Mark Kennedy

Kennedy: Recycling grouch caves, now seeks redemption

timesfreepress.com — Around our house, I'm known as the recycling grouch. While everyone else in my family is a faithful recycler, I've been slow to embrace their save-the-Earth mentality. My main nemesis is clutter, see, and much of what should be tossed into the recycling bins in our garage never actually makes it there.

Test Drive: Infiniti FX37 provides power to the people

timesfreepress.com — Model: 2013 FX37 AWD * Exterior color: Moonlight White * Interior color: Wheat * Engine: 3.7 liter V-6 * Horsepower: 325 * Price (as tested): $51,825 The Infiniti FX37 is a poor man's Porsche Cayenne. No. No. No. Strike that.

Kennedy: The mystical magic of motherhood

timesfreepress.com — Dads, watch your wives today. You won't find the magic of Mother's Day inside a Hallmark card. No, it's in the sweet moments that happen right under your nose. I never tire of seeing my wife with our two young boys. Sometimes, she and our 6-year-old son garden together.

Test Drive: Mazda3 Grand Touring packs features

timesfreepress.com — The interior of the Mazda 3 Grand Touring is sporty and functional. Model: 2013 Mazda3 Grand Touring Exterior color: Graphite Interior color: Black Engine: 2.0 liter, four-cylinder Horsepower: 155 Transmission: six-speed automatic Dealer: Edd Kirby's Adventure Mazda Price (as tested): $24,445 During my first mile driving the 2013 Mazda3 Grand Touring the thought hit me: "Man, this car feels like a BMW 1 series."

Test Drive: For young professionals, Jetta Hybrid hits sweet spot

timesfreepress.com — Exterior color: Deep Black Pearl * Interior color: Cornsilk Beige * Horsepower: 170 combined * Dealer: Village VW of Chattanooga * Price (as tested): $27,820 And now, introducing the official pace car of the Millennial Generation: The 2013 VW Jetta Hybrid. If ever a car embodied the values of an entire age cohort, the new Jetta Hybrid is it.

Kennedy: Say your prayers, chipmunks

timesfreepress.com — The chipmunks in our yard have made two tactical errors. They have attacked two things that my wife and I hold dear: My cars and her hostas. For a long time we were in denial. How can something so cute be so destructive, we thought?

Mark Kennedy: Soccer is leading the way

timesfreepress.com — My world is lily white. Caucasian people dominate my neighborhood, my church and the newsroom where I work. Sometimes I worry about my two sons growing up in a Wonder Bread world. The boys, ages 11 and 6, attended a mixed-race urban elementary school and pre-school when they were younger, but now, in the suburbs, their world is as white as fence paint.

Kennedy: Aho has the wind at her back

timesfreepress.com — There's a group in Washington called "The Can Kicks Back," a nonprofit dedicated to fixing the national debt. Love the name. It's run by millennials -- aka young adults -- who are presumably fed up with the baby boomer habit of kicking the proverbial can down the road on budget matters.

Test Drive: Lincoln MKZ gives brand excitement infusion

timesfreepress.com — Model: Lincoln MKZ Interior color: Light Dune Engine: 2.0-liter, four-cylinder turbo Horsepower: 240 Transmission: six-speed automatic Dealer: Mountain View Ford Price (as tested): $48,285 We've had good luck lately snagging new vehicles as soon as they hit the ground in Chattanooga, and we scored again this week with a showroom copy of the brand-new Lincoln MKZ, an important car as the brand competes to regain market share.