I’m glad you asked that question. I used to be a Libra, but now I’m a Virgo thanks to 2,000 years and wobble in the earth axis. link
The North American Autoshow just finished up in Detroit and my new favorite car company debuted a new production car there, the Veloster. I have praised their recent designs, the Tucson, the Elantra and my love for the Sonata’s looks knows no bounds, but what were they thinking with this:
That is a face only a mother could live… Every picture I see of this thing does not make me like it any more, it just reaffirms the ugliness of it. Then I saw it in action:
Doesn’t look too bad in motion. Some folks have called it the CRX that Honda should have built, so maybe I should put it on the possible new car list, after all I was considering a CRX before I got sidetracked with this whole Miata thing. I’ll need a different color choice or two, then I will have to figure how to make it look like it is moving while parked…
After yesterday’s failed attempt at driving to work in the Miata, Donna decided to ensure we would make it to work on Tuesday. She called friend & coworker Mark (Hi Mark!), who has a 4 wheel drive pickup truck and passes near Casa de Bogardus on his commute, to ask for a ride in. Because Mark goes to work about an hour before us, we set our mental clocks back an hour and physically set our alarm clock back by the like amount.
Mark called around six this morning and said he checked his road, it was solid ice and with discretion being the better part of valor, he was not going to attempt the trip right now. Mark is south and rural from us in a very hilly part of the county and I told him don’t risk it on our account. I said I’d go outside and see what my road looked like, if it didn’t look too bad, we might try it in the Miata. We left it at that, you call me or I’ll call you.
I walked outside and our driveway was still very icy, but the road in front of the house was spotty; dry, then icy, then dry, and so on. I told Donna, “Let’s give it a shot. If we only get as far as we did yesterday, so be it.” Today was the exact opposite of yesterday’s drive, our street was the tricky part, but manageable. When we got to the main artery, Whiskey Road, it was almost entirely clean. So were the rest of the roads, until we made it to work. The 5 lanes in front of the plant had two clean lanes on either side of a very crunchy center turn lane. Fortunately traffic was nearly non-existent so I could slow to 10 MPH in the 55 zone and get into the plant’s driveway without being rear ended. The driveway and the parking were very slippery and did require some extra care navigating, but we made it to work safe and sound.
When I got to my desk I called Mark, to call him a wimp and let him know if he did make the trip in, not to stop at our place, we weren’t there. Mark did make it into work several hours later. He took it slowly for a couple miles until he got to Petticoat Junction (see, I told you rural and yes, that is the actual name of that crossroads area) and then the roads were pretty much clear the rest of the way in.
It was coming down slowly when we went to bed last night and it was still coming down this morning when we woke up, there was probably 1 to 1-1/2 inches of snow on the ground. We checked the local news channel’s web site and there amongst the school closings was a note that ASCO was opening with a two hour delay. We promptly went back to bed for 2 hours. When we got up a second time Donna packed lunches, we had breakfast and I went outside and swept the snow off the tarp covered car port, so it wouldn’t collapse like it did last February.
After first saying no I wouldn’t drive to work, I relented and said I’d give it a try. I put 3 cinder blocks in the trunk for traction (for reference purposes I could have fit 4 if I didn’t have the CD changer back there) and we set off slowly down the street. We made it out to the main road without too much trouble, but we were driving on virgin snow. When we got to a main artery the traction was much dicier because there had been some traffic through it, but not enough to clean anything off, just rearrange it. After a block or so of slipping around we decided to head back to the barn.
Donna could do a lot of work from home, so she monopolized the PC most of the day and I read a book. We’ll see how tomorrow goes. Tonight it is supposed to go back below freezing and traction will possibly be even more elusive on the resulting ice.
Fulmer’s Stable
Fair weather cachers no more. Admittedly, we slept in an hour later, until 7:00AM, and lounged around DD reading the Sunday paper until almost nine, so it was a bit warmer than it would have been at sunrise, but it was still cold enough to require hats, gloves and a warm coat. We did a few caches (6 total) that were between here and Augusta. After a lunch break we headed off into Hitchcock Woods to check on possible locations for our first legal hide there.
While we were way out west in South Carolina looking for a couple caches we ended up close to a couple of car dealers, so we stopped in and walked around the lots looking at possible new vehicles. First up was a Toyota dealer and even though I had no Toyotas on the short list, I wanted Donna to take a look to see if there was anything there she liked. The only thing that caught her eye was a Yaris. They’re kinda cute, but too small in a non-premium way.
Across the street was the Nissan dealer. The first thing to catch both our eyes was a bright blue 370Z. Wow, at 33K, more than we were looking at spending. They did have a couple of Altima Coupes, one in gray and another in very dark red. They did have a 4 door in the blue, but it was an uninspiring shade of navy. On the way back of the lot we passed right by one of those new mini-SUVs, the Juke. Donna commented that it looked like it had been in fight and lost. You have to admit its funky profile has a passing resemblance to a recently pummeled head with knots on it. Her next words were, “Juke, they should have called it Joke.” Next week, maybe we will cruise a Hyundai dealer.
We had big plans to go geocaching this morning, but they fell through when we opted to sleep in and just stick around the house. We did go out later with a friend and grabbed 2 caches that were real close by, one in Hopeland Gardens (where the photo was taken) and one in the Aiken County Museum.
Right now Donna is in the other room on the laptop making big plans to go caching tomorrow morning. We’ll see how that goes, it is supposed to be 22° at sunrise.
I’ve expanded the search for the new car. The list from last month is still in play:
I’ve hunted down every other two-door car I could find in our price range except for a Mustang and then tossed in the Sonata’s younger brother, the Elantra, just for giggles. Here is the spec chart for these cars:
Again, all numbers reflect the difference between the Emperor and the new car (except interior volume.)
Let’s take each one at a time and discuss their relative merits and demerits. They are priced typically using the base model with mats and an Ip-odd adapter.
New Miatas Known quantity. Not real enamored with the look and fairly expensive compared the rest of the list.
Mini Fun to drive, cute as a button and fits in the garage. Quirky interior.
Genesis Sporty, with love it or hate it styling.
Sonata Best looking car of the group. But four doors and will probably be a dime a dozen by the time we get around to getting one.
Accord Positively sinister looking in black, but it is huge and will be hard to find priced in the lower 20’s.
Civic I’ve always liked the looks of the Civic Coupes, but haven’t had any looking being comfortable driving one.
Mazda RX-8 Sporty look and the chops to back it up, so it would an engaging drive. Most expensive on the list, lousy gas mileage and no blue.
Altima Has a little Infinity G37 Coupe look, but not nearly enough, so it comes off sort of dowdy.
New Beetle They aren’t making anymore of this model and if the spyshots I’ve seen accurately reflect the new New Beetle, ick, it looks like a squashed bug
Elantra I like the looks of this car, but it has four doors. This is the stuffed model to get it equipped like the Sonata, but it ends up being just 3 grand less than the larger car.
tC It’s got 2 doors. It is unexciting looking. Hope it is hoot to drive…
Focus This is the last year for this model and the 2012 model looks awesome compared to this car, but it won’t come in a coupe. Who knows, by the time we actually buy a car, if the new one is out, it may warrant a look.
Forte As with all the Korean cars, you get a lot for your money. We saw one in person this past weekend and I liked it, Donna not so much. Points off for trying to be different with the spelling of the word coupe.
CR-Z I seriously considered the CRX back in ’89 before I knew of the Miata’s existence and we were Honda drivers for a dozen years before Mazda won us over. Trouble is, this is a hybrid with all its faults (battery replacement costs) and hardly any of the benefits (gas mileage.)
