The Audi R8 is the world's most approachable supercar. People just seem to like it. This is equally true of the R8 5.2 (V10) with its shinier trim and wider air intakes as it was of the V8 model.

Based on our scientific research, which consisted of talking to people when we stopped at gas stations or dropped by Denny's for a "Hooburrito," conceived of by the band Hoobastank (we're not kidding). The owner of the R8 is not presumed to be a guy who uses cologne as a weapon of mass destruction. He is less likely to be considered insufferable than owners of other supercars.

This is not to say that the car (or its drivers) received universal praise and adoration. One woman at the Bodega Bay gas station pictured above place the bummer on us when we overheard her say, and we quote: "The black panel is waird. It's tryin' to look like a Porsh."

Indeed. Anyway, we decided for no real reason to drive north out of San Francisco along the foggy coast on Highway 1. Why that direction? Well, we hadn't driven there before. And the promise of lighter traffic than the more famous Carmel/Big Sur coastline to the South was largely fulfilled.