Lauren Alaina Ready to Jump Into the Driver’s Seat

Lauren Alaina is in her Rossville, Ga., hometown today (Nov. 1), and she's got big plans: Today is the day she takes her road test for a driver's license.

Alaina won a brand-new, 550-horsepower convertible Ford Mustang Shelby GT as the runner-up on 'American Idol.' But since she picked it up from a dealer in her hometown last month, she hasn't logged many miles in it -- and won't today, either.

"I am more nervous about it that than I was when I auditioned for 'American Idol,'" Alaina, laughing, tells Taste of Country of the road test. "I am going to take my mom's Kia [for the test]. I am not driving my Mustang!"

Although Alaina has been traveling and hasn't been able to drive much, she says that her parents, her best friend and her brother made sure she got in the required hours behind the wheel so she could take the exam.

If Alaina does pass the test, which she thinks she will, she is going to let her mom continue to drive the Mustang, and she will drive the Kia. The Mustang has a manual transmission, and Alaina says she wants to log a lot more hours practicing driving a stick before she feels comfortable with it.

"It's a $70,000 car and I'm 16," says Alaina of the Mustang. "My mom and I are going to switch cars for a while!"