Mini Cooper: Wrong car, right salesman

As I am searching for a new car, I am running into a frequent problem. The wrong car or the wrong salesperson.

I had a great match of a salesman at the Mini Cooper dealership. He was accurate, to the point, energetic without being pushy. He really wanted me to like the car.

Unfortunately, I didn't.

The test drive made my head hurt. The suspension was too tight, and I felt like a mom trying too hard to be a rally car driver. It truly is a fun car that will give you an exciting driving experience.

The Mini is like a cool edgy British bar where they name the drinks as puns (the 007 Goldfinger -made with 7up and Goldschalger), and everyone on the waitstaff has a meaningful tattoo.

Sigh. I wish that was was me right now, but alas it is not.

I need a car that can be my sanctuary, a calm oasis of leather and moonroofs, and a little navigation.

I need a car that is a smooth jazz lounge where the lighting is calming, they serve Prosecco in hand blown stemware, and the staff gives meaningful eye contact.

So where do I find that?

Car shopping

My lease on my Honda CrossTour is up in 2 months.

For the first time in a while, I am unclear of what I would like to do next.

I am very fond of the car I have, but then I think this.....

If I live to 80 and starting driving cars at 16, that gives me 64 years to drive. If you get a car every 5 years, that is about 12 cars average. I have had 9 cars registered in my name.

So, I am doing the math......

and I am absolutely going to get the car I want.

Punch Buggy

You know the game....Punch Buggy Red! And then you unexpectedly get punched in the arm.

My kids thought the game was hysterical. But to a focused mom of two kids, the game was horrible.

There is a "don't hit your sibling" rule in my house. So they would punch buggy me.
It always startled me and I felt like they were going to make me crash the car.

5 years ago I said no more punch buggy, find a new game.

So my kids came up with Square Car. Anytime they see a Honda Element, a Nissan Cube, or the like you get a nice gentle squeeze on the arm.

Square Car is the 21st centuries Punch Buggy game. Rules are simple, so go play!

What Mercedes has that I need

Location: Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester, NY
Reason: PGA Championship
Car Sighting: Mercedes


The last major of the year was sponsored in part by Mercedes. And could you tell.
Every official car was a gorgeous sleek new Mercedes.
As you entered the course, there was a showroom full of new models, interactive displays and good looking salesmen and women in purple golf shirts.

Here's what they had that I needed: There was a man there whose only job was to continually rotate wiping smudges of the vehicles. We hopped out of the drivers seat, and he was there to wipe the car doors, check the steering wheel for errant fingerprints, clean the glass from any residual moisture as we inhaled and then exhaled the new car smell.

If every Mercedes could come with an anti-smudge protection package like these do, they may be on to something.

I Played a Game Called Guess Your Car

We had a service tech at the spa this week to rewire our sound system. He has spent many hours giving us good ambient music. As he was pulling wire thru a hole in the wall, I asked him what car he drove and then said, no wait let me guess.

I figured I might get it on the first try. He told me he was not that into cars, and preferred to drive his work van. I stuck my neck out and said,
Nissan Sentra.
 Wrong.
Toyota Tacoma.
 Wrong.
Ok, is it an American car?
 No.
Subaru Impreza.
 No.
VW.
 No
Honda, Mitsubishi, Fiat, Kia, BMW...
 Nope.

At this point I am scrambling....and my assistant says, I bet you ride a motorcycle.
 No.

I gave up. I ran out of options that I thought this single 33 year old hipster would be driving.

The answer: Mercedes C300

I was astounded. 

And so was he frankly. He hates the car. Doesn't know why he bought it two weeks ago. 

Wishes he had his BMW back. Gets more looks in this car then the BMW. Prefers to not be so flashy and is not sure what his intention was when he bought it used with 40,000 miles on it. 

It got me thinking.....

Did he buy for the iconic Mercedes symbol?

Texting and Driving

It is time to put the phones down. I get it, in the beginning of the phone craze we thought we could handle it. We have proven that we cannot. Accident after accident is happening with driver texting. I admit that I used to do it a while ago, but no more. Put your phone in the glove compartment if you have to. Use your built in blue tooth. Pull over. Jeez, at the very least just call.

Women, tell your boyfriends/husbands/dad/sons to stop.
Women, set a good example and leave your phones in your purse.
Women, be the best driver you can be.

We need to protect each other on the roads, and the way I can protect both of us is to focus on the road, not on my Iphone. Even Siri would agree.

February Cars

I saw a Jeep Cherokee the other day and said, now that's a nice looking car, and my son replied: Mom, you just like it because it is clean.

He was right.

February in Vermont means that there isn't a car clean for hundreds of miles. The dirt roads, salt, snow, ice create this extra coating of dirt that pretty much stays on until after tax season. It is not that we don't want to clean the car, it is that we physically cannot. There is no need to run it thru the sprayer if we can't stand the cool mist on our faces at 0 degrees. Plus, it's gonna screw up the windshield and get all iced over. Then we are in a bigger bind.

So if you head to Vermont, do not expect to check out the cars. Every car is enclosed in a cocoon of white/gray/brown-ish grim that hides all personality of the vehicle. Some cars get so dirty their entire shape starts morphing. (I didn't know you drove a hatchback? Oh, no, its still the sedan, its just wicked dirty.)

So from now till April 15, I shall be saving my quarters for my spray nozzle at the local DIY carwash. Figure $23 ought to get it clean again.