Sandy Wood
Brain Game: Cal’s Free Wheels
by Sandy Wood - April 9, 2009 - 7:30 AM

THE SOLUTION:

He chose the Crossfire. Cal’s dad would only buy him a vehicle whose name and make began with the same letter (a Chevy Camaro, a Toyota Tundra, a Mazda Miata, a Ford Focus) but not different letters (a Ford Mustang, a Dodge Ram, a Jeep Cherokee, a Honda Civic). Calvin figured this out, and correctly chose the Chrysler Crossfire over the Lincoln Continental.

Did you solve the puzzle? Or did you come up with a different reason and/or a different car? Feel free to share your ideas (kindly, please) in the comments. Thanks!

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Comments (14)

  1. the solution doesn’t come up when I click on it.

    posted by Diana on 4-9-2009 at 8:28 am

  2. It didn’t for me either!

    posted by erininhouston on 4-9-2009 at 8:31 am

  3. Just add /2 to the URL above.

    posted by Parkylondon on 4-9-2009 at 8:38 am

  4. No solution for me either, but I’m gonna go with the Crossfire!

    posted by sandie on 4-9-2009 at 8:38 am

  5. The answer is the Crossfire.
    Chevy Camaro (both start w/ C)
    Toyota Tundra (both w/ T)
    Mazda Miata (M)
    Chrysler Crossfire (C)
    but the Lincoln Continental (nor any of the others) fit that.
    Hope that’s it – I can’t see the real solution either.

    posted by SlackJack on 4-9-2009 at 8:40 am

  6. I’ll save you the drama…I think.

    Camaro, Tundra, Miata and Focus are all models that are alliterative with their makes (Chevy, Toyota, Mazda and Ford, respectively).

    The Crossfire is made by Chrysler and the Continental is made by Lincoln, so he picked the Crossfire.

    posted by Katie on 4-9-2009 at 8:40 am

  7. Sandie, Jack, and Katie – you’re absolutely right. And everyone else should find the answer now. (‘Twas a coding error; my apologies.)

    posted by Sandy Wood on 4-9-2009 at 8:45 am

  8. Well, that calls for extra kudos for people who can figure this out with no chance to peek at the answer!

    posted by Miss Cellania on 4-9-2009 at 10:08 am

  9. Fun puzzle, Sandy!

    posted by JD on 4-9-2009 at 11:10 am

  10. Good one. That was fun. Based on previous puzzles, I was doing a whole lot of letter checking (ends in vowel, repeating letters, consonants/vowels in any sort of order) when I realized that the Make was additional info that would help.

    Poor kid… too bad there wasn’t a Chevy Camaro, Mercedes Maybach, Lexus LS, or a Ferrari F430 :)

    posted by Josh on 4-9-2009 at 12:08 pm

  11. Thanks, JD and Josh – I love to hear that!

    posted by Sandy Wood on 4-9-2009 at 12:17 pm

  12. Due to my disturbing lack of knowledge about cars, I came to a different conclusion…

    Mustang (horse), Ram (battering), and Cherokee (Indians) were all involved in military campaigns, which perhaps he learned in his Civic(s) class. Don’t get caught in the Crossfire!

    Whereas Camaro (Cameroon) and Tundra (treeless plain) speak to the enduring value of land. He must Focus on the reward (Miata means reward in High German). And in land-speak, what greater reward is there than Continental land?

    I know, it’s a stretch.

    posted by Lynn on 4-9-2009 at 1:01 pm

  13. I love Lynn’s reasoning!!!!!! :D
    Awesome!

    posted by ariaDne on 4-9-2009 at 2:43 pm

  14. Like Lynn, I know next to nothing about cars. I have never even heard of a “Crossfire”, let alone know who makes it. But thanks none the less, Sandy!

    posted by PJ on 4-10-2009 at 5:36 pm

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