Auto News 5

Most car manufacturers strive to create the ideal conditions for the drive programs where media first get behind the wheel of a new car. Sunny, blue skies, gentle ocean breezes, mild temperatures. Smooth, uncrowded roads, nice and twisty ones if you're unveiling a sports car, perhaps not so serpentine if you're introducing a family sedan. The point is to set the stage to best show off your new product. Having just returned from Morocco, where we drove the all-new, 2013 Range Rover, we can tell you that Land Rover, being Land Rover, chose a different path to launch its range-topping SUV. A rocky, muddy path awash in ocher-colored water it was, with nary a ray of sunshine in sight. Yep, it's the rainy season in Morocco, and we were right in the thick of it in our fleet of mud-encrusted 2013 Range Rovers.

Not long after the Infiniti JX35 arrived in Ann Arbor, we had the local dealer install a towing package. The total cost for parts and labor was $932.50 -- not cheap, but it did add an extra measure of versatility to the JX35, and it allows us to take advantage of its 3500-pound towing capacity.

It all started so well. After naming the Audi A7 our 2012 Automobile of the Year, we jumped at the chance to spend a year behind the wheel. We racked up almost 26,000 miles over the course of eight months, and the Oolong Gray Audi did not disappoint. Yet our time with the A7 came to an abrupt close this month when the car was stolen in New York State.