Hal gets the Jaguar !!

[Hal Copple]

It went down just as planned.

First, thanks to the many CC folks who contacted me via CC or personal Email with their views on the Jaguar X Series car i was contemplating buying my wife for our 25th Anniversary. I sincerely appreciate your opinions. Nothing like advice from other Car Guys.

Here is the After Action Report: After Chris (my son) and I test drove an X Series up in Charlotte last weekend, i looked up some Jaguar dealers, and called about three. The best deal, almost $1800 less than the other dealers, came out of Atlanta. Perhaps there is more volume and negotiation in a large city. I wanted the Sports Package, which does not come in every color, and wanted the charcoal leather interior, and a "moonroof', and nothing else. You can put thousands of dollars in music, and other electric stuff on these cars. It was to be a "metallic Platinum".

There was only one Sports 3 liter car thus equipped on the east coast, so to it went to Hennessey Jaguar in Atlanta. It so happened that my wife was to attend a nursing conference this weekend, so i arranged for the Jaguar salesman to give her the keys this morning, just before the conference was to begin at the Marriott. In order to be sure Lynne would be where she was supposed to be, i told another nurse, Jackie, to have my wife there precisely at 0745, as i was sending Lynne "flowers" for our anniversary, which is this weekend.

I could not risk Jackie spilling the beans, as i believe women can keep secret flowers and such, but concealing jewelry and cars is just too much for most women friends.

This morning about 0845 Lynne called me at my office, and told me she about fell over when the other nurses walked up to her with the Jag chap, and he told her "here is your gift from your husband."

She loves the car, had to go out immediately, loves the power and such. I think most women would like a Jaguar interior, they are different than the Japanese and German cars. Here is her car:

http://www.jaguar.com/us/

Chris and Becky kept mum about the whole thing when we all met for dinner at Clemson two days ago, but of course they were well read into the plan. After all, they nagged Lynne for a year to relent and let me get my SPF three years ago.

I really wanted an AWD car, i had a much modifed AWD Turbo Eclipse (yes, I was once a Ricer!!), and really trusted the AWD in rainy weather. This X Series is virtually the only "car" that i knew would get my wife out of the security of her SUV. She will have fun on the 250 mile return tomorrow. She also said that the nursing conference was thrown into an uproar when all this happened at the opening moments of the conference.

If you think buying a car you have never seen, from someone you never met, in some other state, coordinating the "meeting" with a nurse whose last name you don't know, and having it delivered to a place you have never been, paid for by a check you never saw, is easy, guess again.

She loves the car, and i appreciate the advice and opinions my CC friends have given me about this.

Now i have another car to modify!!!!