Cars

I’ll get some pics up soon…just some thoughts from attending the 2010 Louisville Auto show It’s much better going with your 3 year old daughter than with your 1 year old daughter. Maria was my wingman…er…wingdaughter. Awesome! The Ford display triumphed. They had position right in front of the entrance, and the cars were great. They (understandably) didn’t have the 2011 5.0 Mustang GT on display–who would by the 2010 4.6? The new Taurus is incredible. Great styling. Sumptuous interior. I can’t believe this platform began as the VW Passat-derivative Five Hundred. It’s a completely different car just when America’s ready to return to cars after gorging on SUV’s for 20 years. That being said, the new Fiesta’s too small. Unless they can make money on this car at $14k or less, forget it. People will buy the redesigned Focus instead. Toyota’s display, right next to the entrance as well, was a ghost town. I felt sorry for these guys as there are some superb cars in the lineup. Maria loved the Scion xD, and I thought the the new Prius to be the perfect replacement for my 2000 Camry–only it gets double the mileage. BMW has lost its way, big time. I though things were bad when Bangle took over, but $100,000 UGLY, IRRELEVANT cars (X6? 5 series GT?). Those posers snatching-up the Beamers are BROKE, you Bavarian Dullards. Those who remain are the hardcore faithful, and you’ve given them nothing but complicated, overpriced, ugly cars that break with British regularity. ::sigh:: Still want an E39 530i Sport. Probably a 2001 model. :-) Honda: WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE THINKING?! The Oddysey withers on the vine, the Civic is a disaster, and the Accord remains ugly (as it has since 1998). Meanwhile, we get the Accord Crosstour. Meanwhile, the Fit remains a joy. Pity it’s overpriced and lacks taller gearing for the highway. Still, play with those folding rear seats, work that snick/snick shifter, and feel the quality of the controls–this is Honda Motor we-can-engineer-better-than-you Company at its best. Jump in a Mazda 6, then into a Hyundai Sonata, and tell me why Mazda’s still in business. The Mazda 2 won’t sell. It’s an uglier Fiesta, with less space. GM is still the “too many divisions, too many nameplates” company. And the new Regal (a rebadged Opel offering only a 4-cylinder engine) is too small. Finally got in a Camaro. Maria liked it because it’s red. It has so little headroom and such bad outward visibility, I felt like I was in a coffin. I don’t see that car having even the legs of the 4th Gen Camaro/Firebird. GM has a talent for useless styling exercised (SSR, anyone?) This feels exactly like that. Acuras make BMWs seem attractive. Yikes. So yeah, I feel like an old fart–I like reasonable cars, with good styling, interior appointments, and room. I dislike gimmicks and needless complexity–they seem like sleight-of-hand to hide bad engineering. ...

So, here we are, at the end of the Awful Aughts. The automobile in America has pretty much jumped the shark, maybe for good (Exact moment: The day the movie ‘Cars’ was released). Still, I’m a gearhead. I’ll die a gearhead. The 2000’s coincided with my twenties; having no debt to speak of, a well-paying job, and no one to answer to besides myself, I wasted as much of my own money and my inheritance on cars as I could. Motorcycles are much cheaper and more fun…wish I’d figured that out 10 years ago. Anyway, onward. This list is pretty-much chronological: ...

Linky Simply put, this regulation will be the end of the automobile industry (and possibly the automobile itself). They want 42mpg fleet AVERAGE? Given current regulations, the 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid gets 42mpg average. Nearly EVERY OTHER CAR on the road will underperform. They want these regulations by 2016…understand, that’s ONE GENERATION in automotive terms, given the 5-year product lifecycles the carmakers deal with. The 2011 and 2012 cars are already done and in the pipeline at this point. ...

We have a socialist gov’t now. whatdya expect? Whitney - May 2, 2009 We have a socialist gov’t now. whatdya expect? I strip away the old debris That hides a shining car: A brilliant red Barchetta From a better vanished time. We fire up the willing engine Responding with a roar. Tires spitting gravel, I commit my weekly crime. ...

It was a hot Friday evening, the pavement sizzling though the sun was just about to clock out for the day. Work stank today, in that “Where else you gonna get a job, loser?” sort of way. Fear and loathing in Lexington, yup. But, she waited. She was hundreds of horsepower, rear wheel drive, and leather interior. She didn’t run, she purred. Red–I’ve NEVER had a red car, but nothing else seemed to fit. Those 4 50-series tMIGHT last 10,000 miles, if I never drove hard. ...

I’ve kinda “lost that bloggin’ feelin’” myself. I … Jeff Roberts - Dec 3, 2008 I’ve kinda “lost that bloggin’ feelin’” myself. I think mine used to be more “Look at the hole I dug!!!” and thanks to drought and being busy at everything BUT the yard, I’m not sure I could find the back 4 acres right now.

:-) NANO!!!! Every time I hear Paradise City, I’m apexing a curve in my old SE-R, Goodyears howling, somewhere just south of 6800 rpm in 2nd gear. The moonroof’s back, it’s 85 degrees outside as the sun sets in the West, and I’m headed to Louisville to see Whitney. Speed limit be damned, that car loved to MOOVE.

link Cerberus should acknowledge the financial reality and either file a Chapter 11 case for Chrysler or have a federal receiver appointed so that the value of the Chrysler assets can be maximized in an orderly sale procedure. Obligatory snarky comment: “Where’s the *reality* in finance, buddy?!”

The Beamer that Vicki never got to drive is no more, sent on to its new owner Grady from Indianapolis. Overall, it was a tremendous selling experience, with a detailed ad via craigslist (for free) and the buyer contacting me via email asking intelligent questions throughout the following week. This has been on my heart for some time now; glad I finally manned-up and did it.

Duuuuuuuuuuuude! Jeff Roberts - Oct 3, 2008 Duuuuuuuuuuuude!

I’ve got a guy driving in from Indianapolis this afternoon; perhaps this is the BMW’s last day with me. Part of me’s not taking this so well…I got up nauseated and I was very cranky, right down to being very mean to Joey at the breakfast table. Which caused Whitney to get really mad at me (rightly so). I apologized to him on the way to school for it, but still…I’m just OFF today. ...

Taking a leap out there today. Listing for the BMW I don’t need to carry 3 cars through the winter, particularly since I have my eye on getting a 5-series come Spring. Pray for me guys…this is really hard for me, but it’s what needs to happen.

…or “Whitney gets car fever” So Saturday, before Ike started tearing through our area, our intrepid family went a-Cincinatti’ing. Yep, swimming pools, movie stars, and the best MINI dealership in the world. I hadn’t been to Cincy MINI since last August, when a mishap with my radiator drain plug had me driving 120 miles roundtrip for a $2 part. Whitney hadn’t been there since spring of 05, when we had the Pup in for its last dealer service. ...

Now this is a movie. It’s 1968; hipster counter-culture is ablaze in Europe. Somewhere, Austin Powers is out there in his Shag-u-ar telling the birds, “Oh Behave.” And, as our story opens, Charlie Croker (Michael Caine), the world’s best thief, has just been let of of prison…. Actually, as our story opens, a Lamborghini Miura is tearing up the Alps out of Turin on its way to Switzerland, driving up roads that look 2 feet wide at something like 120 mph. I got car-sick just watching it. ...

Come on down to the Combs household, folks, where you can witness (very) amateur mechanic Harold working on the old iron, attempting an amazing feat–an OIL CHANGE. That’s right…for the first few minutes, we’ll warm-up with the draining of the oil. Then we get to the feature presentation–the Two hour slog of…TRYING TO REMOVE THE OIL FILTER HE OVERTIGHTENED IN March!. You’ll gasp as you see him try the end-cap socket, followed by the Strapwrench. You’ll cry as you see him pound a screwdriver through the filter six separate times praying he’ll get it to loosen. You’ll sigh in relief as he the filter finally comes of, and swim in nausea to witness its mangled carcase. ...

well i worked in a ship for a while and it really … Gas4Free - Sep 1, 2008 well i worked in a ship for a while and it really pisses me off when sumthing like that happens. Even in the ship there were some guys who were really good at overtightening things.. but this ones kinda funny an overtightened filter. A pipe wrench might have helped. ...

First things first, let me say–my wife’s Skyline Chili recipie is DELICIOUS. * * * I got Jeff to come with me to the event (“I need an adult. I NEED AN ADULT!!”) to …ahem…keep me grounded. Plus I figured he’d enjoy it. So we headed down there, and I got right into a 135i convertible, including iDrive. We tooled around Lexington on the prescribed course for a half-hour, then returned. ...

And I did enjoy it. But you’re too kind - we were … Jeff Roberts - Aug 5, 2008 And I did enjoy it. But you’re too kind - we were briefly off course when I had you make a left instead of a right down by the airport. Cool car, but after seeing the stickers over there, it’s great to climb back into (or onto) the paid-for vehicle. ...

Well, today’s the day. At 11am, I have an appointment to drive a BMW 135i in the Susan Komen Drive for the Cure at Don Jacobs BMW. Let’s hope for my sake it doesn’t turn out like last year I’ve never even *sat* in a 1-series, but it’s supposedly the reincarnation of the E30… …though, no E30 came from the factory with a twin-turbo 300hp engine. Tee-hee. * * * ...

Wow, hope you can control yourself in the bimmer ;… Jeff Roberts - Aug 5, 2008 Wow, hope you can control yourself in the bimmer ;-)