Auto Lifestyle Reviews by @1COOLDADME
Mike Tucker is a D.C. native and journalist of fine automobiles for over 10 years. He is a single dad of three who believes in unique sneakers, great tunes, delicious food and GOD.
Fast & Curious The New C250 Benz Coupe (WashPost.com/RootDC)
Many consider the C-Class Mercedes the bottom feeder of the car maker’s bloodline. Modestly priced with forgettable styling, the car’s saving grace was that you could say:“I drive a Benz.”
But with the new 2012 C250, Mercedes has brought sexy back to the C-Class.
I was so infatuated by new model that I chose not to review the press info accompanying the car. Instead, I took to the road. I did grab my phone with Sy Smith’s “Fast and Curious” CD downloaded on it. It’s a disc with a fitting title to review with the C250.
A Super SONIC Date Night (WashPost.com/RootDC)
In thinking of things to do for date night, you should shake the rose bush sometime and do something out of the ordinary. One example is driving a miniature turbo-charged car that 
gets 40 miles to the gallon off a cliff. If you missed this Super Bowl commercial, check out the daredevil 2012 Chevrolet Sonic in stunt action, here. I opted to drive the Chevy Sonic on a date to the still-in-construction Hyattsville Arts District.
As for date night itself, try something fun and different with your partner. I chose to literally wet her palate and mine in a painting class at Wet Your Palettes.
What the Fiat? (WashPost.com/RootDC)
Seriously, what the Fiat is going on?
I’m sure you saw the J-Lo taking a Fiat to her old hood in New York in a commercial or 
maybe you noticed the Fiat in the middle of the stage, as she performed at the American Music Awards last year.
Maybe you missed this sexy little commercial involving a nerd, a woman in high heels, a cup of coffee and a Fiat. It zoomed pass one million views on Youtube the first week it was posted.
Going Raw in DC w/ Chevy Volt (WashPost.com/RootDC)
When I found out I would get a chance to test the electric-powered Chevy Volt, I called
Elizabeth’s Gone Raw, a vegan restaurant, to incorporate food into my equation of extreme firsts. Sure, you can go hybrid, but why not go electric! Sure, you can go vegan, but why not go raw! With a blindfolded sense of anxiety and anticipation, I was ready.
Lexus’ Recyclable Whip (WashPost.com/theRootDC)
I review the new Lexus CT200 h while listening to Maimouna Youssef’s new CD.
I figured a conscious vehicle, like the CT claims to be, deserves like-minded music.
The Lexus CT and The Blooming are concepts built for mainstream consumption but at the core unabashedly push the limits to better their environment and community.
Cadillac is Still Platinum (WashPost.com/theRootDC)
The year was 2007. Rap artists were going platinum once a week. Kanye West and 50 Cent were feuding over who would sell more albums in one day. And Cadillac had taken note that 20-something black men were flocking to their luxurious experiment of an SUV,
the Escalade. So the car-maker remixed it.
Taking a cue from music labels’ listening parties, General Motors held a private showing of its new Escalade to special invited athletes and, of course, hip-hop artists. The longer high-end Escalade tagged “Platinum” with bigger rims and heftier price tag was a smash and Cadillac’s average buyers age went from old fogy to young hip urbanite. The Escalade in any format has been platinum ever since.
SOUL GARAGE, RIBS and I’m Audi (Wash Post.com/theRootDC)
At a glance, there is something nostalgic about the 2011 Audi A5 Cabriolet. There was a time when Audis were actually pretty heavy in Chocolate City (a term in itself that is
nostalgic now). To have an Audi you had to have money, but you also had to have your own cool to drive outside the lines of Mercedes Benz or BMW.
This is still the case. Audi owners beat to their own drum and for this day my drum of choice was congo, as homegrown talent would grace the big stage at Merriweather Post Pavilion.
