A team of women bloggers and I met Saturday at Watson’s Chevrolet right outside of Pittsburgh to participate and experience a day of driving sponsored by Chevrolet. The intention is to give these women drivers, who have a strong on-line presence, the opportunity to get behind the wheel, have some fun, and ‘get’ the Chevy experience.
The Morning Meet-up
A meet and greet at the dealership started the day, with a quick tour from Watson’s owner, Pat Tiani. Eric, the professional car trainer, gave us a quick and buttoned-up demo on each of the 2010 Chevrolet vehicles we were going to be driving --the ever-so-hot Camaro, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse.
The women (plus one husband) split into 4 groups. I jumped into the Malibu with Beth Caldwell, founder of Pittsburgh Professional Women. We took the lead on our way to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, but that lead didn’t last long. Web Biz Girl’s Linda Thomas was in the Camaro and she and her co-pilot, Mary Davis, of Everyday Baby Steps had a mind of their own—these powerful women could not be contained in the 304 horsepower muscle car. Off they went.
Now, of course, only safe driving was being employed, but for the record, the Malibu was first coming off of the exit 45 miles later……so, clearly this Consumer Digest ‘Best Buy’ has a bit of get up and go in her. We made our pit stop at the Donegal exit off the Turnpike, switched drivers and the caravan was off again, now lead by Kim Janocko, blogger of Crafty Mama of 4 with her 13 year old daughter, Emily, sharing the photography and the co-pilot duties.
To Seven Springs
Cara Rolinson of This Is Where I Come up with Something Witty and her husband Chris had held back just a little, so they could ‘catch up’ and experience the power and handling of the Camaro that they were driving. We arrived at Seven Springs Mountain Resort at 11:30 am sharp, had a hearty lunch with a wondrous view of the green slopes with a patch or two of snow drizzled on them. It was simply breathtaking on this sunny, sixty-eight degree day.
Tech Diva Kirsten Womack was driving the lead car from Seven Springs to our next destination, Fallingwater, in the 2010 Equinox; rated a Top 10 Family Car by Cars.com, Consumer Digest and Kelly Blue Book. Speaking of tech, it’s no wonder this vehicle gets such accolades! Excellent crash safety ratings, 32 highway mpg, great storage capacity and unprecedented leg room in its class. NAV system and On Star connection are a plus.
Glorious Fallingwater
Our next stop was at the splendid Fallingwater. Built in the later 1930’s by Frank Lloyd Wright, this masterpiece home was designed for the Kaufmann family and later left to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Our compelling and fascinating tour guide, Don, gave us nuggets of information about the designer/architect, the Kaufmann family, and of course, about Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie’s private visit there for Brad’s 43rd birthday.
The tour ended and it was time to head back to the dealership. It was now Cara’s Rolinson’s husband, Chris’s, opportunity to put the pedal to the metal. He elected to drive the Traverse, and gave this powerful, well equipped 7 - 8 passenger SUV a real test drive on the mountainous back roads. Chris, an avid historian and photographer, also nicknamed “Magellan”, knew every roads’ twist and turn as he recently published his first book “Our State Parks: Western Pennsylvania".
After a scenic ride and ears ‘popping’ on our descent, all vehicles returned to Watson’s Chevrolet by 5:20 pm. Well, with just one exception. The Camaro, with Beth and Linda at the helm, had beaten us there by 10 minutes! What a wonderful day of engaging, connectivity, fun and hands-on driving and experiencing these 2010 Chevrolet cars!
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