Hello from a snowy Toronto. My amazing husband has allowed me to indulge myself with a terrific automotive Christmas present, and tomorrow we pick up our new GLC AMG43.

As there are no doubt many "car-people" here, I'll share the story of the car that almost didn't happen.

We live downtown in a big city - private automobile is the worst way to get around! We do, however, drive to our cottage about 2 hours north whenever we can get away for the weekend. This has meant I get to have a car - husband wanted to go car-less when we'd first moved here. I had been living with a 2012 Nissan Murano Platinum. It's got lots of "stuff" and is a perfectly pleasant car, though not one scintilla of excitement. We'd bought it at 18 months old with only 12,000km. A very rational choice. In fact, as I write, the car still only has 45,000km. Obviously we are low-mileage drivers and we certainly didn't "need" a new car.

But I really wanted a new car. I am a "car-guy". I love driving and I love cars. I've actually had so many cars over the years that the number of vehicle's I've owned is almost equal to the number of years I've had a driver's license (which is a shockingly big number!). The Murano, while pleasant, just wasn't doing it for me. After some lobbying, husband finally relented, so the shopping began!

I thought I wanted a Range Rover Sport. They may as well be the official car of Muskoka - the area where our cottage is located - as it seems everyone has one. And they have an appealingly "sinister" look. Turns out, however - for me - they don't have appealing driving characteristics. It struck me as very truck-like. It was also vast in size, and much too big for our urban environment.

Next up was the Macan. I've always wanted a Porsche - who doesn't - and the Macan actually worked for how we use a vehicle. I booked a test drive and husband trooped along for more car-shopping-which-he-hates. I drove the 4-cylinder car. Porsche charges stupid high interest on it's leases and that means the payment on the 4-cylinder is about the same as the 6-cylinder Merc. The Macan felt a lot like a GTI to me. I've had two of those plus an "R", and the drive was so familiar I feared I'd get bored quickly. Husband liked it - it is very likable - and, as mentioned, my desire to have a Porsche was very strong. I struggled the entire day following the test-drive with not wanting to admit the Macan under-whelmed me. I actually wrote an e-mail to the dealer rep telling to place the order, and then deleted it.

And then, fortunately, a gap opened in my schedule for late afternoon. I rang the Mercedes-Benz corporate office to see if there was anywhere in Toronto I could test drive a GLC within the next 90 minutes. In hindsight it starts to look like a "meant to be" scenario, but as it happened the guy who'd showed me a C300 cab (husband hated the low-down seating position) earlier in the fall, and based at the nearest dealership location, was available. I cabbed it over (why do cabs always smell so badly?) and we drove a GLC 300. That's a pretty nice car in and of itself, and I would definitely have chosen it over the base Macan. Unfortunately he'd sold his AMG demo a few days prior and so I couldn't drive that. He did suggest I drive the AMG C-Class sedan and I am so glad I did! What an experience. I giggled like a child at the sounds the exhaust made in Sport+. And the engine - wow. This was exactly the excitement I'd been missing and so keen to find again. And, again with the "meant to be" theme, he had an Exec demo car in the right colours that I could get before we left for the in-laws on Saturday morning. I signed immediately.

So there we have it. I haven't actually even driven the type of vehicle I'm getting! This is the only time in my life I've bought a car without driving the exact model I would buy.

Attached is a picture the dealer sent when it arrived for PDI yesterday morning. Can't wait for delivery tomorrow!! Merry Christmas to me :-)

Oh, about the "back to Benz" part. Among the hordes of cars I've had have been two Mercs, both bought used. A 1991 300E and a 2000 C240. I'm looking forward to the AMG experience ;-)