In the southwest, Arid-zona is great, for the most part, in the lower elevations; Prescott is about 4000 feet, and does get some winter, and Flagstaff is higher, and so, colder in the wintertime. Personally, I like Tucson or that area; Phoenix is getting too "big city" for my taste - hah; look where I live. . If you like small town, and water play, Lake Havasu City is a pretty good "car" town; there are several clubs active there. Here in Las Vegas, there is a "car culture", but it seems to be sort of "underground" - it's here, but the average visitor doesn't see it; you need to get in and get involved to know it exists. In Clark County, we have smog check, but I don't find it as offensive as California's, for some reason; I haven't had any problems since I've lived here. Maybe if I had run up against the system, I wouldn't say that. That said, Las Vegas is not as wide open a town as it is made out to be; it is a big city with city problems, and a very thin commercial base, so we are going through a really rough patch right now. One advantage to that is that property is cheap as heck, but then will it ever come all the way back? Just some observations from my rocking chair.