V.I.R.
Posted by Patrick on Sunday, July 29, 2007While Kate spent the day with Kat yesterday, I went with Kat's husband Matt and one other guy to The Virginia International Raceway for some car race spectating.
This track is unlike an oval Nascar track (right turns!) or a straight-track and puts the spectator in the central area of it, so you can watch the action from many different places.A lot of the cars were normal, every-day cars that were modified just enough to be trackworthy. Lots of old BMW's and tons and tons of mid-90's Mazda Miata's. There was even a Miata only race. I also also happy to see a couple of Celica's out there on the tracks. The Celica's were being passed a lot, but it was still nice to see them.
I think if I were a race-track-car kind of driver, I'd like to drive at a track like this. Lots of hill and sharp turns. It was a good way to spend a Saturday.
Labels: Automotive
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No Parking?
Posted by Patrick on Friday, July 20, 2007The new job continues to go well, and I've survived a full month there. The work is consistently web-designerish, and my co-workers are cool.
The only downside (and really it's hardly that bad) is that because its right in downtown Raleigh (as in the look, there's the capital building kind of downtown), the parking situation isn't perfect. Work pays a little bit of the parking, but it's not free.
I can either park right close to the building I work in and pay a small fortune (eight bucks a day), or I can park four blocks away and pay just over a dollar a day. A dollar a day is fairly reasonable. I decided on the cheap lot for my first month.
The only downside of the cheap parking is that it's in a not-so-savory neighborhood, in a lot behind a company that builds burial vaults. It's also right on the other side of a set of railroad tracks, and my lot is on the wrong side of the tracks. I haven't been accosted or anything, but I have run into some sketchy local folk who always seem to want to chat. I also found a woman's shoe in my spot one morning, which I imagine has a story behind it.
Another complicating factor is the fact that I just found what I imagine is oft-considered the holy grail of urban automotive storage: consistent street parking. It's sort of near sketchy-parking-lot, but a block closer to my workplace and requires no monetary contributions on my part. It's nice - no parallel parking required either.
The only downside of this parking situation is that I have to arrive and claim the spot before 7:30am, or I'm outta-luck. I normally arrive at work pretty early, but always having to be there at 7:30 is kind of tough.
For the next few weeks I'm going to try the street-parking routeand see how it goes. Ultimately I'd like to find a backup street-parking spot that is perhaps a few blocks further away but always available if I'm running late.
So, that's my anti-climactic parking-related blog post.
Labels: Automotive, Employement
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Four Hours
Posted by Patrick on Monday, June 04, 2007This morning it took me four hours to get to work. That would have been fine if I worked in Charlotte, Ashville, or certain border-cities in Virginia or South Carolina. And while the Rockland-Ave Code of Secrecy prevents me from disclosing my exact employment location, I promise you its much closer than a four hour ride. Something in the neighborhood of 45 minutes.
No, my commute was made ever-so-epic because some chucklehead decided to go on an all-night bender and then drive his party wagon, still under the influence, across the median and take out some cars going the other way. According to the news, the accident reconstruction folks said he was going sideways across the grass so clearly he was making some poor driving decisions, on top of his poor life decisions. For the Kia owner directly impacted by the Tahoe's drunk-drifting, it certainly sucks to be at a 3000 pound weight disadvantage.
The accident occured ahead of me, by about half an hour. I was stopped inbetween exits, and there was no escape. I had considered opening my laptop and doing some work, but thought better of it.
I hate to be even a few minutes late, and traffic + standard transmission is no fun. This morning's ride was like death by a thousand clutch-engagements. It's definitely time to learn some alternate routes.
Where's Celica Nemesis when I need him to part the sea of traffic with his anger?
Labels: Automotive
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Car Review: 2007 Chevy Cobalt LS
Posted by Patrick on Monday, May 21, 2007
While I was up north the week before last, I was adorned with one of the finer rental cars in the Economy class of cars. The 2007 Chevy Cobalt was mine for the week. I was happy to not have received the Aveo. It was white, four door, and an automatic. I drove it around 400 miles or so during the week, so I got a fair feeling for the car.
Compared to the last Chevy rental we had, this car was pretty good. It accelerated quickly enough for Mass Pike driving, and seemed to turn both left and right without any great difficulties. I'd hardly call it quick, but for getting around, it seemed to do well. It felt solid, and there was enough engine to move the chasis.
The most surprising feature (and something I'd been hoping to see in a rental for a while) was a radio with an audio-input connection. Had I known, I would have brought the iPod and plugged it right in. For an OEM radio, it was pretty slick. The radio station call letters displayed, and sometimes even showed the song currently playing on the FM stations. Not to shabby for a rental radio.
I can't say I'd buy one myself (again, Ford family rules apply), but I'd rent one maybe? I'd be curious to try the Cobalt SS model, too. I don't think you can rent those.
Labels: Automotive
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Things you can fit in your 2001 Toyota Celica Pickup Hatchback
Posted by Patrick on Sunday, April 29, 2007
A list of things that you can fit in your 2001 Toyota Celica, based on experience and recent yard-improvement related stress-tests.
1. Six 3-foot pine trees, three bags of soil conditioner, passenger
2. Eight bags of mulch, a shovel, hose
3. Wheelbarrow (hatch slightly open)
4. 32-inch television, new in box
5. One papsan round chair (hatch slightly open)
6. Camping equipment for two people for three days
7. Air-conditioner (new in box)
8. Tons of stuff for our move to the south. Literally every available space inside the car was filled. Conversations like You don't need to shift into fifth gear, do you? and How hot does it get in the empty space under the hood? took place.
9. Did I mention the we fit our kitchen table in during #8? Oh yeah, we got that in there,too
10. Anyone with legs in the back seat for more then a mile.
Labels: Automotive, Homeownership
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If I Had a Million Dollars...
Posted by Patrick on Wednesday, March 28, 2007...I wouldn't buy the car in this video, because I would not have enough money, as it costs in excess of a million, and I could only imagine the cost to insure a road car with 1001 horsepower. It's the Bugatti Veyron, and it has 12 more cylinders then my car has.
The video is from a Top Gear episode from a few months ago, and my dad sent me this clip which reminded me of it. The video is great, showing the British tv show host driving the car at 253mph or so. It gets a little 2001 at the end, but is well filmed and gives a great sense of the speed involved.
Whatever practicality is, the Veyron is the opposite.
Labels: Automotive
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mmmm hazelnut
Posted by Kate on Thursday, February 22, 2007I just dumped an entire mug of hazelnut coffee onto our couch and carpet. I accidentally knocked the mug off the arm rest and it flew everywhere, but the mug landed on the carpet right side up. Luckily the coffee missed the laptop and my embroidery. I just put the futon cover in the wash and got all of the coffee out of the carpet, but something tells me we will be smelling hazelnut for a while now.
So my car. They patched something for $40 and now it sounds fine again. Lucky for me that Pat is around to handle these things or I might have had to abandon my car on the highway like a true North Carolinian.
I have been an embroidering fool. I made a couple of my own patterns and I have been embroidering up a storm. I really don't like the word embroider. I suppose I could call it stitching but then you might think I was sewing... Soon I will have photos. I know I always say that, but really I mean it this time.
Labels: Automotive, Crafts
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Good and Bad
Posted by Kate on Wednesday, February 21, 2007Things are not good with my car. They ended up charging us more than they quoted and now it is much louder than when I brought it in. I can't get the image out of my head of this news expose I saw, where a mechanic was beating on someone's car with a crowbar to make more money. Something is definitely different with my muffler than when I dropped it off. We are bringing it back over there at lunch time.
I have been working on some embroidery. I got a pattern at Sublime Stitching. It is much more fun and addictive than I remember. Gram tried to get me into when I was little. I still have my unfinished tea towel with a half a bunny on it. That was counted cross stitch though and this isn't.
This week has felt very 1940's with the quilting and embroidering and all. I made some more cards too.
Zoe is hooked on going outside with her harness on. We have been going out almost every day. She now meows at her harness to signal her wishes. She is so funny when I pick it up. She gets all excited and chirps and tries to stick her head through the harness opening. I really need to record it. She is definitely part dog.
Labels: Automotive, Cats, Crafts
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Pizza and Cars
Posted by Patrick on Saturday, February 03, 2007Last night we went to Kat and Matt's place. We got pizza from Papa John's and hung out for a while.
We also watch Cars, which was good, and at least as good as the other Pixar movies. It was well made, and an enjoyable movie to watch, especially if you're into things automotive. The Car Talk guys from NPR even make an appearance
Didn't see any Celica's in the movie, so I whipped up one of my own using this tutorial from Autoblog.com.
Glad I'm putting my fancy design education to good use here. The movie itself makes me want to dust off my copy of Maya and try, yet again, to master the program.
Labels: Automotive
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Legal
Posted by Kate on Thursday, December 21, 2006Today Pat and I are super-officially North Carolinians! We passed the test and are now card-carrying southerners. We made an appointment for 9am and went to the driver's license office. The office opens at 8 and we arrived at 8:45. We were the ONLY patrons there! There were three women waiting to help us. And they were nice and there was Christmas music and decorations. A few people came while we were applying and received their licenses and left. Pat and I being out-of-staters had to take the vision, sign recognition, and written test before we could get our licenses. I got a 92 on my written test. Apparently outside of city limits where the speed limit is not posted it is 55mph... got that one wrong. 55 seemed pretty high to me.
What a relief to have that over with and to not have been chosen to take the "skills" test. I still remember how nervous I got when I had to take my first driver's test. The examiner was not very nice.
Now we don't have to renew till we are 35 years old and I am pretty sure we never have to take the written test again. Yay!
Labels: Automotive, NewEngland
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Driving in North Carolina
Posted by Patrick on Sunday, October 22, 2006Over the past four days we've driven by a couple of dozen potential houses in and around the Triangle. Kate uses Mapquest to plan out our route and we head out into the world. I've certainly noticed that driving in North Carolina is much different from driving in New England. 
The first thing I've noticed about driving around here, especially in some of the more rural towns, is that the speed limits are much higher. It's been odd to both enjoy whipping through tobacco-field lined roads, and be only a few MPH off from the speed limit.
The second thing I've noticed is the wide-openness of the territory. Unlike NE where you see tree's, houses, or Dunkin Donuts on either side of you, NC has lots of open spaces. Huge cotton fields and sometimes cattle fields. And this is just a half hour outside the capital city. It's a very different vibe on the roads.
We went to look at one house yesterday, and we were cruising at highway speeds down this twisty road, and suddenly the speed limit drops to 25 and we're in a residential community. Wacky!
Fitting into some stereotypes, there are more Camaro's and Firebird's down here, and now it sorta makes sense.
So, the quest for housing continues! We're hoping our agent can show us the insides of homes this week.
Labels: Automotive
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The Celica as a U-Haul
Posted by Patrick on Thursday, September 21, 2006One of Kate's many talents is her ability to pack large quantities of our worldly goods into very small spaces. On one of our trips down here, she filled the full-sized minivan we had almost all the way, and then somehow crammed it into the 4'x4'x4' storage unit we had (which was already 1/3 of the way full). She's got some X-Men like ability to visualize things like that.
I saw this video on Autoblog the other day, and it reminded me of her packing talents. Yesterday we went back to the storage place in Raliegh and emptied the rest of our stuff out, filling the Celica to unheard of capacities.
(Nerdy readers will want the sound on)
Labels: Automotive
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Long Haul Trucker Celica
Posted by Patrick on Friday, September 08, 2006
Yesterday I traveled over 1500 miles between 6:30 am and 10:30 pm. I was only driving half of that (flew up in the morning), but it sure was a long day.
I managed to drive from Rhode Island to our new place in Cary NC in just over 12 hours, which according to Google Maps should take about 14, so I made pretty good time. I probably would have made it here faster, but I asked them to toast my sub at Quizno's in Virginia, so that tacked on a few minutes time.
I can't recall driving that great a distance on my own before, so it was a new experience. The Celica was completely weighed down with our worldly goods, so that slowed things down a bit, and made it pretty hard to see what was to the right and rear of my car.
I had lots of snacks and caffeinated beverages (thanks Kim + Anne!), so that kept me fueled during the trip. I also listened to one and a half books-on-tape during the ride down. Books-on-tape were a double win for me on this trip, since I don't like to read (but enjoy good stories) and it's really hard to read when you drive.
I sure was tired when I pulled into the parking lot last night. It's nice to be home though. It's weird (but good) to be calling this new place home.
Labels: Automotive
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Sewing at Dangerous Speeds
Posted by Patrick on Wednesday, July 12, 2006Check out what Kate made me:
She started sewing it while we were driving last week.... it takes a brave woman to operate a needle and thread with me behind the wheel. Currently the little guy is sitting on a stack of blank CD's on my desk, defending them.
Here's a photo of the bear next to my wireless mouse, to show scale 
Thanks Kate!
Labels: Automotive
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Car Review: 2005 Chevrolet Malibu "Classic"
Posted by Patrick on Friday, July 07, 2006Kate and I just spent the last 5 days and 2100 miles behind the wheel of a 2005 Chevy Malibu "Classic," and in the spirit of reviewing all the cars I drive, I'll speak about it here a bit.
It took quite a while to find any reference to this car on Chevrolet's website. It was tucked in under their commercial fleet listing, which is no surprise as we rented the car for our recent road trip. Enterprise told us we were receiving the Aveo when I made the reservation, so this was a slight step up. This came in handy when packing up our gear, but the weight of our luggage slowed the vehicle down and put a cramp on its already boat-like handling.
The car was powered by GM's 2.2l Ecotec engine, which I'm sure is fine in smaller cars, but felt like it was struggling the entire trip. The car was just too big for the motor.
The inside was dull, and after 22k miles, was completely falling apart. Sure, its a rental car, but the carpeting was coming up, plastic was cracked and the seats were worn - and not comfortable at all. There were two power adapters in the front, but neither worked.
For basic transportation, it was fine. It got us out and back without any real problems. And really, you can't go to a dealership and buy one of these since its a rental fleet car. But if you have the option to buy a rental car, you should check out the Toyota Corolla we had in December, or if GM is your bag, you might want to look at the Malibu Maxx - both much better cars then the Classic.
Labels: Automotive
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The Return of Celica Nemesis
Posted by Patrick on Friday, June 02, 2006Celica Nemesis is back, and he's trying to kill everyone else on the road. Everyone.
I haven't talked about C.N. in over a year, mostly because I hadn't really seen him. My work schedule and his haven't lined up so much, so I never see him. That's kind of a nemesis quality though.... you see them, and then you don't see them for a while. Very nemesisish.
He still drives the same car, a C-class Mercedes, and he's apparently lost his mind.
So I left work a little late today, and headed back home to Rockland Ave. Up ahead on the highway, I see C.N., and he's got his lane-swerve on, per his usual style. The first half of my commute (Review here) is kind of high traffic, right up to a stop light. No matter how much you weave and pass, that light will always get you on Friday coming home.
Anyway, we're stopped at the light. C.N. is up ahead. Light turns green and Celica Nemesis is trapped behind a pickup truck. He knows that his straight shot to high speed home commuting is just beyond this truck. I'm in same lane, behind a truck of my own, then it's C.N., and then C.N's personal road-block.
Clearly Mr. Nemesis is PO'd, because he's boxed in and can't get around this truck. The truck is maybe doing 70ish in a 65mph zone, and that's about 25mph to slow for our antagonist. He's swervin', and swirvin, knowing that 6th gear freedom is just beyond Slow F-250. Two-lane traffic his repressing his Mercedes. His anger is swelling - his brake lights flicker as he gets closer and then backs off. He was trapped.
Then a window opens in the right lane! Gears are shifted and Celica Nemesis blasts into the right lane and makes the pass around his new sworn enemy, Slow F-250. Freedom!
This is the part where I assumed Celica Nemesis would rocket away down the highway. This was not at all the case.
Instead, Celica Nemesis decides to express his rage in disc brake form. C.N. slams on his brakes. In the left lane of the highway. Right in front of Slow F-250. In the pouring rain (did I mention the rain?). Trucks swerve within their lane. Trucks in front of me. We were doing 70ish, and now we are traveling 40mph.
Celica Nemesis has lost it. He wants us to die. 
I keep it under control and don't smack any other vehicles. I duck into the right lane and book it on ahead. I pass by C.N., still doing 40mph in the left lane in front of the truck. I get one glance at his face and he's staring in his rear view mirror, smiling with a maniacal look on his face. He's clearly gone over the edge.
I felt betrayed. Celica Nemesis tried to kill me. Using trucks.
Labels: Automotive
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More VW sillyness
Posted by Patrick on Wednesday, March 01, 2006
And another.
And one last one.
Credit to Harleymaster
Labels: Automotive
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The people's car
Posted by Patrick on Sunday, February 19, 2006The first two cars I owned were white Volkswagen hatchbacks, so I was happy to see the latest VW commercials showing off a white hatchback. It's the new GTI, and while I find a lot of advertising to be lame and ineffective, these commercials are well done. Much liked like this other quality GTI commercial we linked to last year.
Here's my favorite of the series of four:
(Make sure your volume is turned on!)
While I can't condone being mean to your passengers like this guy is, I sympathize his need to enjoy the driving experience. Maybe that's what these ads are all about - selling more of an experience rather than a product.
Too bad the experience is more than 20 thousand dollars, from a company who's reliability has been somewhere between barely acceptable and downright crappy. Volkswagen puts a lot of money into quality ads, and then wires their starters through their CD players.
Labels: Automotive
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Car Review: 2004 Chevy Malibu Maxx
Posted by Patrick on Thursday, January 12, 2006What? Another car review? This has been kind of strange streak in my life where I've been driving a lot of different cars. I can't say it's a bad thing, as I'm always curious about the driving experience of other people's cars.
The other night, Kate's sister Kim needed to pick up a car from the airport, so Kate and I drove down with her and I got to drive back to her place in her 2004 (or '05, I forgot to ask) Chevy Malibu Maxx (Long time readers will remember my test drive of Kate's other sister's car).
It's like a regular Malibu, except it's got a hatchbackishly-stationwagon like quality to it. It's a comfortable car, pretty big. The back seats recline, which was a pretty cool feature that I discovered when we drove to Mount Monadnock. The back seat has two sun roofs and it's own radio. A highly desirable vehicle if you're a member of Hike Club.
Up front, I thought the radio controls on the steering wheel were nice. I wish I had that on my car. Speaking of steering, I had some trouble with that when I tried to back out of a tight parking space. I had to do that Austin Powers thing where you back up, turn slightly, go forward, turn slightly... and so on like 8 times. That's probably because I'm use to driving much smaller cars.
Once on the highway, the ride was smooth. It accelerated quickly enough, thanks to the 6 cylinder engine. Not in the same neighborhood as the Charger, but more than the Corolla for sure.
I can't say I'd get a Maxx myself, if only because I was raised in the House of Ford and Chevy was the sworn enemy of Ford. (Wait, did my dad have a Vette once? I think he did. So many mixed signals... )
Labels: Automotive
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Car Review: 2006 Toyota Corolla
Posted by Patrick on Wednesday, January 04, 2006
For our road trip last week, we decided that renting a car would be better then racking up the mileage on our own rides. When we got to the rental place, the guy offered us a Ford Focus, and we said "Meh." Then he offered us, for a little more green, a Hyundai Sonata, and I was momentarily tempted, but the 6-cyl engine would have used too much gas for our trip.
Then the guy offered us a 2006 Toyota Corolla, and we said sure. It gets almost 40mpg, so we hoped that would help us save a few bucks on fuel. I was curious, as I also drive a four cylinder Toyota. (my sister has a Corolla, too.) In fact, they have almost the exact same engine, just tuned in a different way. So we took it for a 2000 mile, week long test drive.
The steering wheel in the Corolla is the same as it is in my car. It's also the same steering wheel that's in the Matrix, which fellow bloggers Dennis and Scott use to cruise in their respective hoods.
So, enough about the gross overuse of the Toyota common-parts bin; How does this car drive? The answer is pretty good. It's a much, much taller car than mine, so it feels like you're up in a truck sometimes (until a truck passes you). For a 4cyl automatic, it gets out of its own way quickly, even loaded down with all our gear and Ikea stuff. I was unable to test the acceleration against other vehicles from a stoplight, but it never gave the impression of sluggishness.
Compared to the Celica, cornering in the Corolla (like on an on-ramp) was not as good. This was probably because the Corolla is taller and has a higher center of gravity. I also was bummed out by the lack of cruise control, but it's apparently an available option.
The trunk was huge! Storage bins inside the car were numerous and pretty useful, plenty of places to put ipods and cellphones and stuff. Like the Dodge Charger (reviewed last month), this car had no input thing in the radio to plug in your music player, but I predict this will be a standard feature on car stereos in the future. There was a second power port, we were able to charge cell phones and ipods at the same time, very cool.
Would I get a Corolla? Sure, but I think I'd want the 6-speed, 164hp XRS model. That, or a right-hand-drive Toyota Mark II (like we had on our honeymoon. Hmmmm... automatically retracting side-mirrors...).
Labels: Automotive
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