article | Views: 296 |
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