Fun with Ferrets� by Barb "TrueBrit" Fairhead And not the fluffy, de-clawed, de-scented kind. It�s a Scout car, very nippy (0-300 mph in 60 seconds) Great visibility. Goes as fast backwards as it does forwards. Not very long. Probably the same as the width of that new Ford Expedition. Imagine, being able to drive straight in and out of your parking spot without making five hundred annoying little turns. Not to mention twisting your head all the way round! I AM A WOMAN, NOT AN OWL. Come to think of it, you can make your own parking space. After all, the thing is fully armored , in case of hostile situations, and those tasteful metal cylinders on the front are designed to blow things up. I have to admit that my Ferret does look a little fluffy. Amazing what can happen when you ramp up those pixels on your selection tool. Frolics with Photoshop. I spotted my Ferret in the Dupont guide to luscious cars, along with the Saracen. Same color, same vintage , same provenance. Ah! provenance. Slides around the mouth like a balmy breeze on a summer�s eve. You wouldn�t call your Monet, or your bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild an import, would you? They too have provenance . The Dupont guide to luscious cars seems a strange place to advertise a Saracen or a Ferret. But since I do not subscribe to �Mercenaries Weekly�, "The Arms Dealer Gazette�, thank goodness for the unexpected, what a wonderful treat I would have missed. At this point I feel that I must add something educational to this piece - a tidbit of British culture; an indispensable addition to after dinner conversation�The coffee, the brandy, the candlelight, the eyes sparkling with anticipation�Do you know that in certain parts of England, men put ferrets odors, down their trousers? And these are real ferrets - teeth, claws, smells and all. Why? To prove their courage in the face of�ferrets. And, for that extra frisson, they put bicycle clips around their (trouser) bottoms, so the ferret can�t get out. The hero of the day is the one who keeps his trousers on the longest. Women are not allowed to participate. Fortunately we don�t come from that part of England, so my husband sings a low tenor. Culture time over. Back to business. I live in awe of those summertime convoys - the RV towing the SUV towing the boat towing the bicycle. Reminds me of a rather promiscuous mother duck, with assorted offspring in tow. Same general species, but definitely not the same family. I look forward to driving my own (at this time, virtual) convoy � my newly refurbished Saracen (there is a webgrrl who does wonderful things with metal) towing the Ferret (forwards, backwards, doesn�t matter), and, just for fun, one of those Little Tykes kiddie mobiles. Of course, the colors would clash, but what the heck. In design, isn�t it true that you should go for the unexpected?