At the VW dealership for last chance warranty work. Into the great wide open!

How to Drive Like a Pro: Lesson 1- Using a Blinker, Changing Lanes

All to often, we Americans (particularly those in the midwest) drive like we have received no training or have no competency, have massive entitlement issues, and attempt control even minor situations out of ridiculous pride.  In my next few blog posts, I will address what I see as some very common everyday driving errors that if we all worked hard at correcting, would ensure safer, more efficient, and generally more pleasurable driving experiences for us all.


Lesson 1: Using a Blinker.

Last time I checked, all cars in the United States and in most countries in the world come equipped standard with left and right handed turn indicator lights, or "blinkers" as we call them Stateside.   First implemented in 1903, the blinker is a simple but essential automotive safety device, because it allows other driver and pedestrians to know of directional changes you are planning before you act.  This allows them to prepare, yield if necessary, make course adjustments to avoid accidents or traffic snares.  When you don't use them, you create all of the problems associated with the failure of the previously stated actions occurring.  Don't expect everyone else on the road to anticipate your next move.

Ultimately, there is only one cause of lack of signaling, and that is overt laziness on the part of the vehicle operator.  Should the devices malfunction, it is the responsibility of the operator to indicate using hand signals.  There is no excuse for not signaling, no matter how it is attempted to be justified.  Remember, it takes all of 0.5 seconds to flick the indicator stalk, but it takes much longer to settle your affairs (medical, insurance, body shop, car dealerships, etc) following an accident caused by your causal disregard for important communications between drivers on the road.

Lesson 2: Changing Lanes:


I'll keep this simple:
- use a blinker when changing lanes
-Check all three mirrors and your blind spot before changing lanes.
- Yeild to traffic in front of you when changing lanes from a stopped lane.  If the car in front of you is indicating a lane change, don't try to race them around the stoppage.  You'll probably cause an accident.
- The left lane is for faster traffic, the right for slower and merging traffic.  Act accordingly.
- Yield the farthest left lane after you complete a passing maneuver.  Do not drive in the far left lane when there is no passing undertaken (I'm talking to you, Illinois!)
-Show courtesy when changing lanes, and give others plenty of room as you negotiate traffic around them.

I have been to the Promised Land.

Los Angeles.  Has there ever been a more-hyped town in modern America?  How many countless songs have been written about L.A.?  How many more will be written?  Until last week, I guess I didn't quite get what all the hype was about.   I get it now.

If there's one great thing about Los Angeles, it's the weather.   The air is always pleasantly fair, there is no snow and very little rain, and the sea air is so dry that there is no salt problems.   There are few pot holes, as frost-heave is non existent.  The result: cars are eternal in this Lazarus valley in the west.   I have never seen so many 1980's and older cars in such immaculate, unrestored condition.  Of course, this has created a hub of auto culture the likes of which I have never seen.  Yes, every third car is a Prius, but every fifth car is a pristine, clean, and rust free neo-classic or sports car that would never make it two years in the midwest.

And what cars!  Within 4 hours of landing at Burbank, I saw my first Bugatti Veyron 16.4: 

Within an additional 20 minutes, I saw my second (I didn't photograph the second, as it was old news at this time).  The next day brought the third.  As I was taking the above pictures, some poor schmuck in a brand new Ferrari 458 drove past.   Nobody blinked.  Poor guy. 

I have never seen so many Porsche Panamericas, Aston Martin Vantages (the V12, no less), or Bentley Arnages as I did in a two hour stretch through West Hollywood and Beverly Hills.

Not only are there great cars everywhere, but the average Angelino seems obsessed with keeping their cars absolutely clean.  Not just outside, but all around.  Few dents, dings, and scratches marred common cars, and most everyone seemed to have much better taste in accessories than the common mid westerner, as I didn't see a single fake Buick Ventiport the entire time I was there.

Fake Ventiports...no matter how ugly your Monte Carlo is, these will always make it far, far uglier.  Not taken in L.A.

I also noticed that the vast majority of Angelinos, while obsessed with constantly honking the horn at each other for every single little thing (such as not turning directly into head-on traffic whilst someone of obvious importance is behind), seem to be pretty good drivers overall.  The average following distance is twice what I would consider average in St Louis, blinker usage is way up, and on more than one occasion, a slower-moving car pulled over to allow traffic by before resuming their plodding pace.  I would consider moving west for the latter alone.  They even seem to respect the High Occupancy Vehicle Lane, which would undoubtedly be violated by well over 50% of the drivers in St Louis.

The roads are pretty good, there are very few patches or cracks, and I did not note any potholes.  What's more, Los Angeles seems to be paying their civil engineers to actually do stuff, as most stoplight cycles seem to make sense and merging onto the freeway is aided by a signal called a freeway meter designed to ease congestion as cars come on by metering the number of car entering the freeway at any given time and spacing them accordingly to prevent the jam-ups we encounter here at every major entry in the area.  It makes so much sense!  Why haven't the engineers here figured these things out?

Ramp Meter: Effective device that somehow eludes civil engineers everywhere else.

For all of these reasons and more, it is evident that Los Angeles and the rest of Southern California is an automotive paradise, especially when you break free of the busy cities and see those miles and miles of lonely desert highways.  I actually feel guilty for exposing my beloved car to the harsh mid-western climate in contrast, and may well just mosey west one day myself.

Pontiac Aztec: The Most Misunderstood and Wrongfully Slandered Car of Modern Times, and Maybe Even All Time.

So, I'm at a wedding this weekend, when the groom, Dwayne, asks me if it's possible for me to write a blog post that will somehow redeem his Pontiac Aztec.  I chuckled at first, but the more I thought, the more I realized that the Pontiac Aztec was an awful lot like sharks, snakes, and the music of Andrew W.K.  It's quite easy to get the wrong first impression from these things, but once you really get to know them and understand them, you soften a bit.  What was at first a scary animal becomes a very elegant, well-designed, and helpful creature.   What was once a juvenile song about partying 'til you puke suddenly becomes an elegy for forgotten youth and carefree days of the past.  Such is the Pontiac Aztec.

I don't think I've ever read a book about bad cars or seen a "top ten worst cars ever" list without mention of the Aztec.  It has become a target of mass hysteria when it comes to criticism of it's styling, which I admit is not what I'd call ideal.   However, if you can imagine it with slightly less black plastic cladding, a more rounded rear roof line, and a single front end rather than the unique, double-decker front, you have something like this:

BMW X6

Which, in my opinion, is not only uglier, but costs more than twice as much.

But I digress.   Back to the Aztec, it offered V6 power standard, and could be optioned with all-wheel drive and a number of totally xtreme lifestyle accessories, my favorite of which is a tent:

This, friends, is a burly lumberjack of a minivan-based SUV.

New, they came with a back pack built into the back of the seat that could be removed and used, a plethora of optional bike/kayak/snowboard/surfboard racks, and a massively cavernous interior that could hold at least 20 small dogs behind the front seats.  Toss in a powered cooler option, and you've got a rolling party/campground that will seat five very comfortably when you're done fooling around.

Next time someone tells a "Pontiac Aztec=worst car ever" joke, consider the bumblebee, the shark, and defend the lowly creature from more undue harm.   Are there better cars?  Certainly.   Would I drive one?   Maybe if the zombie hoard is here and I need all-wheel-drive and a cavernous interior but decent gas mileage.  But for those who can look past the criticism of the styling and the styling itself, there is a pretty cool hauler here that forgoes convention and offers an interesting package for not much money on the used market.

A Touch of Grey? Part 2: Cadillac CTS-V

If I were to rent a DeLorean time machine and travel back to tell myself at 18 years old, that by 30, I really wanted to own a new Cadillac, I would be severely beaten and laughed at by the younger version of myself.   Young punk that he was. Which would cause a massive rift in the space-time continuum and effectively end the world in a paradox.  So I wouldn't do that, but I think you get my point.  Cadillacs were very, very lame for a long time.  Nothing screamed "geezer" like a crest with a wreath and six ducks gently swimming on it.

Who knew that Henry Leland, The Geezer King, would still hold so much sway over his company into the early 2000's, well after his death in 1932.  After selling Cadillac to GM in 1909, he also founded Lincoln.  That's just how geezery he was.

That's not to say that nobody tried to make Cadillac cool again, but GM certainly wasn't having a go at it.   A little known fact is that Tim Allen, of Home Improvement fame, actually owned a company called Tim Allen Design (TAD), which did their best to make grandpa cars appealing to someone, say, in their mid forties.  They only made one car, and gave up.   GM just kept on pumping out those big, soft boats for the population of Florida, until one day, they noticed that old people eventually die.   And dead people don't buy many Cadillacs.

Cadillac Catera

So, in 1997, Cadillac did what any good GM division of the time would do if they needed a new model:  They rebadged an existing car, in this case, the Opel Omega, as the Cadillac Catera.  The result?  They sold a few to the less than 60 crowd, and the cars died before their owners did.  Maybe they were on to something with this idea.

2006 CTS-V

Then came the replacement to the Catera in 2003, the CTS.  Not only was it rear-wheel drive, but it could be purchased with a manual transmission!  Like a BMW or Mercedes, not so much like a Buick or Oldsmobile.  Even more, it could be ordered in CTS-V trim, which got you a 400hp V-8 under the hood.  Now, we're getting somewhere.

Let's see you grandpa's Caddy do this...

In 2007, Cadillac released the new CTS, and it was really, really cool looking.   When they released the CTS-V version in 2008, it was even more awesome.  Now with 556 hp from a supercharged Corvette engine, it was a legitimate world-beater, and was the fastest production sedan in the world at the time of it's release.  GM, for once, didn't rest on its laurels, and released a stunning coupe to accompany the sedan:

Your beloved grandmother wouldn't even know what to do with this.

And, in a totally unexpected move that makes Cadillac officially cool, they release a CTS-V Wagon. Oh no, they didn't!

Just imagine, you're heading to Home Depot to buy some home improvement supplies early on a Saturday morning, and when you get to the strip mall, they've got part of the parking lot roped off and are running SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) Auto-X out there.  And you decide to enter, blow the doors, roof, and wheels off of a bunch of Porsches, Corvettes, and maybe even a BMW M3 or two, return to Home Depot, buy a new toilet and sink for your bathroom, load it in the huge cargo area, and drive it all home in a luxury car which also happens to be sports car and a pickup truck.   And your wife, boss, parents (who also own a geezer Cadillac) and/or kids will have no idea just how much fun you are having, or just how exciting your life now is.  And that, my friends, is why Cadillac is suddenly very, very cool

A Touch of Grey? Part 1: Buick Regal

Am I getting older?  Is that my hair clogging the drain every morning, or is it errant pet hair that mysteriously found it's way into the tub?  Does my back actually hurt from stooping over a seized engine all day?  Is my hairline moving back, or is my cranium getting bigger?

Are Cadillacs and Buicks suddenly cool?

While I may, in fact, be losing my hair and the rest of my youthful vigor, it would seem that GM may finally be getting it.  Cases in point:  The new Buick Regal and the Cadillac CTS.

Just look at the Buick.  That's right, the photo is of a white Buick, apparently the only one made in the last 30 years not parked outside of either an old-folks' home, church, or Cafeteria restaurant.  In all seriousness, Buick used to make exceptionally cool cars.  Names like GNX, Grand National, Grand Sport, Riviera, Skylark, and Wildcat spark memories of muscular, classy, luxurious, fast-yet-comfortable, good-value for the money cars.  Sometime in the mid '70's, Buick decided that as their devout fans from the 40's and 50's aged, they would age with them.  Which worked well from a business perspective, until those devout fans started bumping up against the century mark (Buick named a car after this important event in the history of the company) and began dropping like flies.  As the hearts of these sweet old folks stopped beating, the company also seemed to lose it's pulse.

In some kind act of sympathy, GM spared Buick the reaper's scythe when the global recession hit in 2008, and rather than cut a division with dated styling and even more dated customers, they cut Pontiac.  Sure, Pontiac made it's fair share of cars that were the automotive equivalent of disposable diapers (they tended to sag as they filled with their own crap), they were making recent inroads with interesting, non-redundant models such as the Pontiac Solstice and Holden-based GTO and G8 models.

Having cut some good products to save Buick, GM needed a good Buick, and they needed it fast.  So, they took the European car of the year from the prior year, the Opel Insignia, dressed it in a Buick waterfall grille, named it Regal, and sent it to the auto show circuit.  The results?  Most people in the American market had never seen an Insignia, but they sure wanted the Regal.

Showy without being gaudy, it is a rare example of Americanizing the styling of a car without over-doing the chrome.  The lines are absolutely modern, the roofline is very chic, the fenders bulge just enough to look powerful without being exaggerated, and the wheel options are tasteful, as long as the buyer avoids chrome-plating.

Inside, the materials are a bit monochromatic but handsome nonetheless, with modern design and sporty heated leather bucket seats in place of the more tradition old-fogey velour Buick bench.  Column shift?   What column shift?  This baby has a floor mounted six-speed manual standard.  A Harmon/Kardon sound system and a flat-bottomed steering wheel add credibility for the under-AARP membership crowd.

Paired with the GS' optional turbo 4-cylinder engine with 270 horsepower and 295lb ft of torque, this is genuinely a sporty alternative to, say, a Lexus ES.   Start thinking Acura TSX without the horrific styling, and with a better optional engine, and you pretty much know where this car lies in the marketplace.

More importantly for Buick, however, is that people less than 30 years old will think it's cool.  Not because of some marketing campaign or kitschy wheel and spoiler package.  But because it's genuinely cool.

Have you ever noticed how when you walk past your car, it looks like the headlights are following you?

Why is it that humans relate more to animals than plants or fungi?  Why is it we always look for faces in rock walls, clouds, or the moon?   Why do we keep seeing Mother Teresa in our pancakes or Jesus in our toast?  What is the incessant need to identify a human analogue in nearly everything?  So well wired into our own brains, that we have developed computers who can also identify one face from another.

Even tiny babies pay close attention to faces from birth.  We search so diligently for faces, we identify them on inanimate objects.  That particular act, as it were, is so common, that it has a name: Pareidolia.  And hardly anywhere in the realm of manufactured goods is this Pareidolia more evident than in automotive design:

For instance, doesn't it appear that this MX-5 is having more fun than it's pilot?

 So natural is this association, you can accessorize the face of your car to look even more like a human.   Your Beetle needs more sultry eyelashes, you say?  There's an app for that.

From the front, this BMW looks like a very tired, yet very surprised vampire.   From the side, it looks like a pregnant cat dragging it's belly around.   But that's besides the point. 

Are you serious?   What does this little Sprite know that we don't?  How is this level of adorableness allowable by law?  How do you not wish there was a little tongue hanging out the side of that grille?

Now that I've planted the seed of thought, I hope that you look a bit differently at the parking lot full of cars or the traffic jammed on the highway, and instead of an inconvenience, see all of the cute, smiling, happy, intimidating, or tough-looking faces, and hopefully, they'll manage to put a smile on your face as well.

Behold, the Wonder of Technology!

Do you remember when you had to keep a tire gauge in the glove box?  How about getting pulled over because you had a tail-light burned out?  These are things of the past, my friends.  You see, amongst other things, cars are able to tell us these sorts of things.

For example: Two weeks ago, my right rear tire was losing about 3 lbs of pressure every day, and as it turns out, I had 2 nails in one tire (I drive directly past two construction supply yards on my way to work, one that is located exactly at a very rough railroad crossing, so you can imagine just how many nails may be in the roadway.)  I knew this without some disastrous blowout or completely flat tire because my car told me.  For a week straight, my car told me to fix that tire, but I kept putting air in it every morning rather than patch it.  And my car was relentless about giving me the business until  I quit being lazy/cheap and got it fixed.

Today, my car informed me that a light bulb had burned out.  Not just a lightbulb, but specifically, the right rear brake light.  I didn't have to get a "fix-it" ticket to know this.  And this is all information I get for free, as an average consumer with absolutely no mechanical or electrical work needed. 

If you're like me and not afraid to pop the hood and turn a wrench, you can buy (for an extremely affordable $100 or so) a code reader which will, as easily as plugging a cord into a socket,  tell you not only why your check engine light is on, but will also give you an error code you can use to reference exactly what has gone wrong with your car.  Or you can go to Autozone, and they'll read the code and print it out for free.  Whether your oxygen sensor or mass air-flow sensor has gone bad, or your gas cap is loose, you'll know within minutes for very little outlay.

The concept of a modern day "unreliable" car is unfounded, and the fact that the cars are designed to communicate so well exactly what is wrong puts even more of the blame on negligent owners.  My point is, if your tire pressure light comes on, look into it.  If your "check engine" light illuminates, by all means, check your engine or pay someone to check it for you.  Your car is trying it's hardest to be reliable and dependable.

My 10 Favorite Cars #1: Alfa Romeo GTV

Man, just look at it.   This is, without a doubt, the greatest car of all time.   Definitely the prettiest.    Another masterpiece by Giorgetto Giugiaro, this little muscle car was and is an absolute, definitive example of what every car should be.   Note the amazing shape, which has aged incredibly well, and the tasteful restraint in chrome and slapdashery.

GTV stands for "Gran Turismo Veloce", or "Fast Touring Car", which means a sporting car designed for comfort on long trips, a car meant to cross continents at high speed and allow the driver and passenger to arrive refreshed and relaxed.  Wait, look at the picture again.  Heartbreakingly gorgeous, isn't it?   

Inside, you get a well-appointed cabin, with a wonderfully oversized Nardi wood-rimmed steering wheel and wood trim everywhere, as well as sporty bucket seats and a shifter mounted high and to the middle of the console.  Check out all those auxiliary gauges!

Even though these wonderful little cars established a reputation for being "fragile", it is well known that when a classic Alfa GTV is running, it is pure bliss.

Observe that beautiful inline-four.  This little mill made 135hp, and was more than enough to scoot the 2170lb car along with little effort.  The GTV had a five-speed manual, one more gear than was common in sporting cars of its era, and 4-wheel disc brakes. In its day, this little hot rod could run with Ferrari and Porsche on racetracks and twisty roads, and was livable for everyday driving.

A good GTV can be had from $7000- $15,000, meaning I am quite likely to acquire one in my lifetime.   Which means my friends and family will never hear the end of it!  On a related note, last night I dreamed I bought one...

My 10 favorite Cars #2: Volkswagen GTI

Man, they just don't get a whole lot better than this one.  When VW engineers worked after-hours on a car that wasn't ever originally planned for production, the result was so good that even the suits could see absolutely no reason not to produce the world's first "pocket rocket", and a motoring icon was born.

The body  of the Mk1 was designed by legendary Giorgetto Giugiaro, the shape is very much the same as more pedestrian Golf models, but through subtle bits of flair, such as the red around the grille and the black around the rear window, somehow achieves a more distinctive and special quality.  As always, the Giugiaro design is a magnificent combnation of style, engineering, and practicality. 

GTI stands for "Grand Touring Injection", and as you'd expect, it came standard with fuel injection.    It had 110hp, and weighed under 1,900 pounds, and could hit 60mph in under 9 seconds, which was quite fast in the emission-choked 1970's.  As important, it featured four-wheel independent suspension with quite firm damping but soft enough springing to make it incredibly agile, but also quite comfortable.  And even more importantly, it was affordable.  The GTI gained a cult following who appreciated the above characteristics, as well as the durability and reliability over other sporting cars from Europe at the time.

Over the years, the GTI got gradually larger, heavier, and relatively slower, but maintained a reputation as a motoring icon.  It wasn't until the MkV model (2006-2009 in the U.S) that the GTI got it's true swagger back.  They even remembered to put a red stripe around the grille!


In fact, I like the GTI so much, I own one,  and could not be more happy with it.

My 10 Favorite Cars #3: Lancia Fulvia HF

Oh man, is this thing sweet.  Just look at those compact dimensions, crisp lines, and aggressive stance.  This little hotted up coupe was a serious race winner in it's day, and has become highly sought after, truly a legendary car.  I could insert all kinds of cliche hyperbole about Italian cars and brio and soul, but I'll refrain.  

What Lancia hath wrought here is a sweet little front-drive razor that looks as good as it goes.  As with nearly all Italian cars of it's day, the 1.6 HF has a high-revving twin cam engine (115 hp).  What it also has is 5 forward gears and plenty of negative suspension camber (wheel tilted in at the top for better handling), and many lightweight  aluminum and plexiglass for better everything.

Man, I would love to own this one.  I'd love to drive it all day, on a twisty, hilly road.  I'd love to sit in the garage and just look at it.

My Favorite Cars #4- Lotus Elan Sprint

This car is awesome in so many ways, how do I even start this entry?  The antithesis of the huge muscle cars being built in America in 1963, this car was designed with what Colin Chapman called "added lightness", or deliberate light weight through very careful engineering.  

Very advanced for it's time, the original Elan came with a twin-cam engine, four-wheel disc brakes, concealed pop-up headlights, and four-wheel independent suspension.   Initially, the car was going to be constructed as a fiberglass monoquoce (no separate chassis), but the testing prototype with it's spine-style frame worked so well, it was decided to stay that way. The car, later in Sprint specification, weighed 1540 pounds (half of an average modern small car) and came with a 1500cc (1.5 litre) engine that made 126 horsepower.   As you can imagine, the car was exceptionally quick and nimble in it's day, hitting 60 mph in about 6.5 seconds.   That's still pretty quick!

Ultimately, this is not a car for everyone.  With it's infamously fickle electrical system and very small size, it takes a dedicated driving enthusiast to see the pleasure through the pain.   Which is why Mazda created the Miata, a modern interpretation of this very car.  But the original is still the best, and a great illustration that more is not always more fun.

My 10 Favorite Cars #5- BMW M3 E30

Just look at it.   All  blistered fenders and wings, sculpted side skirts and menacing black grilles.   The regular E30 3-series is easily the best of the series, and this is without a doubt the very best of the M-division's offerings to date.   Yes, it "only" has a four-cylinder engine with 192hp, but in a car that weighed under 3000 pounds with rear wheel drive and a very stiff and willing chassis, this puppy was a race-car for the streets.

BMW set about stiffening the body shell and applying all of it's handling prowess into an absolute scalpel of a car.  They also improved the brakes, and those wider wheel arches accommodate wider  tires.   While later variations of the M3 were more powerful and faster in a straight line, this is the most direct and precise of the line.  And this one still looks cool, like a road-bound rally car.

One of my favorite qualities of this car is it's relative affordability.  Yes, they are fairly rare (only about 5000 were brought to the US from 1986-1992), somewhat exotic looking, and have genuine racing heritage.  But because they look similar to a standard 3-series, are slow by modern quick car standards (0-60 in just under 7 seconds), they have not caught the eye of the Corvette/Ferrari/Muscle Car crowd of collectors.  Yet.  The biggest problem is finding one that hasn't been wrecked, abused, or modified, as the price dipped into the high-school kid range for a brief period.

Still, it seems like it would be worth the wait and the small outlay to own a truly legendary car, and I can't wait until I have a bigger garage to put one in.

My 10 Favorite Cars #6: Porsche 356

Specifically, I prefer the 356A 1600 Super Sunroof Coupe, but that's not to say that I don't appreciate all 356's.   I'm sure this car may look familiar, as the modern 911 is just a continued evolution of this proto-production Porsche.  The shape is so alluring and unique, Porsche designers (who have the easiest jobs in the design world) have seen fit to pretty much leave the basics alone, even if the engine is in the wrong place (behind the rear axle). 

A 356 could be had with anywhere from 40hp up to about 127hp depending on year and model.  Obviously, a car that is relatively quick and sporting with 40hp becomes an absolute blast when you triple that number with only very minor weight gain.  Those more powerful engines are quad-cam Carrera's, a name taken from the Carrera Panamericana, a famous road-rally in Italy in which these early Porsche's competed very, very well.  They became well known as tough, reliable, and fast cars. 

A Porsche hallmark from the beginning, these cars are exquisitely built and thoroughly engineered in the German tradition.  The cars were based on VW Beetle mechanicals initially, but as the engineers refined and improved the cars throughout it's run, fewer and fewer parts were shared.  I have no source for this, but I once read that out of all production 356's, almost half still exist.   That's pretty high for a 60+ year old car, and is a testament to both their durability and their owners' love for their cars.   

Unfortunately for me, the collectors market for these cars is steadily increasing their values.  I did purchase a 356C when I was 14 years old.  It was bright red, had perfect chrome, and a tan interior.  And it was 1/18 scale.  And didn't run.  But that 356 still sits proudly displayed on my desk at work 15 years later, and I still take the time to clean it and keep it nice.  Just like the owners of the real thing, apparently.

My 10 Favorite Cars- #7: Ferrari 246 "Dino"

Ah, the 246.  For a long time, this car didn't get any respect.  It wasn't considered a "true" Ferrari, as it lacked Ferrari badging and came with "only" 6-cylinder power.   The engine sits behind the driver in a well balanced and beautiful body, between two elegant flying buttresses.  The car was co-developed with Fiat, who also named their car "Dino", but aside from the shared engine, the cars are quite different.  The Ferrari has it's engine mid-mounted, and the Fiat is front-mounted.  In classic Ferrari nomenclature, the 246 name stands for 2.4 litre 6-cylinder, and the "Dino" refers to Alfredo "Dino" Ferrari, the son of founder Enzo Ferrari, who also consulted the design the engine for the 246.

The Dino brand was conceived by Enzo Ferrari as a way to sell a less expensive 6-cylinder car to compete directly with the Porsche 911, as the larger V12 Ferrari's were much too expensive to compete against the German sports car.   As such, they were seen as "almost Ferraris" to most buyers and collectors throughout the 1970's.   Sometime in the late 80's or so, the car began to be recognized by collectors as a full-heritage Ferrari, and the market reflected this, with prices that now equaled that of more powerful cars bearing the prancing horse.

Ultimately, the most endearing aspect of this machine is reflected in a story about Ferrari, the man.

His son, Alfredo "Dino" was his pride and joy (Enzo is pictured on the left, Alfredo, the right).  Alfredo was groomed by Enzo to be the heir to the Ferrari racing and engineering legacy, and was sent to Switzerland to study engineering.   At the age of 24, Alfredo fell ill and died from complications from muscular dystrophy.  On his death bed, he assisted the engineers designing the six-cylinder engine for a racing car.  Upon Alfredo's death, Enzo, a man who allegedly showed very little of himself to those outside of his family and was known as cold and difficult, was apparently completely crushed by his son's death.  He subsequently named the road going car bearing the six-cylinder after Dino.  An unusual tribute from a man who rarely showed such emotion.

And what a beautiful tribute.

My 10 Favorite Cars #8- Mazda Miata (MX-5)

"

"But, Seth", you're saying, "the Miata is a girly car."  And that's where you, and the majority of the general public, are dead wrong.  I guarantee you, there are more of these "girl cars" running around racetracks than any other car in the world on any given weekend.  Their smooth, unadorned bodies aging far, far better than their contemporaries with the fake scoops, swoops, and spoilers everywhere.   Light weight and rear-wheel drive make this car one of the very best sports cars available today, if not ever.

There's an old saying, that it's way more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slowly, which is proven true with cars like this.  Perfectly balanced weight distribution, enough power to be rapid without upsetting the handling mid-corner, and classic roadster proportions with the wheels pushed as far apart as possible all conspire to make a modern-classic.  Or is it modern at all?

In fact, Mazda engineers benchmarked classic 60's era British roadsters, and decided that the car should be no more complicated or heavy than safety and emissions legislation dictated.   Therefore, small, light, and simple became the rules of the day, sharing the philosophy with late, great Colin Chapman (founder of Lotus) of "added lightness", or an attention to extremely efficient design and engineering.   They even styled the body to echo the earlier Series I Lotus Elan

I have had the pleasure of driving a Miata, and I can tell you that the design team's philosophy, which translates from Japanese roughly as "car and driver as one" is pretty much met by this remarkable and fun little car.  The passenger compartment is very snug without being cramped, the car feels about half as big as it is, and you get the impression that it actually anticipates what you are going to do before you do it.

Anyone who dismisses the Miata as a "chick car" is doing the rest of us a favor, keeping demand and prices down so that there will always be plenty of Miata goodness for those of us who know better.

My 10 Favorite Cars- #9- Austin-Healey "Bugeye" Sprite

This little car may look cute, but inside, it's a legitimate bad-ass.   Sure, it could only do 0-60 in about 20 seconds, but it was fun.  It was one of the most popular models in sports car racing in it's day, and must have been an absolute blast to wring out that 0.9 litre engine to it's redline, singing sweetly as it pumped out all of 43 hp.   This was one of the first cars that proved that being fun did not rely so much on outright quickness, but could be created by a combination of very low weight, a very willing and playful chassis, and quirky looks. 

Oddly enough, the "bugeye" or "frogeye" (as they call them in the UK) headlights that have given this car it's nickname were not intended by the designer.  Donald Healey originally intended the car to have retractable lights that pivoted backwards into the body, resting pointing skyward similarly to how a Porsche 928' s lights did in the 1970's.   However, British Motor Corporation (the huge, GM -like conglomerate that bought and ruined the majority of historic English marques) thought the retractible lights too expensive, and they were nixed.  And an icon was born.

I have never had the opportunity to drive a Austin-Healy Sprite, but it is one that I am determined to get to, even if it takes a lifetime.

My 10 Favorite Cars- #10: 1963-65 Buick Riviera

People know that I love cars, but which cars do I love?   Frankly, I find low-end, cheap, and poorly engineered cars lovable to some degree (because they're still cars), but they're not endearing.  They do what they do just fine (as my old State-issued work car, a 1995 Chevy Corsica LS can attribute), which is endearing in its own way, but there's nothing about them that just makes you smile.   The following cars possess that special something (for me, at least), that make them special to me.  

10.  1963-65 Buick Riviera - Conceived as the American answer to the Bentley Continental, Buick touted the Riviera as "personal luxury".   A large, low, and tasteful two-door, it forgoes the common chrome warts common on American cars from the period, and the result is a timeless, a tasteful, classic, and European-styled coupe that still turns heads.   The Riviera was unique, and did not share its platform with any other GM product (also known as badge engineering).  It came with Buick's legendary "Wildcat" V-8 with 325-360  horsepower (depending on year and trim, as 1964 and '65 models got 340hp, and the same years' "Super Wildcat" models had 360) , and was considered quite light in it's day.   This led to quite respectable performance, though the fuel economy was low-teens.

With optional leather trim, four place seating (buckets in the back rather than a bench), and power everything, luxury was certainly part of the equation.

As is the case with most American icons, as the 1970's neared, the car became heavier, larger, uglier, and choked by emissions equipment.  These early models show the finest of the nameplate, and as such, are the most collectible.   That aside, I find the 1963-65 Buick Riviera to be one of the most restrained, classic, and lasting car designs from our country, and the fact that it is mechanically competent is icing on the cake.

We Lubs V-Dubs.

Love.   What is love, anyway?  That magical magnetism that draws us towards things on an emotional level, that makes us miss people, places, or things in their absence.   The thing that makes us tolerate everyday frustrations creates by these things we love.  Love, baby. 

According to a recent study conducted by Strategic Vision and published by Autoweek, love for our automobiles is defined by some combination of perceived quality and specific qualities that attract the owner to the car and endear the car to the owner.

Which car company produces the most love between car and driver?

Volkswagen!  Let's face it, any car company that is closely associated with Hitler in it's early years, but less than two decades later can sell Hitler's vision of the "People's Car" to hippies, must be selling something very, very special.  And they are.   As a Volkswagen owner, I can honesty say I love my car, and will undoubtedly buy another Volkswagen for my next car, hopefully 20 years from now.

I get in my car every morning, and in that moment between the door closing, the ignition coming on, and the satellite radio getting signal, Neil Young's "Long May You Run" by Neil Young resonates:


Long may you run.
Long may you run.
Although these changes
have come
With your chrome heart shining
in the sun
Long may you run.

What does Volkswagen do that no other company does as well?  What gives their cars that extra charisma, that soul, that heart?  As an owner, I definitely notice some things that really endear the car to me, tiny details that the average person may not even notice, but make the car that much better.

Because not all VWs have the 200 hp turbo engine mine has, and they do not all have the lightning quick dual-clutch automated manual transmission, I'll leave those gems off the list.  Good overall performance is a hallmark of all VW vehicles, and this is an important part of love.


Lets's start with the materials.   In my VW, if it looks like a soft material, it is.  The entire dash is soft to the touch.  The leather is soft.  The carpet is plush and soft.  

That metal trim in the door and that door handle:  actual aluminum, not silver-painted plastic.  Such is the entire cabin.  If it looks like metal, it is.   This honesty and quality of materials exudes a much higher level of luxury and sophistication than the price of the car indicates.

Next up: Features.

The headlights on the GTI are bi-xenon, self-leveling HID headlights.  When you turn the car on, they rotate up and down through their range, giving the impression that the car is greeting you.  I know, it sounds corny, but it reallly does help endear the car to you.   It seems friendly, somehow.  Plus, with these headlights, you'll see quite a bit farther and quite a bit more clearly than you will with halogens.  Which builds confidence and adds safety.

Above is my Climatronic.   Most cars have AC and heat, but my VW has automatic AC and heat (just set the desired temp and the car does the rest), dual zone settings (passenger and driver can select different temps, good for when your wife is always fiddling with the temp and fan speeds on road trips.  It also has vents for rear seat passengers, which many larger cars do not have.  Also, by hitting the "econ" button and the "upper vent" button simultaneously and dialing in different codes with the volume and tuning knobs, I can set those little digital displays to display speed (mph or kph), coolant temperatures, exterior temps, and any number of error codes.  Pretty neat.

Another major contributor to how much I love my VW is the engineering of the thing.  There are so many details that stand out, from beefy door hinges, struts to hold the hood up instead of a hood prop, thick insulation throughout, felt-lined wheel arches (rather than the usual plastic), etc.

See how the windshield is recessed from the A-Pillar to the first knuckle on my finger?  The hood lines up with the a-pillar, and the windshield wipers hide under the hood, as do the (heated) windshield washer nozzles.  This recessed area and hidden windshield cleaning hardware creates a low-pressure area along the windshield,  which helps reduce wind noise at speed.

Next up, the door edge:

 Look how nicely finished that thing is.  That black plastic cap enclosing the edge, the thick seals, the recessed latch, the thick door card.  Solid, baby.

Why doesn't everyone include these features? VW is able to offer these advanced features and technology because they own Bugatti, Bentley, Audi, Lamborghini, and Porsche, amongst others.   By developing and engineering these features for their more expensive lines and absorbing the development costs in the high-end market, they are able to offer the same kind of features on the everyman VW models at a similar (though slightly higher) price than a Honda or Toyota competitor.   And that's a beautiful thing, the type of thing that makes you fall in love with a VW.

Let's Discuss Etiquette

We've all seen it.  The mid 90's Cadillac, usually with a Landau roof, double parked in prime spots at Taco Bell during lunch time when there are no other spaces and the drive thru (please, NEVER use drive thru's; I beg of you) is backed up to the street.   It's such a relief to know that Royalty is in town, and that they drive a busted $1500 Cadillac, and that they don't want any more dings and scratches than are already on the faded, rusted POS.   Taking up more than one spot makes you look like a pompous, ridiculous human being.  And it's a sure-fire way to get your car keyed.

There are three exceptions to this rule, and #1 plus at least one of the last two must be present, lest you be a jerk:

1.  You park in the back of the lot where nobody else parks anyway (universal, no exceptions!)
2.  Your car costs more than the average house
3.  Your car is bigger than the average house

Perfect illustration of all three exceptions in one picture:

That's a Rolls Royce Phantom Long Wheel Base.  It has a base price of $450,000, but this one has some options, as evidenced by the chrome RR wheels.  It is 78.3 inches wide.  The average parking spot in a metro area is about 90 inches, leaving only 5 inches or so on each side of the spot with this vast beauty squeezed in.  As you'll note, this (genuinely important rather than self-important) driver courteously parked all the way against the landscaping between the road and the lot, well away from the mall entrance.  Because if there's one thing this champion of commerce has learned over the years, there's a big difference between being rich and being entitled.  If this were a Camaro in the middle of the lot, the opposite would be true.

On to more parking etiquette, if you see a car (say, a silver VW GTI) single-space parked WAY out in the middle of nowhere, and there are TONS of spots in the general vicinity, you should not park your green Saturn right up to the rear bumper every day.   It's just not polite.

Wait, haven't we seen this before?

Oh GM.  You  poor, stupid company you.  According to Reuters this week, Chevrolet Silverado pickups sit on the dealership lot an average of 122 day each.  Seriously?  That's just horrible business.  Of course, GM is citing the price of gas as a culprit, but many industry analysts blame GM directly for this problem.

  Apparently, they've been a bit too optimistic about the economic recovery and assumed everyone would drop by and buy America's oldest full-size pickup design, rather than spend their money on the recently redesigned Ram or Ford F-150.  As usual, GM's solution to this problem is to throw away profitability by giving customers nearly $5,000 in rebates to move this herd of dinosaurs. 

When will GM realize that deep discounts don't help the brand image, and don't solve the real problem of poor management and bad business decisions?  Have you ever noticed how some car companies, such as Toyota and Honda, rarely discount their cars more than $500 unless the new body styles roll out?   This is because these companies carefully manages vehicle production to remain just slightly above demand, so that the average car is sold in a matter of weeks, not months.

When I worked at the dealership, we had one Pathfinder, a holdover old-design in bright blue with every single option.  A tough sell, indeed.  Do you know who sold it?  Me, baby.  Because my managers stacked bonus money on me to move that heap of metal, as well as putting it into delaer demo service to put some miles on it to reasonably lessen the value.   Nissan gave the incentives to the dealership to move the old stock and keep things rotating, rather than the customer.   Of course, it allowed us to accept less for "Barney" as we called it, but it didn't hurt the resale value of all Pathfinders nationwide, the way that huge factory incentives on
entire lines of cars will.

Ultimately, GM seems to have learned nothing from their bankruptcy/bailout, and have resumed business as usual, overproducing and creating incentives to move the metal rather than allowing demand to drive sales.  And as profitability per vehicle drops, the bean-counters will find ways to produce the vehicles for less money (such as lower quality materials and more "traditional" technology), and the cycle begins all over again.

Of course, the average American consumer will encourage GM, snapping up any car offered on a deep discount without any regard for long-term market effects.   Shame on you, GM, and shame on us for not seeing it coming.

My wife and mother are Soul sisters (apparently).

Everyone remembers that catchy ad campaign, with "Hammstar" rocking out to Black Sheep's "The Choice is Yours".  But just in case, here you go:

Yep, that video sums up the Soul pretty well.  Soft and cute, but looks tough and seems to be cool, even though it's just a regular little car wearing a glitzier exterior.    My wife saw this commercial about 6 times before she decided she must have one, and as she's always indulged my needs for a new car, well, I did the same. 

Below the skin, the Soul is pretty much the same car as the Kia Rio, though there is a 2.0 litre available as an option in place of the Rio's 1.6, and the Soul has disc brakes all around versus the rear drums in the Rio.  But, Kia has done a great marketing job of making their least expensive and desirable car into something that people like, and pay a premium for.  

Our Soul came equipped with every airbag you'd ever want, Bluetooth, a 300W stereo with subwoofer (and speaker lights!), moonroof, 18-inch wheels, foglights, and Homelink, all for under $20,000.  And much to my surprise, it's not so bad to drive.  In fact, aside from slightly overboosted power steering, I can't complain much at all.  Plus, it can do this, which the GTI would look undignified doing:

Just look at that ground clearance!  Seriously, though, this little beast went down miles of gravel road and through the woods, no problem. 

Recently, my mother got the opportunity to drive our Soul on some twisty highways and gravel roads.  And she liked it well enough, she bought her own 2 weeks later.  They could not be happier with their little Korean boxes, and after more than a year, I still enjoy ours as well.

Tiny Little Miracles

I was having a conversation with  my brother this weekend about how great it would be to own an Alfa Romeo, but how it couldn't be your only car due to Alfa's legendarily fickle reliability.  This led to a discussion of how even Alfas are relatively reliable these days, and how there really is no such thing as an unreliable modern automobile.

Take for example, the tools supplied with cars these days.  In the fifties, nearly every sports car manufacturer offered full tool kits, including a full set of wrenches (or "spanners" if your car was European), screwdrivers, a wire tool, a pipe wrench, pliers, sockets, pry bars, a lead mallet, and a ball peen hammer (for those delicate repairs after you've tried everything else).  I opened the trunk of my modern European car, and all I could find were these:

The leftmost is a key for my locking lug studs, the second is a tool for removing the little caps over the nuts, the 3rd a jack, the fourth a lug wrench, a small screwdriver (flat and phillips reversible!), and a tow recovery hook.  As you can see, they pretty much all deal with a flat tire or driver error, aka driving into the ditch.

Do most modern drivers know how to gap a spark plug?  How about cleaning and setting points?  Rebuilding a carburetor?  How about something simple, like changing spark plugs?  Cars used to require some basic understanding of how the things worked, and a slight bit of handiness to constantly adjust and dial in the car as it went down the road.  Now, BMW doesn't even offer an oil dipstick on it's cars.   How will you know when you're burning oil, as you most certainly are?

Speaking of which, most drivers these days don't even know how to use a dipstick.  For some odd reason, there's a modern-day myth that cars don't burn oil anymore.  It's not true.   Depending on your driving style, oil type, and engine (rotary and turbocharged engines will burn more than small, normally aspirated engines), you may be burning more than a quart of oil between oil changes.  In fact, most manufacturers consider 1 quart of oil every 1000 miles to be totally normal and  acceptable.  When's the last time you checked your oil?

Yet, despite the relative ignorance of automotive engineering, symptoms of eminent problems, or general maintenance, most cars these days last a few hundred thousand miles.   Yet we get upset when the car needs the occasional $500 repair every 30,000 miles or so.   A machine with thousands of interacting, moving parts, rotating at 7,000 rotation per minute (over 116 times per second), propelled by tightly contained explosions, at high temperatures, and we get frustrated when one of those parts doesn't work every few years.

 Someone should call the Pope.  We have a million little miracles driving around the planet every day.

Making New Friends

Today was my first day back at work after the 4th Holiday, and it only took me until 9:30am to decide that I should take another day of vacation.  Leaving the office, the sun was shining, it was warm but not hot, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.  I decided to take the GTI to Reid Vann to have the brakes flushed and bled.  This is one of those jobs I could have done myself in the garage, but would require either another person or a pump.  Having neither, and feeling lazy, I decided to check out this shop that I'd heard such good things about.

Reid Vann earned his doctorate in electrical engineering at Washington University, and at some point in his life opened his auto shop, which specializes in Porsche, Audi, VW, Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, and Range Rover repair, but I'd bet he could fix any car you brought in.  The shop is a modern, well finished number, apparently a former Steak and Shake that was reborn as an auto shop.  It is just east of the intersection of Manchester and Rock Hill, and can be spotted by the large number of vintage Porsches in the parking lot.

Upon arrival, I was greeted quickly by Liz Vann and her sidekick, Bella the Boston Terrier.  Both Bella and Liz were enthusiastic and happy to see me, and both promptly introduced themselves.  Though the front lot was fairly full, Liz said they'd be able to get me in for a "waiter", and she immediately found one of the crew to see to my service needs.  

Soon thereafter, my GTI was wheeled around the rear of the bay for service.  As I browsed the immense selection of AutoWeek, DuPont Registry, Quattro (the Audi Club Publication), Panorama ( the Porsche Club Publication), and Star (the Mercedes Club publication), I mentioned to Liz that this was my first visit to the facility.  She offhandedly mentioned  the first thing I had noticed when entering, a small showroom filled with early Porsche 356s.   I asked a few knowledgeable questions regarding the cars, and before I knew it, she was inviting me back to pull the covers off a few of them and get a better look.

For those of you who don't know, the Porsche 356 was Porsche's first production model.   All of the cars in this shot are Porsche 356A models, built between 1955 and 1959, The red in the right forefront being a Carrera Speedster, the forefront left under the cover is a 1958 Cabriolet in Meissen Blue with red leather interior (stunning!), the white in the mid-ground is another Speedster,  the silver in the background is a Carrera Moonroof Coupe.  Out of this shot to the right is a 1600 Super Moonroof Coupe.  All are rare, desirable cars and not often seen.   Liz seemed thrilled that a customer in anything but a classic Porsche seemed interested in discussing the cars, and was very generous in both her time and allowing me a closer look.

My brake flush was finished in about an hour from my arrival, which is quite reasonable for a walk-in, and they charged me exactly half of what the dealership quoted me for the same work,  using the exact same fluid and tools. 

I would recommend a visit to Reid Vann to anyone, if for nothing else than to  meet some great car people, who welcomed me into their shop with unusually good hospitality, warmth, and enthusiasm.  I can't wait for my next maintenance interval!

"Let me tell you about my boat..."

I suppose the best place to start a blog about cars is to tell you about my own car.   Perhaps, even, to share my car ownership history with you.  On second thought, I will not bore you with that today, we'll stay in the present tense, shall we?  For those of you just tuning in and not having had a conversation with me in the past couple of years, I currently drive a 2007 (MkV) Volkswagen GTI.

Griselda (meaning "Grey Warrior Maiden" in German) or "Grizz" as my wife named her and we have come to call her, has been the object of my affection for a few years now.  And I could not be more pleased.  Two-litres of turbocharged goodness punting around a short-wheelbased bank vault of a chassis, whistling and whooshing and growling, all the while achieving quite good gas mileage.

One wonderful quality of a GTI, outside of its immediate enthusiast appeal, is that it is a small, inexpensive (relative to a BMW, Audi, or Mercedes) German car, with excellent build quality, choice materials, and well-bolstered seats.   This is important, you see, because you feel like you just pulled one over and got an Acura at a Honda price. 

It is also loaded with technology, including a dual-clutch automated manual transmission with paddle shifting, direct fuel injection, four-wheel independent suspension, heated seats, and dual-zone climate control, for when the person a foot away from you wants his or her portion of the cabin warmer or cooler than yours.  As an aside, this confluence of two different temperature air masses may cause tiny thunderstorms.  So be careful.

Ultimately, the GTI is a car that makes you feel like a grown-up during your commute to work and a hooligan on your way home. 


*I don't actually own a boat. 

And so it begins!

The automobile.  To some, a simple appliance that ferries them reliably from one end of the earth to another.  To others, myself included, a object of fascination, personification, love, passion, loyalty, heritage, and beauty.  Real emotions, for an inanimate object.  One might argue that they've replaced the horse as our companion on long journeys, and this is why we feel so connected to them.  Maybe it's the way they have "faces", typically presenting two eyes (headlights) a nose, and a mouth (grilles).  Who knows what it is that draws us to them, allows us to become attached, miss them when they're dead and gone, and invest so much time or money into them?

In this blog, I intend to explore my own fascination with the automobile, sharing interesting cars for sale, automotive facts and history, technological advancements from the beginning to modern times, as well as car-buying advice, and my opinion on cars of all shapes and sizes.  Please enjoy!