The Great Lamborghini Thrash of 2008

As a lowly creator of letters and words that appear on a printed page, I have been greatly blessed with the absence of my bewildered face in any sort of the gossip media which is currently molesting the world. In other words, I am not a celebrity, and thank the good Lord.
Many naive bumpkins [...]

Grocery Shopping in a Lamborghini

It was a moment of sheer jubilation: I put the key into the brand-spankin’ new Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, the starter motor whirred, but failed to produce engine life. It was a lovely sound: the sound of a sputtering Lamborghini. An almost nostalgic sound, the sound of Lamborghinis past, the sound of Italian crapicity. [...]

The Pros and Cons of a Reliable Lamborghini

The guy from Lamborghini was as German as Spaten Optimator. As German as a gasthaus. As German as a Kunstmuseum. But he was also a diplomatic, sleek, polite European-Unionized German. His name was Franz, and he reminded me a bit of Captain Von Trapp from the Sound of Music, but sans the whistle, the British [...]

Bangalore and Air Conditioning: A Ferrari Across India, Part III

Driving a Ferrari in India is a somewhat obtuse experience. Normally, the average petrolhead would fantasize about thrashing a Ferrari on curvy corniches overlooking Monte Carlo in the morning, then spending the afternoon daftly cruising down shiny streets lined with stores with weird, two-syllable names like “Gucci” and “Prada.” However, I have been [...]

Uncomfortably Comfortable: A Ferrari Across India, Day 1

I’m often skeptical of car manufacturers when they treat journalists real well. It seems they are buying good words by putting us press boneheads up in a really nice hotel that we don’t even come close to deserving. If Ferrari would have put me up in Trivandrum, India’s version of the Motel [...]

Magic India Discovery, and Other Ferrari Weirdnesses

When I decided to become a journalist who drove cars for a living, I did it for a number of reasons. First, I would not have to cover politics, a job I considered closely similar to being the manager of a Victoria’s Secret in downtown Tehran. I would also not have to journey [...]

Lost in Generic Moroccan Hills

Author’s note: I apologize for the rather long, surprise sabbatical I’ve been taking the last month. My alter ego will now continue his story.

When all things are finally considered, the Range Rover Sport saved my life.
An example: I’m lost in the Atlas mountains having somehow strayed from the pre-determined ‘path’ created by a 4×4 tour [...]

In Casablanca, Waiting for a Range Rover

There are certain times during one’s life when the sensation of living is incredibly noticeable. As one who drives a lot of massively extreme cars, such sensations are rather frequent in my own life. For example, I recently finished taking a grand tour in the peerless Aston Martin DBS, and I can honestly say [...]

The Thrill of Night Driving

What is it about driving at night? The chilled air? No bugs? No overpowering sunlight? Sparse traffic? Why is it just so…. cool?
In Michael Mann’s crime thriller masterpiece Collateral, Max tells Vincent why he likes driving at night. “People are more relaxed,” says Max. Is it relaxation that makes night driving so sumptuously cool? [...]

Driving the Aston Martin DBS

The Emotional Control Unit of the Aston Martin DBS has been making me moody for a good few days now. My emotions have been running extremely high; and that’s a good thing. Since I’ve been driving around in the Aston, I feel sort of like the unpopular kid in high school who, by some [...]