Friday, September 29, 2006

Paradise

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Fill 'er Up

It's been about three weeks since I last went to the gasoline station.

My 1200 gets 38mpg highway, and probably 28 going back and forth to work. All I know is today I got down below the "E" so went to the filling station on the way home from work. I almost forgot what the experience was like! Wow, the price has dropped a lot, seems like it's about 70 cents/gallon cheaper than before.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Does Your Old Car Have 'Personality'?

Not like new cars. Those are all quiet, and most everything works as you expect.

No, I'm talking about quirky, interesting. Never boring. That rattle in the passenger-side door when you drive down the road. The squeak in the dash when you rev the engine over 3000 RPM. Why do these things happen? How to get rid of these quirks? Ah, always interesting, these old cars.

And why does the vintage car run better (or worse) depending on the weather? Mine runs superbly on warm days, but is a bit balky on cold days. Even when fully warmed up it is still not as smooth as on a nice hot day. Why is that?
New cars must be awfully boring. OK, if it has 300+ horsepower maybe it's not so boring. But your average new mid-price or economy sedan must be awful boring. I guess that why they all come with CD players now. I don't even have a working radio in my car, the engine makes its own music.