An expanded media day program at this year’s Active Lifestyle Vehicle of the Year competition will feature a full day of driving, including off-road courses intended to demonstrate the capabilities of all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive. ALV is the only car-of-the-year program that combines the input of professional automotive journalists with elite and area athletes to determine which cars and trucks currently in production best meet the needs of buyers with active lifestyles. This year’s event is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, October 21 and 22.

The media day begins with an on-road drive from the San Marcos Hotel in downtown Chandler Arizona to lunch at Eagle Mountain golf club in Fountain Hills. After lunch, participants head northeast to the Butcher Jones Recreation Area in the Tonto National Forest for the off-road event. During the off-road program, journalists can continue to drive on-road vehicle entries through scenic nearby Bush Highway.

Automotive engineer and ALV jury panel member Eric Noble is overseeing the off-road program along with his colleagues at CARLAB, monitoring traffic flow and acting as a second set of eyes in challenging areas on the 20-minute out-and-back course. The out-and-back format facilitates driver swaps so all journalists will have adequate time behind the wheel of vehicle entries.

“As the sales of models with AWD increases, so does the interest in off-pavement exploration among adventurous buyers”, says Noble.  “This feature of ALV is intended to bridge the gap between normal pavement testing and the sort of extreme crawling that requires spotters and is prone to damage vehicles.”

The all-wheel drive course includes moderate elevation gain and a variety of surfaces including loose sand and rock. OEMs can tailor the course to show the specific capabilities of their vehicles by adding more challenging spurs off the main route.

The media program is the first day of ALV, with the athlete’s ride-and-drive and awards lunch on Saturday.

For additional information contact Sam Haymart, sam.haymart@steedpublications.com, Tyson Hugie, tysonhugie@yahoo.com, or Nina Russin, ninarussin@yahoo.com.

Interest in Cuba is on the rise with President Obama’s historic visit in March, but a couple of Phoenix-area residents beat him to the punch sharing their experiences at the April meeting of the Phoenix Automotive Press Association.

Brendy Priddy, known for her spy photography of yet-to-be-released cars, will lead her fourth trip to the island nation this fall. Ted Lagreid, a retired W.P. Carey & Co. exec, led an Arizona State Research team there just prior to Obama’s arrival.

Both agree Cuba is fascinating, the people fabulous, and change in the wind, but Lagreid adds “It’s very difficult in this country to get a balanced perspective.”

More straightforward, as evidenced by videos and photos seen recently, are the 60,000 vintage American cars on the road. That’s part of what attracted Priddy; some of her photos were featured in 2013 at a Chandler Center for the Arts exhibit. But her first trip was a KJZZ public radio people-to-people cultural exchange.

“I’ve always wanted to go to see the cars, but the people of Cuba were truly the highlight of my trip,” she says. “Being in the car industry, I realized that many of my friends, as well as the people that follow my journeys by way of my artwork, would also be interested in going, seeing the cars, the museums, and most of all – the people.”

Priddy has been very impressed with the people and the feeling of safety, walking around the cities at night. She fondly recalls a cab driver who picked her up in the rain when she’d left her wallet behind. Though they had to stop several times, to wipe the windshield, since his wipers didn’t work, she made the long trip back to hotel and wanted to get him his fare. He wouldn’t hear of it, she says. His smiling response, “My gift to you.”

It’s not just the cars that are old in Cuba, many of the buildings are crumbling giving it a Third World feel, Priddy says. The U.S. embargo after Fidel Castro seized power, means you don’t see many American cars made after 1959. There is the occasional Chevrolet pickup, new Audis and Mercedes in the hands of government officials, Ladas and other Russian brands.

“It’s amazing to see what they can do with their passion and resources,” Priddy says of the Cuban car owners resolve to keep their old vehicles running. You hear stories of people bringing in little bottles of paint from the U.S. and using diesel and tractor engines.

Lagreid has been to Cuba five times in the last 12 years. The goal of his latest trip was to see what’s happening on the island now and build a relationship between Cuba and ASU on matters both academic and diplomatic as part of the school’s global outreach initiatives.

He agrees that the Cubans are a resourceful people with challenges they must work through daily. There also are lots of ironies related to the embargo, he says. In contrast to the old cars, you see lots of American products, from Pringles to Rubbermaid carts. “It’s not his isolated place you think.”

And despite the crumbling infrastructure, some things are very modern. Cubans are a healthy people, thanks to an emphasis on preventive medicine, he says. Hospitals may not be fancy, but many doctors have a high level of expertise.

Children must stay in school until they are 17, helping to create a literacy rate of nearly 100 percent, he says.

As for the future, some things will change quickly, but most will evolve over the next decade, he says. “I don’t know how it’s going to play out.”

The first two months of 2016 brought 1 million tourists to Cuba, Lagreid says, so if you plan to go, be sure to have a hotel lined up.

Another caution, he says, is not taking things at face value but digging under the surface for the truth.

Ted Lagreid

Photos by Brenda Priddy

For more: cubaWithBrendaPriddy.com, tedlagreid@gmail.com

Jeep Grand Cherokee received Phoenix Automotive Press Association’s first Best of the Southwest award as part of the Active Lifestyle Vehicle of the Year program last month in Chandler.
This is ALV’s fourth year in Phoenix bringing together hikers, kayakers, runners and other outdoor enthusiasts along with automotive journalists from around the country to select vehicles in various categories that best fit their lifestyles.
Best of the Southwest was conceived as a vehicle suited to the region’s lifestyle, including day-to-day needs and the ability to take friends and their gear safely along unpaved forest roads and desert trails, PAPA founding President Larry Edsall explained to members. It also is a vehicle that you feel good in whether out in the boonies or handing off to the valet at a fancy restaurant in Scottsdale.

Scott Brown of Chrysler with PAPA’s Bob Golfen.

“Grand Cherokee offers the best combination of class and off-road capability,” according to one ballot comment. Another said, “The Grand Cherokee is fully off-road capable with room for a family and styling for a night on the town.”
A PAPA jury narrowed the field of 20-some ALV finalists with all PAPA members eligible to vote on the final six. The five other PAPA finalists were: Dodge Durango, Mercedes-Benz GLE450 AMG, Ford Edge, Toyota Tacoma and Audi Q3

ALV award winners

It was our biggest event ever, said event co-founder Nina Russin, an automotive journalist from Phoenix.
With a new venue, expanded media day, new awards and more participants the ALV program took place over two days at the Crown Plaza San Marcos Golf Resort in Chandler.
The awards are unique with both automotive press and outdoor enthusiasts participating, Russin said. It was good to see so many returning athletes, both recreational and professional. “I fell strongly it’s an important thing to do to mix end users and journalists to see which vehicle works.”
Vehicles were judged on city, freeway and off-road routes with consideration for features including seating, cargo capability and versatility for activities such as camping, sports and road trips.

Winners in the six ALV classes were:
* Best Value Off Road: 2015 Ford F-150
* Luxury Off Road: 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee
* Luxury On Road: 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE 450
* Best Value On Road: 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander
* Best Value Family: 2015 Ford Edge
* Urban: 2015 Kia Soul

Local press and members of the Phoenix Automotive Press Association (PAPA) are cordially invited to a very special press opportunity on Friday, October 16th, 2015.

The press-only event offers the opportunity to test drive a variety of new cars, crossovers, SUVs and trucks aimed at consumers with active lifestyles. Several manufacturers and models will be represented in addition to those listed below in our agenda.

Members of PAPA will vote on vehicles, with the organization naming their first annual “Best of the Southwest” award.

The schedule begins at 9:00am and goes through 5:30pm as outlined below:

Registration begins in the San Marcos meeting room. All credentialed media must sign electronic waivers and present a valid driver’s license.

- 9 am: Toyota Breakfast begins
- 9:30 am- 11 am: Presentations
- 11:30 am. Volkswagen Lunch begins
- Noon- 5:30 pm: Ride and drive open to all credential media. Voting for ALV of the Year vehicle entries and PAPA Best of the Southwest award.
- 3 pm: Refreshment break sponsored by Mercedes-Benz

Those interested in attending should RSVP to Sam Haymart sam.haymart@steedpublications.com , by Tuesday October 13th.

About the Active Lifestyle Vehicle Awards

A Phoenix based event, the Active Lifestyle Vehicle Awards has consistently grown in size and prestige since its inception in 2004. The event brings the perspectives and opinions of over 100 consumers who live the active lifestyles automakers market their products to, culminating into top awards in multiple categories.

The group of athletes, celebrities and active lifestyle enthusiasts act as a valuable focus group for automakers and industry experts alike. With this year’s event moving to a new data rich electronic scoring system, the outcome of consumer perspective metrics for manufacturers will be more comprehensive than ever.