Automotive Review


Wherein Our Heroine Drops Her Top.
John is taking a class this week, learning more about a computer system for his work at the library. I have tagged along, because the class is in sunny California. While he works and learns, I am playing. Just now, he is the ant, working seriously away, and I am the grasshopper, buzzing up to Berkeley in a brightly-colored shell.

That "brightly colored shell" is a brand-new, bright red Thunderbird convertible. One of the few perks of having been an incredibly frequent traveler in my past career is an accumulation of "points" from various airlines and hotels. As I have noted before, most of these are "artistically scattered among so many airlines as to make most of them virtually useless," however I did accumulate enough points to comp myself a staid, demure midsize car for the week we are here.

So, how did I go from Ford Taurus to Thunderbird convertible? Twelve dollars a day, on top of handing over a bunch of points. God bless the off-season and the good people at Oakland Airport Hertz.

Let me tell you, this is a fun, totally frivolous, easy-driving, party-time, drop-the-top-and-let's-go-to-the-beach vehicle. A midlife crisis on wheels. A pick-me-up of low-slung, sleek-lined proportions. Total strangers have told me I look good in this vehicle, and when I admit that it's a rental, they shrug and say, "You should get one!" I'm convinced that a Ford employee is walking around handing out $20 bills and telling people to give me compliments.

At the very least, it's taking my mind off the fact that I'm waiting on a response from a particularly promising interview.... well, sometimes.
Posted: Thursday - April 22, 2004 at 09:12 AM         | |

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