Lexi Stellwood + Her 1982 Mercedes-Benz

“I don’t use GPS,” says Lexi Stellwood, as we come upon a roadblock on a winding street in the Hollywood Hills.

- Lisa Butterworth

“I can look at a map and be like, ‘That’s where I’m going.’ But sometimes we take little detours.” When you’re driving a car as quirky and comfy as Honey Ryder, her light-yellow 1982 Mercedes-Benz 300D Turbo Diesel, small diversions are more of an enjoyment than an inconvenience. The model and singer (her new all-girl band is called Barcelona) paid $3,500 for the car nearly six years ago when she moved from New York to Los Angeles. Since then, Stellwood’s made it distinctly hers: A Big Sur bumper sticker adorns the back, floral fabric is affixed to the ceiling to cover ripped leather from a backseat bike storage mishap, and a jumble of necklaces and crystals (including a “good luck gem” for driving and one that looks like “a unicorn horn”) hang from the rear- view mirror. Like any vintage car, it has its imperfections—right now, one of the headlights is out, an automatic transmission fluid leak needs fixing, and the A/C is on the fritz—but they don’t matter. Turning the ignition, her silver bangles glinting in the sunlight, Stellwood smiles and declares, “This car is magic.”