Tiffany Acosta
Tiffany Acosta brings together service journalism and a sense of fun in her coverage for The Arizona Republic, using stories about gas prices, road trips and roadside attractions to explain how people experience Arizona by car. She writes as an “ultimate Arizona reporter” who treats highways, small towns and even desert wildlife as part of a single driving landscape, so a story on Buc-ee’s fuel costs sits naturally alongside pieces on remote bars, javelinas and celestial road-trip stops.
Driving, gas prices and the way Arizonans get around
Acosta’s automobile coverage centers on how transportation costs and infrastructure shape everyday choices, not on the auto industry as a business. In her Buc-ee’s gas prices piece, she compares the travel center’s pump prices to the Arizona average and tells readers “how much you’ll pay,” framing the story as a practical guide rather than a corporate profile. She treats fuel costs the same way she treats ticket prices or park fees in her other work: as key details that determine whether a drive is possible, affordable or worth a detour.
Her stories often connect driving to destination: where you can go, how long it takes, and what you will find there. When she writes about Arizona’s most remote bar closing soon, she explains “how to visit one more time,” walking readers through the logistics of reaching a far-flung spot before it disappears. That focus on access—miles, roads, conditions, timing—shows up across her travel and recreation pieces and gives her automobile stories a practical, planning-based tone. Instead of specs or policy, the emphasis is on the decisions a driver must make: which route to take, whether the experience merits the drive, and what to know before you pull onto the highway.
Ultimate Arizona reporter: from celestial events to desert creatures
According to her staff page at The Arizona Republic, Acosta is the newsroom’s ultimate Arizona reporter and covers topics ranging from how to see celestial events, such as full moons, to other distinctive state experiences. That line captures the breadth of her beat: she treats the night sky, the desert and the state’s signature attractions as recurring characters. A typical story might explain how, when and where to see a specific astronomical event, combining simple science with clear instructions on finding a dark sky or scenic outlook. The perspective is still grounded in the reader’s movement: where to drive, how far to go from city lights, what you can expect to see once you arrive.
She applies the same approach to Arizona’s wildlife. In a video explainer on javelinas, she describes peccaries as “a common Arizona sight” and walks through “what to know about them,” giving behavior basics and safety tips in accessible language. Elsewhere, she fronts a package called “Snake Week 2025,” posing and answering questions like “Can snakes fly?” and “What snakes in Arizona are venomous?” in a way that mixes curiosity, caution and clear guidance for hikers and drivers encountering wildlife near roads and trails. The voice in these pieces is direct and demystifying, turning local anxieties—about rattlesnakes on the trail or animals in the headlights—into manageable, factual checklists.
Things to do, weekend planning and Arizona destinations
Acosta’s archive shows a steady rhythm of service pieces that help readers plan their weekends and road trips around the state. She co-bylines event roundups such as outdoor festivals in Phoenix this weekend, flagging that “lots are free” and pointing out family-friendly options alongside major draws like NASCAR and rodeos. She contributes to coverage of large pop-culture events, including a report on Phoenix Fan Fusion that breaks down “the best, worst things we saw at the comic con,” balancing enthusiasm with clear-eyed notes on what worked and what did not for attendees. Across these stories she organizes information by what people can do, how much it will cost, and what kind of experience they can expect on site.
Her travel writing stretches beyond the metro core into smaller communities and out-of-the-way stops. In a feature on why one Arizona town was named among the most charming in the United States, she explains how factors like pedestrian-friendly downtowns, historic architecture and outdoor access contribute to its appeal. She has also profiled singular locations such as “Arizona’s most remote bar,” explaining not just why the place matters but exactly how to reach it before it closes. These pieces often read like route maps in prose, translating geography and local lore into a set of directions and expectations for readers who might be considering a drive.
Her work extends into newsletters that bundle concerts, festivals, dining and travel ideas into a single weekly plan for “things to do in Arizona,” suggesting that she helps shape ongoing guidance for readers who want to make the most of limited time off. In that format, as in her standalone stories, she tends to pair marquee attractions with smaller, character-rich stops accessible by car, reinforcing the idea that Arizona is best understood on the road, one weekend at a time.
Explainer videos and social storytelling
Acosta frequently complements her articles with short videos and social posts that turn written guidance into visual explainers. On social channels for The Arizona Republic, she appears as “Ultimate Arizona reporter” in clips that answer questions like “Why do lizards do push-ups?” or introduce viewers to cowboy culture as part of “Arizona’s wild West spirit,” using simple narration and strong visuals to hook people who scroll past before clicking through to the full story. In another video, she breaks down the phenomenon of Buc-ee’s arriving in Arizona, asking “what exactly is Buc-ee’s and why” it is filling social feeds, and tying that curiosity back to information on the store, its prices and what drivers will find inside.
This cross-platform approach reinforces the service focus of her beat. Whether she is explaining javelinas in a quick video, walking through venomous snake facts during Snake Week, or pointing to a new Japanese bowling and arcade venue on social media ahead of its opening date, she gives audiences concrete information they can use—what an animal will do, what safety steps to take, what the new attraction offers, where it is, and why it might earn a spot on their next outing. The tone remains consistent: conversational but precise, oriented toward helping people navigate Arizona’s roads, creatures and curiosities with fewer surprises.
Beat continuity across outlets
Beyond The Arizona Republic, Acosta’s bylines appear in syndicated versions of her stories, such as national re-publications of her feature on Arizona’s most remote bar closing, which maintain her focus on how to visit and what to expect on the journey. Public professional profiles describe her as a journalist who covers topics from celestial events to local characters, echoing the themes that define her work with the Republic. Across these contexts, she is consistent: she treats Arizona as a place to be discovered by car, one festival, small town, bar, animal encounter and night-sky event at a time, and she gives readers the detailed, practical information needed to make those drives with confidence.
4 more automobile journalists.
Aarian Marshall
Aarian Marshall is a staff writer at WIRED who stands out for covering how cars, software, and policy collide. She writes on transportation systems and cities, from the auto industry to broader mobility systems. Before WIRED, she reported on cities and urban policy for The Atlantic’s CityLab. Her beat runs from electric vehicles, fuel prices, tariffs, and car-buying decisions to autonomous vehicles, robotaxis, and software-defined cars. She reports with a systems view, linking policy shifts, technical failures, and urban life to what happens on streets, in repair shops, and at the pump.
Adrian Leung
Adrian Leung writes engineering-led coverage of Chinese electric vehicles and performance cars for CarNewsChina. He focuses on new energy vehicles, battery systems, powertrains, electric platforms, high-end domestic brands, and track-ready models, and he explains technical details in plain language for non-specialist readers. His reporting treats new models as hardware and systems stories, with precise figures on range, battery capacity, chassis layout, motor outputs, weight, and acceleration. He also covers the Chinese auto industry’s finances and technology roadmap, including sector profits, vehicle volumes, and solid-state battery timelines. His background in Electrical and Computer Engineering shows in the way he writes about vehicle electronics and battery management.
Al Pefley
Al Pefley is a television news reporter for CBS12 News whose work centers on how laws, law enforcement and local decisions shape everyday life for drivers and other residents. He reports in a general assignment role but returns often to transportation, public safety and pocketbook issues, treating driving as a point where policy, disability and policing intersect. His coverage includes driver-focused laws, fuel and tax policy, crime, policing and internal affairs findings, with a consistent focus on accountability and concrete consequences for people’s wallets, safety and trust in institutions. He explains county gas tax debates, campaign positions on teacher pay, property crime and retail theft in short, clear segments. Pefley works primarily on the scene, using live or recorded field reporting and interview-driven pieces to show what happened, why it matters and what comes next.
Aliza Savira
Aliza Savira focuses on the hidden financial costs of owning modern cars, especially how insurance can undermine expected savings. She writes about automobiles for MSN, looking at new technology and electric vehicles through everyday ownership rather than showroom appeal. Her work highlights the gap between promises of cheaper running costs and the full financial picture of owning a vehicle. In electric vehicle coverage, she treats insurance premiums as a key ownership problem that can erode long-term value. She stays close to practical questions drivers face, such as which recurring costs matter most after purchase. She reports on how insurance structures and premium levels interact with new automotive technology. Her beat is consumer-focused automobile reporting, with a clear, utilitarian lens on ownership experience, recurring expenses, and risk, rather than lifestyle or performance.