If you ask my wife my sense of direction is not too bad. It is not, however, as good as hers, especially when in Vancouver.
Where I follow the road signs to get from one place to another she just uses the old tried-and-true method of direction via shopping mall. If she knows where a mall is, she can easily get to another mall. If there is no mall where you want to go then you are out of luck. It baffles me, but she calls it shoe logic.
Anyway, when I was younger my sense of direction wasn't too good even though I was part of an orienteering club. A friend of mine, who happened to be in the Irish Air Corps at the time was good with a compass, so I just followed him.
I never did bother to work out the whole compass thing as my brain was too distracted by girls in hiking boots and shorts. But this week a Compass of another sort came my way and even though there were no ladies in shorts around - although the sales rep did offer to dress up if it would help with the article - as a middle-aged man I was more than happy with this variety of Compass.
The compass of my youth had a shiny lid, some letters and a couple of arrows, but this has a whole lot more, and I didn't have to keep looking over someone's shoulder to try to figure out how it worked.
And with this Compass I could easily go into the wilderness and let the vehicle do the running up and down hills for me. There never really was anything at the end of the orienteering trail for me except for a couple of wheezing lungs and numerous scratches on my legs from traipsing through the
bushes looking for numbers.
This one is way more comfortable, has way more options than a directional compass and I could easily fit four orienteering ladies in their shorts in the back.
This is the top-of-the-line Compass with leather, voice-activated Bluetooth, four-by-four, tire pressure monitoring system, all the power options including moonroof, windows and seat, and of course a compass.
It makes trudging through the hillsides all the more comfortable.
The Compass has retained the large toothy grille of the Jeep brand so there is no
mistaking what sort of vehicle it is.
Front seats are extra comfy and engaging the four-wheel drive system is a matter of giving a slight tug on the T-shaped handle on the centre console.
To disengage, do exactly the same thing.
The big dials and the thick oblong-shaped shifter retain the sense of ruggedness of other more notable Jeeps like the Wrangler and Cherokee without going overboard with the "I'm a big rugged vehicle theme."
The dials are large enough to use with gloves on and the intervals are easy to find.
The stars of the WWE will be coming soon to CN Centre and there has been mention from one or two people that a
tailgate party would be a good idea.
Well, you need look no further than the Compass for the entertainment as the rear lift door has two massive speakers in it with several more in the trunk.
Get the snacks and the refreshments going and crank up the satellite radio to your favourite station before donning your best Lucha Libre mask and fake heavyweight wrestling title belt and heading inside for a bit of Smackdown.
You can only imaging pulling up to CN Centre and watching the Jeep Compass park next to you while five grown men exit the SUV all decked out in wrestling masks and hopped up on Creatine and Red Bull.
The mellow sounds of channel 17 on the satellite radio and the smooth
six-speed continuously variable transmission with make the ride home a smooth one no matter who won in the ring.
Just in case someone has tied their mask a little tight and needs help getting it off, an LED flashlight built into the trunk roof - and always charged - may help assist in finding the tie strings amongst the matt or sweaty hair.
If you are one of these fans and dropped the mortgage on the best seats in the house, don't worry, you can get into a Compass for around $18,000.
You will still have room for the tailgaters and the odd wrestling fan, and if you're lucky, maybe some WWE divas.
