Some days at work are better than others. Last month I had to go to Nashville with one of our national ad salesmen. My job? Meet with some potential advertisers and answer some questions they might have about our product. But this wasn't held in a conference room. It was done at a World Class Driving event (www.worldclassdriving.com). This meant I'd spend the day driving exotic cars on winding country roads. Of well, it beats a sharp stick in the eye.     

First up was an Audi R8, followed by a Maserati Gran Turismo S, a Ferrari F430 and a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera (which means "lightweight." My last ride was the most powerful of the day and the only American car in the bunch, a Callaway C16 Corvette. With 650 horsepower, it was an absolute animal. Boost comes from a Magnuson TVS supercharger (10 psi) and it make the C16 almost impossible to keep in a straight line on the damp roads we were on.  The photo above is me in the Callaway (and it's no wonder I'm smiling). The interior is a definite step above Chevy's, which supportive leather race seats and a host of other improvements befitting a car with a $177,410 sticker price. I also loved the refined coil-over suspension.

It didn't have the mechanical growl or rawness of the Lambo and it still lacked the exotic GT feel of the Ferrari—there's something about looking in the rearview mirror and seeing a 510-hp engine . That being said, it

made me proud to be an American. I'd not driven a Callaway since 1991 and it made that old twin turbo L98 feel tame by comparison. I need one. Anybody got a spare $180,000 they can spare?