Things I would associate with having lunch in Tijuana but I was eating in a strip mall just outside an office park in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Today I got to meet a person I admire very much, Jean Jennings, the President and Editor-in-chief of Automobile Magazine.
I was bombarding her with emails about my amazing road trip and she was kind enough to invite me to lunch with associate editor David Zenlea. David is young and super cute. Jean is no dummy, she’s hired lots of young and handsome men. If you’re going to be in the office all day and go on long car testing trips with your colleagues, you get the ones that are pretty to look at. It’s a bonus that they are smart and good at what they do.
Jean asked which car I would like to drive to lunch while pointing to a key board with a teenage boy’s automotive wish list. I was tempted to take the Audi R8 but there were three of us. As a two time GTI owner and member of the church of Fahrvergnugen, I selected the Scirocco R, which is not even sold in the United States.
I couldn’t decide if they would enjoy my testing the car’s limits or not. I erred on the side of caution and did not even tap into five percent of the cars potential. Much roomier then Sciroccos of yore, this one felt like a nailed down and caffeinated Audi A3 2.0T. Like recent “R” spec Golfs, the Scirocco uses the high-output version of the 2.0 liter gasoline turbo in place of the narrow-angle V6. And no more all-wheel-drive. With just as much interior as the Golf and much sexier styling, the Scirocco would cannibalize Golf R or even GTI sales in the United States. The super Golfs can breathe a sigh of relief because the Scirocco is too expensive to import.

Of course Jean, to whom I have been telling I am on an amazing journey, asked me what was the best part of my adventure so far. I will blame it on being starstruck. Everything that I thought about telling her had left my mind. I think I said something about driving at night without any traffic in Ohio and the time my bowling ball launched itself into my head rest.
I was glad an escaped cockatoo from a nearby pet store started biting me and distracted Jean from thinking about why she decided to take me to lunch.

If I ever sell my car, I will use this picture to drive the price up. I’m sure the staff of Automobile Magazine having sat on your car means something.