Cruisin'

My company forced me to go out to California last week on Business. When we arrived at the rental counter, we were informed that our $45 a day was only going to get us a Hyundai Sonata - which, as good stewards of our company's money was totally unacceptable to us. $45 a day for a Hyundai? Where is the value in that? When we told the counter agent that he needed to do better than that, he started trying to talk us into one of the Hertz Prestige collection cars - a Hummer H2 or maybe a Jag XJ8 for ONLY $80 more a day. While tempted mightily, we realized we were staying at the same hotel as our boss, and figured he might notice if we drove up in a giant Hummer. In the end, we found middle ground - for only a few dollars more we were given the keys to a 2006 Mustang GT Convertible.

Now, I have never been a Ford Man, and never really wanted a mustang, but I will say that this is the closest I have ever been to changing my mind. I really like the new (old) styling, and the interior is fantastic. Very simple, with smooth lines, chrome accents on the round heater vents and Dashboard outline - it really has a nice old-timey feel to it. Cruising down Rt. 101 from San Francisco to San Jose with the top down, and the built - in Sirius satellite radio tuned to the "all-80's" channel, made me feel like I was 18 again.

When it was my turn to drive, I stomped on the gas and this beast really came to life. The handling was superb, although the only time I really had a chance to test it out was when I was doing lane changes. I would love the chance to take it out on a real road sometime. The only real complaint I could think of is the ridiculous color. "Legend Lime" is hideous.

Side Note: There was no mention of this at the counter, but when we went to the garage, there it was - the Shelby GT-H "rent-a-racer". Wow. It was a thing of beauty. I found out later that I could have rented it for a little less than the Hummer. It's probably a good thing we didn't know that at the time. Maybe next time I'll take an extra day, grab this thing and cruise down the Pacific Coast Highway for a few hours..........





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