Tag Archives: cars

New Transmission

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The aught-one Saturn, at 108475 miles, will not go into reverse1 And, hence, it’s in the Reston Automotive Hospital.

The verdict is in. It needs a new transmission. A $3800 transmission. A warranted, 24-month, 24K mile transmission. That they can install by Tuesday.

We gave them the go-ahead earlier. This is probably the first time I’ve spent more on a car than its Blue Book value, but I think the rest of the car is reasonably sound. And $3800 wouldn’t be a year’s worth of car payments, if you go on the 3 year payment plan.

So, not wanting to owe our souls to Ford Credit, we repair. And hope the aught-one runs proud and true for a year or two.

-k-
Update: And this is my first new transmission. With me, rites of passage come late in life.

1 Well, unless you want to rev it up to 3500-4000 RPMs, and then jam it into gear.

New Miles Leader

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My regular daily driver, a 2001 Saturn, just turned over 107000 miles a day or two ago. This makes it #1 in MLB and my “cars with the most miles driven” category.

The ’01 actually eclipsed the 106K+ miles of MLB’s ’98 Saturn much earlier, but since I couldn’t remember the ’98′s exact mileage, I decided to wait until the aught-one had exceeded 107K to lay claim to the miles title.

It still looks good and runs all right. Not sending in a monthly check to GMAC makes it look better and better.

As much as I get excited about new cars, and as much as certain Ford1 models turn my head, I can still say, Long may the Saturn live.

-k-

1 The Great American Car Company

Searching for America, Again

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The second of this year’s Search for America Tours starts tomorrow: Destination Arkansas. I had the day off from work; from what I saw on the Weather Channel earlier, I’m thankful we’re not driving through Tennessee tonight. Tomorrow’s prospects seem much brighter.

We just got back from IAD, with our rental Cadillac. Again, it will be a sweet ride.

One thing I’ve been pondering of late is that when I was a lot younger, I considered Cadillacs the epitome of bourgeois decadence, stodgy overpriced transportation that could only be desired by hopelessly out of touch people. As I grow older, I consider a Caddy the best that American auto technology has to offer: stylish, comfortable, and a real treat to drive. I’m sure the Cadillac ads featuring the Led Zeppelin songs helped my change in thinking. What I’d really like to know is, do today’s young people view today’s Cadillac in the same light in which I saw the models of my youth? Am I now considered a hopeless, heartless old wanker by the younger set? I wonder. Maybe I should rename this trip the Old Age and Treachery Tour.

This could be the last Cadillac-powered tour; I think future tours will be powered by Lincoln, a division of Ford, an American car company.

Anyhow, tomorrow, we ride. Fuel economy numbers, and Cracker Barrel reviews will abound. Road bloggin’, too. Good Stuff.

-k-

The Great American Car Company

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To nobody’s surprise, GM and Chrysler, having pissed away their earlier loan gift from the Feds, are gathering around the Federal trough yet again, pleading for more billions to tide them over for a few more short months, at which point they’ll be back after pissing away those billions. That they’ll get those billions from a feckless Congress and Executive Branch is a mortal lock.

This should stop. Pounding more billions down the Detroit rathole just delays the inevitable collapse of two institutions which tug at my heartstrings; two iconic American companies, whose products have been part of the fabric of my life for as long as I can remember. It’s time for them to go. The incredible waste of resources in two companies whose vehicles continue to be parked, awaiting buyers who don’t buy, must end.

Ford Motor Company, who has never tugged at my heartstrings, has said they can weather this current storm while remaining off the federal teat. Ford, Found On Road Dead, Fix Or Repair Daily, as we used to say, is now the shining star of the American automotive industry. I checked Ford out today; to my surprise, they have a great lineup of stylish, fuel-efficient cars. When I’m in the car market again, a Ford of some description will be gracing my driveway parking spot.

What’s good for General Motors is good for America used to be the line. That line should now be What’s good for General Motors is breaking America.

There is an alternative. Ford. Drive One.

-k-

Heading for 100K

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Tomorrow’s commute should push the 2001 Saturn past the 100,000 mile mark. This will be the second vehicle we’ve owned that has achieved this notable odometer reading, the first being MLB’s ’98 Saturn, which bit the big one after 106,000 miles.

One more into the 100K club tomorrow; then we go for the record. At ~300 miles/week, the 106K mark could fall this year. Not like Old Ironhead’s 7 NASCAR championships, but he never had to drive with these NoVA nitwits, either.

-k-

George W. Orwell Bush, #2

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Via Political Wire:

“I’ve abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system.”

And as I watch GM execs salivating as they approach the teat the White House has just extended, I wonder how they’ll manage to turn things around in three months, when they’ve spent years supposedly attempting to “be viable.”
Be prepared to stroke another huge check in the spring, America.

-k-

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See the USA, in your Toyota?

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As an old guy who has been a General Motors zealot forever, I’m naturally dismayed at the current state of the US auto industry. My first real job was in the retail auto business, at a now-defunct Chevrolet-Oldsmobile-Cadillac dealership in Northwest Kansas. I worked there (twice); I also worked for a Pontiac-Cadillac dealer. Even when I wasn’t working in dealerships, I spent a number of years installing and tweaking the computer systems that kept the dealers abreast of their operations.

I’ve travelled thousands of miles, and visited 29 of the 50 states installing automotive computer systems. The retail auto dealer fraternity is hard-working, fun-loving, and I have great memories of my associations.

I’ve stuck with GM through thick and thin; sometimes, working at a GM retail outlet drove my loyalty; other times, it was my natural stubbornness that motivated me. I’ve had three Chevy Vegas, for heaven’s sake; and not as demos, either. Paid for out of my ass pocket, with some help from GMAC. After MLB and I traded our 1986 Chevy Cavalier for a 1994 Saturn, we were Chevyless for the first time in many years. The Saturn, though, let the GM love affair continue. We’ve owned 4 Saturns, the most recent one bought in May of this year. Despite my differences with the local Saturn dealer, the cars are very good.

The spectacle of GM’s and the rest of the Big Three’s management going to Congress and grovelling for money, a lot of money, to stay in business has forced me to consider a Big Three-less future. And it’s time for that to happen. The only salvation for America’s automakers will come via bankruptcy. Period. The originally requested $25B handout has grown to $34B in a week or ten day period. As they blow through $6B per month, this isn’t going to last. If they get the money, they’ll be back, hat in hand yet again, to grovel for more. And sooner or later, they won’t be in business, irrespective of any cash infusions.

None of these possible outcomes is pleasant; it seems to me that lumps should be taken now; let the Big Three declare bankruptcy, restructure, and try to reorganize to compete.

I’ll miss Chevy and Ford as I know them. I’ve survived the loss of friends, parents, and loved ones; I can survive the loss of GM. And so can the country.

-k-

Back at tbbs WorldHQ

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The first Search For America Tour for 2008 has reached its conclusion. My little bride and I arrived home, happy but tired, yesterday afternoon. We quickly scooped our gear out of our rental Cadillac STS, and headed to the airport to return our beautiful Capitalistic Rental Car. It was an awesome ride, V8 powered so it had some balls, but got an incredible 27 mpg highway.

The biggest mistake I made was choosing the “bring it back empty” fuel option, for a princely $71.00. It cost us $55 at our most costly fill-up, and we left about 100 miles of petrol still in the tank. The bring it back empty option results in some sphincter-tightening moments when you see the LOW FUEL light, and fervently hope that

  1. the estimated range provided by the car’s on-board instrumentation is correct;
  2. the miles to destination provided by the GPS is correct; and
  3. that you haven’t botched up the math in figuring how much gas you need on the next stop.

So next time, we’ll stop by the overpriced Exxon station right by the Avis return.

And, as if to welcome us back home, a Ford Excursion showed considerable reluctance to let us merge onto the Dulles Toll Road on the trip back from the airport. My little bride was driving, and gave the Ford driver a gesture expressing her undying gratitude for his behind-the-wheel courtesy. I trust no diagrams are needed to convey the essence of the gesture.

But the Ford driver actually did us a favor; his self-centered rudeness proved that we are back where we came from, and not with the friendly Midwesterners with whom we spent the last several days.

-k-

The Long and Winding Toll Road

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The Search for America Tour finds us in Fremont IN, safe, but tired. This particular SfAT is powered by Cadillac STS, a firehouse red, Northstar V8 powered Capitalistic Car if there ever was one. Man, I can’t believe the instrumentation on this rig. A variably heavy rain fell as we navigated the Pennsylvania Turnpike; the wipers were smart enough to adjust their speed, based on the amount and density of the rain that was falling. Impressive. XM radio and On-Star are in the package, along with several buttons I haven’t pushed yet. Gotta save some fun for later.

We left from Virginia, through Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, on into Eastern Indiana. I never realized that the majority of the miles would be travelled on toll roads. From the Dulles Greenway to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, to the Ohio Turnpike, to the Indiana Toll Road, we’ve been on them all. To the tune of 25 bucks or so thus far. I never have much nice to say about Maryland, but it was the only state where a toll collector’s hand wasn’t out. I don’t mind toll roads on principle; I don’t like the Jersey walls, and the lack of predictable eateries in the “service plazas” resulted in a degradation in the quality of our migratory foraging. So much so, that I’m contemplating missing the toll roads altogether on the return trip; this at a cost of 70 miles, and an hour of drive time.

Ohio was beautiful; there was some amazing rural scenery I’d love to have photographed, but no place to get off the road to take any pictures.Hopefully the southern route will render some photo ops that we can seize.

On to Chicago tomorrow; we’re 150 miles out, and trying to time the trip to miss the worst of the congestion on the Dan Ryan. If that’s possible.

-k-

Satisfaction Surveys

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I wrote about our new set of wheels a few posts back. It’s my little bride’s car1; I’d have chosen something different for me, but she seems tickled, and that’s all right. I have no complaints about price, terms, or payments. And it is a fine looking rig.

Today at work, I got a call on my office phone. The perky caller explained that she was calling to get my reaction to the sales experience at Saturn of Sterling. I told her I was incredibly busy, and this wasn’t a good time. She said she’d try back later.

Fifteen minutes later, my cell phone rang. and yet another equally perky caller said she was calling to get my reaction to the sales experience. Muttering, I thought I may as well bite the bullet and get this obligatory ritual over with.

Five rankings, rated on a scale of 1-10, on how happy I was. By now thoroughly steamed that a lackluster, frustrating workday had been interrupted, I walked outside to have a smoke, and tell this person what I thought. The highest score SoS got on any of the questions was 4. When asked about the service department, I gave it a 1. I had to recap the story of how SoS “service” failed to notice two brake lights out on a service visit, which led to my getting rear-ended on the Fairfax County Parkway a year or so back. And then their lame excuse when asked Isn’t checking brake lights included in service?, which was Well, duh, if you ask; we get kinda busy. It was at this point that I mentioned it would be a cold day someplace before I’d go back to the service department with the older car.

And then, about the delivery process; I noted the lateness of the hour that the car was delivered, and said that we came back the next day to finish some details. No big deal. I then pointed out SoS’s tragic inattention to detail; e.g.:

  • The window sticker said floor mats are standard; we’re still without floormats.
  • We received no instructions on how to activate the On-Star service.
  • We didn’t get an ID for the XM radio, so we can add that to our existing XM plan, if we so desire.

Based on our experience, would I recommend SoS to friends/family/acquaintances? Answer: 2.

They didn’t ask me how I felt about having my workday interrupted twice. They may as well have asked, “What’s the smallest negative integer?”.

-k-
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1 At least as far as the driving thereof is concerned.