#JukeRideMIA

Recently I was invited to test drive the all new Nissan Juke. One Friday morning I along with the wife headed down to South Beach. We met the New Juke along with Nissan's Marketing and Product team. Before I go any further let me say that the Juke will never ever be confused with any other car on the road. Nissan does a real good job on distinctive styling that doesn't scare away the public. By taking cues from the GT-R and 370Z, they have made it very appealing. The Juke is an eye catching little cross over or "Sport Cross" . It has a direct-injected 4 cylinder engine that's turbo-charged packing 188 horses and 177 ft/lbs of torque. The interior is roomy for a big guy like me, but I wouldn't spend too much time in the back seats. Fuel economy is great around 30 miles per gallon and with that kind of power under your right foot, that's always a good quality to have. The Rockford Fosgate audio system is top notch and the nav system will make sure you don't get lost.

We all met at the trendy Yuca Cuban restaraunt and once the other bloggers arrived we were told that we woould be going on a scavenger hunt through out Miami. There were 3 Jukes of different trim levels. After a brief walk through, we were given the keys and our first clue. I got the black one which is my favorite color. The car I was in had a 6 speed manual gearbox, the other 2 had the CVT gearbox. Once my wife was in, we were off to Uncle Sam's Music Cafe on Washington ave. We were given $40.00 in gift certificates to buy cruising music. I got Michael Jackson Number Ones (you can't go wrong with the King of Pop).

Once we got our second clue we were off like a shot. We had to go to the American Airlines Arena and take pics by the triple "A" sculpture. The driving position was perfect. Not too high that you needed a ladder to get in and not too low that you feel that your butt is centimeters off the ground. I noticed no turbo lag whatsoever and this thing is very quick. As we cruised along the causeway we had no problems weaving through traffic. We pulled up to the triple "A" sculpture grabbed some quick snapshots and our next clue and we were off.

We took some of the backstreets to the next destination. I wanted to see how well the Juke handled not so perfect roads. Let me say it soaked up all of the bumps, cracks, potholes and railroad tracks like a champ. Our third photo-op was some of Miami's beautiful graffiti in the design district. After fielding questions of what we thought, we were given our final clue. The last place was Kennedy Park in Coconut Grove. I was really excited about this because it meant that we had to get on I-95. This would give me the chance to stretch the Juke's legs and see what she's really got. Needless to say that the Juke did not disappoint. As I climbed through the gears there always seemed to be power galore. The engine was smooth and not buzzy. Once we arrived at the park we set off for our final photo-op. When that was all over we headed back to Yuca for lunch. All in all we had a great time in the Juke and I'm sure that this will be Nissan's next big hit. Oh, did I mention that for a price of around $19,000, it's extremely affordable too.

Disclosure: During this event, Nissan provided each car with $40 in gift cards for Uncle Sam’s music, various snacks and drinks throughout the hunt, an upscale lunch at Yuca Restaurant, and a new Flip Video Camera, valued at about $200. These items did not influence my opinion of their product in any way.

Lexus Safety Experience

Recently I was invited to the Lexus Safety Experience. I along with other bloggers from the area were given the chance to test the safety features that Lexus and its parent company Toyota incorporates in their vehicles. After a brief presentation and explanation of the various features, we were divided up in to three groups. Each group reported to a different station and there we were introduced to professional drivers.

First up was the Anti-Lock Braking course. Here we were given two Lexus IS 350's to drive. One of the cars had its anti-lock braking (abs) system disabled. We were instructed to speed down the course and once we hit a pre-determined spot, just slam on the brakes. On the car with no abs, you just kept going forward out of control. Boy did I kill a lot of cones. On the car with the abs you were still able to control the vehicle enough to maintain the course.

The Smart Stop course was next, I was happy to be getting into a larger car, being that the IS was way too small for me, but I'm sure it was fun to watch me squeeze in and out of it. Smart-Stop is a brake override system that reduces power to the car when the brakes and the accelerator pedal are pressed at the same time. To test this out they let us drive a GS350 and a ES 350. Our instructors explained how the system work and how we were to use it. First car up was the silver GS350. First part of the course was to speed up to 20 miles per hour and then press the car's start/stop button for 4 seconds. This completely turns off all of the power to the car. With the car off we managed to to steer it around the oval unti it stopped. After re-starting the car, it was off to the next part of the course. we sped up to 20 mph and at hit the brakes while pressing down on the gas pedal. The instructor said it would be a strange feeling to brake with the left foot and he didn't lie. The car slowed down as the Smart-Stop kicked in. Pretty neat.

Finally it was off to the final course, now this one seemed like it was going to be the most fun. A giant blue tarp was spread out over the tarmac. I was to test the the Vehicle Stability Control (vsc) and the Traction Control (trac). Once again our instructor explained how the system worked and the escorted us to identical RX350's. Once inside and secured, I was instructed to pull up to the edge of the blue tarp. The instructor turned off the traction control then someone squirted dish soap onto the front wheels. I was told to accelerate and the wheels started to spin as if I were driving in icy conditions. I stopped at the other end of the tarp. The next part of the course we tested the vsc. With the vsc turned off I pulled up to spot were it simulated a dirt road. The instructor told me to accelerate and turn the wheel which the RX just seemed like it was about to spin out of control (more dead cones). Once we recovered it was back to the blue tarp. With the traction control on and lots of dish soap, I stepped on the gas the wheels spun briefly but then became as sure footed as if we were driving on asphalt. With the VSC turned on we went to the dirt patch. Again I stepped on the gas then turned the wheel and again it was as if we were glued to the ground. The system was not intrusive all you heard was a small series of beeps to let you know the system was doing its job.

Now that the fun was over it was time for lunch. Which I must say was very delish. Overall I was very impressed with all of the safety feautres and the dedication to quality in the Lexus vehicles. I will definitely need to add Lexus to my wish list.

My First Love

Ask any man what was his first love and chances are that he'll say his cars. Whether they were Hot Wheels, Matchbox or Johhny Lightning 500. Mention them and a smile comes over their faces as they remember days gone by of running plastic tracks all through the house. Though the first love of a girl is tops in most mens book, the love of cars reside in an even deeper spot.

A boy in high school with his first set of wheels is king of the roads. The freedom is intoxicating, driving where and when he wants to go. Not having to rely on dad's truck or mom's mini-van is an awsome thing. Many women become jealous of this bond. How many times have you heard a woman slashing tires, scratching paint, & bustin' windows (thanks Jazmine).

Everyman has a dream car, the one car that he would be willing to put out the wife and kids for, the one that he dreams about when wins the lottery or retires. I know what I want what about you?