Cars

Ah, the unloved Toyota Echo: Basically, this is the car that spawned Scion. Styled by Toyota’s California design center as the replacement for the utilitarian Tercel, this bug-eyed, misproportioned design is the camel of the automotive world: Better in most respects than competitors, but it’s UGLY! And so it is…these same underpinnings form the chassis of the Scion Xa and Xb. It has tiny wheels, but since it only weighs 2000lbs, the 108hp engine feels powerful. ...

Shout out to Jack Kain Ford, they gave me my money back with no questions asked.

I’ll give you the short version: On friday, I came to terms with a dealer on a 2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue with 44k miles. I picked up the car Saturday after waiting THREE HOURS for the F&I guy to get his crap together. I took the car to Mike Jansen and he said it was..umm..okay. It’d been in a front end and rear end collision, including replacement of the a/c condenser and the radiator. Also, the driver’s side front suspension had a bad ball-joint. ...

After rising with the sun both days this weekend and working outside both 95-degree days, Monday finds me exhausted. Case in point: I staggered into work, broke out our fresh-roasted coffee beans and made coffee. Only problem is, I put the RAW BEANS into the coffee filter. Thankfully, I realized this before turning the machine on. This weekend’s theme was exceeding expectations. I expected to have a light day of packing on Saturday. Instead, my whole apartment is packed and cleaned, and 75% of it is already moved to my new house. ...

Here’s a pic to illustrate just how hard life is for the outside edge of the front tires of an AutoX MINI; My Mini weighs ~2500lb in autocross trim. I’d say 2000 lbs of that is on that right front tire in this sweeper. I need some CAMBER dang it!

My MINI is fine. I drove home tonight and did accel. runs in 3rd & 4th from 25mph or so, and could detect no slippage. I also did no-throttle starts just feathering the clutch, and found no chatter whatsoever. So there’s $1k I can put back in the bank. Whew! Admittedly, the car does stumble when starting from a standstill with the A/C on, but it’s a 2700lb car w/no power. ...

As is my custom, I gave away the punchline before telling the story. Whitney and I had an ‘05 MINI Cooper (stock: 115hp), with the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) CVT’s fascinate me…imagine two pulleys connected by a belt. If the ratio of the pulleys remains the the same, you get a defined gear ratio. Thing is, in a CVT, the pulleys can vary their diameter, and hence the amount of mechanical advantage they provide. Great technology, but CVT’s are a dead end: No design yet devised can reliably handle much more than 200 ft-lbs of torque, so they’re only good for small cars. ...

Niiiiice new 19" flatscreen here at The BMW Store in Cincy. Well, turns out the fender-bender here is going to cost me a new wheel for the loaner and a new section on the bumper to install, so that’ll probably be $95 in labor + $40 for the bumper section, plus Lord-only-knows for a new 16" allow wheel. Fun times. Plus, I get to drive back to Lex, stay at work until my product is fixed (say, Saturday morning…).

Well, I ran into Mike while taking Patrick to the car dealership, and he said he’d price me the install of a new clutch, pressure plate, throwout bearing, lightweight flywheel, AND 4 shocks to replace the worn-out units on my MINI, and only charge me 10 hrs of labor. Plus, he only charges $45/rate-hr for labor. :-) Cars. They giveth, and yet, they taketh away.

Perhaps I bragged on my dealership too much. Perhaps I smiled a bit too much at the autocross when I told them, “The dealer is going to replace my clutch for free!” But, they’re not. Did some reasearch; apparently both clutches in the MC + MCS are total crap, and have been expiring at an alarming rate as the fleet of ‘02 and ‘03 coopers approaches 50k-75k miles. Found a clutch, pressure plate, and throwout bearing that look nice and sturdy at MiniMania.com ...

Why I love my GTO

(This blog brought to you by coffee, the never-ending source of stimulation for the programmer mind.) Though I own two of the coolest cars in existence today (a MINI and a GTO), there are several cars out there I’d love to have, but the practicalities of life infringe upon it. My list, in no particular order: A Saab 9-3 Viggen Front Wheel Drive Hatchback 260 horsepower turbo 4 cylinder. MMMM….practical. ...

So, there I was, outside on a beautiful spring day, noting the change in the dogwoods from flowers to foliage, crusing at 95 in my GTO, Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” awash in my ears. The tranny hummed a mechanical song beneath my fingertips, comfortably loping in 6th gear. Life is good when your new house is perfect. Philip Preston (of “Preston Home Inspections” fame) had given his stamp of approval (“It’s one hell of a house, man”), with his wife/gf/squeeze’s agreement. ...

Ahh, the delicious irony: The guy who started the GTO thread on the Car Lounge is going to have to get rid of his GTO

Amid getting my MINI its 45k mile service, I’m driving a BMW X3 as a loaner It’s AWFUL! The ride is brittle and uncertain. The thing is so stiff-legged that Ohio roads are a real pain. It’s not roomy at all, and this base, base, base model lacks even cruise control. I left my cell phone at home, so I was forced to drive all the way back to G’town so I can know when the Pup is done with its overhaul.

The first Hummer I’ve ever liked: The H3. Not too massive and it’s well proportioned.

Ah, such a relaxing weekend! The world freezes outside, and a gentle snow greeted me on my way to church this morning, consigning Thor to the garage in favor of the Pup’s winter tires and FWD traction. Whitney came down this weekend and we had great times at Ruby Tuesday’s, going to watch “The Aviator”, and then watching “King Arthur” off her Netflix queue. :-) Went bowling today and cracked 100, which is decent for me. ...

Ahh yes, this is what my GTO looks like in Australia.

The GTO’s freshly washed and put away, the MINI’s loaded with winter clothes and shod with Dunlop snow tires, and I’ve padded my midsection with fruitcake. Winter, do your worst!

Geeze, it’s cold out there this morning…7 deg F on the MINI thermometer. Driving the Pup after a weekend in the GTO is a study in contrasts: The clutch effort in a MINI is non-existent, making it a much better friend in dense traffic, and the much-maligned British Midlands 5-speed is like silk compared to the 6-speed Tremec in the GTO. And it’s SO easy to blip the throttle for a perfect heel-and-toe downshift in a MINI. ...