Mazda 5 review

Wow, a new car review!

I know I haven't done one of these in a bit but here goes.

Rented a car for my quick in and out trip to South Florida this week. When the rental agent gave me my choices (Chevy Malibu, Mazda 6, Pontiac G5 ect.) I went with something new, I said yes to a black Mazda 5 with 2k on the ticker. I have been wanting to check one of the funky styled wagon/van things out for a bit. The styling is a bit strange but I don't mid so much.

Interior:
Front seats where comfortable but I wish I had been able to raise just the front up in order to support my legs a bit more. Controls are in all the right spots and very easy to reach. Steering wheel controls are nice, and the wheel tilts and telescopes (yeah!). Driving position was nice, dead peddle was a bit close but not as bad as some cars and there was plenty of room to put my foot to the side. Back seats (middle row captains chairs) are comfortable but you have to raise the head rest or else it digs in your back. 3rd row seats where small but could hold kids pretty well. Storage in the behind the 3rd row seats was a joke, my lap top case barley fit back there so I had to drop the seats in order to stow my carry on. Visibility was good but there was one huge problem. With the back seat headrests up (or if someone in the seat) there is a HUGE blind spot. I could not move the side mirrors to a place that I felt comfortable being able to see all around the car. My only solution was to just put the headrest down, problem being if people are riding back there it really isn't an option to have them ride bent over the whole time. This is a serious issue in my mind and would cross this car off my list of cars to buy, it's too bad to since the rest of the car was pretty darn good.

Exterior:
Is it a wagon or a microvan? Well it looks a bit more like an Aztec or Matrix so I suppose it is more of a wagon, that is until you open the rear doors and they slide like a van. Boooo! I guess the sliding doors give you more access to the rear but I really don't think regular doors would cut down on the access any and they would not look near as minivanish. Those doors are really the only thing I don't like about the exterior.

Performance:
The biggest thing that kept me from really liking how this car drove was the transmission. It was out and out terrible. 1st gear was much to short. Found myself almost getting whiplash every time I took off from a dead stop. It just lurched if you got on the gas just a tad to much. If you wanted to take off smoothly you had to press the peddle like you where stepping on a grape and didn't want to squash the thing. It handled great, just as I expected from a Mazda, was pretty neutral which was nice. Got to test the handling out on one of those neat spiral parking deck ramps at the airport. But for as much as I liked that it was still stifled by the transmission. 1st gear was awful (as stated above), it couldn't make up its mind on when to shift, would take way too long to downshift when trying to accelerate, would upshift way too early (1.5 to 2k rpms usually) which made city driving a pain in the arse. About the only way to make driving somewhat fun was to use the manual option. Using that you could get the engine into its torque sweet spot (3k+) and have some fun. A manual tranny in this car would probably be great to drive.

Overall:
I really wanted to like this car. Great handling, pretty peppy when using the manual shift option and keeping the revs up made it a hoot to drive sometimes. Alas, the blind spot issue, non-existent storage space (which really just turned the car into an overweight 4 seater wagon), terrible transmission and quirky sliding doors pushed it away from my good side. I really don't know who would buy this car. I guess if you had to have a small hatchback but needed to be able to really seat 6 instead of 5 then this would be the option for you, but I would suggest it.

Hyundai Elantra Review Pt II.

Ok, my closing thoughts for this car.

Interior:
Well laid out and good looking. Material quality was nice but you could tell this is an entry level car. Seats where comfortable and had plenty of adjustment. Steering wheel did tilt but did not telescope. Everything was in reach, good head room and leg room in all seats. Dead peddle was a tad close for my taste but then again most cars are. AC and radio controls where straight forward and easy to reach. It was nice that it came with both a cig lighter plug and an additional power plug on the center console. Aux input was well marked as well, location was right between the two power sockets. Not a bad place for it but I have grown to like the ones that are hidden in the center console storage area. Sound quality was pretty good, it was nice to have XM activated on the car.

Driving Impressions:
Well balanced car. Not too much body lean in the corners. Steering was really vague. Impossible to tell what the tires are doing. It did turn in well and handled better than expected. Engine was the biggest drawback. You could feel it struggling to pull the car around sometime, transmission didn't help the issue. Held shifts too long at points or shifted much to early and would not shift back down when needed. I did return 33+mpg for the whole trip that included some rather spirited back road driving and minimal interstate cruising.

Exterior:
Looks ok, doesn't stand out but isn't ugly.

Overall a nice car. Great gas mileage considering I didn't really get out on the interstate much. Better than the Corolla and Focus in my opinion.

Hyundai Elantra Review

Ok, I'm in NY this week. My rental is a Hyundai Elantra. So far not a bad car. About on par with the Ford Focus that I had in Virginia. I will have to say the fact that this one has XM radio may skew my opinions a bit. Handles well enough, gets great gas mileage, doesn't look to bad. Hyundai has come a looooooong way since my dad brought some mid 90's model home for a test drive. I think the interior build quality is better than the Ford, on par with what I have seen in low end Toyota's and Honda's. I know it handles better than the corolla except for a strange dead-spot when going through the center position. Engine is a bit under powered and wheezy for my tastes but transmission does its best to shift at the right times to make the most of the lacking power. Give me a few more days with it and I will write up a full review.

2006 Acura RL Review

Ok, my dad bought himself a new ride a few weeks back and I finally got the chance to drive it while in the mountains this weekend.

Exterior:
This is a very understated car. That may be why you don't see many of them. Style wise it is not that much different than the Acura TL. The RL doesn't stand out, which is a good thing and a bad thing. The cars it is selling against, BMW 5 series, MB E-class, Lexus GL or LS are all pretty flashy, you know exactly what car they are when you see them, nothing else looks like them. That is the problem with the RL it doesn't stand out and in a sales segment where 50% of the buyers are buying the car for status reasons then the RL just doesn't work. BUT, if you don't care about how flashy the car is then this just may be the best of the bunch...

Interior:
Very nice finish everywhere. Plenty of head, leg, and shoulder room in every seat. Middle seat in the back is a bit cramped but that is to be expected. Leather seats, leather arm rests and door pulls, you can tell Acura cut no corners on the quality of the materials that went into this car. I could adjust the seating position to fit my frame and driving style perfectly. Power everything (seats, mirrors, headrests!). Only 2 real complaints:
1. The passengers seat was not height adjustable. I found this odd, how hard would it have been to add this? I found this did make the passenger seat sit a bit uncomfortably. Heck my wife's IS300 has this feature and so does my MINI. An odd choice not to include this in a loaded car.
2. Dead peddle. Yet another car that locates the dead peddle much to close to the driver. Ended up having to put my left foot right next to the brake peddle or crossed in front of the seat to be comfortable.

Controls and Audio:
The RL comes with the high end electronic control system. Acrua's version of i-drive I guess. Very powerful system that includes voice control options for everything. System is actually very easy to use since there is about 15 ways to access everything. Plenty of shortcut buttons everywhere and the interface and menu screens where very easy to figure out. Everything was nicely within reach. Sound system sounded nice but I really didn't get a chance to wring it out to really give a good opinion.

Drive and Ride:
Very steady on-road feel. Handled quite well for such a big car. Very nice cruising on the highway. The transmission seems a bit rough for a luxury car. You can fell every shift. It does respond very quick and the manual shift feature with steering wheel paddles is very nice. But again, my wife's IS300 is supposed to be a sportier car, it too has the manual shift option and the only time you really notice the shifts is when it is in manual mode.

So, if you are in the market for a roomy luxury car, give the RL a chance. I think you will find it stacks up nicely against the BMW, MB, Audi and Lexus offerings and I am betting you can find a used one for a great price.

2009 Toyota Corolla Review

Another car review!

It has been a bit but on my recent trip to Virginia I rented a new (only 1000 miles on the clock) 2009 Toyota Corolla. Figured I didn't need a big can and I would try to save the company some money on the gas.

First Impressions:
Not a bad looking car, plenty of room in the truck (maybe a 3 golf bag/2 body trunk?), good looking interior. Good lines on the exterior and everything looks to be put together well. Nice to see that the rear seats fold flat if needed and there is a rear seat release in the trunk, a very nice touch.

Interior:
Car came with a cloth interior, seems to be a very nice and durable fabric. Glad to see no leatherette. Seats are very comfortable, all the controls are well within reach. This was a pretty base model car but it had some nice features that made it seem a bit more upscale. Nice to see an Auxiliary input on the base stereo. Stereo was ok, didn't blow me away but sounded good. Center stack was well designed and all of the AC controls where easy to figure out. Gauges where all very easy to read. Tilt and telescoping steering wheel!!! A huge plus in my book since I don't like to have my arms extended straight when driving. Dead peddle area was a bit close to the seat but there was plenty of room next to the brake peddle to stretch out my leg. Mirrors covered outside well, no huge blind spots, all in all very good visibility. Car was very quite on the inside, could barley hear the engine running while at idle or when driving at 70mph. The one main issue I had with the interior was a metallic rattling that came from the drivers side door, sounded like something was loose. Something that I would have fixed by the dealer if I had owned the car.

Performance:
This is a base 4 cylinder Corolla with 132hp engine. Wasn't expecting much but the engine did have decent pep. Transmission did a good job of making sure it was in the right gear and changing quickly when needed. Steering was strange. Felt good at some point but vague at others. Noticed the odd steering behavior mainly when driving in windy conditions. Car was blown around quite a bit and it I had to be very active with the steering to keep my line. At highway speeds it was hard to keep the car on center as a very slight move in the steering wheel would move the car a very large amount. This was helpful at slow speeds and in parking lots but extremely annoying when cruising the interstates. I know this isn't a performance car but aside from the wonky steering the car handled quite nicely, it was a welcome surprise.

For my whole trip (1/2 interstate, 1/2 backroads) I returned about 33 mpgs. Not bad at all. I had the AC on for part of the trip and flogged the car a bit on the back roads to see what it could do. For the price point (About 17K from what I can figure) this is a great car. If you are looking for a car that drives pretty well, has a bit of pep, gets great mileage on regular gas, has plenty of room for 4 adults and all their bags and is well priced this is a car to look at. The only other car I could compare it to would be a Ford Focus that I rented about a year ago. The Corolla is way better than the Focus.

Ford Fusion Review Pt III, Drive in Blizzard Conditions....

Ok, I have a Ford Fusion for my trip this week. Trip has taken me from Chicago, through a blizzard to Omaha and then down to Kansas City. The drive from the Quad Cities area to Omaha on Wednesday was one of the more interesting experiences I have ever had behind the wheel of a car.

First off let's review my thoughts on the Fusion. Last time I drove one was last August on my way to the GT v Notre Dame game. Car served me well but I had some issues. I think the one I got this time is either newer or is not the base model I had last time. It has steering wheel audio and AC controls that I noted where missing last time. A very nice touch that makes the car seem a bit more upscale. The car also came equipped with automatic climate control that worked perfectly. Easy to control and I was able to set the temp and not worry about it. Also included in the car where side mirror defrosters, which came in very handy. The rear deck does not seem as high this time as last, maybe a design change between years? Blind spot behind the c-pillar on the passenger side can still hide an 18-wheeler if your mirrors are not adjusted properly. Seats did not seem as comfortable this time, maybe that was another change. Even with adjustable lumbar support, there where times I just could not get comfortable (this very well could be more me than the car). All in all the car impressed me yet again. It gets that job done, no frills but makes a nice base end 4 door.

Now on to the weather. In case you missed the news the last few days, areas in the mid-west where hit by a pretty big snow storm. Total snow fall amounts varied but the hardest hit area just happened to by eastern Iowa. Guess where Moline, IL is? Yep, eastern Iowa. Moline must have gotten close to a foot with areas to the west (towards Des Moines) got even more. So what did I decide to do? Well drive right through the worst hit spots! Smart Jim, smart. Anyway, hoped in the car Wednesday and was in for the drive of a lifetime. The first sign of trouble was the fact I was barely able to even get on I-80. Had to gun the Ford to push through the snow on the on-ramp! No plows in sight, huh ok. No other cars, where is the road? It was all white. 50 mph winds whipping across the road, snow everywhere. 18-wheelers, cars and RV in the ditches. Yep, fun had by all. Anyway, I just remembered my wet autocross experiences, no big movements, no brake, just be calm and take it easy. It helped I got in behind an 18-wheeler that looked like he knew what he was doing. I just stayed in his tire tracks and let him act as my personal snow plow. Only had 2 pucker moments that I can remember. I am sure I got some odd looks from the Iowa folks I passed on the road, my rental is tagged from Florida! I should have some pictures once I get back to the Atl and have access to my cameras usb cable. That is it for now, back to Atlanta in the morning.

Last Day with the TR4a

Well, today is my last day with the 4a. Drove it to work this morning and it is running great. Going to make me sad to see it go but the TR6 should do a fine job of replacing it and give me something to work on during the next few months. I guess I will do a quick review of my experience with the 4a for anyone thinking of getting one of their own.

Looks:

Very distinctive. I like the bonnet bulge and the headlight "eyebrows" the most. I can just see the guys at Triumph designing the bonnet "power" bulge when they first tried to fit the hood on the TR4 and realized that it didn't clear the carburetors! Not a huge fan of the rear with the small tail fin treatment. Looks a little to forced and not all that elegant. The convertible top doesn't ruin the looks of the car when it is up like many modern convertibles do. All in all nice lines but not near as pretty as the TR3 or as tough looking as the TR6.

Interior:

Small but laid out well. Has some funny quirks that show it is a British car. Bonnet release on the right, hood vent control on the right, choke pull on the right ect. Perfect driving position. Steering wheel is a bit large but the extra diameter comes in handy when trying to throw the car into turns. Visibility is great even with the top up. The area behind the seats is a perfect place to store extra tools or install some speakers. All the gauges are well thought out and easy to read. Nothing that I would really change on the interior.

Driving:

It is a blast to drive (once warmed up!). Corners as good as anything that I have ever driven. Shifter is the smoothest and coolest that I have ever used, just clicks back and forth willingly between gears. Backend will hop a bit on exit of a corner but no big deal, very predictable. Steering is quick and spot on, it can be a bit heavy in fast corners but hey this thing was designed 45 years ago! Cruising with the top down at 50mph is the perfect setting for the TR4a. It can do 70 on the highway or scream through the curves but it really is most at home just cruising. Top down on a spring day driving through some gentle hills is just amazing. I never really understood the lure of a convertible until the first perfect fall day that I took the 4a out with the top down. Wow.

Maintenance:

If you can change the oil on any car then you have the skills to keep a TR running. Nothing fancy under the bonnet here. Just a big 4-pot engine and simple electrics. The car has 4 fuses I think? I've done everything short of rebuilding the engine with no problem. Parts are very easy to come by, tons of workshop manuals out there to guide you. Heck, I am pretty sure that you can take the whole car apart with a phillips head screwdriver and a good socket set (don't forget the 8 point sockets!).

Drawbacks:

It is an old car. It was finicky when the weather was cold. That is about it.

Conclusion:

All in all this was a great car to get me started into classic cars. I found one close that was in good shape to start and cut my teeth keeping it running and updating it a bit over the 15+ months that I owned it. Sure, one day I'll look back and wish I had not sold this one (probably when I see one go for 6 figures on Barret-Jackson) but the time is right for me to move on to a new project. The finances have worked out perfectly to sell this one and get the TR6. I just don't have the money to put into the TR4a that I would want to if I kept it. With the 6 I get a car in better cosmetic shape with enough money to get it in great mechanical shape. Anyway, I hope the new owner takes as good if no better care of the 4a than I did!

Dodge Stratus Review

I was given an '06 Dodge Stratus as my rental for my most recent business trip to Virginia, Maryland and DC. When I first got the car I really wanted to hate it and dog it as much as I did the Chrysler 300 that I had while in New York. It ended up that I don't really hate this car, I don't like it either. It gets kind of a meh reaction from me.

I'll start with the minuses:

The car isn't a looker, still has the Dodge Cab Forward design language to it. It is one of those cars that you just ignore because it is so boring. The engine pick up was pretty poor, of course it only had a 4 cylinder and must weigh in at over 3000lbs. A lot of weight for a small engine to pull around and you can tell. The engine whines pretty bad when pressed to get up to speed on a on-ramp and dislikes any hills that you come to. Those where the only two big minuses but they present the biggest problem. I am reminded of a Saturday Night Live sketch in which Will Farrell is lamenting on the fact that he drives a Dodge Stratus (or maybe a Cirrus).

The Pluses (Or rather things that where not all that bad):
Seats where ok, radio was ok, cabin controls where ok (still don't know why the cruise controls needed 6 buttons to operate), space was ok, sight lines where ok, ride was ok....blah blah blah.

That is the thing about this car, it is just so bland. Dodge built this car to be just, ok. They didn't try to do anything special with this car. I still can't put it worse than the 300 (there where just so many things wrong about that car) but at least someone tried to do something exciting with the design to where it stands out in a crowd. Why did anyone buy the Status? Really why? If you did tell me. Was it price? Had to be because I can't think of any other reason to own one.

MINI Cooper Review

Sorry for not updating much in the last week. Not much going on to talk about.

I did take my Cooper S in for some service and received a MINI Cooper as a loaner for the day. I had only driven a standard Cooper for about a day when I first ordered my Cooper S so it had been a while. I had forgotten just how great a car the regular Cooper is. Even with out the extra power as the S the Cooper is still great fun to drive. You get to keep the revs up, has as much pull off the line in 1st as an S and the noise the engine makes is as good if not better than the supercharger whine on my S. The only time you really miss the extra power is in when you try to floor it mid gear. When done on the S the supercharger adds the extra omph to put you in the back of your seat where the regular Cooper just doesn't have it. With gas prices where they are the regular Cooper is a great buy for a car that gets great mileage and still has a fun factor to it.

Heading to Las Vegas later this week for a quick getaway. Should be fun. Get back on Sunday then it is back out on the road for work, this time to Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. Hopefully I'll get a rental I've never had before and will have some thoughts.

TR is driving well but feeling the colder weather. I installed a 160 degree T-stat last spring to keep the engine cool in the summer, it now has the opposite effect and keeps the engine a bit too cold in the winter. I have to keep the choke out just a bit in order to keep the engine running smooth when it is below 55 degrees out. Thinking of ordering a 180 T-stat and new gaskets so that I can switch the T-stats out between the spring and fall.

Think that is about it for now.

Kia Sportage Review and news

Just a quick review:

When I had the MINI in for its last service I got a Kia Sportage as a loaner. I was very impressed with this budget minded compact SUV. My model had the V6 that was pretty good. If I where looking for a small SUV I would give this one a look. Good price, has everything you need and plenty of space. I would write more but I only had the car for about 28 hours. Nothing bad stood out in that time.

Kelly and I did see a new Hyundai Veracruz last weekend. Pretty slick looking car, takes all of its design clues from the Lexus RX. I think Kel and I will have to look at this car when we decide to have kids. 7 seater, good warranty, good looks, great reviews and 15k cheaper than the Lexus? Hmmm.....

Going to try something new in every post now, just quick hits on what is bouncing around in my head... I'll call it

News and Ramblings:

Bumming about a 2nd straight loss for Georgia Tech. Excited about my upcoming trip to Vegas (still more than a month out). Still trying to wait the Nissan Patrol guy out, hoping he calls ands wants to sell cheap. Bummed that this is the only Patrol in the SE for sale. Intrigued by the Land Rover Series IIa if the Nissan gets sold or price doesn't come down (which I hope doesn't happen, I am kind of stuck on this car). Liking this morning boot camp Kelly and I are doing together, I guess I have to figure out some exercise to keep doing once it is over. Glad that we finally got our new fridge installed. Bummed that it took so long and required some "modifications" to the kitchen. Hoping that my Korea customer sends me a few new Purchase Orders this month. Excited and very happy for my sister-in-law, Emily, finally getting engaged to a guy I actually like hanging out with. Think that about covers it for now.....

Ford Fusion Review Pt. II

Ok, here are my final thoughts on the Ford Fusion.

Interior:

Seats where nice and supportive even for a base level car. Never had a problem being uncomfortable even after 3+ hours. The cloth that the seats where covered in was a step up from the material that I have seen used in American cars in recent years. Maybe Ford got the memo that you can make a cheap car feel a lot nicer if you spend a few extra bucks on the interior. All of the controls where very well laid out. I still can't get used to the one stalk configuration of most new American cars. I guess I am just used to having the lights and turn signals on the left and wipers on the right. One interesting layout feature that a took as very strange at first but actually makes tons of sense once I got used to it was the position of the turn indicator stalk. Most seem to stick out to the left at about 9:30 while the Ford stalk stuck out at around 10:30. It seemed very high at first but then I realized that it was much closer to where my hand usually is on the steering wheel and required much less movement to engage. In fact, when I got back in my MINI I wiffed on the first attempt to use a turn signal because I had gotten used to the stalk being much higher. A very nice touch that I think shows at least someone is thinking about ways to improve car interiors. Only real beef with the interior was lack of steering wheel audio controls, otherwise the stereo was passable for this level trim car and it was nice that there was an Aux Input for mp3 players. Visibility was also nice all around except for some sight problems over the rear deck and 3rd brake light that really are only noticeable at night when some cars can "disappear" if close enough behind you.

Performance:

Not much but not too bad either. Engine struggled at times with 4 people plus baggage in the car. Engine noise was rather loud and raspy at higher revs when down shifting to pass. Corner stability was good and steering response was surprisingly good for this type of car. I think this car and engine could do more with a different transmission. The gear shift only showed Drive and Low options and the transmission only felt like it had 3 gears even though the Ford website lists it as having a 5 speed transmission. Put an automatic with sport shift options in this car might sport up the base 160hp 4 cylinder a bit.

Exterior:

Not a bad looking car. I think the tail lights could use some work but other than that you know it is a Ford.

Overall:

A nice car. I don't know if it can compete with the Accords, Camrys, Mazda6 and Pontiac G6 that are in its class. If I had to compare it with the Mazda and Pontiac there are some things that set it apart. The interior is much nicer than the Pontiac and about on par with the Mazda. The Pontiac is the sportiest while the Mazda and Ford share a wimpy engine that is just a little over matched in cars this heavy. If I had to chose one of the 3 that I have driven it would still be the Pontiac based on the fact that it can be fun to drive. But, if I was looking for something that had plenty of space, got good mileage and was comfortable to drive? The Ford would get a good long look.

Ford Fusion Review Pt. I

Enterprise gave me a Ford Fusion for my trip here in Chicago. I have been very impressed by the car so far. Rides smooth, all the controls are in the right spot, good interior space, nice trunk, and it doesn't look to shabby either. This one is the base model, 4 cylinder engine and cloth interior. The cloth is actually a big step up from what I have seen from American cars in the past few years. Base stereo has some nice features, CD player with mp3 play back and a aux input located in the center console along with a 2nd power plug. Only real beef so far is the height of the rear deck, it is hard to see cars that get behind you especially at night.

I'll post some more thoughts on the car later this weekend.

Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder Review

After putting almost 1200 miles on one of these cars in 4 days I will share some of my thoughts.

First, the car I had was an Silver 2008 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder. It was the base model car with the 4-cylinder engine, automatic transmission, Rockford Fosgate CD/MP3 stereo, and a cloth interior.

Exterior:
I liked it, both with the top up and the top down. It is a pretty good looking car, one that gets attention at stop lights. Nothing glaringly wrong with the shape, has a nice semi-mean looking front end and lights, handles, tail pipes, and badging all work well with the shape. So, overall the exterior is one that is not too aggressive for my tastes but does look the part of a neat little import convertible. One warning, when ever you pull up to a stoplight in this car every 16 year old with a ricer will want to race you.

Interior:
First things first, the front seat are amazing! They are a pretty aggressive racing type seat that a lot of people will not like but I love 'em. I want these seats in my MINI. Great for holding you in when you are tossing the car around but very comfortable after 5 hours of interstate driving through Iowa. I felt great after sitting in them for a long time. That is my biggest complaint about my MINI is that the seats really start to bug me at around the 3 hour mark. I hope this type of seat makes its way into the Evolution X. The rear seats looked nice but not all the usable for adults. A child or very small adult could have fit behind my seat but not very well. Kids would work in the seats but I think they are there more for decoration than anything. All the controls where reachable and in good spots. Radio was easy to work with the steering wheel controls. I used a borrowed FM modulator to play my iPod but I could have used the aux input if I had the correct cable. Stereo sounded pretty good except for the buzzing speakers, something that would have had the car back at the dealer pronto if I owned it. It was hard to see out of the car with the top up (what convertible isn't?) but after driving it a little I figured out how to tilt my head to see out the back when reversing. The only complaint that I had with the interior was the window shut-off button. You can't tell which position it is in and it is a hard button to find from the drivers seat. It is next to the window button but you can't see it when sitting in the car. The strangest thing about the button is that it only turns the passenger window on and off. If my wife's car the button disables all the windows, including the drivers. Why have a button that only turns the passenger window on and off I don't know. This feature lead to a half a day to me not being able to get the passenger window to roll up because I 1. Didn't see the window shut-off button and 2. Was used to a window shut-off feature that disabled all the windows. It also lead to me checking every single fuse in the car but that is another story.

Driving:
This is a nice riding car. It tracks well, soaks up bumps, and isn't all that loud inside with the top up or down. I was surprised with the lack of wind and noise with the top down. It was nice to be able to drive at highway speeds with the top down and not feel like I was getting beat up. When driven hard the car does under steer quite a bit and unfortunately the car feels very large when driving aggressively. The steering feel is ok, gets pretty vague when you are in the middle of a corner and doesn't instill a lot of confidence in the driver. Brakes do feel good, not to touchy. Acceleration for the base model I had was acceptable and the auto-stick feature was a nice option, especially when needing to pass someone. I would rate this car as more of a cruiser than a true sports car. It would be nice to put the GT through its paces to see how the bigger engine, different tires and reworked suspension change the car.

So, if you are looking for a nice convertible then it can't hurt to look at the Eclipse Spyder. I priced up what my renter would have cost and it came out to around $28k. This puts it in a tight group with the MINI Cooper and Cooper S Convertibles and the VW Eos hardtop convertible to name a few. But, if you like the import tuner looks, the pretty good warranty that Mitsu offers now then this might just be the convertible for you.

Mercury Grand Marquis Review

This was the first car that Avis tried to give me last week during my trip to the mid-west. The lady at the counter in the terminal said that I could either wait about an hour for a PT Cruiser or take the Merc. I had already waited 45 minutes for my bags and was just ready to get out of St. Louis. The minute the Avis van pulled up to the car I knew I had made a mistake.

If you haven't sat in a Grand Marquis in the last 10 years you aren't missing much. Remember the old family sedan your folks drove in the early 80's? The one with the couch for a front seat? Yep, that is what the front seat of the Merc was like. You pretty much sank down into it. As a whole, the interior looked like it had not been updated since the 80's, which was about the last time they updated the car as a whole and the last time someone under the age of 60 bought one of these things. It was just poorly laid out. The split arm rest didn't fold all the way back level with the seat, the steering wheel was strange..... I don't remember much else, my mind has chosen to block most of this car from my memory. I don know that the trunk was huge. You could fit 5 or 6 friends in there. Although, the strange deep well in the middle of the trunk looks like it would make loading a few golf bags a little akward. Anyway, after 5 minutes of grumbling, I dragged my luggage up to the on-site customer service counter and demanded a new car. I lucked out and Avis was able to put me in a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder for less than the Merc cost.

So in review, I would much rather drive pretty much any car over the Mercury Grand Marquis/Lincoln Town Car/Ford Crown Victoria. They are just awful.

On the Road: Moline, IL to Atlanta, GA

I got back to Atlanta in one piece. I am still trying to catch back up on work and sleep from the trip (I had a 5:30am flight back to Atlanta). All in all it was a good trip, lots of new business contacts. Thursday night I decided to do something different from baseball and went to an Arena Football2 game. I didn't even know that the Quad Cities area had a team until I heard about it on the radio. Picked up a 2nd row seat on the 20 yard line and had a blast. If you like football and have never been to an Arena Football game, give it a shot. It is like watching a pro version of the backyard football games you played while growing up, very little running plays, no zone defense and high scoring. I also visited another one of the Quad Cities fine Brew Pubs (there are 5 or so locally owned Brew Pubs in the area, which is 5 more good brew pubs than we have here in Atlanta). Bent River Brewing Company was the name. Good beer, good food, nice folks. They had about 17 locally brewed beers on tap, every type you can think of. I started off with the daily special (a Black Lager, a very nice beer) and moved on to my current favorite style, a Dry Hopped Pale Ale. The pale ale was excellent. For my last beer of the evening I asked my very friendly Bar Keep (Eric was his name) to surprise me. He then did something that I had never really thought of, he mixed the Pale Ale with a Red Ale (Ok, yes I have heard of a black and tan and a half and half but those are layered pours and not really mixed. They MIX the beers at Bent River). I was really good, added something a little different to the taste. Eric told me they mix many of their beers and most of the regulars have at least one or two mixes that they will order. So, try mixing your beers. That is it for now, Eclipse Spyder review, Merc Grand Marquis Review, College Football preview, and TR/MINI update will follow this week.

Chrysler 300 Take III

Ok, final update on my rental. I am really digging the satellite radio. It may be the only thing that is keeping me sane while driving this car. Plenty of good music to choose from but I find myself ending up back on the comedy channels.

As for the car, I'm done with it. I've said everything I can say about it. It just is a mediocre car made worse by terrible controls layout. If you get in a car and can't reach anything, can't figure out how to work the windshield wipers without turning on the high beams (and once you get that figured out the high beams keep turning on whenever you use the turn signals?), takes 10 minutes to figure out the cruise control, and can't figure out how to set either clock then the car probably isn't that good.

Off the subject of crappy rentals, I am going to rebuild the brake calipers of the TR tomorrow. Replace all the seals, the flex hoses, pins, pads, and about everything that can be replaced. After getting all that done I plan on changing out the discs as well. Hoping it will only take a few hours.

Chrysler 300 Take II

Ok, after 6 1/2 hours of seat time today I think I can add a bit more to my rant of yesterday (good and bad).

The car does look good from the outside. The guards at Indian Point told me nice car and tried to get me to leave with them so they could "wash" it. It does soak up the bumps on the highway pretty nicely and doesn't beat you up. I tried out the manual shift option today on some twisties and it wasn't half bad after you figured out how it worked. Engine sounds good when revved up to 6k and the car actually handles a lot better than I thought it would (when the road is wide enough to drive the thing comfortably). I discovered this car has satellite radio (Sirius). A HUGE plus for the drive across the Empire State today. Ended up listening to mainly the 80's station and the comedy stations most of the way.

I can see why this is a nice car to RIDE in. Heck I said it in the last review. My companies agent in Chicago has a 300 with the Hemi, a slick looking ride. Great car to be a passenger in but I still can't get over how poorly laid out the interior is from the drivers perspective. I know this is a big cruising car, not my style at all, and that may have to do a lot with why I don't like this thing. Still, a lot of what they did on the inside just makes me think why? I also can't come up with an answer as to what car this thing is supposed to compete with? I guess the Full Size cruiser sedan market is an American only thing. It isn't a Luxury car and it isn't a sports sedan or even an economical family car. If it where any of those it would comepete with BMW, Lexus, Benz, Infinity, Acura ect at the top end and Toyota and Honda at the other. I dunno, maybe some folks just like big cars that drive like boats (Lincoln Town Car, Ford Taurus, Chevy Malibu). I sure don't.

Utter Crap (Chrysler 300 1st thoughts)

Ok. I'm in and around New York state this week. I flew into White Plains today in route to the nuclear plant outside of New London, CT (Millstone Plant). I go check in at the Avis counter and I am told, "We have a Chrysler 300, would that be ok?" I say sure, get the keys and my bags and head to get the car. I have ridden in the 300s several times and they always seemed to be comfortable cars. Well once I got in the drivers seat I realized just how wrong I was. These are just my first impressions from spending about 2 hours of windshield time in the car while dealing with NY traffic (Yes, they drive worse here than the folks in Atlanta).

Trunk, it has a big trunk.

What ever models Chrysler used to layout the interior obviously had arms that where 5 inches longer than mine.

Do you really need an analog clock right above a radio that has a digital clock?

What the hell is that buzzing noise coming from the front speaker? What the hell is that noise coming from under my seat?

Baby is this leather? Cause, um, it's sticking to my leg.....

At least the brakes work. Kind of.

Hey, it has an ashtray.

Nice touch with the Black on white instruments, who designed these things? 8 point letters and small black dots on a white background, because when you look down to check you speed you want to have to spend 10 seconds trying to figure it out....

Another nice instrument panel feature: a shiny black surface that surrounds the white faced instruments and at the right angle can blind you due to glare.

Can a car have twitchy steering and numb steering at the same time?

Why do I get seasick looking at the fisheye passenger sideview mirror? Oh, so I can see the Semi hidden behind the c-pillar.

Where did that MINI go that just passed me? Oh, it's hidden behind the A pillar.

Parallel Parking? Right....um no.

Did I mention the big trunk?

I am driving an 80's turbo diesel? I swear I floored the thing a second a go in order to pass... oh, ok the thing finally shifted.

Why do I keep speeding up or slowing down when I signal to change lanes? Oh, that because the damn cruise control stalk (?) is right above the turn signal stalk, which is located a lot lower and farther away from the steering wheel than any other car that I have ever driven.

How the hell do I get the wipers to come on? Do you really need to put 4 functions of one stalk? (Turn signals, high-low beams, wipers, washers, fog lights, trunk release, ignition, self destruct button......)

Ok, so far this thing sucks, bad. The only thing it does ok is go 75 in a straight line on a level road. From a comfortable driving position I can't reach anything. I can barley read my GPS since it is roughly 8 feet from me stuck to the windshield. The seats are crap, the steering wheel is real crap, the rear view out of the thing is a joke, you could hide a whole ro-ro carrier of cars in the blind spots. I can't see the road when going over the top of step hills. I just have no clue, this car really is that bad. It feels a whole hell of a lot bigger than my in-laws '77 Chevy truck (which is easier to drive). Heck it feels harder to drive around than the 40 foot u-haul I rented to move with. I had to 3 point a 2 1/2 lane u-turn!! I'm done for now, I am sure I'll have some more thoughts on this utter piece of garbage tomorrow. (Kind of wish they would have given me a Taurus instead, or maybe the Lincoln towncar that was next to this thing, or maybe the Minivan that was parked behind it.....)

General Exclaim UHP Review Part II

I've had these tires on the MINI for 6 months so I figure I would give everyone a follow up on my thoughts.

I like them a lot better than my previous set of Dunlops (Direzza DZ101s). The Generals ride better day to day and look to be wearing a bit more evenly than the Dunlops did. I got these tires from Tire Rack and I chose them from the very positive reviews that they had gotten. I have to agree with everything on Tire Rack. These things stick very well in the dry and track great in the wet. They gave great feedback on my run up to US129 (Tail of the Dragon). Even when they where good and hot they didn't get greasy and didn't lose any grip. For such a tall tire (205/50-15s) the sidewall is very stiff on turn in so there is no "lag", for lack of a better word (If you have driven a "tall" tire with a mushy sidewall very aggressively you know what I mean, the Dunlops had a very flexible sidewall).

They have aged very well, I can't even tell that much difference between the fronts and the rears in terms of wear (I plan on rotating them in the next week or two). So, all in all I have been very impressed by these tires and I am guessing that I will stick with them for my next set.

Chevy Malibu Max Review

Took the MINI in for service this week and was given the choice of a Focus or a Malibu Max. Figured I have driven a Focus, why not try out the Chevy...

Ok, the car I was given has the V6. For a larger car the engine is pretty punchy down low. Has an interesting tiptronic mod to manual shift the auto box your self. Quick off the line, good for passing on the interstate but as soon as you get past about 3000 rpm the pull dies off.

Interior is pretty good for a base end model. Plastic trim is much nicer than the other base cars I have driven in the past. It doesn't really look like plastic. Heck, I think the interior trim in the Malibu Max is nicer than the Corvette I sat at the auto show a few months back. Seat is supportive. There are two neat sunlights over the back seat. Not really sure the functionality but still neat to look at. Driving position is pretty good though the car feels a lot bigger to drive than it really is. One complaint about the driving position yet again is the dead peddle area. Nowhere to really put you left foot. If you put it against the bulkhead then it is too close to your seat, if you move it over towards the middle it ends up behind the brake peddle, not good.

Audio is good and the controls are well laid out and simple to figure out. Same goes for the AC, easy to get the temperature just right. The vent controls are unique and actually work quite well. They use a wheel to direct the flow to the left or right and a neat louver design to direct up or down. Hard to explain in words, you'll just have to go look in a Malibu and see for your self.

Not a bad car. Wish I could give a bit better review but I have only had the car just over 24 hours.

I'll be in Clearwater Florida this week for a conference. I'm sure I'll figure out something to write about while listening to speakers talk about Nuclear Parts Obsolescence....