One luxury feature is trickling down to "ordinary" vehicles, and it turns out to be the greatest innovation ever, at least according to my girlfriend. Heated seats. You would think, living in Southern California, that heated seats would be a silly extra, kind of like the refrigerated glovebox on the new VW Passat.

But no -- my girlfriend tells me that heated seats are no longer a luxury, they are a necessity for our next new vehicle. She's even investigating the possibility of having aftermarket heaters installed in our 1991 Infiniti G20 for her one mile commute to work. A happy backside means a happy girlfriend, so I will make heated seats a priority on our next vehicle.

I will say that heated seats can extend top-down season for a convertible, and they make a moonlight drive a delightful experience.