Gear Patrol

Chefday Choose one of the gourmet chef-designed recipes on Chefday’s website and every last organic, almost entirely locally sourced ingredient — from salt to tenderloins — will be hand-delivered to your door, pre-measured and pre-washed. All you have to do is follow the step-by-step video instructions and set the table. It’s an ultra easy way…

Four-wheel-drive used to be synonymous with mullets off-roading in the minds of most consumers. Like many buzz-worthy specs originally developed for enthusiasts and professionals, though, some variant of the general principle was soon rushed into vehicles of all stripes by manufacturers. It’s a shift Muddin’ diehards still cuss about over tallboys at dusk, but there’s no denying that a new generation of a sure-footed cars with better handling in tricky conditions has benefited drivers everywhere.

Today, finding the perfect match between driving ability, fuel consumption and price first requires an honest evaluation of your own motoring needs. With that soul-searching behind you, understanding the differences between various four-wheel-drive (4WD) and all-wheel-drive (AWD) offerings (and everything in between) will make buying your next ride that much easier. Our comprehensive guide is here to help.

In the pick-up wars, a new contender has stepped up. The 2014 Toyota Tundra just showed up at the Chicago Auto Show, and it looks like it’s pretty serious about going tire-to-tire with the other big boys from Ram Trucks, GMC and Chevy.

Family sedans tend to be the automotive equivalent of Valium (minivans are horse tranquilizers, in case you were wondering), but times have changed. Family men no longer need to sacrifice too much in the way of driving excitement and looks in order to transport tykes and trikes. We get it. You’d rather be doing some tire ripping, engine-snorting performance runs on your way to drop off your son at school. Still, we’ve compiled our list of “family sedans” that take let you perform your dad duties with aplomb while still allowing you more than a modicum of manly fun.

As nearly every auto show evidences, status quo just doesn’t cut it — and concept cars, as crazy as they can sometimes be, give us a glimpse into the realm of automotive possibility. The concepts of NAIAS 2013 were no exception. Some were radical new designs for existing models and others are new to the…

Any forward thinker interested in buying an electric vehicle today is normally faced with two choices: Pick a generic people carrier with the driving excitement of a Radio Flyer from one of a handful of major manufacturers; or dredge the slush fund and hop on a waiting list for a conscience-clearing geek rocket from boutique…

You like to make your own way and your individualism isn’t the kind that draws throngs of onlookers waiting to witness a monument to poor choices. Derivative themes, styling and the kind of originality that comes out of a copy machine are everywhere. But what if you could set a goal of creating a car…

You tried to impress that cute, dazzingly brilliant brunette in high school by attempting to do a hundred pushups. Sadly, you had the gumption but not the chops, having never done more than beginners Pilates. So, what does it mean for a car to stake its claim in the automotive market and prove itself to…

Sometimes we wonder, given the job prospects and varying degrees of instability, if writing auto reviews was the right decision for our lives. But then we realize that if Fate had wanted us to be anything else, we wouldn’t look so dang good behind the wheel. And so it goes, saddling up our horses we…

When it comes to cars, we spend most of our time fixated on rides that churn through a gallon of gas faster than a fat kid eats twinkies. Yet for all of our love for “driver’s cars”, we still acknowledge that practicality should be a major consideration when it comes to selecting a primary ride….

Toyota has been pulling out all the stops for SEMA 2010 and there are plenty of amazing concepts worth browsing. The Toyota Tundra Sportsman though is hands down one of the most awe-inspiring pick-ups we’ve come across. Described by the automaker as a “command center for extended hunting trips” and “the ultimate sportsman fantasy transport…

Though we have a glaring weakness for classic 4×4′s, in general we tend to be against the gas guzzling SUV. It’s not that we don’t like the extra cargo room, passenger seats, and “off-road” capabilities. We just have a hard time rationalizing those likes with our increasingly balmy planet not to mention our wallets. The…

If you happened to be a loyal Gear Patrol fan browsing last week in between feasting, you might have a seen a brief video of yours truly and our resident car reviewer Bradley Hasemeyer experiencing the non-casino side of Vegas. Well besides using our time to toy with death, we also had some extended sessions…

You might remember our teaser about this feature early last week. You know, that photo of yours truly leaping out of an airplane to his death? Okay okay, some call it skydiving, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t nervous as hell. Well, it’s finally time that we divulged the whole story, in Gear Patrol fashion….

There’s a race that you may or may not know of. It’s a 320 nautical mile ski race to the Magnetic North Pole. It’s called the Polar Challenge, and it’s a grueling test of cold weather stamina and human achievement. But today’s post isn’t about the Polar Challenge. It’s about an Arctic Truck, or specifically…

Last month, Gear Patrol’s Jon Gaffney was able to attend the SurferCross event in California, sponsored by Toyota. Since his return, he’s been pretty psyched up. And not just about the

With most of the items that we review here at Gear Patrol, we strive to curate and highlight gear that’s attainable for most guys. Yes, some of it will still be ridiculous and unaffordable, but we are trying to focus on the staples. In a continued effort to attack products with our signature G.E.A.R. treatment…

We Grab The Keys To The 2009 Toyota Matrix And Head To Hoover Dam To Take Photographs. Let Us Tell You Why. Let us start by telling you a story about a guy who, a few years ago, was relegated to driving a Toyota Matrix for a business trip. The drive was a 6 hour…