Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Music to My Ears

Have you ever heard an old song on the radio that you haven’t heard in years, turned the volume up and jammed until the song was over – whether or not you were still driving? I love music. In the morning my favorite songs get my ready for the daily grind. In the evening, music helps me relax and unwind.

When I picked up the Traverse last Friday, I had to make sure I brought my CD book with me. I knew this car would have a great sound system so I wanted to make sure I could really enjoy it by listening to my favorite songs. It’s been 5 days and I haven’t even opened the CD book. I don’t understand how, after all these years, this music fanatic has survived without XM radio!

Right after I picked up the car, I really put it to the test and drove down to North Canton for a visit with my best friend. If you’re from Cleveland, and have driven down 77 South before, you know this drive is not an exciting one. The road is typically lined with orange barrels which means the drive will consist of the speed limit going from 65 to 50, then back to 65, then when you get into Akron, back down to 55.

Chevy seriously thought of everything when putting this car together. One of my favorite features (which means it must be really cool because there are so many!) is the volume “control.” I’m sure there’s a way fancier name for it, but it’s one of those things that makes you go – “why didn’t I think of that?!”

So, I’m driving down the road, approaching the entrance ramp to the highway. You know what happens next: I accelerate and turn up the music since the sound of the engine and the noise from the highway drown out the awesome song that’s playing. Wait, no, I can still hear it… how’d that happen?

The Traverse automatically adjusts the volume when you accelerate! I think this is the coolest thing ever! So when you get on the highway or accelerate, the volume goes up just enough to compensate for the noise. When you decelerate (or when you’re getting off the highway, pulling up the the traffic light on the exit ramp) the volume re-adjusts so you’re not one of those people blaring their music to the high heavens for everyone to hear.

The combination of these two super cool features made my 75 minute voyage to Canton seem to be over in the blink of an eye. I jammed to the 90s on 9 and relived the first decade of the 21st century on Pop2K (yes, I’m a girl who likes the stereotypical pop music). I was having so much fun in the car that I almost didn’t want to get out of it when I got there. Luckily, when I got to my friend’s apartment, she wasn’t quite home yet so I got to hear a few more songs and weened myself from the radio.

Now, if only we could invent a TV that does the same thing for when those loud, annoying commercials come on…

Chevy Mom's Time Out

Well, I'm super excited to officially announce that I'm a Chevy Test Driver for the Northeast Ohio Mom's Time Out promotion! This is such a cool opportunity which has allowed me to drive the Chevy Traverse for a whole month and blog about my experiences. I love, love, love the car already! I think I fell in love the moment I laid eyes on it actually.

Of course my son loves it, too. He's almost 2 years old now and loves trucks. Every time we see one on the road, "truck mommy! Truck!" Which is followed by the "vvvrrrooommm, vvrrroooooomm" sound. It's so cute. So now that mommy's driving this "truck" (as it is to the little people) he just can't wait to get in the car and go! He seems fascinated by all the space around him compared to the sedan I drive. I think he may be just as sad to see it go at the end of the month as I am.

So check out the Chevy NEO blog that will document our fabulous experiences and excursions. You'll also get to see my first attempt at a vlog (video blog). It was not as disastrous as I thought it would be, but it's still kind of embarrassing since i was a video virgin...  :)

The Moms Time Out campaign is being sponsored by the Northeast Ohio Chevy Dealers who gave the chosen bloggers a 2010 Chevy Traverse to test drive for one month and blog about our experiences using the vehicle. Moms Time Out has given us some fun missions and will be providing us with gift cards to accomplish them.