semi-famous

Today while at Fred Meyer the kid behind the register says, "You drive a Lotus right?"

freaking deer

Now I need a new front end again. It doesn't look like it from here, but that's what's happening.

popular today

Today I came out of the store and there was an older lady in a big red american car blocking traffic to look at my car.  I smiled as I walked over to my door cause I didn't know what else to do.  She asked if it was a Lotus and where I got it and how many miles I had on it and at the end said "Congratulations" before she drove off. She might have stayed there longer but I got in the car. She appeared to be in no hurry. I'm not sure about the person waiting behind her though. At some point she asked me if I ever got out of first gear - because of all the speed limits around here. 

I think this interaction challenges some assumptions I have about older people in big american cars.

Later, in the same parking lot I got some kudos from group of teenage boys on the sidewalk who used profanity to express their extreme approval of my purchase. 

all shiney

I went outside to check the tempature and caught sight of my car. It looks sooo good when it's clean. I took pictures of it. I know that's totally "car nerd", but I was excited. If you click on it you'll see.

Also, that Thai food from Friday night - I just at the leftovers. I had been wondering if my observations on Friday were jaded by my hunger. But no, that stuff is really, really good!

www.lotusthaibistrocarlsbad.com

Clean

Exciting... my car is getting super clean right now. An the inside is getting cleaned - LONG overdue.

Trunk space

Is not one of the features of a lotus!
Oh well, I wouldn't take another car over it.
And away we go...

warmer

It was a little warmer today. Whenever it gets over 50 here I can feel a change. I no longer want to suck my hands into the sleeves of my jacket. And I can roll the window down while driving and not get cold. It's so nice. Makes me excited for the summer. It's gonna be so awesome to go driving with the top off again. Feeling the wind in what little hair I have is an interesting sensation.

Today was the first time I've been asked by a gas station attendant to see the engine (of the Lotus of course).

I really want to test drive one of the SC's, just to see what they're like. Maybe that's a bad idea though. We all know what happened when I test drove a Lotus last time ;-)

Although I will be in Cali at the end of the month so if the T.O. dealer has one I'm all over it.

I think I've spent enough this month on brakes/service to deter me from trying to get a new one.

dimmer switch!

I got my car back last week and when I turned on my headlights I thought something looked odd about the display (speedo and tach), but it was daylight so I didn't pay much attention. 

Then it got dark.

The lights were out on the display and I couldn't tell how fast I was going (except for kind of knowing by what gear I was in and what the engine felt like.

So I made an appointment to have them check it out and went in not knowing how long I'd have to be waiting there.

Turns out, not that long at all.  It was the dimmer switch, that I didn't know existed. It's hidden on the steering column behind where you put the key in. They figured it out in a few minutes.

Back when I first got the car I didn't know for about a year that you could lock or unlock the doors without the remote.  It seemed like their should be a way I'd just never seen one and there wasn't much need to go looking. Then one day I saw this switch, hidden in front of the shift knob. Guess what it did!  

They sure stick some buttons in some crazy places on this car. Maybe I should read the manual to find out what else I don't know about my car.

Yeah, I got my car back

...although I could have bought another car for the price of this service. I'm not even going to post it. Lets just say it was expensive. 

At least I'm keeping busy at work so I can pay for it. As long as I'm not so busy I don't have time to drive. That wouldn't be worth it.

Busy, busy, busy.

Shell station on River Road

The last two times I stopped at the Shell station on River Road the gas station attendant filling my car has asked to take a picture of my car with his cell phone. Two different guys, same gas station. 

That hasn't happend at any other gas station (at least not where the person filling is taking the photo). Although, people wave at me from both the 76 and the Cheveron stations on So. Willamette.

before / after

Despite the fact that it was 40 degrees out, I washed the car!

That's pretty impressive I think.

It really needed it huh.

There was actually several tablespoons of grime stuck
in the corners of the wheels... each one!

my car

How and why anyone would be sentimental over the hood of a car is beyond me.  Even though, well... apparently it is me.

I was driving earlier today and I realized that I missed the old hood, even though it is broken, with a big gaping hold in the middle. It's not like I was going to keep driving it around like that,  but for some reason the new hood feels different, like it doesn't fit right or doesn't belong, which, of course, doesn't make any sense at all. All the hoods come from the same mold. This one just has different paint. Objectively speaking this one is better than the old one beacuse I'd driven off paved roads into gravel and cracked the old one on the bottom... several times. This one is spotless. But still, it feels like it's not the right one. This is so stupid (but also kind of interesting). I think I just feel like I have history with the old hood. We've been 43,000 miles together. (This is really embarassing.)  Hopefully the new hood will last longer.

I've never been in a car crash but I've had...

• 67 VW Bug: a wheel fall off my car while I was driving it (kind of funny)
• 85 Porche 944: the brakes go out (drove back home before they quit altogether)
• 89 Mazda B2000: someone cracks my window to break in to the truck (took the quarters, left the cash?)
• 2000 VW Beetle: a palm frond fell on my windshield durring a storm and cracked it
• 2000 VW Beetle: a large (12 foot) tree branch fell on the right side of my car and crush the rear quarter panel (and the body shop broke the window while "fixing" the rest)
• 05 Lotus Elise: small something (stone, pebble?) flys through my drivers side window, right past my ear and obliterates the rear glass.
• 05 Lotus Elise: someone backs their trailer hitch through my hood
  

got my car back

took the bus... the 51 was really empty, the 30 was very full and they gave out candy canes.

bronco vs. lotus

Lotus FTW! ...except in the snow, and maybe the rain, or if you have more than two people, or a lot of luggage, or you can want to transport something bigger than a vacuum cleaner ;-)

Driving the Bronco is like driving a couch. It's big and cushy and comfy, but doesn't corner well. There's so much padding that you can't feel the road. Big tires, bouncy suspension, power steering, giant padded seats - this is the Bronco.  The Lotus has none of these and it's all for the best. 

With the Lotus you can feel the road, like you're touching it with your own hand. You can feel it everywhere - through the seat, the steering wheel, the gas pedal, the shifter. It's like you and the car are one machine, with the same purpose. The car becomes and extension of you as you follow the twists and turns of the road...

oops, daydreaming...

Um, yeah. So the Bronco is good in it's own way. I'm glad I have it. It's good to be able to just take off in the snow for one ;-)  I saw an article in the paper the other day about 3 hour lines at the tire stores for people trying to get winter tires on their cars before the snow arrived. And the Bronco is a lot warmer. The heat in the Lotus takes forever to come on and everything's metal - cold metal. But that's ok, it's not meant for driving in freezing temps anyway. That's what the Bronco is for.

It's kind of confining though, having to drive the Bronco instead of the Lotus. I feel like a soda bottle that's been all shook up. I want to d r i v e, but I can't. Steping on the gas with any force is pointless. The thing is going to accelerate when it's good and ready, which is apparently not on my schedule. And going around the corners is just not the same. If you go too fast you just feel like you're about to tip over - not exciting at all. The whole point of cornering fast is to feel the grip and the g-force.

Well, for now I'll enjoy the snow.

i miss my car

;-(

... I know, I'm a dork (but I don't care).

rude!

This is what I found coming out of NWMA tonight. The police said a witness called in the licence plate of whoever did it (they didn't stick around). Looks like the tow hitch of a truck to me. It's like someone punch my car right in the nose ;-(

Tire Review

I've put over 1000 miles on the new tires now so I guess they're worn in. I think it was a good choice. The tires don't spin on the wet crosswalk paint when I'm turning onto River Loop #2 so they've definitely got more rain grip. And the roads are often damp from rain or fog now anyway so they're working out really well for the price. Especially if they last a lot longer than the other tires which I expect they will. Now we just wait to see how long.

"Choice" of tires

I was thinking about choices after listening to that podcast, specifically the experiment where they had people choose a free poster to take home. There was a group of people that just choose a poster and took it home. And there was a group who had to choose a poster, tell why they choose it and then take it home. Then they were asked 6 months later how they felt about the poster. The people who had to tell why they choose a specific poster ended up not liking the poster they choose. People who didn't have to say why ended up liking their choice.

So did people just choose something that would be easier to explain? Weird how having to explain ourselves can make us change our choice. Makes a good case for anonymous voting.

Then there was the apple example where having too much data made choosing a type of apple more confusing the longer you took to choose. 

This is how I felt about my tire choices. Lots of opinions, lots of varaibles, lots of recomendations... but somehow not very helpful, mainly because everyone's situation is differnent. How much you wanted to pay, how hard you were going to drive the car, road conditions. Everyone's situation was different. The best choice as far as fun factor is not the same as the best choice for road conditions (wet & cold) and both of those have the price/value factor on top of them, which is very subjective.

I looked at lots of threads (www.lotustalk.com) about what people thought about various tires, but all it really told me is that I would have to decide for myself because everyone's situation is a little different.  

The tires I got were on the shortlist of tires that some people liked. There was really too much information, which in a way was not enough information. Weird how that works out. So in the end I kind of just went with what was convenient. These these tires happened to be available in the sizes I needed (some other options you have to go with different sizes than the wheels were made for because they just don't make them in that specific size) and they happend to be in stock, so I could just go down and get them installed right away.

Right away sounded good because the chord was showing though on one of the tires so I couldn't really drive it around till I got new ones. And while the bronco is a fun change of pace for a while, it's not that fun. I can feel the weight of it with every move (it does weigh more than twice as much as the Lotus).  Accelerating - slow, trying to drive up a hill - slow, trying to stop - slow, trying to go around corners - slow.  Slow, slow, slow.  I'm tired of slow.

I took the Lotus for a drive today (awesome clounds) and it was soooooooooooooo much more satisfying. Yeah for the Lotus. Best purchase ever.

tires, tires, tires

What tires should I try on the Lotus? I've read lots of reviews (lots). Everyone has different opinions. Except that that the expensive tires are way better. We'll I don't want expensive tires right now. I want cheap tires. Just to try. From what I've ready I'll probably be pleasantly surprised in the "comfort and ride" category - but this is a Lotus. That's not the point of it. But oh well, I drive it all the time. And it's winter, so it will probably be safer to drive it with cheaper tires.

Ah well, I'm done researching. I'm just going to get something and stick them on. We'll see how it goes. I can always take them off if I don't like them.

How can it be?

I got the Bronco fixed last month but hadn't really driven it much since then (once, and it was only because I felt like it was a dog that needed a walk).  Then I took it out this weekend to pick up the shelf thingy from Target that I used to upgrade the big room.

I've driven it a couple times since then, for two reasons. 1) The lotus needs new tires. No really, there's spots with no rubber left. 2) I've run a few quick calculations and it's costs approximately the same to drive the Lotus or the Bronco. Why? Back to the Lotus tires - which cost more per mile than gas does. Really.  Actually it's a tiny, tiny bit cheaper to drive the Bronco!!!!!!!!!!! Although clearly the Lotus is more fun... unless you're driving in the snow or trying to tow something or want to carry more than two people, then the Bronco wins ;-)

Here are the stats for 42k Miles on each vehicle:

'05 Lotus Elise

4000 - Tires (one set of front and 5 sets of rear)

3885 - Gas

840 - Oil Changes

Total: $8,725 (or 21 cents per mile)

'92 Ford Bronco

445 - Tires (one set)

7560 - Gas

168 - Oil Changes

Total: $8,173 (or 19 cents per mile)

Anyway, I now feel better about driving the Bronco around because it's not actually costing my any more than driving the Lotus (sadly). Although I'm currently thinking about trying some new tires on the Lotus. It is winter after all so now would be a good time. Less chance of being disappointed considering whatever cheaper tire I get will probably inhibit performance (read: fun). Blah. But I can't go tearing around the corners on the tires I have now in the winter either. I actually got stuck in leaves the other day. The tires were spinning like I was stuck in the mud and I had to gently coerce the car into getting a grip.