LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
CAMP Town: Thelma and Louise Hit the Road Again |
by Marion McGrath |
It's a beautiful fall afternoon and Trish Massella and I are hearing the call of the road. No, we don't go to a bar and drink, we don't rob a gas station and we definitely don't beat up a truck driver. And, we say to each other, wasn't that car that Thelma and Louise were in just a little tacky? Our road trip demands far more class and style. Hmmm. Say, aren't the 2000 model cars out now? We giggle and pinch each other and head over to Boulevard FORD, Lincoln-Mercury (1583 Highway One, Lewes) where we meet general manager, Jim Blecki. Jim is an easy going kind of guy and seems more than happy to have us test drive one of their new models. He says he'll see what's available. Trish and I nudge each other and try to look cool as this sleek, black, sporty looking car pulls up. Surely, that's not for us. But surely, it is. We've always associated Lincolns with successful businessmen who smoke cigars and like to drive large luxury cars, but this? This is a first ever for Lincoln, a four-door, midsize, luxury sports sedan. Wow. We slip into the interior and let ourselves sink into butter-soft, leather bucket seats and admire the interior. At first glance I think that the control panel may need a licensed pilot to operate it but all the gauges are big, easy to read, and simple. The leather-covered steering wheel feels good in my hands as we ease our way onto Route 1. Where to go on such a great day? The temptation is to head for Atlantic City, watch the heads turn as we valet park and go directly to the blackjack tables to see if the good luck we seem to have would hold. Sensibility of sorts returns and instead we turn toward Lewes and the beach. This car is an absolute pleasure to drive everything about it is smooth, comfortable AND powerful. The BMW 528i that approaches on our left seems to want to play a little road tag. I gently stomp the gas pedal (keeping within the speed limit, of course) and as we pull away I check the rearview mirror which shows the front end of the Beamer with an astonished looking driver behind the wheel. Grinning smugly, we take the beach turnoff. The LS is as much fun to drive in town as it is on the highway. And the head turning quotient is high. We reluctantly head back to the showroom where we learn that the midnight gray LS we've been driving has a 3-liter V-6 aluminum alloy engine rated 210 horsepower with 205 foot-pounds of torque. What that translated to for us was a dream ride in a dream machine. And for those of you to whom, ahem, size matters, the LS is six inches longer and 2 inches wider than the BMW 5-series. Our next stop is C.P. Diver, (1215 Highway One, Lewes) where we are greeted by sales manager Mark Berryman, Jr. Mark listens to us as Trish and I explain our mission: girls just want to have fun. Since C.P. Diver sells Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, GMC and Buick products, that's a lot of fun to choose from. Mark thinks a spiffy, red Chevy Camaro might be just the ticket for us. We are headed straight for this muscle car when out of the corner of our eyes we catch a bright purple gleam. When we turn, there sits the cutest little car we've seen in quite a while, shiny metallic purple with a bright white canvas top. "What's that?" we ask, and are told that it is a 2000 4-wheel drive Tracker Convertible. Trish and I have a brief conference and chirp, "Can we drive THAT?" "No problem," says Mark and he slaps on the dealer tags and we're off. The agility of this car is not to be underestimated. It's responsive to light touch and has a surprising maneuverability. Trish gets that gleam in her eye and suggests we go to the beach again because, "there are dunes there." Dunes mean lots of surrounding sand and we are, after all, in a four-wheel drive vehicle. So, quicker than you can say, "Gladys Kravitz," we're looking at the ocean and start scouting for a place that suits our mood. We know that the dunes are fragile and wouldn't think about driving on those, but off in the distance we see the ranger station and it's hugged by little sand hillocks. Perfect. As we get closer I start to recall memories of my being on the beach at Chincoteague stuck spinning in sand up to the top of my hubcaps and begin to have a few apprehensions. No sweat. The eight-inch ground clearance and shift-on-the-fly four-wheel drive propelled us up on the sand with ease. We were tempted to do a donut on the sand but remembering we were on the rangers' turf, thought better of it. We discover the benefit of the tight turning circle the Tracker has as we whip around and turn back towards the road. This definitely is a fun car! Trailing sand behind us we are back at the dealership. We thank Mark and get the following information for the gearheads among you: the Tracker we drove has a 1.6 liter, 16-valve, 4-cylinder, SOHC engine with Multi-Port Fuel Injection. You might want to ask about the Hang Ten Edition should you be wondering how your surf boards will fit. Last on our list is I.G. Burton, (605 Bay Road, Milford). As we pull into the parking lot Trish and I are chanting our mantra, "Convertible, convertible, convertible." It works, and manager Craig Henry directs us to a jazzy silver Chrysler Sebring convertible. Putting the top down is easy as a breeze. We plunk our fannies into leather-trim seats that have, fortunately for short me, a six-way power driver's seat that lets me easily hunker up to the steering wheel. As we crank up the tunes the super cool sound system blasts out the voice of Annie Lenox telling us, "Money Can't Buy It," but we know better. As we inhale that delicious new car smell, I suggest that we drive on to Philadelphia but Trish, the voice of reason, reminds me that this is a test drive and not a weekend trip. We take note of the traffic on Route 1 and decide to head in another direction. The back roads give us a chance to realize just how quiet this car is, especially for a convertible. Driving this car is a delight. There's a feature called the AutoStick Shifter, which while I don't understand quite how it works, lets you change gears without a clutch, or stick with the four-speed automatic. We stick with the automatic because we're lazy and don't want to fiddle with gears on a day as great as this one is turning out to be. We're cruising along so effortlessly that it's almost like standing still. This car definitely suits our temperaments but we know we have to take it back. When we return we easily put the top up and grudgingly hand over the keys. What makes this car run? Soooo glad you asked. The Sebring is powered by a 2.5-liter, 24-valve, V6 engine. Before we leave, I pick up a picture of that hot little 2001 PT Cruiser that Chrysler will premier early next year. It's a beaut. Driving the new 2000 models was loads of fun. And we'd like to thank again the friendly folks at Boulevard, C.P. Diver, and I.G. Burtonyou made our day |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 9, No. 15, Nov. 24, 1999 |