Not everyday is filled with the joy of driving a Ferrari or Lamborghini, even for those of us here at Club Sportiva. My BMW was in the shop for a couple days this week for a dent repair at Chilton Auto Body in San Carlos and the onsite rental company (Enterprise) didn't have a Maserati or Lotus for me to use, so I got stuck with a lovely Nissan Sentra.

What is the upside, I ask myself? Well, a reality check, I suppose. It had been at least a few years since I spent time behind the wheel of a $17,000 econo box, so this was a good adjustment. At least, I've convinced myself of that. It was only four thrilling days with the Sentra, but it brought a new appreciation of the cars Club Sportiva is blessed to provide its Members. To say the 140 hp 2.0 liter engine is anemic is an understatement. It floats down the interstate like a brick thrown underhanded. It is darty. It is flimsy. The seats hardly adjust. It doesn't have power locks. Oh, I've become spoiled...but I did learn to drive on a Sentra 20 years ago.

To make matters comical and more disparate, on Thursday, I drove the Ferrari F430 to work for a meeting in Silicon Valley and later that same day drove the Nissan Sentra home. Talk about one extreme to the other. Rags to riches with a $213,000 price delta. Power trip to rotten roller with a 353 hp difference. Champagne to PBR on tap. You get the point.

At least today I get the BMW back from Chilton Auto Body! Chilton is Club Sportiva's authorized body shop for those unfortunate occasions when a wrinkle needs smoothed out.

Labels: Chilton Auto Body, Club Sportiva, exotic car share club, Nissan Sentra, rental car