11/08/2008 10:08. I still remember the first time a car offered me a massage. It was March 2005 and the car in question was a long, silver Mercedes CLS 500. I felt a little inhibited at first. But, hey, there was no one else around, so I flicked the switch and let the car become intimate with my lumbar regions.

The back of the driver's seat began to pulse, as if a pair of guinea-pigs had just awoken beneath the leather and were yawning and stretching. It was mildly ticklesome at first, but ultimately unspectacular. Still, it was nice to be asked.

Since then, I've been massaged by quite a number of cars, including an Audi A8, which took a light roller to my kidneys, and a Lexus 600h L, which actually offered a choice of styles of massage, from “Shiatsu” to “lower back acupressure”. The Lexus... // Times Online