car reviews

Leave a comment Posted on August 6, 2014 car reviews, parenting, reviews, Uncategorized

Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville: Family Friendly Review

Both last summer and this summer, our family has made a habit of attending the Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, home of the All American 400, to watch the races.

For a very affordable price (usually tickets are $10 but children 5 and under are free), your family can attend several races featuring many types and sizes of racecars, lasting a couple of hours. (Parking is $5.)

There is no doubt it is entertaining. I think of it as “NASCAR on a budget.”

You can tell that many of the drivers are apparently self-funded, with spray painted race cars and taped on numbers on the sides of the trucks.

I always like to root for those underdogs! (Meanwhile, my young son is smart enough to cheer for the cars at the front of the line-up; since they were the fastest during the time-qualifying pre-race.)

When we’re in the mood for an all-American, blue collar kind of family fun event, this is where we go.

I will say that much of the fan base smokes cigarettes… and this is an open-air event.

In fact, the demographics for the Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville are so predictably smokers, that when you first walk in to the event after handing in your ticket, the first thing you see is a booth in which an e-cigarette vendor is eager to convert anyone they think are smokers.

However, your family can avoid most of the cigarette smoke by sitting in the C section, which is specifically set aside for families: Smoking and drinking are not allowed in that section.

There are some who try to sneak doing it, but typically the hired security guards catch them.

Our family is always entertained when we visit the Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville. Again, it’s inexpensive and entertaining; not to mention, it’s full of Southern flare.

If you end up checking it out, you may see our family there in the C section. Thanks for reading Family Friendly Daddy Blog today!

6 Comments Posted on July 30, 2014August 10, 2014 car reviews, reviews, Uncategorized

2015 Lexus NX Review/Preview Across The Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge

Despite living in Nashville since September 11, 2005, I had never been to the iconic Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge.

Fortunately, I was invited by Lexus to test drive their upcoming NX to it; serving as a perfect, and not to mention, beautiful, test drive.

Seeing the bridge in person somehow made me think of the setting of The Hunger Games…

I enjoyed walking the trail leading underneath the bridge. My co-driver Jason Muxlow of Automotive Trends thought he lost me there for a minute after I disappeared while he was taking pictures of the NX as we were stopped at the scenic view parking lot.

As far as driving the Lexus NX for the test drive, the very first word that came to mind was “effortless”. I had nearly driven all the way back to the Union Station Hotel before thinking to myself, “Oh yeah, I’m driving a Lexus NX right now, and I have been for the past 30 minutes. Soak this in right now; this is a big deal.”

I mean that as a good thing. It’s like when I hear a good classic song, like “1979” by The Smashing Pumpkins, for example. It takes me to a different place for a few minutes and it’s not until the song ends that I realize that escape itself is proof that I love it.

In case you’re wondering, the NX is a small sport-utilility vehicle, but it looks and feels like a sports-car.

Obviously, the folks at Lexus make sure their vehicles provide a certain kind of experience. For me, and I have reviewed many Lexus vehicles by now, there’s this quiet, subtle power that comes with the experience of driving one.

I’m not the kind of guy who likes huge, loud, obnoxious, attention-stealing vehicles. Granted, every time I review a Lexus, I see people turning their heads and then trying to pretend they’re not once they see me catching them.

Something that I particularly appreciated about the Lexus NX is its size. I like that it feels lower to the ground, handles perfectly, and has the right amount of power.

Usually I would close with some official stats on the car, but since the NX is still just a prototype, I can only give estimates.

According my notes taken during the “True Grit, Pure Grace” Lexus NX Press Premiere, the estimated cost of the vehicle will be “less than $40K.”

The targeted demographic is “men and women in their 30s and 40s who are single or married with young kids, having a combined household income of $130K.”

Estimated gas milage will be 22 city, 28 highway, and 24 average.

For the hybrid version, it will be 31 city, 35 highway, and 33 average.

Some other features of the 2015 Lexus NX include the following:

-All new 2.0-liter, 235 horsepower turbocharged gasoline engine with a combination water-cooled cylinder head, integrated exhaust manifold and twin scroll turbocharger.

-All new six-speed automatic transmission networks with turbo engine and torque to demand ideal level of boost pressure for quick response for quick-response performance and fuel economy.

-G-Force Artificial Intelligence (G-AI) system automatically selects optimum gear and downshift pattern in response to G-Force.

-Pre-loaded front differential (and yaw rate feedback control on proactive all-weather AWD versions) to ensure optimum grip, control, and agility.

-Wireless Charging Tray for compatible phones and devices.

-Lexus Remote Touch Interface (RTI) with a touch pad and comprehensive Multi-information Display that features a G-Force meter and boost gauge.

I would also normally tell what my 3 year-old Jack said about the vehicle, but since he was at daycare while I did the test drive, he was unavailable for an interview.

All I know is that he’s looking forward to me officially reviewing it once it’s available to the general public sometime around November 2014.

That’s it for today! Thanks for reading my review/preview.

If you’ve enjoyed reading about the Lexus NX today…

And there’s plenty more where those came from…

I now invite you to view the Lexus NX Press Release Flickr page, as well as the completely library of posts I’ve published on the 2015 Lexus RX:

The “True Grit, Pure Grace” Lexus NX Press Preview In Nashville, TN

2015 Lexus NX Review/Preview Across The Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge

Vegan Review Of The Farm House In Downtown Nashville

2015 Lexus NX 200t: 10 Professional Photos

2015 Lexus NX 300h: 11 Professional Photos

2015 Lexus NX 200t F Sport: 13 Professional Photos

Luxury Package of 2015 Lexus NX 200t F Sport: 7 Professional Photos

2015 Lexus NX: A Flickr Link To Professional Photos

Thanks for stopping by. Be on the look-out for more of my reviews on the Lexus/Toyota/Scion family!

6 Comments Posted on July 30, 2014August 10, 2014 car reviews, reviews, Uncategorized

The “True Grit, Pure Grace” Lexus NX Press Preview In Nashville, TN

This week I had the honor and privilege of being invited by Lexus to the official reveal of their upcoming NX, which will not officially hit the showrooms until at least this November.

The Lexus crew from Atlanta drove up to Nashville in eleven prototypes of their upcoming NX for their “True Grit, Pure Grace” press preview.

I personally only had to drive 12 miles to get to the classic Union Station Hotel from my house in Nashville. It seemed everyone else I met was from somewhere else on the eastern side of the United States; particularly the Detroit area or Florida.

I admit, it was pretty awesome to get to drive a luxury vehicle that technically doesn’t exist yet.

Out of the dozens of vehicles I’ve reviewed in the course of the past 3 years, largely the past 9 months, I’ve mentioned that the Toyota Rav4 was one of my favorites.

Simply put, it was a vehicle that would be extremely practical for me to own, as a dad with one small child- and that’s perhaps the highest compliment I can gave in a review.

With that being said, the upcoming Lexus NX is actually loosely modelled after the Toyota Rav4. Actually, my initial thought when seeing the picture of the NX in the invitation for the reveal was, “That looks like an edgier, more luxurious version of the Rav4.”

However, according to the presentation, I learned the Lexus NX has “20% more rigidity than the Rav4” and “90% new parts than the Rav4.”

(If the Rav4 is the cousin of the NX, then the Lexus RX would be the older brother; which I recently reviewed.)

After the presentation, we each immediately got paired up with another fellow journalist for one of three different driving routes.

I chose the longest route; to the Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge and back. So did Jason Muxlow of Automotive Trends. He was a really cool Midwestern guy and we had a lot in common.

Continue this story by clicking on “2015 Lexus NX Review/Preview Across The Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge,” which is the title of next part of my 2015 Lexus NX review/preview.

You will get to see plenty of cool shots of the vehicle alongside the trek of the iconic Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge.

And there’s plenty more where those came from…

I now invite you to view the Lexus NX Press Release Flickr page, as well as the completely library of posts I’ve published on the 2015 Lexus RX:

The “True Grit, Pure Grace” Lexus NX Press Preview In Nashville, TN

2015 Lexus NX Review/Preview Across The Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge

Vegan Review Of The Farm House In Downtown Nashville

2015 Lexus NX 200t: 10 Professional Photos

2015 Lexus NX 300h: 11 Professional Photos

2015 Lexus NX 200t F Sport: 13 Professional Photos

Luxury Package of 2015 Lexus NX 200t F Sport: 7 Professional Photos

2015 Lexus NX: A Flickr Link To Professional Photos

Thanks for stopping by. Be on the look-out for more of my reviews on the Lexus/Toyota/Scion family!

Leave a comment Posted on July 22, 2014 car reviews, parenting, reviews

Must Be Able To Crawl Through Small, Tight Spaces

May 6, 2014 at 10:16 pm , by Nick Shell

3 years, 5 months.

Dear Jack

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again:

You’re a much more daring little boy than I was at 3 years old; 30 years ago back in 1984.

Last week while test driving a Lexus IS-F for my other writing gig, you and I discovered a passageway that connects the trunk to the back set.

It’s a very small passageway, barely big enough for me to fit my head through.

We had just gotten home from school and you wanted to play in the car while Mommy started dinner.

With you in the trunk while the trunk door was open, I walked over to back seat passageway to look at you from the other side.

But in the 5 seconds it took me to get there, you had already decided to see if you could fit through the hole, and sure enough, you did. You squeezed through!

There you were, so proud of yourself for being my little proactive spelunker.

I admit, I find it quite impressive. That’s a good skill to have, right?

We learned a few days later that Mommy’s Honda Accord, as well as the Hyundai Azerawe’re driving this week, have similar passageways.

(I wonder if other little 3 year-olds across America have discovered this cool trick too?)

Like a Parrothead enjoying touring all the Margaritavilles in the world, you are now making a hobby out of crawling through various car trunks to the back seat.

I’ve been supervising the whole thing each day for the past week as I let you play in the car until dinner time.

That’s what dads are for, right? It’s part of my job description to help lead you to these adventures, also known asdadventures.

There are just some things you’re going to exclusively discover and experience thanks to your daddy. This is probably one of them.

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on July 22, 2014 car reviews, parenting

Daddy, How Do You Grow Up?

May 3, 2014 at 3:11 pm , by Nick Shell

3 years, 5 months.

Dear Jack,

There are some questions, as your dad, I can just not be prepared for.

On the way home from school last week, you asked a very logical question:

“Daddy, how do you grow up?”

While you’re still fuzzy on my actual age (you think I’m 4 years old), you do understand that eventually, you’ll grow up to be as tall as I am.

So I answered your question the way any dad would in that situation:

“Well, you just have to keep going to sleep every night… and each morning when you wake up, you’ll be just a little bit bigger.”

What’s interesting about the timing of your question is that we just happened to be driving one of the smallest cars on the road:

I was doing a review of the 2014 Fiat 500 at the time.

Maybe that’s what made you think of it; you were feeling so big in such a small car.

The questions have continued since then.

A few days later as I was helping you put on your shoes before we left for school, you asked, “Daddy, will these shoes get bigger when I grow up?”

I wish.

I can see you’re definitely fascinated by the process of physically growing bigger. In hindsight, I really don’t know that I could have answered your original question any better than I did.

Without getting all scientific, I think it really is that simple.

You go to sleep, you wake up, you’re a little bit bigger the next day.

I’m assuming my answer was best suited for a 3 year-old little boy like yourself.

Since then, I’ve heard you proudly explain to Mommy that the more you go to sleep at night, the sooner you’ll grow up.

It may be a coincidence, but I feel like here recently, you’ve put up less of a fight when it’s time for a nap or bedtime.

Hmm… I wonder why.

Love,

Daddy

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