Wow,
Maya. I've heard of that program. It's used in films and such I've seen (like The Lord of the Rings) .
So you're going to try Blender? I downloaded it earlier this year and... it's surprisinglly capable. It's hard to believe that Blender is free seeing as it's able to do some pretty advanced animation.
Nice car. I did a car model too once (just the extereior). Not the most cleanly done model ,but I was able to give it a license plate with my name on it . Still trying to animate it though...
Well, I look forward to seeing what else you come up with.
-T Shmoa-