With the holidays fast approaching, my wife, daughter, and I departed sunny Los Angeles for the frozen tundra and tenebrous skies of southeastern Michigan. On purpose. Awaiting us in Ann Arbor were my parents, their tiger cat Toby, a Norman Rockwell-perfect noble fir Christmas tree seasoned with white lights and the same ornaments I remember from my youth two-score years ago, and about a foot of fresh white snow blanketing a skin of black ice. Perfect. Usually whenever I return to Michigan in the winter I play a little game with the weather gods. If I want a blizzard to strike the state, I prearrange a test-drive in, say, a Corvette Z06 on cheater slicks. And if I want the forecast to be sunny, dry, and unseasonably warm, I order-up, oh, a Land Rover LR3 complete with winch, snatch blocks, and a St. Bernard wearing a thermos of schnapps on his collar. Inevitably, I’m driving precisely the wrong machine for the conditions. Full Story: Motor Trend - Holiday On Ice: Two Weeks in the 09' Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTEC Diesel M
