Random Monday

     The good news is that I got my car working again.  The bad news is, thanks to computers, it could have been fixed last week.  All that was really wrong was that it needed a new battery.  However, changing the battery can screw up the on-board computer causing it to go into a “limp home” mode.  What this does is make it so you can’t use the gas pedal.  It just doesn’t work.  You have to drive around at idle.

     However, if you leave the car sitting around for two hours or so then the computer either resets itself or gathers enough data to get it back into the swing of the things.

     So, in theory, I have a working car again.  I just don’t know how much I can trust it.

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     I haven’t gotten a winning Dr Pepper in a while.  I think I know why.  I think someone’s been counting my trips to the Dr Pepper machine.  After I go there five times, I think this person goes to the machine and takes the sixth, winning, Dr Pepper.

     I need to stake out the machine after I buy five and catch the bastard stealing my winning caps.

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     Watching old TV shows is kind of like a hobby to me.  Last night I watched the pilot episode of a show called “Due South.”  It’s about a Canadian Mountie who’s father is killed.  This Mountie then goes to Chicago to find out who killed him and why.  It’s a good show, and I enjoyed it when it was on TV in the 1990’s. 

     It’s amazing to see how different things are now.  In this pilot episodes a guy actually goes to use a payphone.  Can you believe that?  In a phone booth.  Wow.

Day of the Viper

I’m the type of person who doesn’t like to test drive cars for the fun of it.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy it, I do.  I worry that I’ll enjoy it so much that I’ll want whatever it is I’m driving. If it’s something that I wouldn’t be able to get then I’ll feel miserable about.

So, when my brother-in-law came by and held out his hand, dangling the keys to his Dodge Viper, and said, “You wanna take her for a spin?” I was as surprised as anyone when I grabbed the keys and yelled back, “Sure! Thanks! Bye!”

Getting into the Viper proved to be a bit difficult.  For one thing,

the seat doesn’t go back very far.  Another is that the door sill is kind of wide and the seats are well bolstered.  Finally, I have gigantic feet and getting them into any car can be a hassle.  Oddly enough, the Viper has manual seat controls but the pedals are electrically adjustable. 

One of my fears about driving the Viper would be that I’d give it too much gas.  Like, when reversing down the driveway.  I had a mental image of barely touching the petal and having loads of smoke appear while I did a kind of bootlegger turn onto the street.  Luckily, it’s quite easy to drive.  Just give it a little gas and let up on the clutch and it was happy as anything just to get moving.

Getting it out onto the open road was an experience.  When I say “open,” of course, I mean on the highway where all the traffic lights are.  People crane to look at you while you’re stuck next to them waiting for the light to turn green.  In traffic.  But if you’re lucky enough to get some clear space, boy, this baby can move.  You feel yourself pushed back into the seat. 

What I found amazing was how easy it was to drive.  It was ready to move when you were, but in traffic it was kind and gentle.  I found the seats to be really comfortable, but then I like sports cars more than I like luxury vehicles.  I didn’t mind the cramped space or

the ride (which wasn’t all that harsh).  Shifting was easy.  The only real problem I had was because of my gigantic feet.  I kept goosing the gas while my foot was on the brake at the light.  This wasn’t a problem while I was driving, though.

I’m sure could handle corners like a slot car on rails. I didn’t get a chance to try that out, though.  I was kind of forbidden to get wild on the few corners I encountered.  Making regular turns, though, was like riding with Automan – flat. 

I only drove it for about 45 minutes, but there wasn’t a whole I didn’t like about it.  The wind noise wasn’t bad even when you’re at

speed (again, I like sports cars).  You could hear the stereo.  You could even here my scream of pain when I rested my wrist on the metal ring around the gear shift.  That sucker gets hot when it’s out in the sun.

The funny thing about doing something that you find fun and exciting is that it’s the only thing on your mind for hours to come.  It sort of impedes on conversations, though.

Checkout Girl:  Did you find everything you were loo-
Me: I drove a Viper today!
Checkout Girl: Uh…
Me: A real one!  Not a video game one!
Checkout Girl: Well… Isn’t that special for you?
Me: Yeah!  A Viper!

Surely, it was a wonderful present for the Fourth of July. 

How To Be Crushed

Way back when I had heard Dodge was going to be showing the Challenger concept at one of the auto shows. I was kind of

interested because Chrysler was pretty good about bringing their concept cars to the road. The Viper and Prowler being good examples here.

Then I saw what the prototype Challenger looked like and I became even more interested. It was a distant sibling to the original Challenger, much like the Mustang is with its 1965 relative.

I wasn’t too excited because I still remembered what the 1999 Charger prototype looked like.

When it became known that the 2008 Challenger would look very close to the prototype, well, then I became excited. I figured it would be like the good old days and it would compete with the Ford Mustang and the new Chevy Camaro. A relatively inexpensive, relatively powerful triad. How great would that be?

On a lark, I went to Dodge’s web site and saw that they finally had the Challenger listed as one of their cars. I clicked on it and saw what the price was going to be.

I was crushed. Completely crushed. Not that I ever had a chance to get one, mind you. But now I saw that I would be so far out of the running of ever getting one, there was no reason to even dream about having one. Not for another ten years or so when, maybe, I could buy one used at an affordable price.

So, if you’re looking to buy a Challenger you’ll be looking at an MSRP of $40,000.00. Well beyond a Ford Mustang GT Premium, which weighs in at $27,260. Judging by the specs of the Challenger, though, it looks like they’re going to go after the Mustang Cobra’s.

What a bummer.

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