More car shopping. Followed my mom back up 31 to the Infiniti dealership. Found a nice older guy who called her Mrs. Oglesby, and who was one of the least car-salesmanly fellows I've met. He'd actually tell you what he thought about stuff--"We can put that on there--I mean, I get a bonus for it and all--but I really don't think you'd like it." Cool.
Anyway, since we were looking at 8s to start with, they had some really, really cool new '06 M45s. Mmmmmm. Yummy. But they were pricey. They had one M35, but it was pricey as well, and at the time, she was still adamant about not buying a six. Well, what about the G35--slightly smaller, lighter, and still with the same engine as in the larger M35?
"Welllll," she said. The salesguy walked us over to the assortment they had. She was favorably impressed, at least by the exterior. So, we stood in the hot sun and palavered amongst ourselves for a long time before I finally said to her, "Oh, just drive the thing and see how it feels so you'll know what you're missing or not missing."
Let me tell you--280 horsees are 280 horsees. She made the same loop she did in the Lincoln, except in the opposite direction, and despite the fact that it has much sharper reflexes and much tighter steering, she was very impressed. She's used to the effortless squishiness of the Caddy, and at first wasn't used to the feel of it, but after she got going--and after she did another standing start lunge to the redline, I think she was hooked.
We got back and she looked and looked some more at them, and finally decided she liked the one that had the cool 18 inch ten-spoke wheels. Of course, this only comes with the sport-handling package, that handles even more directly than the base model, but she decided that would be okay. And that handling package also gets you a limited slip differential, so when she turns off the traction control, she can leave a nice set of double black lines as she burns 'em down coming out of her subdivision.
And I promise you, this is stuff SHE wanted--I wasn't out there trying to get the cool stuff I'd like to have on one--in fact, when I suggested that the black exterior with charcoal interior and optional rosewood accents looked the best of all, she was airily dismissive of me and said, "Well, maybe for a man, but not a lady." Well, la-dee-DAH! Which I think is exactly what I said.
Anyway, she got them to work up a price for her, and I think she's probably going to go for it. If you see a white G35 in the rear-view mirror boiling up behind you, I believe it would be wise to move over. She's getting to the point where she doesn't like to drive any slower than her age.
She'll be 76 in August.
Posted by Terry Oglesby at June 27, 2005 12:25 PMI think that's what Charles has.
It's a very tight car. He loves his.
Posted by: Janis at June 27, 2005 12:31 PMAnd maybe it's just my way of thinking, but I think as she gets older and her reflexes start to slow, it's better to have something more responsive than some barge. Again, though, that might just me hoping to be rewarded with it once she goes on the Last Great Roadtrip.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at June 27, 2005 12:42 PMI don't remember what year it is, but my daughter has an Infiniti. It has over 200,000 miles on it and is still going.
Posted by: Kathy at June 27, 2005 01:01 PMMan, I have to give your mother my compliments. I LIKE that Infiniti G35, though it is out of my price range; never thought I'd see a 76-yr-old driving one of those. She has good taste and good instincts, apparently.
Posted by: Stan at June 27, 2005 01:07 PMWord to yer moms.
Posted by: vachon at June 27, 2005 01:08 PMKathy--your daughter needs a 200,000 mile badge! And Stan and Vachon, yep. It's a bit hard to fathom, but when you think about her, it's probably in character. When she was a teenager, she and her future husband (my future father) used to go down on the Warrior River and race boats. Somehow, my father was able to convince her to lie out on the bow so the boat would get up on plane faster.
She's an interesting person.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at June 27, 2005 01:13 PM