A Crying Jag

Last month I spent a couple of days driving the new 2010 Jaguar XK-R convertible around town. Not a bad way to pick up the dry cleaning.

It's almost impossible to go anywhere in this car without getting a lot of attention. I didn't leave the house without checking my make-up first. Not that I needed it. Nobody was looking at me. All eyes were on the machine. And with good reason.

The XK-R is a beautiful thing.This is a car for drivers. For drivers who demand performance, quality and who expect to be the center of attention wherever they go. It powers up, drives hard and pulls you into the wind. The interior was everything you'd expect from Jaguar. Rich and luxurious and very, very good looking. At just over $100,000, it ought to be.

Like I said, it's a fun drive. But there were a few negatives:

For some reason, they decided to put a backseat in the car but it's really useless. I'm short. Under 5'4" tall. I have to pull the seat up close to put the pedal on the floor. But even with the seat adjusted for my height, there wasn't room to put anyone back there.

And, putting the top up combined with the super low profile leaves the driver with no good way to see out the side or back windows.

Still, when it was time to give it back, I hated to say goodbye. It was one sweet ride.

You can find all the specs and details for the XK-R convertible here

The view from the hot seat

I know I should say the first thing I want out of a car is speed. Or, performance. Or, even status.

But, to tell the truth, one of the first things I look for when I get in a car is the switch for the seat heater. I love a nice warm seat. And in this part of the country, with the exception of about 8 weeks every year, even if the day turns hot and sunny, the mornings can be a little chilly.

I just picked up a new Subaru Outback to review. I admired the exterior and commented on the roomy interior. I hopped in, buckled up and hit the button. Ahhhh. True happiness is a heated seat.

I've written about my fondness for heat before, in a 2005 Home Planet column

It's not my fault. I'm just driven that way...

You should have seen his face when I drove up and stopped the car at the door of the hotel. He trotted out to meet me like a puppy looking for a treat.

Sure, I’m old enough to be his mother. Or, his mother’s older sister. But, at the moment, that didn’t matter to either of us. I had something he just couldn’t wait to get his hands on.

You can read the rest of my Hyundai Genesis Track review here

You gotta be Flexible

Everything deserves a second look, right?

Read my review of the new Ford Flex, here.

Mr. Wonderful

Imagine you can have the thing you already love, just newer and better. Younger, fresher, rejuvenated, but still the same.

That's the longterm relationship fantasy, right? The comfort and reliability of the familiar, but the excitement of a younger model.

You can read my review of the 2010 Subaru Forester here.

Manual Transition

When the first car I was to drive and review for my new assignment with The Spokesman-Review was delivered, a new BMW Z4 convertible, I ran out to get a closer look. Oh, man, was it pretty.

There was only one problem. And, at the moment, it was a very big problem.

The car was a stick. And I hadn't driven a manual transmission in a long time. A very long time. Like, 20 years.

I realized I had two choices. One meant quitting and I'm not a quitter. So, I got back on the horsepower and rode. I sat there a minute getting the feel of the clutch and the stick. I pulled forward and then rolled it back. Forward and back, forward and back. Finally, at the driveway, my 14-year-old daughter hopped in the car and told me to go. And, I did. I did it without stalling, bucking or dogging the clutch.

We drove down the street and for the next few days I didn't stop driving. I flew down the Palouse Highway. We powered up the mountain. I cruised downtown at night and around curvy neighborhood streets by day. Top up, top down, it was all good.

By the time I had to give the car back, I'd made a transition. A manual transition.

You can read my review of the BMW Z4 here.