2006 Colorado dealer profile & automotive preview.

• Author: Rundles, Jeff
• Position: SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

I like the nuances of cars, the psychology of cars, the temperament of cars, and the sheer emotional value they bring to people's lives. It has always been my ambition to address the romance of cars, the experience of driving a particular vehicle in everyday use. I never wanted to get into the gear-head stuff about compression ratios and torque converters (or anything about torque), or any other mechanical stuff. As a business reporter surrounded by bankers and executive vice presidents and all manner of corporate ladder-climbers, I wanted my automobile coverage to address the practical considerations of owning one car or another, balanced in among the ethereal messages of what a car might say about where its driver was, and in which direction the driver might be headed, in a career path. So, in essence, I have been writing about conveyance for a long time: machines that at the same time literally and figuratively convey a person through life's both physical and metaphorical journeys. The medium and the message, as it were.

In the process I have learned a lot about both types of movement, but I have come to understand that, as Marshall McLuhan opined, the message is the medium. Many a very nice car has succumbed to an unfortunate reputation, while not a few dogs have been elevated to thoroughbred status through little more than becoming a symbol. Buick, which makes many nice models, is the "old people's car"; Subaru is a "chick car." On the other hand, when Arnold Schwarzenegger modified a military Hummer, he gave it street cred that won't go away no matter how awful a vehicle the H1 was, or how derivative the H2 and H3 are. It's what the cars come to tacitly say that trumps the utilitarian view each and every time. If Ah-nold had driven a Subaru, for instance, he'd now be governor of Vermont.

The good news is that, as we continue to get deeper into this new century, there are many mediums (car models) that bespeak great messages. If you want luxury and cache, or practicality and an air of sensibility, or if you just want to be cheap without screaming "Loser," you're in luck. You can convey whatever message you'd like, on almost any budget, without jeopardizing your conveyance at all.

The thing that I have been noticing lately in cars, which is quite a change from the last few years, is how sexy some of the models are becoming. The new Mustang, for example, which harkens back to the famous mid-1960's musclecar models, is turning heads everywhere. I saw my first one on the streets of Palm Springs, Calif., this past spring, and it was as though the oceans of Mercedes, Jags and BMWs so prevalent in such an upscale community dimmed their shine as the Mustang passed. Not too long ago I got to drive one--a GT convertible--and I was thoroughly taken by the experience. It was a muscle car with sensibilities (it handled great), it was priced for everyman (low $30ks), and what it said about me, however briefly, was "there's a guy with six-pack abs."

Totally on the other end of the spectrum, but sexy indeed, is the rare BMW M6. This German carmaker mass markets the 3 Series, 5 Series, and to a lesser extent the 7Series models, and reserves the 6 for special occasions. In fact, it's been 15 years since the last M6 coupe made an appearance in America, and that's both bad and good: bad because it should be more available; good because it makes it all the more interesting. Powered by a 5-liter V-10 engine with 500 hp, this car is just too cool for its own good. I haven't driven one, but I've been in enough BMWs to know what you're going to get here: Stares; gaping; ogling; dinner and breakfast invitations; offers of marriage.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Now for Mercedes, well, it hasn't been a good year. There are accusations that the quality has dropped off, that even Germans now rate Japanese models like Lexus ahead of Mercedes, and there has been some suffering in the lineup over the...