Cars
It all started long ago, in a far away place....
I would play with toy cars when in grade school, moved up to
building model cars when in junior high (still played with the toy
cars, though). By the time I could legally drive, I was more than
ready for some wheels. But it was also more than just play. I spent
way too much of my allowance on car magazines. Stuff like Road &
track, Car & Driver were (and still are) read cover to cover. Some
of those magazines were cut up, and pictures of great and glorious
cars were pasted to the walls of the bedroom. Fantasies of driving
Ferraris' and Porches danced through my young head (heck, they still
do).
When I started earning my own way in the world, I discovered that
the great cars cost great amounts of money. So the never ending
search for the best performance for the money started. And always
tempered by an inculcated sense of duty and responsibility wholly
attributable to my parents, I chose mostly reasonable cars.
But all that changed in 1997, I declared that I'd waited long
enough for a sports car, so I bought one. Proving that I've yet to
totally shed the fiscally and socially responsible side of myself, I
bought a true 'tree hugger' type sports car, the beautiful
Subaru
SVX LSi. That's the image at the top. I owned one from 1997 till
2002, when I decided I needed a four door.
 |
While a practical four door is nice, I still wanted AWD and good
performance. So I got an
Audi A6 2.7T Quattro
In 2005, the A6 lease was up and I decided that while Audi's are
very nice cars, they are also quite heavy and pricey.
|
Therefore, reverting back to the tree-hugger roots, I got another
Subaru. This time, the new for '05 Legacy GT with 250 HP and great
styling. Since stealth and practicality are important to me, I got
the
GT Wagon Limited in Silver.
While the Legacy GT is an awesome car, handling better than many
sports cars, it was a bit on the loud side. To much tire and road
noise for a 3hr a day commute.
So after two years of increasing ear fatigue and a significant
bout of tinnitus, in early 2007 I decided it was time for something
quieter. So once again, an AWD four door sedan was selected.
This time the
Acura RL. Here's a
great thread on why I chose the RL.
The 2007 Acura RL w/tech package is an ideal vehicle for my
needs, as it features AWD with the innovative SuperHandling torque
steering in the rear. It has tech gadgets galore, and is the right
size (smaller than the A6 and Lexus GS), while having one of the
best interiors in the bracket. Fuel economy has turned out great as
well, at 22 to 23 MPG on my 100 mile daily commute (that includes
stop-an-go traffic for 40% of the trip). And, it's a ULEV as well
Another cool feature of the RL is a great audio system that features active
noise canceling technology.
As nice as the RL is, what I really, really wanted
to buy was a car once shown as a prototype in 2001. The beautiful
Honda DualNote hybrid, combining a V6 as well as electrics for a
hybrid with SH-AWD.
The wife's ride is an '04 Subaru WRX Wagon with 5MT, as she
loves manuals. We have a lot fun driving around the mountains of
north Georgia in these vehicles.
And just to disprove my friends and families fears that I'd do the
usual car-nut thing and never keep a vehicle very long, I also have
a 1984 Mazda B2000 SE-5 pickup truck that I bought new in 1984!
After 25 years, it's still ruining strong with only 65K miles on the
clock.