Just a little spin

A call from guy heaven: Want to test drive the new Ferrari?

Tod Eason in the Ferrari California

Every man has fantasies about those life changing phone calls. Things like:

1. The Cubs called. They need you to play shortstop!
2. Cindy Crawford called … again!
3. With the first pick the Dallas Cowboys take…

Perhaps No. 4 should be the call I received while in Las Vegas last Wednesday. “Hey Tod when do you get back? Ferrari wants you to review and test the California. Take it out, put it through its paces, see what ya think?”

Oh yeah. I can do that.

Being a Ferrari owner already, I had a good idea what I was getting into. I had not driven a California, but was familiar with the car and had heard a million theories on what this car is trying to do for the Ferrari brand. You know what they say about opinions? They are like Camrys, everybody has one.

My first impression with this car was the bold curves of the Pininfarina-styled body — a very interesting union of a laser focused front with a wide sexy back.

I’ve heard it described as a combo of Megan Fox meets J Lo. I prefer a tuxedo T-shirt reference: Stylish, comfortable, yet take me serious, because I’m here to party!

When you slide into the driver seat, you find a big surprise. Dare I say, “creature comforts?"

I was swaddled in sumptuous leather like an Italian baby Jesus. Everything is within reach. Including but not limited to a fantastic a/c, a music system you can hear over the engine and a GPS/ Navagation system. That’s correct, you can now look up directions while going 185 miles per hour.

As quickly as the Navigation system can take you off to far away Starbuck’s and long-lost shopping malls, it’s only a quick flick of a key and a push of a button to bring you back to Super Car reality. The low growl of the engine at start up is much like Mike Tyson’s tiger — a little scary and a lot endearing.

This thing is either going to be my new best friend or rip my face off. Either way, it will be entertaining.

As you step onto the gas it becomes very clear you are in rare automotive company. Simply put, this car is quick and is only happy when it's going fast. Very fast.

As mentioned above the creature comforts will allow you to tweet and drink coffee or talk on the phone, but why would you want to?

One trip through the butter-smooth gearbox on this seven speed and you want to text the world,“Get the F%#$ out of my way!”

The transmission on this car is worth the price of admission. Think $250,000 Xbox on steroids. The software systems in the car take into account braking, acceleration, RPM, and pitch of the nose to anticipate what you’re going to do next. This lets you get to the gear you need almost before you know you need it.

Everywhere I went, people stopped what they were doing and came out to check the California out. Lots of "Wows!" and "Holy Cows!" I even got one “DUDE!”

People are in a good mood around this car. It’s like hanging out with a cool celebrity. If you’re like me, then you think all Ferraris are magical, but with this one, you get to experience something really special.

It unites a super car with the comfort of a touring coupe — and also happens to be a hardtop convertible. It has beauty and brains.

That's quite a combo.

Or more like a Tuxedo T-shirt?

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Stretching the budget

A $100,000 salary in 2026 goes further in Houston than it did last year

Photo by Leo Yao on Unsplash

$100,000 stretches a little further in 2026.

A 2026 income study has good news for big earners in Houston: A six-figure salary goes further than it did last year.

A Houston resident's $100,000 salary is worth $84,840 after taxes and adjusted for the local cost of living, according to the new financial analysis from SmartAsset. That's about $1,500 more than Houstonians were bringing home last year.

The 2026 take-home pay is about eight percent higher than it was in 2024, when the same salary had an adjusted value of $78,089.

SmartAsset used its paycheck calculator to apply federal, state and local taxes to an annual salary of $100,000 in 69 of the largest American cities. The figure was then adjusted for the local cost of living (which included average costs for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, and miscellaneous goods and services). Cities were then ranked based on where a six-figure salary is worth the least after applicable taxes and cost of living adjustments.

Houston ranked No. 60 in the overall ranking of U.S. cities where $100,000 is worth the least. If the rankings were flipped and the cities were ranked based on where $100,000 goes the furthest, that places Houston in the No. 10 spot nationwide.

Manhattan, New York remains the No. 1 city where a six-figure salary is worth the least. A Manhattan resident's take-home pay is only worth $29,420 after taxes and adjusted for the cost of living, which is 3.10 percent lower than it was in 2025.

SmartAsset determined Manhattan has a 29.7 percent effective tax rate on six-figure salaries. Meanwhile, the effective tax rate on a $100,000 salary in Texas (based on the eight cities examined in the report) is 21.1 percent. It's worth highlighting that New York implements a statewide graduated-rate income tax from 4-10.90 percent, whereas Texas is one of only eight states that don't tax residents' income.

Oklahoma City, No. 69, is the U.S. city in the report where a $100,000 salary stretches the furthest. A six-figure salary is worth $91,868 in 2026, up from $89,989 last year.

This is the post-tax value of a $100,000 salary in other Texas cities, and their ranking in the report:

Plano (No. 27): $72,653
Dallas (No. 47): $80,103
Austin (No. 53): $82,446
Lubbock (No. 59): $84,567
San Antonio (No. 62): $86,419
El Paso (No. 67): $90,276
Corpus Christi (No. 68): $91,110

According to the report, getting some "financial breathing room" by making six-figures really depends on where someone lives and what their lifestyle is. For residents living in the 42 states that levy some amount of income tax, their take-home pay dwindles further.

"And depending on how taxes are filed, reaching a $100,000 income may push a household from the 22 percent to 24 percent marginal tax bracket," the report's author wrote. "Meanwhile, locations with high costs across housing and everyday essentials may be less forgiving to a $100,000 income."

smartasset income finance six figures