So, I'm driving the wife's Kompressor down the road, about a mile from the house, when this 3 foot long black snake slithers across the console towards the passenger side floor. I pull over and eventually coax the serpent out of the car, but the question is, how did it get in?

We live in the boonies, and it is not uncommon for a mouse to move into a trunk or try building a nest under the hood, but never in the passenger compartment. I can't imagine it getting in thru the heating/ac system. My son thinks there may be a path from the trunk via a flow thru vent. The rear seats do not fold down. I'm wondering if there is access via the shift linkage.

Any ideas?

Well, I know if this happened to me, we'd have a lot bigger problem on our hands because I'd definitely have wrecked the car and soiled the driver's seat.

On a more technical note, I don't think there would be access via the shift linkage unless there were a lot of missing parts.

I'm wondering if it was able to drop in from the cowl through an air vent? Although it seems the cabin air filter would've stopped that... Perhaps it was able to push its way through the weatherstripping?

Or.... have you made anyone angry lately?

I am currently working on a car that sat for several years in a field; there are snakeskins all over the engine bay but none in the car that I've found (yet).

That was my 3rd thought. It's the wife's car and I wondered if someone put the snake in there, but I don't think it is likely. My property is littered with brick walls, pachysandra and snake skins shed as they grow.

BTW, my first thought was "grab it or you'll never find it" and the second was "you can't touch that its a snake".