These first drive articles are usually based on a manufacturer-sponsored event where journalists are invited to drive a vehicle on a pre-determined route, make use of some face-time with company executives over a few fancy dinners, and then go home and write reviews. In the case of the 2008 Dodge Avenger, we met up in Scottsdale, Arizona and spent a day determining that little changes in the desert, and that Scottsdale architecture is decorated in too-few varieties of brown, accented by brown, rocky or tumbleweed yards. The highlight was lunch at the Kirkland Bar and Steakhouse, where Herb cooked up a mean ribeye and always-smiling Lisa served slices of amazing caramel apple pie.