Me and My Car: Rae Finlay and her Lexus RX450H

Rae Finlay is project director of headland (yes, lower case h is correct) Sculpture on the Gulf on Waiheke Island which opens to the public on January 23 January and closes February 15. Lexus has supplied a signwritten 2014 black RX450H Hybrid 4WD. Photo / Ted Baghurst

Rae Finlay is project director of headland Sculpture on the Gulf, on Waiheke Island, from January 23 to February 15

Your sponsor Lexus NZ has supplied you with a vehicle for Waiheke's headland Sculpture on the Gulf?
It's a stunning signwritten 2014 black RX450H Hybrid 4WD and great promotion for the event. We use it for running around, picking up equipment, people, going to meetings and site visits. The only negative thing is I have to give it back at the end of February.

The hSOTG also features the Lexus Art Car?
Auckland artist Elliot Collins is designing the graphics for the Lexus Art Car. The car will be vinyl wrapped in the artwork and displayed in the headland Sculpture on the Gulf Pavilion at Matiatia.

Your dream car ...
I'd like two cars, something sporty for when it's just me, maybe Porsche, Mercedes-Benz or BMW, and something more robust for practical activities and passengers.

Who taught you to drive?
I learned to drive at 16, a mix of two big brothers and my dad, then finished off with a driving instructor to correct all the bad habits l learned from them. I learned in Auckland, graduated from the driveway to the no-exit street to the supermarket carpark for parking practice before attempting the open road.

First car?
A Riley Kestrel 1300; my dad chose it. Navy blue with powder blue leather upholstery and a walnut dash. It was very sensible. As soon as I had paid off my share I traded it in on an MGBGT that I had for about five years and sold for slightly more than I paid for it.

Manual or automatic?
Automatic; I like tiptronic so you have the flexibility, especially in the snow.

Most memorable road trip?
With my teenage sons, driving between Christchurch and Auckland. We've done that trip many times and it was always fun, especially once they could drive. Memorable in not such a good way would be driving between Queenstown and Mt Cook in a snow storm, and driving home after the Christchurch earthquake past the devastation.

If you could go on a road trip anywhere with anyone ...
France and Monaco with some good friends and, perhaps, George Clooney.

What do you listen to?
I stream music from my iPod through the car sound system. Mellow mix of jazz, classical and pop.

Would you rather drive in Auckland or take public transport?
The only public transport I'm comfortable with is the ferry and the airport bus. Driving or being driven would be my preference around Auckland. Most of the things I travel to the city to do are close to the ferry so often it's just walking.

Auckland City's congestion ... how can this be solved?
Keep building the public transport system and incentivise people to use it.

How is driving on the island different to driving in Auckland?
I miss going at 100km/h, it's nice to hit the open road on the mainland. On the island there are very few centre lines and a lot of people tend to drive in the middle of the road so you always have to be aware of what's coming in the opposite direction. I've had a few close calls with people not sticking to their side of the road.