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LYNNE MEREDITH COHN STAFF WRITER

DANIEL LIPPITT PHOTOGRAPHER

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rA-) yen though they may be men of the

cloth, rabbis, like the rest of us, long
for that special automobile. A few even
feel the vehicles they drive reflect their
pulpit personae. Here's what they have
to say about the cars they drive.

Rabbi Arnie Sleutelberg

Rabbi Arnie Sleutelberg:
"I only drive the MG when it's
good weather."

You almost need to take yoga to contort your body small enough to fit into Sleutel-
berg's royal blue 1979 two-seater MG Midget. But once inside, the British-made
convertible has a surprising amount of leg room.
"I love the freedom of an open top. Certainly the Midget is an informal, fun, re-
laxed sort of driving experience, and I think the way I choose to fulfill my respon-
sibilities as a rabbi is in a relaxed, informal, free sort of way," he says.
When he used to split his rabbinic time between a congregation_near Traverse
City and Shir Tikvah in Troy, Sleutelberg was in need of a car-ardhappened to spot
the bright blue automobile on the side of the road up north.
"I bought it in 1988. It was my only car for a while, so I drove it all the time.
But it's really not a winter car at all. So I got a real car. I only drive the MG when
it's good weather."
In inclement weather, Sleutelberg relies on his 1996 silver Chrysler Eagle Vi-
sion. "I feel very strongly about owning an American car, which is why my prima-
ry car is an American car," says the Reform rabbi. But not to worry. The rabbi's
everyday auto has a sun roof, "which I have open almost all the time, winter and
summer."
Arnie Sleutelberg is rabbi of Congregation Shir Tikvah in Troy.