Well, it's good to be back. Actually, I haven't really gone anywhere, I just haven't been HERE!

The last several posts have been rather political in nature and I thought I'd start the new year by 'giving it a rest'. We all know that Bush is sending us headlong into a war that has no real justification, so, why belabor the point, hmmmm? Don't worry, I'll be back to this topic shortly. For now, we'll touch on the more mundane.

Like the L.A.2003 Auto Show. Before you get too excited, today is the last day of the show, but the website is still worth checking out.

Being a woman, the show was the opportunity to see the opposite sex in a place that most very nearly approximates a woman in a Neiman Marcus/Saks Fifth Avenue/enter your favorite shopping place here/Department Store. Men take on the most delightful qualities in the presence of fine automobiles, I found. They are at once, highly engaged and duly reverential when looking at chrome, tinted glass and glossy automotive paint. A fine automobile can evoke feelings more akin to love than just sheer admiration. When you think about it, a car can give a man the things they desire most, beauty owned and the potential that resides in a vehicle providing freedom. A car never becomes jealous of other cars, and if chosen wisely, it can actually grow more beautiful with age. At a visceral level, a woman can never achieve the level of admiration and in some cases adoration that a car can in most men's eyes. While a car can't provide physical orgasm or children, it can give something more emotionally lasting, the reminisence of memory, usually childhood memory. That is TRULY priceless!

It is this knowlege that helps me to appreciate cars myself. Sometimes I don't know why a particular car or truck holds such appeal to me. For instance, I am completely entranced by Hummers. Yes, the political part of my brain is totally appalled to think that another part of my brain can't take my eyes off of such an obviously oppressive military vehicle. Why, why do they hold such fascination for me? They are large and boxy. They are usually seen with gun turrets and painted camoulflage green. Still, they remind me of the low, chop top Mercurys of the late 40's. You know the kind, the low rectangular rear window that somehow mirrors the wide rear end that has beefed up suspension and a low front end. There is something a bit 'dangerous' about Hummers. They look radically different from other vehicles and seem almost indestructable. When we went to the Hummer Display at the Car Show, I was amazed at the number of young urban individuals, people of color, who milled around the Hummers displayed. There were vehicles that reflected the 2003 model year, the H2, painted canary yellow with black accents. They were impressive, but the later model examples, the ones first available to the public were the vehicles that everyone couldn't get enough of. This is the one closest to the original military version, with 10 foot long benches inside and the amazingly wide spaces between the driver and the passengers, that people obviously loved.

The reason for this is clear. The old Hummer the H1,would probably never be run off the road and I doubt that bullets could penetrate the armor of the huge doors. The thing is a tank, a symbol of power and screams 'Don't even THINK about f***king with me!'. Who wouldn't want to make that statement to the world? Isn't that why the U.S. Government made them? Gotta wonder. With the injustice that most inner city people deal with from those who are supposed to 'protect and serve' them, it is no wonder people love the idea of a Hummer. Where do you see them on TV the most? Yep, Rap Videos. I don't blame them, a bit!

O.K. - Now, I have a bone to pick. Porshe has always had a pretty stellar reputation, but it seems that keeping things in the high performance realm wasn't good enough. They had to go and throw their hats into the SUV race. The car itself, is pretty unremarkable, having been to most of the other SUV displays at the show. Seen one, you've seen them all. Their entry is disappointingly called 'The Cayenne'. Can you believe it? The Cayenne. (I had to type it again, because I STILL couldn't believe anyone approved such a ridiculous name for a car.) The Porshe executives actually put out a full-on media blitz for this car, devoting an entire room to it in various colors complete with a 20 foot long video screen that looped a glitzy presentation touting the 'it-ness' of the Cayenne. We weren't there 3 minutes when we overheard the first onslaughts of jokes about the erstwhile name. 'Who in God's name would name a car after a spice?', 'Next year they'll come out with 'The Nutmeg' or maybe the 'Rosemary', perhaps 'Cilantro' to get the Latino market.' On and on. Bad move, Porshe.

The cars that seemed to hold the most fascination was a new kind of 'mini SUV called the SCION, by Toyota. (Nissan had an entry that looked almost exactly like it, but it was tucked away in the back of the room and had no name badge on the car. Poor planning.) The car has to be seen in person to be believed as I'd never be able to describe it adequately. For one thing, the damn car is small, and I mean, infintesimal small, almost like a toy. If you thought the new British Mini was small, you've got to see the Scion. Interestingly enough, pricing won't be available until Spring 2003. The car actually launches in June. Let's just say, 'boxy' must be the new 'in' thing this year.

By the way, did I happen to mention the most marvelous thing about the show? It was the first time I've ever been at a public event where, not only didn't I have to wait in a line to go to the bathroom, but I was the ONLY woman in the Ladies Room at all! Believe me fellas, THAT'S a miracle!

Ciao!