THEME: first letter of a phrase is changed from W to M
GOOD ONES: What you need when your car is stuck in the mud? MIRE SERVICE
Summons from a cosmetician? MAKE-UP CALL
Fix potatoes the hard way? MASH BY HAND
Audi rival, and, when spoken as a command, a hint to this puzzle's theme BMW ["Be Em, W" = command; telling the W to be an M]
Heat energy source? MIAMI
It may be a lot ACRE
Dash no. MPH [on the dashboard, not 100 yrd. dash as I thought]
One in the standings TEAM [not number one as I thought]
Opening on Broadway ACT I [not a show as I thought]
Remote hiding places? SOFA
Trade item? TOOL [as in "tools of the trade"]
Bean sprout? IDEA [
bean can mean
head, viz. beanie]
E, but not A, I, O, or U DIR [abbr. of direction, and a tough one for me]
BTW: Seeing red IRKED [
irked suggests annoyance rather than red-eyed anger]
Pamplona pals AMIGAS [possible, but females are not thought of as pals, so I had AMIGOS]
Marti produced a real winner: clever theme and as clever cluing. Thanks.
RATING:
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun