I'm a gearhead.  I like cars, I like playing with cars, I used to be able to tell what car was coming just by hearing it two blocks away.  Of course back then, some cars were noisier than cars are today.  I have never owned a car that lasted less than 10 years....until now.  I have a 1999 Buick Century.  It was bought because it seated 6 people in a pinch and I was not going to buy a minivan or a truck (SUV).   As much as people think bigger is safer, I have lots of argument that the higher center of gravity, the extra weight and the lack of manditory crash protection equipment make them much less safe.   I also wanted a car with a big trunk and was a comfortable cruiser for long highway trips.  Bang for the buck, the Buick had it in spades over any Camry/Accord/Altima/Jetta out there.   Okay, it didn't handle anywhere near a sports car.  But I wasn't looking for a sports car.  It certainly handled better than any minivan or truck and got better mileage too.

 

Most of my friends think I'm a staunch defender of N. American cars.  I've always owned American cars.  Truth is, I had no reason to think they were trash.  They were always fine for what I needed of them.  American cars were never as bad as made them out to be and most of the import cars were never as good as many made them out to be.   I'm even thinking, I got to 112mph on the highway in a Chevy Vega with bias ply tires before and can only wonder what I was thinking back then.   If anything had happened, I wouldn't be around today.  But alas, I at least made it to midlife crisis age.  That's a topic for another day.  Anyways, the Buick started coughing and sputtering and is obviously very sick....and nobody knows how to fix it.  Nobody knows what is causing it.  With all the computer stuff built into the car, there's no engine code to say what is wrong.  You'd think somebody would know something.  This happened with my friend Steve's GM minivan too.  Coincidentally, it has the same engine in it.  After spending gobs of money trying to resolve the problem, Steve just got rid of the minivan and bought a.....Toyota.   So the Buick isn't 10 years old yet.  It does not appear anything mechanically is wrong with the motor.  No oil leaks, good cylinder compression, no blue smoke to indicate burning oil, plugs and wires all look good, the car was regularly serviced and well maintained.  Stay tuned.....

 

With the Buick problems, it was time to start looking at cars again.   Midsize sedans (saloons for your Brits).   Big enough to seat 5 (preferrably 6 if possible) and a big enough trunk to hold our camping gear.   So far we've looked at the Nissan Altima, the Volkswagon Passat, the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.   Now like most people, I can think of something wrong with every one of those cars.  So anybody  that reads this, let's be constructive, tell me why one car is better than the other.  Let's not point out the faults.....like VW's reputation of electronics reliability (or lack thereof).   GM is off the list as they've done everything they can to lose this regular customer and though I find their latest offering of cars greatly improved, they still have an entire culture to turnaround.  I'm very leery of buying a Honda because of my experience of shopping for a Fit just last month.  Of the cars we've driven so far, the VW Passat is by far the favorite of my wife.  We're in the $25K-35K CDN range.   We'll even consider used so cars like a 4 year old BMW 528 or Volvo S60 are of interest.  Others we are interested are the Subaru Legacy wagon or sedan, and I don't know what else.   But this is what has been occupying my mind lately.

 

Also, last week, I completed another trip around the sun.  My friends who remembered my birthday (and I fully understand if you forgot) made sure I had a good time -  Even those in my office, as I found balloons and streamers all over my office on Monday.   I got fat because I took advantage of all those free meal birthday coupons.  Let's see.  There's Red Robins,  Denny's , Pajo's fish n chips,  and of course, my parent's place.  My birthday fell on Chinese New Years this year so we killed two stones with one bird.   Alice got me an iPod Shuffle for my birthday.  It is such a neat toy.  I can plug 300 songs into my car!  I don't think I can listen to that many songs in a single sitting.  Derrick got me this great book of photographs by Fred Herzog, who happens to have an exhibit at the Vancouver art gallery right now.

 

In other news, Linda seems to be doing okay and I keep her in my prayers as she continues to fight the cancer.  My surgery to fix my back has been rescheduled to happen in May.   That's much better than July or August.    I'm all excited about taking pictures at my friend John's wedding then my trip to visit Las Vegas and attending AMVIV.  Over 300 MINI drivers are going to be there.  Maybe even 400 by the time AMVIV starts.

 

Thanks for checking in.

 

 

 

 

 

It's been busy.  The other week it was Dana's birthday and I forgot to send her birthday greetings.  Sorry, Dana.  Then the other night it was Park's birthday and also James' birthday.  So happy birthday to Park and James.  Strangely enough, I was best man at both Park's wedding and James' wedding.  No...they did not get married on the same day.  February is a birthday crazed month.  Wait until next week on to early March.  There's Marcus, Boaz, Roger, Ryan, Rosanno, Larry and yours truly.

 

My surgery is getting bumped up to sometime in May.  I will be stuck at home for 6 weeks after surgery.  Hopefully by July, I will be up and around and able to take pictures at David and Lisa's wedding.  David is the founder of Westcoast Fieros of BC.   He is a real Fiero nut and also rather knowledgeable about personal computers and small networks.  So if you need anything to do with computers, contact David.  He's trying to make a business of it, but like me, we're both not very good businessmen.  Unlike me, I have a degree in Computer Sciences and everybody thinks I'm an expert in all things computers (which I'm definitely not).  David has few if any certifications and he knows a whole lot more than me.  I've been bitten by the MAC bug.  David avoids MACs like the plague (not sure if he'll appreciate that comment....).   I deal with software and business systems (read BIG computer programs) and business processes, David can deal with the hardware.  So if you're looking at some PC support, give David a call.

 

Also, my buddy John is marrying a wonderful woman name Anna on Valentine's day.  They invited a whole ton of guests but very few will make the trip to Cabos San Lucas for the wedding.  They're having a reception in March when they get back.  I've been asked to take a few pictures at that event also. 

 

With the exception of 2006, I have taken pictures at at least one wedding every year since 1978.  I thought last year was the beginning of my semi-professional photography retirement but was wrong.   I must work too cheap.

 

Last week, my friend Shirley bought a new car.  She bought a Honda.  I'm a real MINI crazed nut and would recommend anybody needing a small commuter car to consider a MINI.  Reality is, given the amount of standard equipment on the car, it is very good value.  MINI has also set a very high standard in customer treatment by an auto manufacturer.  But most people will look at the opening pricetag and go wow!  But for the price of Mazda3 GT, or a loaded Honda Civic, you get and entry level MINI with more standard and safety equipment then either of the Japanese offerings.  Now getting back to Shirley's story.  Like the MINI, Honda has little or no trouble selling their cars.  But I believe Honda dealers have gotten arrogant.  Much like the American car companies in the 80's.   They conspire to make want more and that you go away unhappy.  Especially if you hand out your money too fast.  Shirley needed a car real fast as her old one was about to get scrapped.  If she didn't scrap it, she might have been driving her car like the Flintstones.   The bottom had just about rusted out.  Unfortunately for Shirley, she had a tight budget, and no time to shop around.  Then she also wanted a silver car with automatic transmission and decided she wanted a Honda Fit.  She called around and one dealer said they had one in stock so wouldn't have to wait and none of the Honda dealers would arrange a trade.  So she was stuck with one dealer.   To get her down there, the salesguy said he would throw in floor mats.  Really strange, the base Honda Fit comes with absolutely nothing.  No floor mats, no cargo cover, no inside mirror adjustment for the outside mirrors, no etc etc etc.   So Shirley goes down for a test drive.  Salesguy very indignant and rather rude.  Shirley wanted the car so she puts money down (big mistake) and signs a purchase order.  Then the sales guy adds the extras and charges her for absolutely everything, floor mats, cargo cover, touch-up paint and Shirley had to make a scene.   She also added that I had to go inspect the car.  So I go down the next day to have a look.  Saleman would not even shake my hand.   Other things I noted, he contradicted himself on a few things he told me, would not even give up a $5 touch-up paint pen, yells at Shirley saying he wasted so much time on her to make the sale.   I would have walked and dragged Shirley out kicking and screaming if she hadn't already signed the purchase order.  The car was fine....except I noted the panel gaps were not as even as they used to be....Honda quality starting to slip?  So Shirley had to pay for floor mats and a touch-up paint stick of which, I noted Honda's accessories were more expensive than MINI's.   So when Shirley picked up her dealer prepped car the next week, she was supposed to have feel like she was really happy and the Honda dealer gave her a gift basket of food she was allergic to and a car wash kit certainly worth more than a paint stick.   Also, the saleman that was so rude and arrogant was not there to deliver the car.  Shirley should be happy with the car, but I'm not going to buy a Honda.  I don't need the stress.

 

Thanks for reading.