Tag: chevy
I had so much fun at WayHome Music & Arts Festival last year that I made sure to get tickets early to this year’s fest, which took place about two weeks ago.
And while I bought tickets months ago, the rest of the trip came together last minute: I’d booked a bed and breakfast near Burl’s Creek (because I just don’t think I’m cut out for music fest camping!) but I had my heart set on Forks in the Trail, which is where we stayed last year but it was all booked when I tried to reserve. But lucky for us, a room opened up about a week prior, huzzah! Tricia and Doug are lovely hosts, the breakfasts are ample and delicious (these pancakes were fluffy and filling, important when fueling for many hours at the fest!), and there’s the gorgeous pool to relax at all morning before driving the 20 minutes to WayHome.
A few days before WayHome, I also was able to firm up test-driving a Chevy Cruze from GM to get us to the Oro-Medonte. I’ve driven one before (in Nashville in April; you can read about that trip here) but my drive time there was brief so it was good to get more time behind the wheel of a Cruze.
The Cruze feels small enough that it doesn’t feel like I’m taking up a ton of room on the road but yet not so small that it’s intimidating to be driving alongside big trucks (I find when in some very tiny cars you can feel like the big cars will take you out!). There’s plenty of space so it’s definitely comfortable in terms of leg room; we were only two people in the car but if I’d been able to drive up other folks to the fest, there was plenty of space for both more passengers and bags. And that’s even with me packing way too many clothes (yes, I manage to over-pack still despite how regularly I travel).
As always, one of my fave features is the wifi in the car. Although I didn’t get to use it much as the designated driver, it gives me peace of mind to have it. There’s also a spot to place your cell phone (and if you’re like me, your smartphone is your most important tool!), so it’s tucked there safely (there’s wireless charging too, except I personally don’t have the type of battery to use it). With Apple Carplay, my iPhone’s maps, music, messages and phone were easily connected to the vehicle. If I’d had time before our road trip, I could’ve loaded my iTunes with the Killers, Major Lazer, Haim and Beirut to get us excited for the weekend of music to come.
Features I also appreciate? Forward Collision Alert, Lane Keep Assist (although I certainly don’t rely on it, I like knowing the car has his feature especially on trip’s like this one where I’m the only driver and I may be tired), and Rear Cross Traffic Alert, to name just a few. Again, it’s of course important to practice good, safe driving, but having these features to help us be extra safe when driving is helpful and a comfort, especially for someone like me who isn’t driving very regularly.
The Cruze helped us find our WayHome (and our way home, get it? OK, bad joke) smoothly and safely (and in this brilliant blue, it made it easy to find in the fest’s parking lot).
And there’s more finding new roads coming soon! Later this week, I’ll be Cruze-ing again as I’m doing another road-trip adventure with a Chevy Cruze! Follow on Instagram and Snapchat (my profile is healthswellness) to find out more on Thursday!
August 9, 2016
Last week, Chevrolet Canada invited me to travel to Nashville to find new roads behind the wheel of a Chevy Cruze. It was a quick trip but with a full itinerary, we managed to fit a fair amount of exploring Nashville and its outskirts. It was my first time in Tennessee, and I was struck by how lush and green it was as the plane was making its descent.
Another lovely surprise? Everyone is so warm and friendly. Although my hometown of Toronto has some good points, friendly people is not one of them. Nor is good customer service (CS is the pits here). So I was completely caught off guard in Nashville by (gasp) people actually greeting me and even chatting.
On my first day in Nashville, I took out the Chevy Cruze LT by myself and went to explore Marathon Village. Here, the Marathon Factory building dates back to 1881 and it now is filled with studios and loads of shops selling fun items, such as Antique Archeology, where there was a very creepy mummified boy and other oddities.
I initially made my way to Marathon Village because Chevy told me The Bang Candy Company had a stash of candy for the crew in town for the Chevy Cruze adventure. There I picked up my homemade marshmallows, and was mighty temped by their simple syrups (which I passed on since I was traveling only with a carry-on).
I don’t drive that regularly and am not fond of driving in a new city, and I’d say in general I’m always stressed about getting lost, but thanks to the Chevy Cruze being the most connected car in its class, I didn’t have to worry. The Cruze has 4G LTE wifi available on all models, and Apple Carplay and Android Auto standard. And should I need to make a call, I knew I would be able to do so easily and safely thanks to hands-free calling and standard Siri Eyes Free voice recognition (as long as the iPhone is running iOS 6 or later, which would you believe mine is? I’m terrible about updating my operating system…). Oh, and the navigation features 3D map views for major cities and attractions.
Nashville aka Music City is famous for being storytelling and we were treated to a lovely dinner at Little Octopus (where we ate family style courses including some of the best roast chicken with salsa verde I’ve had, along with some tasty farro cakes, a juicy burger, and more. All while listening to some superb live country music. The four artists who performed during dinner are the songwriters behind some of the top country songs by the who’s who in cuntry (think Kenny Chesney, for example). While I didn’t recognize any of the songs (not a country music fan — I don’t think Taylor Swift counts, right?), the music was mellow and quite moving. Full of good food and in a good mood, we returned to the Hutton Hotel and called it a night (OK, fine, we had one last drink at the hotel first).
The next day, bright and early, we all partnered up and chose a Chevy Cruze and were given an itinerary for the day. My friend Jonathan of MrCavaliere.com and I piled into our Cruze and set out to find new roads.
We met up with the Cruze squad first at a pit stop at Country View Amish Market in Charlotte, where the staff was just lovely, the fried pies irresistible and the bacon dressing (aka a jar of bacon fat) mighty tempting (gd the no-fluids more than 100 mL flight rule!). From there, Jonathan and I got lost (don’t ask — my bad, I misunderstood something in the itinerary), but he maneuvered our Cruze easily on the windy country roads (the 2016 Cruze is 2.7 inches longer, but up to 250 pounds lighter on the L, LS and LT, which makes the car more nimble and feels more controllable, plus this also optimizes the performance and efficiency of the powertrain — so I’m told; I confess: the feature I was most excited about in the Cruze is the wireless phone charging, if only I had the battery that does wireless charging!).
Eventually, we made it to The Country Boy in Leiper’s Fork, which is pretty much everything you hope for in a Nashville countryside diner. I mean, check out the adorableness of our server.
Here, I ate what is quite possibly the best fried chicken sandwich of my life. Jonathan and I had agreed to share the entire meal, including some fried green tomatoes, so we could try more menu items, but with my first bite of the sandwich, I wished we had just gone for two chicken sandwiches instead of the catfish plate. The bun is so soft and light (so it doesn’t overwhelm the incredible juicy chicken) and the chicken isn’t too heavily battered, so it’s very chicken-y (can’t you tell that I write for a living!?).
We slurped up two milkshakes with our lunch and then poked around Leiper’s Fork, where there were a few galleries of great gifts and art. I particularly fell for The Copper Fox Gallery, where I learned that the restored home it’s housed in is from the 1860s and the beautiful yellow door (and some of the floor) is original. I left empty-handed because we were pressed for time, and I must make it back there to spend more time shopping and to check out the other places I didn’t get a chance to pop into, such as Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant.
We did make a quick stop, though, to take a pic of General Lee (you know, the car from Dukes of Hazzard!)…
this awesome cop car…
and this vintage Chevy (how appropriate!)…
I got behind the wheel here and we made our way to Otis James, whose studio can be found in the “Makers area” in downtown Nashville. Otis is an artisan cap maker (his focus was previously bowties and ties, but now it’s caps that he makes by hand), and the majority of his work is custom work for clients.
Because I think Jonathan and I got caught up in the magic of finding new roads in Nashville, we completely missed out on the fact we were supposed to get to Otis James’s studio at a certain time. Oops. So we weren’t there when Chevy’s lead designers were there chatting design philosophies (sorry, Chevy!). We did have a lovely visit with Otis, though. He’s passionate about people knowing where their products come from and knowing where or why design elements are made. Mass production can make us all forget that there are actual people behind the design. Take the Chevy Cruze, for example. For Otis, he really wanted to know why, for example, leather was used for a certain element of the car but another material elsewhere. Besides his bespoke work, we also talked a lot about Canada, food, and upon hearing we hadn’t had much time in Nashville to really poke around, he promised me there’s more to Nashville than fried chicken.
Oh, and I fell in love with his shy dog, Maple, who I was determined to befriend. She seemed to want some attention but was just a little skittish.
Chatting away and taking photos at the studio, Jonathan and I both lost track of time and realized we had to get back to grab our shuttle to the airport. Fortunately, we were close to the Chevy hub and it should’ve only taken 10 minutes. Unfortunately, we got stuck in traffic (wow, Nashville, you’ve got some traffic!), but eventually we made it back and our Chevy Cruze adventure came to an end. We reluctantly handed back our keys and said so long to Nashville. It was an awesome adventure finding new roads with the Chevy Cruze (Thank you Chevrolet Canada!) and I I hope to be back in Music City real soon!
April 28, 2016
The “ultimate mobile device” is music to my ears. If you hang out with me for a day, it becomes obvious that I like to be connected–I’m often posting on social media (or checking what other people have posted), and, of course, I’m always working on getting shiz done–as a freelancer, I’m used to, and I’d say required to, always be on top of emails and texts–if an editor is trying to reach me, or if I’m offered an assignment, for example, I can’t afford to delay replying, and in spare time, say, waiting in line, I’m often reading news and articles and staying on top of trends on my iPhone.
So when I heard “ultimate mobile advice” from Chevy a few weeks ago, I was pretty curious. Turns out they were talking about the 2016 Chevy Spark, which is wifi-enabled; now, I can honestly tell you that I don’t know if I appreciate how much torque a car has (I always need to ask the GM pros to explain that concept to me each time I see them), but I do appreciate a car that has wifi.
To help us discover the Chevy Spark that day, which is affordably priced and thus making it a good option for the very first car buyer, we were asked to spend the day as millennials. Ironically, while I’m certainly not a millennial, I’ve never owned a car. (Well, I suppose I’ve partially owned two cars, but they were secondhand, so I don’t feel like that counts).
My first impressions of the Spark? As a visual person, I like the sleek and short (in height) lines of the Spark. It’s pretty darn cute and compact, wouldn’t you say? Especially in this Electric Blue shade (although I’d call it sky blue…), which I showed no shame on calling dibs on. The car’s lower profile, besides making it sleek and attractive, helps to reduce aerodynamic drag, making it more efficient, while changes made to the interior mean that the ample headroom inside hasn’t been affected. In addition, the interior now has upgraded materials, higher density seat foam for greater comfort and a great deal of attention to detail (I couldn’t help but notice the subtle pleasing graphic on the inside of the car doors and dashboard).
More exciting to me is that way your phone can be integrated with the car’s technology. If you have an iPhone 5 or later, the colour screen in the car displays content from it through Android Auto and Apple CarPlay features. Which means you can use apps from your phone including phone, messages, maps, music and more on the car display. The Spark’s MyLink radio features a touch colour display, and the interface is the one most of us know thanks to our smartphones (I wasn’t forever searching for where to press on the screen for once, since it looks much like my iPhone screen so it was easy to use, plus you can swipe and pinch, for example, much in the same way you use your smartphone). Oh, one of my fave features: many of the features on both Android Auto (such as Google Maps) and Apple CarPlay can be controlled by voice command through a button on the steering wheel; my friends who drive have all had me lecture them if I find out they text and drive–those dangers of texting and driving PSAs really hit a nerve with me, what can I say, so anything that helps drivers keep their eyes and attention on the road, is important to me.
The Spark’s engine is all new, but I’m not going to talk engines because I’m not an expert on them (yet–but I’m driving more often it seems to trying to learn more); I’ll leave that to the hardcore car experts to describe to you. As for price, the Spark LS starts at $9,995 and at the top end is the 2LT, which starts at 18, 195.
After taking the Spark for a quick drive to get a feel for the car (during which we stumbled upon the Humber College Lakeshore campus–how appropriate given our millennial theme of the day!), we were given one task from Chevy: to go to IKEA armed with $100 from them and shop for items to donate to a worthy cause of our choice. A friend of mine is helping a number of Syrian families get settled into Toronto, so Megan of www.immrfabulous.com (my friend and buddy for this Chevy Spark day) and I picked up a ton of kitchen staples such as plates, pots, tools and the like, loaded them into the trunk (surprisingly spacious given the compact feel of the car) and then dropped off the IKEA haul to my friend.
Then with the millennial lunch budget Chevy gave us, we filled our growling bellies with delicious, affordable vegetarian bowls at Fresh. (But let’s face it, a truly budget-friendly meal when you’re in college is more like a 99 cent package of ramen! Or a poutine. I lived off of poutine in CEGEP!)
Good deed of the day done, while getting to test out this zippy little car, which thanks to its compact size was a dream to park (one of my least favourite driving tasks!), we reluctantly gave back the keys to Chevy Spark and bid adieu to our day as millennials with their first new car.
Can’t wait to see what my next adventure on the road is with GM!
April 6, 2016
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