More money - gone!

Why money gone?  More like maintenance costs go up - our second car required new tires, so I had the dealer put them on after the oil change.  Greatly increased the cost of the service, but whatever.  This was the first year we put winter tires on that car so I don't mind spending money on new "summer" tires.  I'm hoping they will last for some time given that they won't be driven on in the winter months.  Also known as "road divot season".  One small problem - as they handed the key back, I was asked "So you kept the hubcaps at home then?"  Which was funny because I didn't.  I paid the dealer to store my rims, tires and hubcaps while I drove around on my winter tires and winter rims.  Apparently there is only one guy per room, or one guy in a room or many rooms each with a guy, that carefully watch or observe the tires.  The guy from my tire's room had gone home for the night, so the hubcaps couldn't be found.  They will be discovered eventually, I suppose.  They offered to drive out and put them on, but I may swing by and simply pick them up.

In other news, I'm considering founding a business to dismantle bank signs, as they are doing very well.  In the states.  On 30 Rock.  It's a good show and I'd like to annoy Tracy Jordan somehow.  Good show.

Late posting....

Little bit late - using the ole blogger trickery to make this post for Friday.  No big whoop.  Anyhoo, I had lots of stuff planned for today - getting my wheel fixed, going to buy "Watchmen", going to see "Watchmen".  I hoped to be giving my impressions of the movie "Watchmen", but sadly all showings were sold out by 8:45pm.  Which is pretty impressive - so I'm not sure when I'll be able to see it!  So instead, saw the movie "Taken" with Liam Neeson.  I liked it - good action film.  Nothing too deep, other than listen to your father.  The CIA operative, not the rich step-dad.

As for my car, my rim was not dented as badly as I feared and required a few blows with the hammer to straighten.  Got that done, balance checked, wash for $22.  A very small service - I'm used to spending no less than $120 every time I take my car in, so this is a welcome anomaly.  I still have to get a new wheel cover, but I'll wait a bit before I get that.  I should explain that my car uses synthetic oil, so even an oil change runs $80, although I only have to do it every 10 or 12 thousand km.  For me that's about 6 months, so it's cheaper than $29.99 every 2 months.

Fortunately I was able to make it to the bookstore and got a copy of the "Watchmen" graphic novel, along with "V for Vendetta".  I've been curious to read more of Allan Moore's work, and I'll have to find "From Hell" eventually too.  I've seen the movie versions of "V for Vendetta" and "From Hell", but heard that the graphic novels were much better.  I borrowed a "Watchmen" 6 months ago and it was good, but it needs multiple readings.  Which is why I acquired my own copy.  So off to peruse those and then to bed.

Amusing Anecdote

Today , as I am feeling much more coherent than the last few nights, I will present a more coherent entry.  During my normal, waking life I often pilot my own vehicular transport, terrestrial transport module, or car.  This is a tale of transporticus interruptus, car troubles of a chilling nature.  Maybe a chilling-warming-chilling nature - you decide!

Two days ago I was heading home from work.  I was in the left-hand lane a comfortable distance behind the next car.  As I approached an intersection, the car in front took an odd line through it.  I realized that it was avoid a pothole.   This road defect didn't look too bad and I didn't want to swerve because I wasn't sure if there was a car beside me.  I thought I probably would miss it, but I was wrong - full on with the front wheel.  For a moment, I wasn't sure if the wheel was still attached - perhaps the car was just holding itself up on that side out of habit.  Later I was convinced that I had four wheels still.

The next day after work, I decided to travel the same path, but with the knowledge of the hole, and see if I my wheel cover was there.  I discovered that morning that it was missing.  I caught sight of it, but I wasn't positive.  Looking ahead, I discovered that the two cars in front were not moving, so I slammed on my brakes.  The person loading the trunk (at the bus stop) looked kind of surprised - much like I was.  You don't expect people park and load cars on a road that doesn't have parking or stopping.  Much less to do it at a bus stop.  But I guess that's just me.

This morning, I decided to take a closer look at my wheel - maybe I just couldn't see the cover.  Further inspection indicated that the cover was indeed gone and the the tire was flatter than the others.  Perhaps this was from the dent in the rim - nearly 3 cm deep.  The wheel cover would best be retrieved in the morning, I surmised, after then events of the previous evening.  I parked and walked over to where I saw the cover the night before.  It was not my wheel cover.  I looked around and spotted another - it was not mine.  I gazed more carefully and found the wheel cover in the bushes, but sadly it was not mine either.  It was no where I could find it.

Tomorrow I shall try and make a trip by the spot and take some pictures of the covers and the pothole, if it's still there.  Maybe some municipal workers, or helpful squirrels, filled the pothole with asphalt today.  One can only hope....

Day 20 - A big day

A pretty big day today.  For me I mean - had a huge service on the ole Beetle, got invited into a new gaming clan, and something... else...  Something south of here... Hmm - give me a minute.  Oh yah - the new president in the US - or to quote Grandpa Simpson: "The Prez-ee-dent is a Demi-crat!"  I have to mention it here, or it'll come back to haunt me somehow, but more on that later.

I hit something in the parking garage leaving work on Monday - some snow from behind a wheel-well - but it that was it for the plastic protecting the underside of my engine.  The VW New Beetle TDI has a very low-hanging engine.  I swear it has the same road clearance as a Lotus Elsie, or maybe that's just some kind of Freudian slip, but it is so low that it requires a deflector to protect the oil pan from road debris.  The pieces of plastic just cost so durn much that I'm never in a big rush to fix them.  Anyway, something was dragging the whole way home, so I got a hold of my local dealer (Leavens VW) and manage to get a spot Tuesday.  I also need a few other trivial things done  - a "Clean Air" test (Ontario emissions test) and the timing belt replacement.  Since I don't do sarcasm well in blog form, let me elaborate (that's something I do very well in blog form!)  The diesel engine in the New Beetle is squeezed into the tiny front hood and part of the dash, so it is impossible to work on.  When the timing belt needs to be replaced, the water pump, tensioner and belt need to be done at the same time.  And the engine has to be taken out of the car - 5 hours of labour.  Just think about that for awhile.  So I get a call from the service guy asking me where the big 1 metre sq plastic shield is, 'cause they didn't find it inside the car.  At this point, I realize that I didn't explain that I knew the shields were broken and I wanted them replaced.  Oh well, they don't have that part in stock.  Not a big deal, but that was the main reason for taking the car in!  At least nothing was dragging when I headed home.  And the engine was running better with tensioner and belt replaced.  I think it will start better in the cold now too.

One of the attractions of playing online games has always been the community aspect.  Anyone that has participated in a LAN party knows how much more fun it is to play with a whole bunch of people in the same location.  Failing that, we have trusty headsets and microphones and such so that we can have a similar experience without the geo-locality.  To that end, I've been playing Counter-Strike Source on a particular server for a few years now.  One of the big pluses of this group is that the majority of people are at least as old as I am and they have some simple rules on their server: no swearing, no porn sprays, no using map hacks, no being an ass.  Well the last one is kind of a summary.  In other words, if someone is being a jerk, they're kicked.  And, well, they're a pretty good group.  And they invited me to be part of the group - which is pretty cool.  The other clan I was a part of had a similar makeup, but they were all in Seattle, so I never made it to the in-person events they had.  These guys are mostly in Ontario and engage in the occasional group outing, which would be nice.

Then there is that whole 44th president thing.  I watch the main part of the inauguration - by which I mean his acceptance speech - and that was quite good.  It looked like he did the speech from memory - I never saw him glance down or stare through invisible teleprompters or what-not.  The invocation of George Washington was excellent.  I have good feelings about what he stands for and where he may take the country.  The hype was a little much though.  Like my dad often quoth: "Time will tell."

I got yer insight right here

I realized something today, standing in a parking lot eating ice-cream. The ice-cream, though delicious cookie dough, has nothing to do with it though. My dad commented on an SUV that parked nearby, saying that he really didn't like those. It was one of those smaller SUVs like a Ford Escape or some-such. I suddenly realized that SUVs are the sports cars for the mini-van set.

Think about it - some people buy minivans for the capacity, but SUVs are more expensive and smaller substitutes. Others (like my dad) buy minivans because they are easy to get in and out of, plus have lots of space. SUVs have the height and easy of entry/exit, but are 'sportier', somehow.

Personally, I've recently decided that if I could afford one, I would get a Lotus Elise. And if someone out there feels like I should have one anyway, I'd be happy to take it off their hands (these guys will sell you one, if you don't have one lying around). Low end torque and good handling are things that I think I really would want, so that's probably as good as it gets handling wise. Plus it can get 29 mpg on the highway, which isn't that bad.

The SUV-to-minivan as Lotus-is-to-Cavalier analogy carries on though. Some SUVs are smaller than others, much like a Lotus is to a Lamborghini. So you have the Grand Caravan to an Escalade or Odyssey to Hummer.

My Terrestrial Transport Module

I like my car. The car I drive to and from work. It is my own insular space with my music. It is comfy and it handles well. It jumps nicely from the line but has good fuel economy. Some may call it a bit of a fad car, but I do have a Y2K Bug. I bought it because my son was still living the womblife and hoped to some day explain what Y2K was all about so he too will get the hilarity of the Y2K bug.

Seriously - I bought a New Beetle TDI on Oct 21, 1999 but it was a 2000 model year. It has a wonderful diesel engine and I have always liked driving it. I probably paid too much for it at a time when I shouldn't have bought a new car. That mistake still has repercussions today, but I still like my car. So I wasn't too pleased when I was informed a few days back that my exhaust was "dangling".

"What, like hanging? "
"Yah - saw it bouncing around while you were driving."
"Really."
"You should probably get that fixed before it falls off."

Sounds like a poorly scripted pharmaceutical commercial. Waving in the breeze. Hanging free and easy. Bustin loose. I mean really. REALLY!?! I was shocked. Shocked! SHOCKED!! Okay, not that shocked (that's the second Futurama joke I just stole, so pay attention). Kind of hard to watch what your muffler does as your driving. I guess I'd need a system of mirrors and minor body work and it could be done, but not by me. Not now anyway.

So, on a lark, I called the dealership where I regularly get my car serviced. I wondered if the extensive work ($2500 worth!) completed last November had anything to do with the problem. That work involved removing the rear axle and replacing a vexing bushing that supports the entire rear suspension. Sounds like a candidate for trouble, don't it? Given the fact that the techs forgot to reattach a plastic cover over the rear axle properly, I didn't find leaving out some exhaust hangers out of the realm of possibility.

Phone call made it through to service and I got the man I was looking for - Geoff. He's the reason I keep coming back to the dealership. He told me to bring it right on in. Geoff stopped working there for awhile and I looked at other garages, but abandoned that when he came back. I've found his explanations the right mix of detail and summary and he has tried hard to get a good deal for me whenever possible. Dealerships have a particular process when fixing cars, which makes my life more expensive, but Geoff helps me navigate. Dealerships make more money off the servicing of vehicles than selling them, especially in recent years. Sale prices are low to keep everything moving, but the service lasts a long time and keeps you looking at newer versions of the same thing. Everything in a dealership garage is generally "fine" or "needs to be replaced". This binary coarseness is where the money disappears.

Here's an excellent example of what a "mechanic" at a dealership does, that happens to be apropos to this tale. One day, I started my car and thought something was different. A few seconds later I identified the issue - a huge increase in the noise the car was making. Got it into the dealership within about a day and immediately the problem was obvious - there was a crack in the exhaust. Now VW uses a two-piece exhaust, with the piece from the manifold down to the catalytic converter being ending in a sleeve. The piece from the middle to the muffler is the other piece. One piece fits inside the other and is clamped shut, providing strength and there are no welds to cut through when replacing the muffler. However the aforementioned crack was just forward of the sleeve, putting it in the "catalytic converter" section. Standard dealership procedure is to replace the "defective part". This part would have cost < $1200, plus labour. Did I mention that this was a diesel Beetle? That means the engine is inserted with Vaseline and a shoehorn, if everything goes well. I think there would have been at least an hour of labour added to that total. So Geoff comes out, explains this to me and says "Look, just bring this to the Mufflerman and they'll weld that piece shut for like $20. It'll hold indefinitely - the exhaust shouldn't have broken there anyway." I took his advice and it cost more than $20 (1/2 of labour) but it was a lot less and it was the correct repair for the problem.

So how is this apropos? (Without spell checking, you would've been treated to "a pres paux" or "apres paut"). Turns out the clamp-in-the-middle system makes the whole thing pretty strong, but there is also a hanger by the muffler to keep things from swaying in the breeze. So I bring in my transport module in a lovely oxidized J was identified as the U-shaped bracket that should be holding the goodies, er muffler, in place. Replace bracket (which involves a small weld), weld the bracket in the middle which had flexed and moved out of place and voila! Two french phrases in one post! Or a nice non-bouncing muffler.

While I was waiting for the work to be done, I chatted up someone from sales. I had heard (from my buddy Geoff in service) that VW was going to be reintroducing a new emission-approved diesel system for the 2008 model year. And within a few years there was going to be a sweet diesel Rabbit for sale - right in my price range. Stuart (I hope I spelled his name correctly) confirmed that, 2008 would see a couple of models with the diesel option. Nothing for sure, but there would be a diesel Rabbit in the 2010 or 2011 model year. In other words, some time for me to start saving up for something new. Stuart and I chatted about my current vehicle. He indicated that they can't keep Beetles on the lot, which is good to hear. Also, all current VW models have 4-wheel disc brakes, something I've always liked.

Stuart was curious about the fuel economy. In recent times (the last 3 years or so), my fuel usage was between 5 L/100Km to 7L/100Km, driving however I want to. And I likes the torque, if you know what I mean. The diesel Beetle is still one of the most fuel-efficient cars out there, even when the EPA changed its measurement protocol. There still isn't a hybrid that can compete, mainly because most are used to justify larger vehicles. I really don't want a vehicle that doesn't have a real economy closer to 5L/100Km than 9L/100Km. The latter is what alot of so called "efficient" cars use. For now, I fill up once every two weeks, driving 1 hour every work day (there and back). Hopefully this repair will make the ride a little more smooth and improve fuel economy a little more. And keep this car going strong.

Chevrolet Volt

Sweet! Looks like GM is going to make a car that I'd buy. Maybe I'll be able to afford it when it's available - 2012. That's 5 years and in line with how much longer I'd like to make my current cars last.

The car is a full electric car with a combustion engine that acts as a generator. It can be plugged into 110 V outlets for 6-6.5 hours charging, at which point the batteries have a range of about 64 km. When the charge gets low, the generator kicks in. Full tank plus full charge give a range of about 1000 km - just like my diesel New Beetle. Check here for the specs.

Guess that "Who Killed the Electric Car?" documentary kicked GM in the butt during the last Detroit Auto Show. They said they began work on the Volt after the 2006 show. Looks like they may actually be able to make something useful in a short period again. We'll have to see what else is going on in 5 years, but so far this is the most intriguing item I've seen in a long time. Other than some nice direct-from-Europe diesels that are on the way.

References

• Found this info on Slashdot.
  
• AutoblogGreen's main article
• AutoblogGreen's E-Flex article
• AutoblogGreen's specs for the Volt