I just read the latest saga of a runaway Toyata Prius and have to shake my head in bemusement. This guy had to have the police pull alongside him and tell him to pull the emergency brake and turn the key off? The 911 call lasted 23 minutes. 23 minutes??? What kind of dim bulb doesn't know to take the car out of gear and shut off the engine? When did people get so stupid?
My husband tells the story of a broken motor mount on a '60's muscle car he owned which allowed the engine to pivot on its mounting when revved, pulling the throttle cable and jamming the throttle wide open. And on a '60's big block Chevy, wide open was WIDE OPEN. It would make the acceleration of a Prius look like a rubber-band driven matchbox car. Not being an idiot, he put it in neutral, braked and coasted over to the shoulder. He didn't run down the highway at 90 miles an hour whimpering to the 911 operator that he couldn't stop.
BBC's "Top Gear", probably my favorite television program ever, had a segment about driving in Finland where, the Finns being no one's fools, would-be drivers are put through a grueling instruction period before they are licensed and allowed on the road. I'm assuming lesson one is "If you turn the key off, the car won't go." Pity they don't teach that here.
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Friday, November 6, 2009
Everything's back to normal
My brother-in-law is home safely, he's recovering from whatever crud he had contracted, neither of us got sick, the house is back to normal and the guest room cleaned up, and I have sewn the binding on two of the stack of quilts waiting to be finished. Whew! It's been a long week.
After I completed the binding on one of the Christmas gift quilts, I decided I didn't want to start another one tonight, but I did want to make a little more progress. So I attached the labels to four quilts after dinner. I've got two more prepared labels to affix and three labels for quilts finished earlier in the year that didn't get labeled to design and make. But I think I'll call it a day for now.
Funny how the simplest things become complicated. I left the house yesterday to drive the second, little-used car for a bit to charge the battery and then take it to the car wash to remove the grime that had accumulated over the weeks of it sitting in the driveway. It was dirty, but it was simply dirt, not tar or tree sap or anything really noxious. The weather was a little chilly to be playing in water, so I thought it would be all right to splurge on the car wash. It's a really nice one with new equipment and people to wipe down the cars and clean the windows after it comes through the machine.
On the way to the car wash I got stuck in two, count 'em, two traffic jams due to wrecks. And then when I finally got there, the attendant eyed the dirt on the car and proclaimed "Just so you know, that won't all come off in the car wash." "What?" I responded, a little startled. He repeated his statement that their wash wouldn't remove all of the dirt on the car. "Then why would I pay you to wash the car if you admit at the outset you won't get it clean?" I retorted, and drove away.
I washed it at home. The dirt came off just fine. I guess they only wash clean cars.
After I completed the binding on one of the Christmas gift quilts, I decided I didn't want to start another one tonight, but I did want to make a little more progress. So I attached the labels to four quilts after dinner. I've got two more prepared labels to affix and three labels for quilts finished earlier in the year that didn't get labeled to design and make. But I think I'll call it a day for now.
Funny how the simplest things become complicated. I left the house yesterday to drive the second, little-used car for a bit to charge the battery and then take it to the car wash to remove the grime that had accumulated over the weeks of it sitting in the driveway. It was dirty, but it was simply dirt, not tar or tree sap or anything really noxious. The weather was a little chilly to be playing in water, so I thought it would be all right to splurge on the car wash. It's a really nice one with new equipment and people to wipe down the cars and clean the windows after it comes through the machine.
On the way to the car wash I got stuck in two, count 'em, two traffic jams due to wrecks. And then when I finally got there, the attendant eyed the dirt on the car and proclaimed "Just so you know, that won't all come off in the car wash." "What?" I responded, a little startled. He repeated his statement that their wash wouldn't remove all of the dirt on the car. "Then why would I pay you to wash the car if you admit at the outset you won't get it clean?" I retorted, and drove away.
I washed it at home. The dirt came off just fine. I guess they only wash clean cars.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Car maintenance
Well, the battery's dead on the second car again, which is to be expected because it is never driven, just sits on the side of the driveway under the oak tree. We always take my Subaru everywhere both for logistical reasons and because I like to drive it better than his large sedan. I was never much on big cars; probably shouldn't have learned to drive in my first VW Beetle.
I just set up the battery charger and I'm keeping an eye out for rain, because, well, an electric cord hooked up to your car in a downpour would not be a good thing. The rain seems to be staying to the west so I may be able to charge it up and drive it around for an hour this afternoon to get the fluids stirred up and the flat spots off the tires. It was easier when both were in service daily, but now that we are retired my car doesn't get moved more than 3 times a week, and his not at all, unless I'm doing the recharge-the-battery dance.
It would be nice to live somewhere you could walk to do errands, like the place where I grew up. Well, in my case we lived outside the town and had to drive in to school and dad's business, but once there, and if you lived inside city limits, you could walk anywhere in just a few minutes. I used to walk to dad's business after school and ride home with mom at dinner time, and she walked to the post office, and to pick up their lunches at noon. Everything was human-scaled.
It would even be pleasant to live in an urban area if normal errands were within walking distance and walking was feasible. Having to jump in the car to do everything is a nuisance. Even where I live now, inside the city limits, it's too spread out to go anywhere except by car, and there aren't necessarily sidewalks everywhere. And, there are stretches of road between my house and the stores/post office/etc, such as the intersection where the ramps on and off the interstate merge into a divided four lane road, which would be nearly impossible to cross by foot. I don't think I've ever seen anyone try it. The regular traffic light intersections further on are hard enough, what with the turn lane signals and all. I've seen a few brave souls sprint across, as well as one older lady who tottered across the four lanes and a center traffic island with turning cars stopping on all sides to let her pass. I held my breath the whole time.
You notice I didn't mention public transportation once during this whole post? Well, I am in the southeast, an area of the country which seems to have some of the worst city bus systems in the whole country, and no other options available. So it's drive or nothing.
I just set up the battery charger and I'm keeping an eye out for rain, because, well, an electric cord hooked up to your car in a downpour would not be a good thing. The rain seems to be staying to the west so I may be able to charge it up and drive it around for an hour this afternoon to get the fluids stirred up and the flat spots off the tires. It was easier when both were in service daily, but now that we are retired my car doesn't get moved more than 3 times a week, and his not at all, unless I'm doing the recharge-the-battery dance.
It would be nice to live somewhere you could walk to do errands, like the place where I grew up. Well, in my case we lived outside the town and had to drive in to school and dad's business, but once there, and if you lived inside city limits, you could walk anywhere in just a few minutes. I used to walk to dad's business after school and ride home with mom at dinner time, and she walked to the post office, and to pick up their lunches at noon. Everything was human-scaled.
It would even be pleasant to live in an urban area if normal errands were within walking distance and walking was feasible. Having to jump in the car to do everything is a nuisance. Even where I live now, inside the city limits, it's too spread out to go anywhere except by car, and there aren't necessarily sidewalks everywhere. And, there are stretches of road between my house and the stores/post office/etc, such as the intersection where the ramps on and off the interstate merge into a divided four lane road, which would be nearly impossible to cross by foot. I don't think I've ever seen anyone try it. The regular traffic light intersections further on are hard enough, what with the turn lane signals and all. I've seen a few brave souls sprint across, as well as one older lady who tottered across the four lanes and a center traffic island with turning cars stopping on all sides to let her pass. I held my breath the whole time.
You notice I didn't mention public transportation once during this whole post? Well, I am in the southeast, an area of the country which seems to have some of the worst city bus systems in the whole country, and no other options available. So it's drive or nothing.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Car (money pit) - redux
News flash after my oil change and service check - I need to buy a new battery too. And flush the coolant system. Money pit - oh, yeah.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Cars - money pits on wheels
Even if you have a good car, the ones that don't break down and strand you, that aren't always in the shop, cars cost money - big money - to keep up. This is in spite of attempting to be an conscientious car owner who sticks to the schedules, maintains the vehicle as recommended, watches out for problems.
I just dropped over $600.00 for tires. I can't type the number without wincing. I had to buy new tires just two years into the life of the Dunlops I last installed because the car is out of alignment and ate them. What I had was rough ride and enough road noise to make it hard to hear the radio! It's caused by the tires not being oriented perfectly parallel to the axis of the car, causing the tire to go down the highway slightly skewed relative to the track of the car. It does nasty things to the tread, and drastically reduces the tire life.
Now, the question is: why is a car that is only driven in a moderate manner on well-paved roads that badly out of alignment just two years after the alignment was supposed checked and corrected? I haven't hit potholes, I haven't bumped curbs, I haven't driven on gravel or dirt. Well, if I had that answer, I would be one of the "Car Talk" guys. I suspect that it wasn't correctly aligned in 2006 when the rear differential was replaced under warranty. (Names are withheld to protect me from accusations of slander - but the work was done by a place that should really know Subarus - clear enough?) I'm not bouncing around on dirt roads and climbing over rocks. This problem shouldn't have occurred.
So, in addition to the cost of the tires, I have to take it to a frame shop and get it aligned and the suspension checked tomorrow. I also need to get the oil changed. There's another $125 gone.
And, oh, yes - I started hearing a noise when the air conditioner was running, and it wasn't a belt, pully or bearing - it's the sound of the compressor slowly going south. I'm going to run it until the a/c dies - this is enough money for one month.
I just dropped over $600.00 for tires. I can't type the number without wincing. I had to buy new tires just two years into the life of the Dunlops I last installed because the car is out of alignment and ate them. What I had was rough ride and enough road noise to make it hard to hear the radio! It's caused by the tires not being oriented perfectly parallel to the axis of the car, causing the tire to go down the highway slightly skewed relative to the track of the car. It does nasty things to the tread, and drastically reduces the tire life.
Now, the question is: why is a car that is only driven in a moderate manner on well-paved roads that badly out of alignment just two years after the alignment was supposed checked and corrected? I haven't hit potholes, I haven't bumped curbs, I haven't driven on gravel or dirt. Well, if I had that answer, I would be one of the "Car Talk" guys. I suspect that it wasn't correctly aligned in 2006 when the rear differential was replaced under warranty. (Names are withheld to protect me from accusations of slander - but the work was done by a place that should really know Subarus - clear enough?) I'm not bouncing around on dirt roads and climbing over rocks. This problem shouldn't have occurred.
So, in addition to the cost of the tires, I have to take it to a frame shop and get it aligned and the suspension checked tomorrow. I also need to get the oil changed. There's another $125 gone.
And, oh, yes - I started hearing a noise when the air conditioner was running, and it wasn't a belt, pully or bearing - it's the sound of the compressor slowly going south. I'm going to run it until the a/c dies - this is enough money for one month.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
What your car color says about your personality?
Every so often Yahoo news comes up with the oddest articles. The latest to catch my eye was "What your car color reveals about your psyche". Oh, come on.
I don't know about you, but the color is often very low on my list of priorities when buying a new or used car. I'm far more worried about how dependable a vehicle it is, whether it has been wrecked, whether it has the features I need, how good is its gas mileage. Color doesn't even make the top four. Anyway, we've bought our share of used cars, where finding a specific color is highly improbable.
My car right now is a red Subaru. According to the article, you should be scared -- very, very scared. Aggressive, moody, high-speed driver with low self-esteem and confidence, that's what the color supposedly says. I was going for cheery, fun, upbeat and visible, but what do I know? I'm not a psychologist. Also, my very first car was a red VW beetle (my dad's pick, not mine), and I had not owned a red car since I was seventeen. I bought this one when I was turning 50. It seemed like a suitable gesture -- I joked that when a boring person has a mid-life crisis, they buy a red station wagon!
Anyway, if this color stuff has any credibility, a review of my car colors starts to look like multiple personality disorder -- red, blue, yellow, gray, blue, green, red. My husband's choices? White, white, maroon, white, green. (Hey, maybe he is more stable than me! LOL) I think it just says that I drove more on average to work than he did and wore out cars quicker, and that we bought what was on the dealers' lots. That was definitely the case with the yellow El Camino and the gray Sentra, although I did like the yellow El Camino because I like yellow. (The gray Sentra -- not so much. The color choices were dark gray and dirt brown. Ugh.)
My husband also buys bigger cars than I do and they seem to come in more sedate colors than my compact cars. My green Mazda was definitely a more exuberant green than his Q45, which is so dark it's almost black.
Anyway, most people buy what's available, and that's usually a pretty limited choice. The dealer isn't going to fill his lot full of red or bright yellow cars; he'll buy white, black, gray and other subtle colors likely to appeal to the most people. It also depends on the colors in vogue at the time. The powder blue VW and the yellow El Camino were from the 70's. The maroon and gray cars we bought in the late 80's, when those colors were fashionable. The blue and green Mazdas were from the 90's.
If you need a better predictor of driving style and personality, go with the vehicle model criterion. Personally, if I see a Hummer appear in my rear view mirror, I wince. Maybe it's only a local phenomenon, but my experience with Hummer drivers is that they are the most arrogant, pushy people on the road. And if the driver of a vehicle so big that my roof cargo rack is even with his door handles wants to drive aggressively -- well, I get out of his way and give him the road. Which is what he wanted, all along.
I don't know about you, but the color is often very low on my list of priorities when buying a new or used car. I'm far more worried about how dependable a vehicle it is, whether it has been wrecked, whether it has the features I need, how good is its gas mileage. Color doesn't even make the top four. Anyway, we've bought our share of used cars, where finding a specific color is highly improbable.
My car right now is a red Subaru. According to the article, you should be scared -- very, very scared. Aggressive, moody, high-speed driver with low self-esteem and confidence, that's what the color supposedly says. I was going for cheery, fun, upbeat and visible, but what do I know? I'm not a psychologist. Also, my very first car was a red VW beetle (my dad's pick, not mine), and I had not owned a red car since I was seventeen. I bought this one when I was turning 50. It seemed like a suitable gesture -- I joked that when a boring person has a mid-life crisis, they buy a red station wagon!
Anyway, if this color stuff has any credibility, a review of my car colors starts to look like multiple personality disorder -- red, blue, yellow, gray, blue, green, red. My husband's choices? White, white, maroon, white, green. (Hey, maybe he is more stable than me! LOL) I think it just says that I drove more on average to work than he did and wore out cars quicker, and that we bought what was on the dealers' lots. That was definitely the case with the yellow El Camino and the gray Sentra, although I did like the yellow El Camino because I like yellow. (The gray Sentra -- not so much. The color choices were dark gray and dirt brown. Ugh.)
My husband also buys bigger cars than I do and they seem to come in more sedate colors than my compact cars. My green Mazda was definitely a more exuberant green than his Q45, which is so dark it's almost black.
Anyway, most people buy what's available, and that's usually a pretty limited choice. The dealer isn't going to fill his lot full of red or bright yellow cars; he'll buy white, black, gray and other subtle colors likely to appeal to the most people. It also depends on the colors in vogue at the time. The powder blue VW and the yellow El Camino were from the 70's. The maroon and gray cars we bought in the late 80's, when those colors were fashionable. The blue and green Mazdas were from the 90's.
If you need a better predictor of driving style and personality, go with the vehicle model criterion. Personally, if I see a Hummer appear in my rear view mirror, I wince. Maybe it's only a local phenomenon, but my experience with Hummer drivers is that they are the most arrogant, pushy people on the road. And if the driver of a vehicle so big that my roof cargo rack is even with his door handles wants to drive aggressively -- well, I get out of his way and give him the road. Which is what he wanted, all along.
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