Howdy Webriders, and Merry Christmas! Also, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and all the other holidays that people celebrate this time of year. Tonight is a real Auto Adventure, since I, Dr. VW, am riding shotgun alongside Santa in his sleigh for the duration of evening. As we speak, we’re passing over San Diego at 11:57 PM PST; according to NORAD’s Santa tracker. The past few hours have been a blast, and I managed to have a quick interview with Mr. Kringle between present stops about various interesting subjects. Some I am forever sworn to secrecy, but others I am allowed to share with all of you here at Webridestv! Hit the jump to find out what Santa had to say!

Dr. VW- Santa, I think I’ve gotta ask you first about this whip. I mean, it looks nothing like your sleigh on ABC Family specials, or like the sweet Benz I see you toying with in the shop in those Mercedes commercials.  What exactly is it?

Santa- Well, first I have to say, this is my new sleigh. The old sleigh did in fact look quite like the ones on ABC Family Specials! However there is a misconception, from those Mercedes commercials you were talking about, that I drive or enjoy working on Mercedes Benz’s. Honestly, I was just getting the heated leather seats out of it to put in this new Sleigh! I can’t ask the elves to make EVERYTHING for me you know! Besides, Mercedes agreed to let me tear apart one of their cars in exchange for an appearance in the commercial. They were quite nice this year.

Dr. VW- I see. So again… what exactly IS this thing? It’s not quite a car… but it’s not quite a UPS truck either. Plus… you’ve got some sparkly stuff coming out the tail pipes.

Santa- Well that sparkly stuff is 50% magic and 50% Reindeer Droppings! I guess you could call it a Hybrid! HO HO HO! In all seriousness, we used to use all Magic, channeled through our Reindeer, but the old sleigh was highly inefficient. Running on 9 Reindeer power, we used up about 3/4 of the Magic on Earth available yearly in one night! Well what with preserving the Earths’ natural resources, including magic, and going green, we decided that with the new Sleigh we would run 50% magic and 50% reindeer droppings, since a years worth of Reindeer Droppings produces Magic equivalent to half a night of our Nine Reindeer soaring across the night skies. It’s all about setting an example. The sparkly stuff is Magic Exhaust in the form of Goodwill. It sprinkles over homes everywhere, ensuring that Christmas day is a peaceful and happy day worldwide. As for what the new sleigh actually IS… it’s a mishmash of several vehicles. The interior, as I mentioned earlier, is borrowed from the Mercedes CLS-class sedan. The body itself is actually a mishmash. I wanted the utility of a UPS truck, so I made it large and cavernous behind the front seats. However, I have a friend at Volvo who actually designed the body and safety features based off the existing XC-90. You know he’ll be getting something good in his stocking this year! I had another friend from Chrysler design the overall body lines off their now defunct Pacifica. However the suspension components, including the retractable snow treads and ski’s, were designed and installed by Porsche.

Dr. VW- Sounds like an impressive feat of engineering! So… part Mercedes, part Chrysler, part Volvo, and part Porsche. No love from Asia? I’ll bet Toyota, well the Big Three too for that matter, would be pretty interested in your hybrid magic engine. Why not let everyone use it?

Santa- HO HO HO! There isn’t nearly enough magic to sustain more than one vehicle. The Earth’s magic would run dry, and miracles wouldn’t happen! No, but I would be happy to lend some of my best elven engineers to help out the Big Three, it was Henry Ford back in the day who helped me construct the first sleigh! I owe that man and the industry he built quite a debt. As for Asia, Toyota and Honda jointly designed all my electronics! Stereo, GPS Nav system, global language interpreter and translator, multifunction communications radio, and a thumping stereo system with Ipod connection. Jingle Bell Rock all across Europe! Ho Ho Ho!

Dr. VW- Ah got it. Well at least you won’t be bored on the long flight to Hawaii!

Santa- Speaking of Hawaii, I have to let you off! I don’t pass through here again on the way to the North Pole! And there are far too many secrets at the North Pole to let you visit unfortunately.

Dr. VW- Don’t even sweat it… so uh… How do I get down exactly?

–The words had hardly left my mouth when I found myself in front of my house, staring at the night sky, as Santa and his new sleigh raced across the sky. I have no clue how I got down, but then again, he does have magic at his disposal.

This is Dr. VW, wishing you a Happy Holiday and a happy New Year from everyone at Webridestv– out.