[Leica] Need advice on a "car camera"

[pklein at threshinc.com (Peter Klein)]

Yesterday I was walking along Seattle's Lake Union during lunch time.  I 
spotted a female mallard duck standing at the door of a marine financial 
and brokerage firm, as if she wanted to get in. It would have made a great 
picture, just the kind that I like to take.

Except that I didn't have a camera with me.  Why?  My employer now bans all 
personally-owned cameras in the workplace, including cell phone 
cameras.  It's not negotiable. I would have to either leave my camera with 
the receptionist every day and pick it up at lunch and after work, or leave 
it in my car. I'm not comfortable with the first choice, as it makes a 
non-work activity impact the workplace (bad politics). And I certainly 
don't want to leave a Leica in either place.

All this is a big PITA. So far I've just left my cameras at home, and I've 
missed a few good shots.

Maybe I need another camera.  One that I could leave in my car, and if it 
were stolen, it wouldn't be the end of the world.  The question is, what 
camera?  I'm thinking of either a fixed-lens rangefinder like a Canonet or 
an Olympus XA, or perhaps a decent secondhand digital.  I hate autofocus 
lag on P&S cameras.  And I'm not sure I want to deal with film again on a 
regular basis.

I'd like the camera to be pocketable (or at least fit in a belt pouch). It 
should be focusable (no fixed-focus or guess-focus). Autoexposure is OK, 
but I'd prefer to have full manual shutter/aperture control available, and 
not so hard to use that I wouldn't use it.  I want sufficient image quality 
that I wouldn't be embarrassed to show the pictures.  I'd prefer a 40-50mm 
f/2 lens or thereabouts, as Seattle is often very gray.

A final wrinkle--if I left the camera under a car seat, would it get too 
hot if I park outside during the summer?  At work we have an indoor garage, 
but invariably the camera would sometimes get left in the car during 
errands, in the driveway at home, etc.

Any thoughts?

--Peter