You want one.

Lamborghini Aventador J. Enjoy.

Only in Bellevue.

Thursday, March 8th, I witnessed a calamity of upper middle class proportions. In hindsight, it cracks me up, but at the time it felt very unsettling.

I was delivering a bright yellow Dodge Challenger SRT8 with six speed manual and huge subs in the trunk.

I was in Bellevue, Washington and I was slightly embarrassed by the 'look-at-me' yellow car. I rolled up on a stop light and saw something that changed my outlook.

In the center lane, to my left, sat an idling Ferrari California in black with the roof down and two very happy looking gentlemen enjoying the first genuine sunlight in a while. I rolled alongside, marveled at the fine Italian auto, and snapped a photo with my cell (I was at a stop light, while observing all known safety laws). My light turned green for a right turn, and I left the sight with regret. As I drove off, I got a call from my coworker who had been sitting in his rig to the left of the Ferrari.

It seems there was a blue Corvette behind the Ferrari.

When my light changed, the blue Corvette attempted to drive under the sleek black convertible. I missed it entirely. Apparently no one was hurt and the damage looked slight.

The good news is that I didn't wreck the customer's Challenger. The bad news is that some very wealthy humans were inconvenienced on a sunny Thursday afternoon.

And that's how babies are made.

Automobile Magazine's list: Ten cars we want back

http://www.automobilemag.com/features/news/1204_ten_cars_we_want_back/index.html

The above link leads to an interesting article from Automobile Magazine. I, for one, would rather see a classic Bronco or Jeep Comanche than a Prelude (yuck) or Riviera (ew), but overall it looks like a decent list. Which has me thinking, is new always better?

I drove a 1999 Jeep Wrangler yesterday. It had a 4.0 liter 6 cylinder engine with a 5 speed manual transmission. It was stock, including the factory issued balding street tires. I had to pull the rig onto a frame ramp, which is just barely wide enough to fit a car onto while climbing at roughly a 20 degree incline. In the newer Wrangler JK (2007-Present), this feat ends with my hind end puckered and a coworker furiously signaling to me from my blind spots. In this, the older TJ (1997-2006), I could see all four tires either directly or through my mirrors with room to spare, and neither my hind end felt clenched nor did any coworkers look like mid-'80s aerobics instructors with their arms waving and their feet kicking.

This older, smaller, less refined Wrangler was easier to drive. It was more fun. But it wasn't as unrefined or fun as my old Willys, which was too unrefined, but just the right amount of fun.

I wonder if Jeep should consider a new off-road-friendly rig that slims down and lightens up while hitting a lower price tag than the $30,000 JK (sure, you can price one online to $20k-ish, but good luck finding it on a dealer lot). Think A3 to Audi's portlier A4, or Fit to Honda's expanding Civic. Or maybe I'll just have to buy a TJ and give Chrysler none of my money. Which is fine by me.