Erika, the better half to Chris, leased her Cosmic Green 2000 GTI about 2 ½ years ago. She & Chris had 3 classics filling the driveway. But she was, like so many of us, wanting something that could be trusted on long trips and would blow ice cubes out the air ducts. Her ’70 Porshce 914 was going to get a little more rest.

After shopping for a slightly older GTI and failing to find one locally, she decided that perhaps a NEW one would fill the bill. She would not settle on just any color. Erika fell in love with the Cosmic Green when she first saw it in a sales brochure. Problem was that there were none in Memphis. ROAD TRIP! I won’t say where; lets just say she found one winking at her on a VW showroom floor. They have been together ever since! She has only seen one other the same color, and NONE in Memphis.

So what does Erika like about her GTI? "The speed! With that 1.8 Turbo it can get up and go. It handles pretty well too. I like to play with the boys in their Japanese "rice burners". I also get lots of complements on the color. You see the "cyber green" on the new beetles everywhere, but my green is a little different." Kids! Don’t try this at home!

It is still completely stock, with the exception of the OEM cassette deck. It has been upgraded to an Alpine CD-receiver; perfect for pretending to be Top Gun as she dodges the "bogeys" with the radar guns... or maybe Nelly’s "It’s Hot in Here."

Did you know that Erika is a photography student? Her fondness for cars has helped with study assignments too. Whenever the dreaded "photographer’s block" hits, there is nothing like a few angle shots on a set of wheels to pull her out of the slump. I just hope she doesn’t critique any of my VW pictures. I feel SO inadequate!

Anyway, there is another VW on the horizon for Erika & the Layton household. They are in the beginning stages of a long term "drive as you work" restoration on a ’72 Super Beetle convertible they bought from Bobby. Of course, lets not forget Chris’ Type-3 Squareback. "And Squareback makes 3!"

Someday, maybe THAT VW convertible will be written of in this column. Sure hope so! Until then, gotta GTI-outta here.