The Columnist Manifesto

My mildly horrendous train trip from Chicago to Albany ended with the inconvenient fillip of a transfer -- via $30 cab ride -- from the Amtrak station to the airport to pick up our rental car.

The car rental is usually the last travel hassle you have to go through after a wearing trip. You negotiate the rental car desk, which is just as fun as the airline check-in desk, and designed to look exactly the same: frustrated patrons leaning forward, legs crossed, and folded arms resting on the chest-high counter while the customer-weary counter clerk tappity-tappity-taps on a computer keyboard.

With age, I've gotten pickier about rental cars. The American-made cars they offer really suck: Chevy Malibu, Pontiac Grand Am. I always wind up at the rental desk trying to negotiate a better car, often unsuccessfully, and I was preparing myself to swallow the bitter pill of a week in a Ford Taurus -- a fitting end to a disappointing journey. But a pleasant surprise awaited me.

"We're giving you a free upgrade," said the Hertz counter clerk. "Would you like a pickup truck or a Volvo S60?"
"Okay..." I eyed her suspiciously. What was the catch? "I'll take the Volvo."
"Would you like a blue one or a silver one?"

The Volvo S60 is for all intents and purposes a luxury car. Not top of the line, perhaps, but a sweet ride. Roomy, ergonomically designed interiors, buttery leather seats the color of ... well, butter, actually. Nice power and handling. Definitely a car that makes you feel a tad cramped and dissatisfied when you get back into your own car after the trip.


Volvo S60. Mmmmmm.

This was my second really good rental experience in a row. In Vancouver, we were able to substitute a Toyota Matrix for the Ford Taurus. Technically a downgrade, and therefore a cut in price, the Matrix was also a smooth ride. It was comfortable, decently powered, and had two features I really liked.


Toyota Matrix.

One was the "old knees" feature. You may know that a lot of older people are drawn to minivans and SUVs, not because they want big-butt vehicles, but simply because the higher chassis enables riders to get in and out of the seats without doing deep knee bends. Well the Matrix offers high seats in a normal sedan-sized station wagon. I don't know whether this means the car is dangerously high-centered like SUVs -- I hope not. I like the idea of a high-seated alternative.

Second, the Matrix offers what I call the "ABSD" -- or "Anti-Back-Seat-Driver" -- feature. Technically, the design deters annoying kibbitzing from the passenger seat by making it impossible for the front-seat passenger to see any of the dashboard dials.


Toyota Matrix ABSD dashboard indicators, front and side views.

Neat, huh?