By Russ Heaps
Clanging Bell

(April 16, 2016)  I'm not the kind of guy who sniffs at another opportunity to visit San Diego, despite returning there three or four times a year. Although some of the same elements of life in this area, such as cost of living, would discourage me from ever moving there, as they were key in my moving out of South Florida, I still love to visit San Diego. What's not to like?

By Russ Heaps
Clanging Bell

(March 27, 2016) I'm not the kind of guy who breaks the rules; well, not many...um, at least not all of them. So, I have been patiently sitting by my keyboard for the past week waiting for Chrysler's embargo to expire for the drive evaluations of its 2017 Pacifica that I was lucky enough to experience in California in mid-March.

By Russ Heaps
The Clanging Bell

(February 16, 2016) I'm not the kind of guy who refuses to travel to the snow belt for an auto show simply because it's mid winter. I am the kind of guy who won't spend his own money to do it. That's why I haven't been to the Detroit show in 10 years. Fortunately, Nissan steps up and underwrites the cost for somewhere between 100 and 200 auto media to make the pilgrimage to the Chicago Auto Show's media days each February.

By Russ Heaps
Clanging Bell

(December 20, 2015) I'm not the kind of guy who turns his nose up at the opportunity for a two-day drive simply because I've made the same trip a few times in the past. That the trip in question wound up in Albuquerque, where I find myself at least twice a year visiting family, doesn't mean I shouldn't go, should it? I mean, it's not the destination; it's the journey, right? Right.

By Russ Heaps
Clanging Bell

(December 7, 2015) I'm not the kind of guy that digs in his heels when a carmaker attempts to book him tickets on an airline on which he has no clout, but if I can finagle a way to fly my-airline-of-choice Delta, I am not beyond doing it. Truth be told: I'm not high enough in the media pecking order to demand much of anything. I'm the Oliver Twist of motoring journalists, holding out my pathetic little bowl and uttering “Please, sir, I want some more.”

By Russ Heaps
Clanging Bell

(November 26, 2015) I'm not the kind of guy who needs an excuse to head to South Florida. Just because I no longer wish to live there doesn't mean I don't want to visit and visit often. I do and I do. So, when the Miami International Auto Show (MIAS) reaches out with an invite to its extravaganza thrown the first week of November each year, I'm all over it.

By Russ Heaps
Clanging Bell

(November 1, 2015) I'm not the kind of guy to hold a grudge. Well, not usually. There is that kid who sucker punched me in second grade over some sort of playground teeter-totter dispute. If I ever run into her again, she'll get a stern talking to. But, generally, I try to look ahead and not into the rearview mirror. So when, after years of not being invited to Honda Civic media-launch events, Honda did include me in its recent media first-drive of the Civic in the Los Angeles area, I jumped at the opportunity.

By Russ Heaps
Clanging Bell

(September 6, 2015) I'm not the kind of guy who turns down a carmaker's invitation to San Francisco simply because I don't much care for the place. So when I received the nod from AutoTrader to represent it at the recent Volvo event there, I cowboyed up and went.