My first press trip...

...will be to San Diego for a detailed look at the 2014 Toyota Corolla. I look forward to seeing how car manufacturers present new cars to auto scribes, researching the competition, learning how to properly review cars, and meeting car industry types.

My last serious look at a Corolla was in 2004. My girlfriend (now my wife) just had her Volvo 960 creamed on Highway 101 by a punk in an old Buick. We went shopping for a new car. We test drove the Corolla and the Civic. Although the Corolla had more features and was priced basically the same as the Civic, she preferred the ergonomics and driving dynamics of the simpler Honda. The rest is history, and we still own it.