Hil, it sounds - am I mistaken? - as if the car is ultra-light, which is why it handles so easily.

Yeah, it is really light. It's not something I'd want to drive on those kinds of mountain roads, or even really on a major highway, but for scooting around city traffic, it's great.

Huh. Jo had a BMW for a bit - a 318 or a 325, late eighties, I think - and it was a nice car, good acceleration, but not a lot of difference in handling from, say, Nic's Camry XLE.

Most fun cars to drive for me have been luxury sports sedans. For pure power driving - steel muscles and snarling power under a velvet sleeve - I'll take my Jags every day of the week.

edit: Hil, that's what I figured. The Citicar people in SF have VW Beetles.

I've only driven a Jag once, and loved it.

But I've driven many different Beemers, and every one of them was an almost orgasmic experience for me. They were all so responsive, you could practically drive them by thinking loudly. Or perhaps gesturing emphatically.

For awhile (when Jake was a baby actually) we had an old 280ZX with T-tops, which was a hand-me-down from Stephen's older brother. I loved that car for handling and speed. It did look kind of funny with the baby seat in the back, though.

It also had that talking feature, where a woman's voice would tell you if the doors were unlocked or the trunk was open or what have you, and it broke and she wouldn't shut up for the longest time. Bleh.

The Jag I've driven was more fun to be seen in (and how!) than drive, but that might be because the electrical system kept crapping out.

I never really enjoyed driving the Camry. Don't know if it's the same model as yours, though. The 3 series I drove felt like my Jetta, but with more authority. It wanted to go places.

I have a mini-van. Ran myself over with it once. While very pregnant.

It also had that talking feature, where a woman's voice would tell you if the doors were unlocked or the trunk was open

Your door is ajar ... your door is ajar .. your door is a jar of mayonnaise.

I don't know where that's from.

Eddie Murphy?

erika, I just read your story--that was awesome! Damn. Funny, touching, and real. I loved it.

edit:

I have a mini-van. Ran myself over with it once. While very pregnant.

What?!?!

ita, Nic's Camry is the 6-cylinder job; essentially, it's the Lexus (I think) 4 series, with a different logo. They're made in the same factory.

I'm intensely fond of Ripper, but since Infiniti no longer makes the J series luxury sports sedan, and since none of the other Infiniti models I've driven have come close to Ripper's 230 HP, devouring of hills, and sheer badass attitude, I can't rep it. People who own them tend to hang on to them.

Once Ripper goes to the Big Infiniti Graveyard in the Sky, I'm going to try and find a way to buy a Jag S type. The one we rented and drove from here to LA and back took the Grapevine in fourth gear from a standing start, at 105 mph to the summit, and never whimpered. Plus, comfort for light years and no blind spots. Want.