Rob predicted last month that .   And even before that, he hinted several months ago, that a big car change was afoot.

Still, its come as a huge shock to nearly everyone who knows me, that the Caliente era is coming to a close.   My beloved Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible was a fantastic, fun car for two, but not at all a good fit for three.   So, a couple of weeks ago we said "Hello" to our new, comfy, more family-oriented car (dubbed Rocket by Liam).

Its a bit bittersweet, of course, knowing that this means a very sad "Goodbye" to my sweet little Cali, who sits dejected on the curb with a forlorn "For Sale" perched in her windshield.   (Call me for a price on an award-winning, sporty, fun, little car!)

Is this the first of more big changes to come in 2010?   Oh yes!   Stay tuned…
 

Dede decided it was finally time to let the personalized "CALI N T" license plates on Caliente go.   (It was always a lot of fun to watch people read that plate, scratch their heads a bit, and then see the meaning finally dawn on ’em!)

Is this a foreshadowing of other, bigger changes to come?   Time will tell…

Once again, we’re prepped, loaded, & on the road to the 8th Annual Roswell R2k New Beetle Car Show in Roswell, New Mexico.   Although the competition gets stiffer each year, we’re hopeful that Caliente will fare well — maybe even score another trophy — thanks in part to Cali’s newly-painted brake calipers and some new chili-pepper themed decorations.

As with the previous years’ R2k shows, we’re especially excited about the "Parade of Colors" that’s held after the car show on Saturday afternoon.   We’ve bought several pounds of candy to throw to the kids watching the parade — they always get a huge kick out of seeing all of the decorated VW New Beetles cruising down Roswell’s Main Street.

It was a big night for Caliente;   she finally got her long overdue pedi. We’ve been talking for a couple of years about wanting to paint the brake calipers but were afraid to tackle the project alone.   Thanks to Trey (a.k.a. T-Dawg), tonight it finally happened.

It took T-Dawg & Rob about 2 hours from start to finish.   Not bad at all!   I was on-hand as the project manager & official photographer.   I trusted them with my baby and, I must say, the boyz did an awesome job!

Here’s a picture of the guys gearing up to start.   Click here to see the rest of the photos.

Remember the Andy Warhol quote, “In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes?”
Well, I guess it's Caliente's turn to have a few fleeting moments of celebrity…

Although I saw the Hot VWs magazine crew taking photos, & interviewing owners at the Roswell 2k New Beetle Car Show back in June of '06, I never suspected that we were noteworthy enough to be featured.   But sure enough, we've made it into the February issue!

Click here to download a PDF copy (18MB) of Hot VWs' article on R2k06.
     Note: You may need to install Adobe Reader to view this file.
 

We’ve returned from the R2K v7 New Beetle car show with yet another unexpected win.   This time, instead of categorizing the New Beetles by year, David divided the cars up into 4 classes and awarded trophies to the top 5 in each.   Caliente made me proud (again) by taking home the Best Convertible trophy!

It was another fun trip!   We saw lots of our old friends and made several new ones.   Volkswagen reps were on-hand to show off their new EOS hardtop convertible car that’ll be released later this year and pass out all kinds of free goodies like t-shirts, keychains, & custom dog tags.   This year’s guest of honor was Barry Meguiar, the chipper host of Speed Channel’s Car Crazy TV show and CEO of Meguiar’s Inc. — makers of lots of the car care stuff that keeps Cali looking so good!

Click here to view photos of the show!

I can’t believe a year has already passed already but it is time to meet the mothership once again. Check out all the details on the Roswell 2K New Beetle Car Show site. Wish us luck as the Head Alien makes his selections!

We’ve returned from our 3rd Texas New Beetle Roundup – the largest annual Volkswagen New Beetle gathering in Texas. I am happy to report that Caliente won 3rd Place in the Stock Class this year. In spite of the rain — which certainly made displaying cars (much less a convertible) something of a challenge — there was a good turnout for the show. It was great to see all of the familiar faces again and we’re looking forward to seeing many of them again in Roswell in June.

Click here to view photos