I just bought a 2004 coupe last month, and I BELIEVE it's the Limited model - it has the high-backed leather seats and the autostick, so that's my assumption. It's a Chrysler "certified" car, which was THE selling point for the wife, looks very clean inside and out except for the typical (I guess) wear lines on some of the interior vinyl edges. Lovely car!

The first question is, my WHEELS - the factory wheels on all the other X-fires I've seen have the flat-finished "aluminum" look to them, where mine are shiny and polished, actually look like they're chromed - but they appear to have the same exact design and logo as the "flat" finished ones. What can anybody tell me about these rims?

NEXT: There's something I've noticed about low-speed braking. The old school test (hey, I'M old school) for alignment and brakes was to roll at about 15-20 mph, release the wheel and step on the brakes, and see if the car "pulled" one way or the other. Well, mine pulled to the right for a few days - and then it pulled to the left for a few days. Could it just be the difference in the pavement/surface? I've never had a car with this type of sporty-car grip - or MONSTER TIRES - and maybe that ol' test just ain't valid on these...?

LAST: Speaking of tires, the car has 36k miles on it, and many of the posts I've read here seem to indicate that that's about the time for new rubber. As stated, I have no previous experience with this type of tire, and heck, these still look pretty good to me. Is there the equivalent to the old "penny test" that I can do to visually check the wear and probably-life-left in this set of tires?

We're hitting the road next week for the drive from San Diego to Vegas for our daughter's wedding, and I hope the trip will be very uneventful, except for enjoying the ride...

Thanks in advance to all you X-fire sages!