I’ve always been a car guy. My first word was “car”. Really. So, of course, I had lots of toy cars. Something like 150 Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars.
I always liked the Matchbox cars better because they were more realistic. After all, who ever saw a car with an engine towering out of the hood, sitting at a 10 degree angle with enormous slicks hangin out of the back. Now, I’m all for a wild hot rod, but come on, let’s get real. Those kind of hot rod toy cars bugged me because they just aren’t possible.
I stand corrected.
Watch this Honda Civic CRX with a big block V8 and learn. Big Daddy Roth would be proud.
Hat tip: Autoblog. Oh, and there’s another video walk around of this thing here.

As a car guy, I get a lot of folks coming to me for car advice. I like being asked and I give out advice. This past weekend, however, it was pointed out how ironic it was that I seem to have cars with issues. I got to thinking about this, and it is disturbing. Consider:
Cars that were completely my choice:

• 1980 Chevy Monza It was related to the Vega, what more needs to be said? I will add, however, the driver’s door that tended to want to fall off, the heat that failed to work when my wife (then girlfriend) was in the car and the starter that tended to keep running even after the key was completely removed from the ignition.
• 1988 Nissan Pulsar SE Next car after the Monza, it was a money pit. Tended to eat tires and exhaust systems. Spent $5,000 (plus the payments) over 3 years to keep it running and needed struts, tires, exhaust and a steering rack when we traded it in.
• 1992 Saturn SL2 Didn’t have it very long, but found out right after we bought it (warranty had just expired) that it was going through a quart of oil every 1,500 miles.
• 1999 Honda OdysseyTwo new transmissions in 5 years and 90,000 miles. Currently have a sliding door needing repair.
  $0.360 per mile so far (plus insurance) over 5 years and 90,000 miles. (That’s dropping now that it’s paid off.)
• 2005 Mazda3 So far so good mechanically, but it did just spend a week in the shop to correct some defects in the body work, mostly in the area that was repaired by the dealer before I bought it.
  $0.425 per mile so far after 6 months and 8,000 miles.

Cars that were not completely my choice:

• 1988 Chevy Nova I helped my wife pick this one before we were married. If it were me, I would have picked something else, something more fun. It was generally a very good car. Over 3-4 years it needed only a clutch master cylinder until the head gasket went at about 130,000 miles.
• 1988 Dodge Caravan A gift from Dad. It was not reliable, but given the price we paid I can’t complain. We did put in a rebuilt engine and transmission, fuel pump, AC compressor and radiator.
• 1988 Chevy Celebrity A beater for a time of financial challenges, it came with a loan payoff as a trade for the Saturn. It too blew a head gasket in the short time we had it.
• 1988 Subaru Wagon Lot of 88’s, eh? A freebie beater for my paper route, a woman in church was going to junk it. Broken timing belt and regular infusions of anti-freeze was all it needed while in my possession. Donated to charity when it died of what I think was another broken timing belt.
• 1993 Ford Escort Boring but bulletproof, it was the lesser of available evils (Escort or Tempo? Ugh, Escort I guess.) when we went to trade that lemon Nissan. 10 years and 160,000 miles with only a bad intake manifold gasket as far repairs go.
  $0.185 per mile to drive for 10 years & 160,000 miles.

I wish I had costs per mile on the other cars, but I don’t.
I did the research, the Pulsar was supposed to be a good car, according to Consumer Reports, the only real source available at the time. Ditto on the Odyssey, although I honestly relied a lot on Honda’s reputation. I had low expectations for the Escort, but was real desperate to get out of that Pulsar. Only the Nova (and the Celebrity and Subaru beaters) really lived up to my expectations, except for the head gasket. I seem to remember that blown head gaskets on high mileage 4 cylinder cars were more common 10 – 12 years ago, but maybe that’s just cognitive dissonance.
So, what do you think, am I car choice challenged?

Drifting is a relatively new motorsport that’s sort of a combination of reckless abandon, ballet and road racing. Anyone who’s ever run out in the snow just to go do donuts in the mall parking lot or drove the minivan around the back of Wal-mart with the kids while the wife was picking up milk to do some 4 wheel drifts with the parking brake in the snow … What, no one else does that?
Anyway, anyone ever done a donut in the snow and smiled can understand the appeal of piloting a car around a track mostly sideways. Of course, if you’re good you still end up chewing up some expensive tires and throwing stones on your paint. If you’re not good? Well, it could get decidedly more expensive.
This is the cheaper way. All you need is a Playstation 2 and Grand Turismo 4. Then you can practice your drifting in a whole variety of cars, most of which you’ll never be able to afford, and replay the video of yourself. If you practice a lot, you might be as good as this guy. Very cool and fun to watch, check it out.
Via Autoblog

Autoblog asks has the Harlequin Golf returned? What’s a Harlequin Golf? That’s one there at the right. Not some redneck assembly of junkyard parts, these were actually made this way. Here’s the deal:

.. these cars … feature body panels painted in Pistachio Green, Ginster Yellow, Tornado Red, and Chagall Blue. Building four single-color cars and then exchanging their body panels was how these Harlequins were produced, and Volkswagen did this for approximately 275 cars that were sold in the U.S. as 1996 models. A Harlequin model’s rocker panels, rear quarter panels and roof reveal its original color.

I love oddball rare cars like this. There’s a certain appeal to a rare, low production car. I had never heard of the Harlequin Golf, but I think it’s pretty cool.
What got Autoblog wondering was the new VW comercial announcing the return of the VW Rabbit in the US. The Rabbit was the original US name for what the world knew as the ‘Golf’. It became the Golf here as well in generation 2 and now with the introduction of generation 5, it’s back to the Rabbit. In the commercial, a white Rabbit and a black Rabbit go into a tunnel, evidently do what Rabbits do, and come out with several grey Rabbits trailing behind, including a multicolored white/grey/black one.
Check out the Harlequin Golf registry and the Harlequin Golf photo page (with the Harlequin Beetle from Mexico and the Harlequin Polo that started it all in Europe.) too.

Virusdoc asked what I thought about my new Mazda3 after nearly 3 months of ownership. Rather than replying in the comments there, I thought I’d write a little ‘review’.
First things first, I absolutely love the car. It’s a joy to look at, inside and out, and to drive. I’ve put on about 4,200 miles in 2.5 months and have not had any major problems with it to date. The kids think it’s cool and want to go everywhere in it, but when it’s all 5 of us we still take the Odyssey. Three kids in the back seat of a compact car is just too much temptation for discord. They love having their own power window button (the Escort had cranks), the interior lights that fade on and off and the fact that it greets you with a jaunty ‘Hello!’ on the radio when you start it up.
Here’s what I like:

• Looks
  There’s no car on the road, particularly in this price range, that is more distinctive that the Mazda3, particularly the 5 door. I love not seeing another car like mine every day, sometimes not even every week. It’s a little ironic, since everyone seems to love this car. People that I didn’t think cared 2 hoots about cars have commented on it, yet few are buying. Go figure.
• Performance
  In this case it’s mostly handling since acceleration, though more than adequate, is not it’s strong suit. But it’s more than just handling, its the feel of the steering, the crisp & precise shifter and the raspy snarl of the exhaust. This is a micro-wagon with attitude.
• Interior
  The interior of this car makes it feel more expensive than it is. Just the right textures and fabrics, pleasing shapes, well thought out part lines, complete instrument lighting (including the steering wheel buttons & driver’s door controls), tilt and telescoping wheel and on and on. There are tons of storage compartments inside as well, pockets in all 4 doors, 6 cup holders, a double storage compartment in the console and a 2 tier glove box big enough for an 8.5 x 11 notebook.
  Additionally, I love the airbag design. Maybe this is common to all new cars, I don’t know. My 1999 Odyssey has a single stage airbag designed for a 200+ pound, unbelted male. My wife is 4′ 10″ and well under 200 pounds. She sits very close to the wheel, so I pulled the plug on the airbag. In the 3, not only does the telescoping wheel let her get the airbag farther away, it has a dual stage design that deploys with less force based on seat position. On the passenger side, the airbag turns itself off it there is no passenger or if it senses a passenger lighter than something like 70 pounds. That means when it’s just me and the 3 girls, the 9 or 11 year old (they’re both about the same size) can ride up front in safety.
• Hatchback Design
  I love hatchbacks. Since I’ve been buying cars I’ve owned four: 1980 Chevy Monza, 1988 Nissan Pulsar, 1993 Escort and now the 3 . You get a sportier look and the versatility of those flip down seats when you need to carry something big. With the 3, though, Mazda went a few steps beyond. The cargo cover is hinged in the center allowing access to the trunk from the back seat. The cargo area has 6 or 8 tie down hooks for securing cargo. Under the cargo floor is a shallow tray with recesses for the jack handle and lug wrench plus two other compartments, one just right for my snow scraper. That carpeted floor board is two pieces which can be removed and arrayed in several ways to divide the cargo area, great for keeping your gallons of milk or pot luck dish from careening across the trunk on the way home. Very well done.

There’s a lot to love, but there are a few disappointments:

• Wipers
  On the 2004-2005, there’s no variable intermittent for the front wipers. You do get intermittent, just one speed. That’s the same as the old Escort and I was looking forward to an enhancement there. The 2006 has it, but there’s no way to add it to the 2004-2005, it’s been tried.
• Economy
  Actually, it’s really not too bad I do probably 75% – 80% highway driving, usually at around 70 MPH. Over the 4,200 miles I’ve averaged 27.8 MPG. I’ve had a high of 30 and a low of 24 . The EPA ratings are 26 & 32, so I’m not too far off. The disappointment comes in comparison to the Escort, admittedly a different kind of car. In 10 years, I got as low as 18 and as high as 42, averaging 31.5. In hindsight, I wish I would have at least driven a Mazda3i, only available in the 4 door. It only gives up 10 ponies but has EPA ratings of 28 & 35. By contrast, however, the new Honda Civic, with 20 HP less than my 5 door, has EPA ratings of 30 & 38, but it wouldn’t be nearly this fun or versatile.
• Aero Flares
  If I had ordered this car, I wouldn’t have gotten the aero flares. It’s $500 option that adds 4 small painted plastic bits to the bumpers, 2 at each end. If you check the photos you can see them, under the fog lights in front and under the side marker in the rear. You have to look hard to notice them, which is one reason I don’t like them. $500 is a lot of money for something most folk won’t know is there. But worse, they don’t fit well at all. They gap away from the bumper in various places. I’m going to bring this up at my first service appointment, and maybe even see if they can be removed.
• License Plate
  The knuckleheads at the dealer missed the big molded in divot for drilling the license plate holes on one side, so my rear plate is crooked. Not Mazda’s fault and hopefully, for the dealer’s sake, it can be fixed without replacing the entire bumper. As long as the two holes don’t intersect and the mis-drilled hole does not show, I’m OK with just re-drilling.

All in all, pretty minor complaints and I love the car, no regrets at all. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a unique, versatile, good looking, fun to drive and reasonably economical car.

For the gearhead readers. Have you done any bonehead things while workign on your car (or tractor or??)? Autoblog is looking for submissions here, inspired by Car Craft magazine’s Stupid Gearhead Stories. Here’s my submission:

Oh boy. Let’s see.
1 – Dad’s ’80 Citation had a bad clutch safety switch, so I occasionally started it by shorting across the starter with a screwdriver. This involved placing my arm between the radiator and the engine past the elbow. One time I forgot to take it out of gear. Thankfully it was in reverse, so I didn’t get run over when it started. I managed to get in it and stop it in the neighbor’s front yard before it got to their living room.
2 – Putting a clutch in my ’80 Chevy Monza, my friend put the clutch disc in backwards. He, my Dad and I spent something like 4-6 hours trying to get that tranny in before we finally took the bell housing off, despite my friend’s protests that he was sure it was in right.
3 – My ’76 Camaro was dead in the driveway and I wanted to get to in the garage to find out why. The problem was there was no one home to help. No problem for a teenager. I just put the Camaro in neutral and used Dad’s ’77 Cutlass to push it up the driveway. The right turn into the garage did present a little problem, but by pushing it a little, stopping, cranking the wheel on the Camaro, letting it roll back a little, cranking the wheel the other way and then pushing a little more, I was doing fine. Until Mom and Dad got home. They were not impressed with my creativity.
I’m sure there are more, but I don’t remember them now.

Anyone else got a story to share?

The life of a car is interesting, at least to me. When new, even the lowliest Hyundai or Kia has a certain appeal. After all, it’s new, it’s under warranty the odometer has all those zeros and it has that new car smell. But depending on the car and it’s appeal, the novelty wears off. For some cars it wears off faster than others, but somewhere between 10 and 15 years old, it’s just plain junk. No one wants it, except for the most desirable of the desirable. Later, between 20 and 25 years old, the nostalgia factor starts kicking in and most cars start to appreciate.
So there’s a no man’s land in the 15-20 year old zone where no one cares if the car disappears from the roadways forever. (Although in the latest issue of Auto Restorer magazine, someone wrote in for restoration tips on their 1984 Ford Escort. Huh?)
In the light of this consider the following sights on the Columbus highways on my way to work and back in the past couple of weeks:

• Early 80’s Chevy Cavalier Hatchback The first few years of the cavalier were the last few of America’s first love with the hatchback. The Cavalier hatch didn’t last long as hatches went out of fashion until just recently.
• Mid 80’s Cadillac Cimmaron Basically a 4 door Cavalier with leather seats and and a Caddy crest on the front.
• Late 70’s Ford Thunderbird This one is actually on the upswing into collect ability. Still odd to see driving around as someone’s daily driver.
• Mid 80’s Yugo GV Wow, there’s still one running!
• 3-5 year old Ford Explorer with a giant “Iron Maiden” sticker on the back. OK, it’s not an old car, but seriously, Iron Maiden? Someone is still enthused enough about Iron Maiden to put a 4 foot long sticker on the back of their SUV?

I felt like I was in High School again.

Despite all the good, sound financial advice to the contrary, I bought a new car. I admit that this was at least 90% emotional and maybe 10% practical, but I now have a new 2005 Mazda3 5 Door. I was able to get the finances arranged so that we still have only one payment, it’s about the same as the van payment was and we’ll be done paying about the same time as if I had waited until the van was paid off. It’s a load of fun to drive, easy on the eyes, quick, taught and did I mention a hoot to drive? This car is everything the old Escort (sheepishly hiding behind the newcomer) was not. Hopefully this one will also be quite a few things the Escort was – pretty frugal, reliable and dependable. Being a 2005 meant a little more room to negotiate the price, but having a friend working in the marketing department of the dealer didn’t hurt either. In fact, he did all the bargaining for me, playing hard nose with his own co-workers on my behalf!
It’s got only two options, a CD changer and the ‘Appearance Package I’ which includes those add on things at the bottom corners of each bumper (look again, they’re there). I didn’t care about either, what I did care about was it being a stick shift. This was the last 2005 stick 5 door in the state (I looked). The 5 door Mazda3 only comes in the high end S trim, so it comes with a bunch of stuff anyway, power windows and locks, keyless entry, steering wheel controls, AC, a CD radio, etc. Plenty of goodies.
The most important stuff, thought, is the bigger 2.3 liter 4 cylinder engine putting out 160 HP and the independent suspension and the 17″ wheels and tires. They add up to go-cart like responses and a fun snarl when driven hard. I’ve been longing for a car like this ever since I traded my fun loving, but junk, Nissan Pulsar NX on that Escort. I feel as though I’ve done my time in the economy car, now it’s time for some fun.
I’m not a new car kind of guy, in fact this is my first new car. I subscribe to the “let some other guy take the depreciation hit” theory. But these Mazdas hold their value very well, so that’s not as big an issue with this car as it would be with others. It being new will also give us some more breathing room when it’s paid off to stretch our van a few more years if we want.
It was a good weekend..