Although I can safely say that the Chief's tongue was planted firmly in his cheek as he prattled on about space limitation in the XLR, he does raise a valid point. With the roof down, where it should be on any monsoon-free day, there is very little stowage space in the XLR's trunk, and even less
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| With the roof down, there is very little room left in the trunk for much of anything. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
within its cabin. A picnic in the hinterland won't include the comfort of folding chairs and large coolers awash with food and refreshments. Of course, those who can afford $110K will likely opt for the country club dining room over just the country. Space limitations aside, Chief Graham was duly impressed with the many hi-tech features GM has laden upon the XLR. One of the quirkier of which, described by the man himself as a good idea, is "the idiot-reminder that you have gone thirty miles down the road with the turn signal on. Not that it happened to me. I just read it in the manual!" Ah, yeah sure you did Chief.
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| The XLR's retractable hardtop is an engineering marvel to behold, and likely to draw a crowd. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
Many of the miles driven by the Chief, with or without a perpetually blinking turn signal, were done so topless. Aghast! Before you visualize something out of Planet of The Apes let me emphasize, topless as in open air motoring. The retractable hardtop of the XLR is an engineering marvel to behold. Watching the mechanics of its retraction and reattachment is similar to watching the Wright brothers take flight in the original Kitty Hawk. In addition to wind blowing through his graying hair and youthfulness coursing through his hardening arteries, the by-product of going topless for the Chief is the ability to freely interact and communicate with the public.
