Marcia's Lexus Centred

SOUL singer and Australian Idol judge Marcia Hines loves to drive.  Which is lucky for her as she racks up the kilometres between her two homes in Sydney and Newcastle.

Boston-born Hines, who landed on our shores aged 16 to star in the controversial-at-the-time musical Hair, learned to drive in Australia and proudly displayed her P-plates on her first car, a 1963 white Mercedes-Benz 300SEL.  She has come a long way since then and can now be spotted roaring up and down the freeway in her silver hybrid Lexus belting out tunes from her latest CD, Life.

A silver hybrid Lexus 430 called Shimmer.  I believe your car is like an extension of your home. Sometimes it can get pretty skanky in there. There's always bottles of water on the floor and if I have to give someone a lift, I'm always pushing things off the front seat. The front seat is kind of like my bedside table. The great thing about the Lexus is it has lots of great gizmos.

Do you have a favourite drive and who would you take?
My favourite drive is going home and I'd take my husband. I work in Sydney and I live just outside Newcastle, so I really like that drive home, the F3. It's pretty nice. I have a wireless mobile phone so I do a lot of business while I'm driving. I do that legally. You see those people driving around with mobile phones up to the ear -- you're flirting with danger, honey.

How far would you drive in an average year?
I drive a lot. But I love it. I have a driver in Sydney and certain places when I'm interstate, but I like driving myself. I wouldn't have a clue how many kilometres I drive each year. We live in a vast, vast country so I probably don't drive as far as some -- like truckies. God bless the truckies who have to put up with us drivers. I respect them because they're the gatekeepers of the road.

Do you have a favourite motoring memory?
Driving the Great Ocean Rd in Victoria.  I remember how breathtaking that was. But some of my greatest memories of being on the road were on tour. I used to have a tour bus called ``the Bitch''. It was an acronym for Brisbane International Coach Hire. She was black and we lived on it. It had a kitchen and we had somebody to cook for us. We had a professional driver and we could watch movies. We had a great sound system and I had my own boudoir up the back, so if the boys got on my nerves I'd just go and have a lie down and pull the curtains.

What would you buy if money was no object?
The Lexus up from mine that parks itself. I don't have a problem with parking -- I'm a good parker thank you. Or the other car I look at and think what a sexy thing is the Aston Martin.

What music is playing in your car?
Me. I've got my new CD Life in there. I've got to learn all my stuff. It's a new album so I have to study me.

How much is too much for a new car?
One man's trash is another man's treasure. Some dream of driving a certain car all their life and if you can afford it, knock yourself out.

What should be done to make driving safer?
We should be far more considerate. The only real communication we have with another driver is our indicators -- use them.

Are you sponsored by a car company?
No, but Lexus do take good care of me.