Please Meet...

...Delilah!

Infiniti EX35

This is the same link you've seen before (i don't have any new pictures, yet)
I had originally planned to reveal her name once she was wearing her personalized accessories. Due to a mix up, she won't get her license plates for another 2-3 weeks. So, Delilah will have to wear her paper tags a little bit longer.

Thanks Carla for helping out with the naming. I know i tossed out a lot of names. The funny thing is that Delilah did come across my mind early on...but i didn't think it would work at that time. Tarik had the perfect description for her, "She's slutty, but you can still bring her home." Perfect! Absolutely perfect description.

She is so much fun! Every time i see her it brings a smile to my face. It's one of those relationships where you turn to take one last peek before you go out of visual range.

There are so many neat things that Delilah has to offer that it would take me quite a while to go through each feature. I'll do what i can, but i may gloss over some things...simply because i either haven't used it yet, or i haven't learned how to use it yet.

Starting with her external beauty...she sits proudly...poised as if she is ready to strike at any moment. She looks fast sitting still. She's not tall...but she's not short either. She looks stunning from any angle. She looks deceptive from the front...but as soon as you break off from the front view, it rapidly becomes obvious she isn't a car. She isn't an SUV. She's unique. Today she is a bit dirty. She needs another bath.

As i approach her, she welcomes me by turning on a series of internal lights as well as a "puddle" light. The puddle light illuminates the ground on the driver's side. Of course you can only see this at night, but i know she does it every time.

With the intelligent key fob, i don't even need to take the keys out of my pocket. I simply adore this feature. I just walk up to her, press the button on the door handle and presto, the door unlocks and i am granted access to the cockpit. This is actually quite useful, if my hands are otherwise occupied.

Now for her interior beauty. I slip into the driver's seat without a though of having to collapse a limp or fold this way or that. Delilah's seating areas are covered in a supple leather. Not overly hard, nor overly soft. Very comfortable. The seats envelop you much like a kimono (not that i've ever tried on a kimono, but that is what the seats were designed to look like). The driver's seat has 8-way adjustability including lumbar support. My lucky passenger has 4-way adjustability for their comfort. For those cool winter months (notice i didn't use cold...) the seats can be heated for your comfort.

The black lacquer center console is the focal point. It contains the climate control system, stereo functions, and a color LCD for everything else. There are also black lacquer accents on the doors. The 3 spoke steering wheel has some stereo and safety controls as well as cruise control and voice and bluetooth controls.

Just to the left of the center console is the push to start button. I absolutely love this little gimmick. May i remind you that my key fob is still in my pocket. A push of the button, and Delilah lets out a soft throaty growl and then continues to purr...eager for a chance to stretch her legs. As Delilah starts to purr, the steering wheel, seat and mirrors move to a preset position...the perfect position for me. There is another preset available if i ever let anyone else drive her. After a few seconds...Delilah is ready for the road.

The LCD lights up ready for any commands from the driver. Delilah has a navigation system built in. She knows where she is within a few seconds. She will plot the course to the next destination if i choose to let her. Most days, she just keeps track of the current position. The integrated iPod connection allows me to control my iPod from the steering wheel...or from the touch screen LCD. The tunes are pumped out through an 11 speaker Bose premium stereo system featuring a Burr-Brown 24-bit DAC system. The Burr-Brown 24-bit DAC system allows me to change the output of the speakers so that it envelops me, the driver. The center of the speakers would be the driver's position. If carrying passengers, i can turn that feature off to allow my passengers equal opportunity to enjoy the tunes. You see, the Burr-Brown system optimizes the sound for the driver, when enabled. The tunes are not as balanced in other locations in the car when this functionality is enabled.

With the LCD, i can also monitor the climate control system, maintenance schedules, gas mileage information, saved addresses and phone numbers, traffic information, stereo and XM radio information, as well as any of the settings associated with Delilah's vast personality. Oh...and one other thing...camera views.

When i'm ready to let Delilah stretch her legs, i place the car into reverse and the camera views pop up. Delilah is equipped with the industry's first all around view camera system. Four wide angle lens cameras (front, left side mirror, rear, and right side mirror) are displayed on half of the LCD. The 4 combined images create a 360 degree view around Delilah. This feature is perhaps the coolest feature on the car. This is the ultimate in a car safety feature. The blind spots are nearly eliminated with this system. And just to be safe, there are sensors on the four corners of the car to alert me when i'm getting too close to an object. It takes too many words to describe the camera system...you have to see it for yourself.

Delilah has 3 different drive options...when i throw the aluminum and leather wrapped shift knob straight back, she is in the standard automatic configuration. In this configuration, the car is tuned for optimum gas mileage and standard automatic RPM sequencing. If i'm feeling a little more sporty, i can throw the shift knob to the left into the sport mode. In this mode, the car will hold the RPMs just a little longer and perform downshift matching for taking those corners and hills. This is the mode that Delilah spends most of her time in. If i need a little more control, i can control the gears. When in the sport mode (back and to the left) if i push forward i'll advance a gear. When i push rearward, i will downshift a gear. Unlike some manumatic cars when the revs get too high, the car automatically shifts to the next gear. Delilah does not. I can push her to redline if i wanted. I'm still learning this feature, for i still have the standard shift sequence ingrained in my brain (1st, 3rd, and 5th gears are forward and 2nd and 4th are back). The few times i tried this feature out, i was trying to shift to second using the standard method...but this only keeps me in 1st gear...needless to say, the revs got pretty high...but not near redline. Oh, and Delilah let out a nice little growl. With the manual mode, Delilah will jump from a stand still and throw you back in the seat. She has a 297HP purr box underneath the hood. She's no slouch. I did find that there is some lag when switching gears in the manual mode. Not as quick as a true manual. But for everyday driving, this isn't an issue. Still a lot of fun.

The ride is relatively smooth. The 18's that she wears seem to stick to the road fairly well...even in the turns. She doesn't carry a sport suspension, so there is a bit more comfort than a typical sports car. She seems to react quickly to steering inputs without a lot of body roll. It's hard for me to make a comparison since Petey had a slightly higher CG. Petey, however, sat a little lower to the ground and didn't have much body roll either.

Once on an open stretch of road, i can set the adaptive cruise control to match the car in front of me. Ever get annoyed by the car in front of you slowing down, speeding up, slowing down...always making you change your speed. Well...i'd just drop into manual mode and pass that idiot, but if i wanted, i could lock on to that car and Delilah will monitor the distance between us and that car and maintain that distance. It's a nifty feature, but the few times i've used it i've been going faster than the car in front of me and i end up slowing down (no mom, these cars were going slower than the speed limit.) I suppose on that long stretch of road it would be useful...especially in a caravan.

Another feature that i haven't used much is the lane departure warning system. There is a camera mounted at the roof line that monitors the lane markings (if they are visible enough). If Delilah starts to drift over the line, she will correct herself by applying a yawing brake on the opposite side wheels. This will bring you back within the lane markers. Of course if the drift rate is too high, there isn't anything that Delilah can do for you other than beep at you. I know i could've used this feature on a few of those long distance trips (california to texas and texas to alabama).

Acceleration is rather smooth and as previously mentioned, will throw you back in your seat. Of course, it's nothing like Tessa (Josh's Mustang). She'll go from the 60s to the 90s in no time flat. My mom can attest to that. She's got big brakes too. She will stop in no time flat. In fact, i had to learn her braking sensitivity. If i used the same pressure to stop Delilah as i used with Petey people would be doing face plants into the dashboard...or into the back of the seats. It was almost embarrassing during the test drives.

Visibility is pretty good. Although, i think because i had some fairly large blind spots with Petey, i'm accustomed to the limited visibility cars. But nothing a simple head turn won't fix.

There is enough room behind the rear seats to carry my band stuff (which was a prerequisite before buying her). I can fit my two main guitars and my effects board in the back with room to spare. I may be upgrading to a road case for my effects board...and this may require more room to store it. However,if i need more room, i just push a button (or two) and the rear seats automatically fold down. This will allow Delilah to carry more than her G35 brother...or any sedan/coupe out there. I still think Petey could've carried more, but i was willing to give up a little cargo space for this ride.

When it's dark outside, the xenon lights illuminate Delilah's path. Yep, i am one of those vehicles you love to hate. But i must say, the amount of illumination is amazing. i do notice that the left light beam is slightly lower than the right...there is at least an attempt not to blind passing vehicles. Also, the headlights are self-leveling...meaning they should never be out of whack. I've also noticed that the most intense part of the beam is below the windshield line for the car in front on me...again, trying not to blind them. When turning the adaptive front lighting system will turn the headlights 15 degrees to the left and 17 degrees to the right to illuminate the path ahead. I thought this was a bogus feature, but sure enough, it does make a difference when turning. Who knew...

When i arrive at my final destination, i usually switch over to the camera mode so that i can see that i'm pefectly between the lines and have plenty of room on either side of me. I'm trying to avoid the door ding abuse that Petey suffered. The camera system helps out with getting me as centered as possible. At any location, i try to park on the end spot...so i'm at least protected on one side from those pesky door dings. Some people are just rude!

A single button push and Delilah shuts down for a rest. The seat slides back, the steering wheel lifts out of the way and out i step. Close the door behind me and push the little button on the door handle and Delilah locks up tight. No need to tough the key fob in my pocket. It's so awesome!

For those hot days here in Houston, i can actually roll down the windows as i approach Delilah. That requires me to actually reach into my pocket and press the button on the key fob. But if it lets the heat roll out, i don't mind doing that. The tinted windows should keep Delilah a little cooler inside. If the windows don't let enough heat out, i can always open the moon roof.

Let's see, there are quite a few things that i haven't gone into detail about...simply because i haven't used it yet...bluetooth, voice commands for navigation, phone, and climate control. Delilah has a tire pressure monitoring system, vehicle dynamics control, ABS brakes, and a whole host of other items.

Bottom line...she's an all around blast!! In those famous word's of Tarik, "She's slutty, but you can still take her home"

So, say hello to Delilah when you see her...