Under the Hood

When you figure it in square miles, Phoenix is the largest city in America, and that's not counting the 'burbs. Tucson just gets closer and closer. Yuma, too.

So it's no wonder we've developed such a car culture around here. In Phoenix, you are your car. Most of us live in our automobiles — we conduct business meetings, eat lunch, hone our musical tastes, apply mascara, entertain the kids — all at 65 mph. The gasoline engine is essential to our way of life, from our bustling commuter work force to the ease with which we drive 30 miles just to try a new restaurant. We spend millions on new freeways and millions more to redo the old ones — never wide enough, never fast enough. NASCAR races draw hundreds of thousands of people to the venerable Phoenix International Raceway, while street racing in the West Valley is lapping other pastimes in popularity.

This year, the 25th annual New Times Best of Phoenix® celebrates our love affair with the automobile with a salute to life on the road. Tucked in among the best places to eat, drink and shop in the Valley, of course.

Take us along for the ride.