CAR CRAZY SAGA:

I am car crazy. No, not the type who spends Saturday afternoon in the garage getting greasy, but the type that motors along the boulevard on a Sunday afternoon in the city—styling. I've had some wonderful cars. My first was a European-only made Karmann Ghia, quite striking. I've had a hand-built Continental, a four-door Lincoln convertible, a two-passenger convertible truck, an old Jag, six convertibles and two "firsts" in the State of Delaware. I have a model car collection of ALL the cars I've ever owned!

But now, I want to talk about my wonderful current car: the fabulous


2006 Cadillac XLR Roadster. (2009-     )


The XLR (2004-2009) is an exceptional car. It is based on the Cadillac concept car called the Evoq. It's almost an exact duplicate which is unusual in the automobile world for such a design to make it to market. I followed the design through the years, watching it carefully. 

In 2004, it became an actual production car. 

click to see: Cadillac XLR

In March of 2009, I became even more interested in this car. I had thought of owning it before, but only in my dreams had I ever thought that I might. One March day, Ted Wilson, my neighbor, and I were in Lewes, Delaware and actually saw one! It was gorgeous! It whizzed by twice, each time heightening my excitement. One day in April, I was playing around on eBay and inserted "Cadillac XLR". Up popped several luscious cars. I was surprised at the low costs: $12,000 for low cost ones up to $40-$50,000. Retail was $85-$105,000! I learned several other things: 2009 would be the last year and four of those years had Limited Edition cars of a run of only 250: 2006 Star Black, 2007 Passion Red, 2008 Alpine White, and 2009 Platinum. My favorite was the 2006 Star Black. There was one in Scottsdale bidding around $30,000. It went for $44,000! I put out feelers. On April 24, I received an e-mail from Saturn of Richmond, Virginia about a Star Black with 12,000 miles. It was being lowered from $41,000 to $40,000. I bought it.

My car is the 2006 Cadillac XLR, Limited Edition Star Black, 2-seat, hardtop convertible—number 50 of 250. She has a 320 hp Northstar V-8 engine, aluminum and magnesium body, Xirallic fleck paint, chrome wheels and grille, radar-controlled cruise control, rear parking assist, swivel headlights, magnetic ride control, 250-watt nine speaker Bose surround sound system, Bvlgari instruments, heated and air-conditioned eight-way seats, 

run flat tires, and the key fob kept in your pocket allows entry and pushbutton start and locks car when walking away. It has navigation, OnStar, and a head up display on the windshield—altogether a beautiful package—quick as the wind and rides like a dream


  ---STYLING !!

Ted and I out for a drive.

No top in 20 seconds!

My other cars were...