JCC Brag About Your Car Here

Saw a green Lamborghini in the HOV lane the other day on my way home from work. Somehow I highly doubt the driver had another passenger in the car; but he probably figured the cops would never catch him anyway.

 

Underside of my new hood, with functional heat vents and ram air scoop. The duct points the ram air in the general direction of the cold air intake.



Nice day for a wash.

 

Finally put vinyl stripes on my spoiler. Not surprised that the curves were problematic and I have nasty wrinkles on the bottom. I'll have to redo it before it drives me nuts, but at least it looks OK in pics. It was a nice day, so I got some decent photos. It's "almost done."

 

2009 Volvo-it's sturdy and has taken quite a beating in the four years or so I owned it. But I plan on keeping it as long as possible.

 

Somehow if you can believe it, I've spent over $400 on a tire for the same wheel over the past couple of months. In late November I took my Challenger in to the shop because a plug from a removed nail was leaking air. They convinced me that it was time to get a new tire, so I did. My car has 20in rims (the standard Challenger has 19in rims). I normally would have to call the shop in advance so they could order it. They installed the tire and it was fine. Then just this past weekend during a trip in DC I was navigating through the streets in the pouring rain and ran against a curb (this was on Friday). I didn't get any warnings initially and the car was fine when I pulled it into the garage across the street from my hotel. I picked up the car on Sunday, and drove it for a few blocks until the air pressure alert came on and the steering wheel drastically tilted towards the right. I pulled over to discover I had a complete flat on that same tire I just replaced. There was a ripped gash on the side of the tire; along with scrapes on the rim. After putting the donut on I drove to a local shop where I bought a new tire. Coming from Long Island, I knew I couldn't drive home on the donut.

 

I guess no guarantee will cover running into a curb in the rain.

 

Hell no. Those warranties that come with the tires are very basic. It covers about 40K miles of standard wear; provided you have proof of regular maintenance like balancing and rotation.

 

Yeah, I didn't think that would fly but I figured I'd bring it up.

 

It would've been a real nightmare if the shop didn't have my tire at all. As I mentioned, I normally would have to order my tire in advance because the local shops (even Pep Boys) don't always carry the tires for 20in rims. The next day was New Years Eve, and of course I wouldn't bank on any shops being open on Tuesday.

 

Yeah, that could have been a hassle. Here in the UK some shops are open on NYD but they tend to be department stores, etc - not tire places.

 

I thought it's usually the other way around. The insurance companies see you're driving what looks like to them as a street racer, and they'll use that excuse to jack up the premiums to the max. Doesn't matter how much you drive the car. They see cars like yours and mine, dude, and these insurance companies get dollar signs over their eyes like a cartoon character.

 

Scheduled an appointment with Pep Boys for two new tires to be installed, along with an alignment and oil change tomorrow. I love my car, but one thing I've learned is that it's not really designed to give you the perfect driving experience in inclement weather conditions. The sports cars like Challengers, Camaros, and of course the Mustangs are all rear-wheel drive; and if you have virtually bald tires in the rear, you might as well be driving on skis. Over the past few weeks I've almost lost control of my car several times.

 

Good tires are crucial for RWD cars, and if it's front-engine, extra weight over the rear axle makes a noticeable difference on slick roads.

But I admit, it's hard to keep good treads on rear tires when the DoT requires you to drive like this:

 

Incidentally after about $450 I got two brand new tires, an alignment, and an oil change.

 

Soooo I'm going to the annual car show tonight after work. Thinking about getting a 4WD compact SUV. Consumer Reports tells me to check out the Subaru Crosstrek and Hyundai Kona. Any advice from the gearheads?

 

Yeah, get a Mustang, it's the coolest.

Sorry, I don't know diddly about SUV's. But rumor has it the next generation Mustang in 2022 will have hybrid power and AWD, traditional piston engine turning the rear wheels as God intended, plus 2 electric motors driving the front wheels.

 

Speaking about hybrids, a coworker at my office surprised everyone by saying she bought a used Camry hybrid off of a Craiglist listing at the beginning of the week. Although it was a steal at $4K, apparently it came with a warning that it needed a battery replacement. The thing is, those type of cars don't just take the typical batteries you could buy at Autozone for a couple hundred bucks. She missed a few days this week getting it fixed. The consensus of us at work agreed she only acted on impulse without doing research. She's a young, single mom and it's obvious the dirtbag who sold the car to her took advantage.

 

Friend of mine in the US has an older Subaru Forester. He's had pretty good luck with it.

 

My favorite from the car show was the Hyundai Kona.

 

I'm getting a new(ish) car pretty soon from my father for free. Acura RL 2013. Handles better than my current car which handles quite well.

 

Free is always good..

 

Went to a large car show at TOBAY Beach yesterday (just down the road from Jones Beach on Long Island). Had the typical assortment of cars both modern and historic. I actually spoke with the owner of a 2009 Challenger for about 20 minutes. It was refreshing to know that he has nearly 70K miles on his car; still in great condition. He doesn't even keep it in a garage and, although he has seven other cars, uses it often throughout the week, especially on weekends. An interesting anecdote he told me was that he had brought his car to a show not too long ago and was forced to park it in the same aisle as about five Mustangs. The Mustang owners immediately took pity on him; thinking anyone who came to see their cars wouldn't pay any attention to his. He told them off, suggesting they'd be surprised at his car's popularity. Sure enough, he was proven right. I think he said he won 2nd place in the judging for that show.