Well. The idea nearly failed - until these "hunks" came into the picture.

Let's leave out the comments - all these guys were good sports. But one word of advice to single women on the prowl: you'll have better luck at your local grocery store than you'll have in Vegas during the SEMA Show.

Brenda Priddy

But I have a different MO (method of operation) than the other guys: The men tend to shoot from behind tress and shrubs, garbage cans or whatever else is available at the moment. I tend to get a bit close. Sometimes a bit too close. But I like to think it's what helps me to always get the best pictures. And, well...maybe the most unique.

Yeah, I get threatened. I've even been physically assaulted once or twice, and my son was once the target of two not-so-nice engineers in high-powered prototypes. But then there's what I call the "Bond Effect" - there's just something about spies - especially women spies - that seems to fascinate men. One minute they're blocking me from every angle and the next...well...they're taking their picture next to me and asking for my autograph. From AM General to Veyron, engineers have asked me out after their "secret" prototypes are tucked away for the night. Does life get any stranger?

And it's not exactly an ego trip, but next to Britney and Paris Hilton, it seems like I have more cameras pointed at me than even Nicole Richie! I'm sure the "other guys" laugh it off, thinking "that's no way to get the job done". But on the contrary, no one else gets as close or gets the kind of offers I do!

And although these aren't exactly pictures of "fans," I doubt any other car spy can offer a gallery like this one!

Brenda Priddy

I threw some clothes in a backpack, lined up a couple of shooters to take my place and made the 3+ hour drive to the nearest airport. A 737 and a couple of puddle-jumps later, I finally made it to Vail. It was one of those trips where you spend more time in airports than on planes, but who could pass up a few days in the Colorado mountains? Especially at a luxury hotel where even the toilet paper looks like a piece of artwork? And, of course, who could pass up driving the new Highlander? Especially as we'd heard Toyota designers and engineers worked closely with consumers in clinics to make the Highlander as friendly as possible with a unique "Customer First" approach.

But the Highlander wasn't the talk at the bar...err...in the media room. That's because every limo driver and tour guide in Vail mentions Kobe Bryant within the first 3 minutes of stepping in — despite the story being . And because we were staying at The Lodge & Spa at Cordillera, the details kept on pouring in from well-intended tour guides.

Now, sorry guys, I'm not a big sports fan. Perhaps Bryant is one of the reasons why, but even I knew who Kobe was. Doesn't everyone?

And this is definitely one of those times one wonders if this should even be brought up. Kobe's activities in Eagle County, Colorado, ultimately left countless victims - including the members of his own family. But then our driver mentioned that THIS was the very hotel, and suddenly everyone was guessing if he or she was in "Kobe's Room."

Once a spy, always a spy - and I just couldn't resist: I had to find out which room Kobe had rented. It started with an internet search, and then with a hike across the property to find the room.

It turned out that Kobe's room on the night of June 30, 2003, was room 35. But shortly afterwards, likely because of all the media attention and countless curiosity-seekers, The Lodge & Spa at Cordillera renumbered all of their rooms, and every bit of furniture in Room 35 was reportedly sold to a used-furniture dealer in Denver. Today room 35 is now 156! (No big secret here ... any amateur sleuth could of figured that out!)

So who was in Kobe's suite this evening? I'll never tell (perhaps I was paid-off!), but regardless of the unusual events surrounding the Lodge at Cordillera it was well worth it to be a part of the Highlander's launch.

But I had to hurry back to my 1940s-era motel (in an undisclosed location, of course) because BMW had an X6 sitting across the street, and the Scirocco was just screaming for pictures!!

Brenda Priddy

The motel itself was built in the 1940's, and it is far from quaint or charming, but in this case location is everything and this is where we need to be (on and off) for the next three months. The motel was originally owned by the Bates family and we expected a young Anthony Perkins to greet us, Fortunately Perkins was nowhere in sight. But I swear it felt like Hitchcock's spirit was pretty close by.

The proprietor was glad to see us. Most who travel to this remote area do it for wholly different reasons, renting the shabby rooms with cigarette burns in the bedspreads by the hour. We rented two rooms for three full months, and even paid in advance. That's probably 80% (or more) of this motel's annual income, and the Bates successors were overjoyed at their instant windfall.

We were still unpacking in the wee hours when Norman caught a man at our door. "John" thought we were setting up a brothel, wandered up the steep concrete steps and walked directly to our door. He wanted some action. I guess the folks in these parts are — to say the least — a bit too "friendly." And he wasn't too far off...

... After all, this is a county where the notorious Heidi Fleiss (also known as the Hollywood Madam) is actually listed in the phone book.

Yep, Heidi Fleiss is really listed in the white pages! And just last week she opened (get this...) a 24-hour laundromat appropriately dubbed "Dirty Laundry." It's over one hundred miles away, but it's located in the shopping center nearest to us at the moment.

Heidi is also in the final planning stages of a "Stud Ranch" to cater only to women! But for us to report on this, Jalopnik may have to become an age-verification subscription-only website... – Brenda Priddy