Last week,  Kayla Kelley, 3, of Virginia Beach took her hand, dipped it in paint and placed a handprint on a new 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe.

The 2009 Hyundai Sonata arrived at the office at an inopportune time. Having just spent a week and a half with the new Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, a rally-bred screamer of a sedan, my driving synapses felt as if they had been on  a bender at Starbucks. My first reaction to driving the Sonata? "Well, the phrase "vanilla-coated tedium" popped into my head.

LAST WEEK, Kayla Kelley, 3, of Virginia Beach took her hand, dipped it in paint and placed a handprint on a new 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe.

While a slight decrease in travel nationwide is predicted this holiday weekend, more than 780,000 Virginians are expected to hit the highways for one last summertime break. With gas prices still above $3 a gallon, most travelers are expected to motor only a day's distance from home, said Georjeane Blumling, vice president of public relations for AAA Tidewater.

Ready to road-trip? Better find out how much that journey is going to cost you first. Use this tool to estimate the total price of gasoline, based on your car and your trip.

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Just as gas prices spike and fuel-efficient cars become hard to find, a new Suzuki store has opened at the corner of Virginia Beach Boulevard and Kellam Road in Virginia Beach.
It might be new, but you'll recognize the store if you've ever bought a vehicle from Pembroke Auto Sales.

Call it what you will – track car, rally car, cop bait – the 10th-generation Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR is a test of willpower: Are you brave enough to drive this car to its fullest?

Well, are ya, punk?

All kidding aside, it helps to be of a certain mind-set if the Evo – as it’s popularly known – is your daily driver.

Car dealers never look back. After all, this is a business that's always looking for the next sale. But for the first time in Hampton Roads, a dealer has done just that.

When I walk into a large store and there's a sign reading "customer service" above a passel of cash registers, I don't expect to receive any. It's like a warning not to expect it. After all, in a better store, customer service is expected.

 At a time when everyone’s wallet seems empty, driving a Rolls-Royce Phantom, with a base price of $340,000,   seems smugly indifferent to the nation’s deteriorating economy.