View From The Porch: Stranded.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Stranded.

So, noticing that the 8" of snow on the lawn had subsided a bit from melting and sublimation, Ma Nature dropped another three inches of global warming on us to freshen our drink, so to speak, with another three-to-five called for on Monday/Tuesday. Which also happen to be New Year's Eve/New Year's Day.

Could there be a worse time to need to get a roadster on summer sport tires (and which won't idle well) to a small independent garage?

It's looking like a tow truck on Wednesday is how this is going to work.

Bleh.

I'm seriously thinking about just buying something cheap, practical, and FWD and letting the Roadster Era draw to a close, and I don't like thinking like that, because that's when you start getting old.

75 comments:

Matthew Walker said...: You could think of the practical one as a bug out vehicle. That made it easier for me.; 7:44 AM, December 30, 2012
Dave Sherman said...: In the upper midwest (MN and WI anyway), we buy a cheap front-wheel-drive "beater" to be used in the winter, and store the nice sports car in the garage. Best of both worlds.; 7:50 AM, December 30, 2012
og said...: And there are some smoking hot front wheel drive vehicles.; 7:51 AM, December 30, 2012
Wolfman said...: This is why I've always driven obscenely large trucks.; 8:02 AM, December 30, 2012
Anonymous said...: Spend $750 on winter tires + steel wheels from Tire Rack. Then spend another $100 on chains for true SHTF winter emergencies.

My RWD BMW 135i coupe gets me around in the wintertime without issue.; 8:10 AM, December 30, 2012
Anonymous said...: You could also locate an AWD "roadster". Or do what Anon suggested and get some good snow tires. A few hundred pounds of ammo in the trunk will help keep the drive wheels on the ground.; 8:19 AM, December 30, 2012
Lupis42 said...: You could always locate an AWD "roadster", or follow Anon's suggestion and invest in some winter tires. Adding a few hundred pounds of ammo to the trunk will help keep those drive wheels planted too.; 8:21 AM, December 30, 2012
Roberta X said...: ^^^^^^^^ Old. ;); 8:34 AM, December 30, 2012
Will said...: Rather than a FWD, consider looking for an AWD. I suspect you would be happier with it, as the handling should be closer to a RWD.
A 4 cyl turbo AWD would keep the fun in driving, plus better handling of that glowbull warmening stuff that's falling out of the sky.
(Does Audi make turbo 6's and 8's?)

My father started playing with turbo Fiats in his 60's, then moved to turbo AWD Talons in his 70's, when my sister gave him her car. He quit driving all his Talons when he couldn't fold up enough to fit into the cars, at near 80. (Then complained that his 4.L 4x4 Ranger only had a top end of 116mph, compared to the Talon's 140mph.); 8:42 AM, December 30, 2012
Bob said...: Look on the bright side: they don't make Oldsmobiles any more. It's not like you're going to be hunched behind the wheel of your 98 with only your blue hair and your dowager's hump showing.; 8:42 AM, December 30, 2012
Joseph said...: I see a Subaru in your future. Myself, I'd love to have one, but I'm not an asshole or a lesbian, so I'm restricted from having one.; 8:46 AM, December 30, 2012
NAVIGATOR said...: TAMARA

TIME DISTANCE SPEED POSITION ARE RELATIVE

IS THAT ANY HELP O ANCIENT OF DAYS ?

INVEST IN THE SNOW CHAINS KEEP THE AMMO
WHERE YOU CAN REACH IT; 8:51 AM, December 30, 2012
Ken O said...: Jeep. Best of both worlds. Small, fun, convertible and snow/off road capable.; 8:54 AM, December 30, 2012
Stranger said...: Three inches on top of crusted snow is a problem for any vehicle. A FWD winter driver is one very practical solution.

But showing your age is when you leave the roadster set? Young people rarely buy clothtops. Most of that set leave the top up so their polished sconce or blue hair will not blind other drivers - and defeat their purpose. So leaving the folding top set is not a sign of old age.

Buying a Cavalier and driving centered on the double yellow is a sign of aging. But my psychiatrist buddy says the sure sign of old age is when your pupils fail to dilate with an attractive woman or man, depending on your taste in the matter, appears.

That's the time you need to select your own coffin. That saves your heirs and assigns the trouble, and you might as well. After all, you will be wearing it for a long time.

Stranger; 8:55 AM, December 30, 2012
TBeck said...: Joseph, don't sell yourself short.; 8:56 AM, December 30, 2012
Fred said...: Just one reason that "Subaru" is on the short list for a new car when I get home. Manda's is way too fun to drive for a "4 door compact."; 8:58 AM, December 30, 2012
JD Rush said...: I've always kicked myself for not buying a WRX wagon when they first gave us the option. The siren song of a 2 year old, no mile LS1 (saddled with a Camaro) for 16k was too great.; 9:26 AM, December 30, 2012
Ed Foster said...: Lupis, the thermal cycling in the trunk is bad for the ammo. Condensation.

My suggestion would be ingots of bullet metal. 10-1-1 lead,tin,antimony for hard cast rifle bullets and projos for semiauto handguns. If you need something softer for revolvers or Trapdoors, just cut it 50-50 with straight plombium.

FWD, or the old beatles with the engine in the rear, all have good low speed traction because they have the engine's weight over the drive wheels. But at speed, if you're dumb enough to go fast on icy roads, nothing beats rear wheel drive. Ask me how I know about the above mentioned dumb.

O.K., I'll tell you. Many moons ago, I was young, dumb, and full of something that sort of rhymes, and a few minutes late for a meeting with a ravishing little brunette. It was foggy as well as icy, and at the speed I was moving, if I'd run up a light pole it would have been nothing but Darwinian justice.

I was wildly overdriving the road conditions. Since then I would like to think I have learned a modicum of responsibility.

My vehicle was a small sedan, a six-banger with three on the tree. As I approached an intersection, I saw materializing out of the fog a big stalled Ford, I think a Galaxy, about 2 to 3 seconds in front of me.

Without thinking (thankfully) I hit the brakes hard and cut the wheel full right, continuing toward the Ford. Then I got off the brake and goosed the gas bigtime, power sliding the back wheels around until I was moving toward the guy parallel. In the process I'd gained a few feet to my right.

Next I braked into a controlled slide again, clutched out to keep from stalling, spun the wheel full left, grabbed second, got off the brake, and dropped the hammer. The rear end snapped around and, with a bit of steering correction and throttle reduction to keep from spinning out, I cleared the Ford by the proverbial gnat's whisker.

Now I was clear of the Ford but headed for the curb way too fast. But feeling quite cocky, I again pulled the "lock 'em up, spin the wheel, get off the brake, and power steer the ass end through the turn" trick, found myself quite where I was supposed to be, and slowed the hell down, feeling quite proud of myself.

If I'd stopped to think, I'd have plowed into the poor schtunk in front of me. Instead, the adrenaline reaction gave me the fastest, smoothest three seconds of pure competence I have ever experienced beyond the sound of gunfire.

I'm not defending the way I was driving. Again, I was young and stupid and thinking with my glands.

But learning to drive on the side of a young mountain, in an old 2WD pickup with bald tires on a heavily crowned one lane blacktop road, taught me that a well utilized gas pedal and enough speed makes the back wheels of a RWD vehicle steerable.

It also taught me that with a vehicle like that you were often screwed without clergy if you were stuck in too far to rock your way out of a ditch or snowdrift. I won't argue the extra traction (at low speed) that front wheel drive gives, and it makes sense in an urban environment.

So as basic transport I would agree wholeheartedly on FWD. I'm doing that myself right now, with a shiny new Hyundai Tucson (no more Detroit iron until they get rid of the unions).

But the Morris Minis and Saab 95's made their bones in rallies, on comparatively low speed, narrow, twisty road courses where light weight and short wheelbase was the ticket for first past the flag.

In a high speed environment though, and with anything much over 150 horsepower, FWD is crucified by torque steer and oversteer problems. There's a reason racecars are mostly rear wheel drive, and the few 4WD speedsters you see areen't appreciably faster than the same car with RWD, and are considerably heavier. Witness the Audi Quattros.

None of which means diddly for a winter machine around the city, which is what the conversation was about. Every now and then that damned squirrel jumps out and.....; 9:27 AM, December 30, 2012
Anonymous said...: If you get a Jeep, you can call it your mid-life Chrysler.; 9:32 AM, December 30, 2012
Stephen said...: About that getting old thing: You could move here to the desert and live forever. Just sayin'....; 9:35 AM, December 30, 2012
staghounds said...: Well I am an asshole and a Lesbian, and I refer my Wrangler to my Subaru. Tam drives way above a Jeep's capabilities, though..; 9:38 AM, December 30, 2012
Scott J said...: Why limit yourself to one vehicle? At one time I had 5 vehicles for a house with two drivers.

We've since pared back to three and the CJ-7 doesn't count since it doesn't get out much.; 9:53 AM, December 30, 2012
Tam said...: Ed,

"with anything much over 150 horsepower, FWD is crucified by torque steer and oversteer problems"

1983 called. It wants its automotive facts back. ;); 9:57 AM, December 30, 2012
Ritchie said...: For 10 years I evaded buying winter tires for the sedan by having an 83 Chevy Blazer 4WD as an all weather spare vehicle. Really, each is a spare for the other. Now, guess who's wearing $700 worth of new tires?; 10:06 AM, December 30, 2012
Buzz said...: I third the Wrangler comment.
Went for a nice mountain bike ride yesterday, was able to utilize the end parking spot piled high with snow that had been passed over by all the families in cars and minivans going ice skating.

You'd lose none of your Tam-a-glam, reinforce the gunnie cred, and expand your recreation options.

P.S. Heater lockers ready made for the Wrangler....
http://www.tuffyproducts.com/p-282-tuffy-jk-conceal-carry-drivers-side-security-drawer.aspx; 10:15 AM, December 30, 2012
Ryan said...: Tam, My doctor friend drives an Audi that is totally out of control in terms of handling in all weather. However he drives the 78 F 150 beater truck to work in more than a sprinkling of snow because worst case he dings up or wrecks the 78 Ford.

For a few thousand bucks you could easily get a decent bad weather driving vehicle.; 10:16 AM, December 30, 2012
Anonymous said...: Do as you wish and F**K anyone else's opinion!
And believe me, you're NOT old. How do I know?

I am.

gfa; 10:20 AM, December 30, 2012
Scott J said...: I'll also echo the Audi suggestions. From 2003 until earlier this year my wife drove a 2002 A4 Quattro.

We don't get snow often here but even on wet pavement the AWD was awesome.

I remember driving it once and realizing if the road was wet it could run through the twisties faster than my 2001 SVT Cobra under those conditions.

They make a ragtop, 2 door A4 that looks really interesting.; 10:24 AM, December 30, 2012
benEzra said...: Keep the Z3 and get a cheap beater for snow days, OR get something fun that's FWD/AWD. Dropping yourself into a used WRX or Evo isn't a sign of aging, and crazy Europeans *race* those in the snow...

Don't discount fun FWD or AWD sports sedans, either. My own ride is an '04 Acura TL (FWD) with a 6-speed manual; 0-60 in 6 flat, top speed of 150, and you can turn on the air conditioner by talking to it.

I suspect the summer tires are your real problem, though. Even a set of Contisport DWS (dry, wet, snow) would be better than summer tires, but a 2nd set of wheels + snow tires might be best in your climate.; 10:26 AM, December 30, 2012
The Freeholder said...: We're not having the snow issues you are (send us some, we'll take it), but I'd go the two car route if you could. If not, Subaru makes some highly affordable AWDs that have enough zip to keep the fun in summertime driving.

I went with an Outback wagon, but I needed the space and the ride height. Still, once I've learned it's idiosyncrasies, I can still hustle it right down the road. I'm resiting the urge to start adding improvements....; 10:47 AM, December 30, 2012
montieth said...: Tam. Volvo L3304. That'll get you around in winter and provide a handy mount for your Recoilless Rifle.; 10:51 AM, December 30, 2012
MSgt B said...: There's a minivan in your future, grandma.

Just make sure you get the one with On-Star, so you can do the "I've fallen and I can't get up" thing, even when you're on the road.

(Waaay too many helpful comments. Need to keep things balanced.); 10:55 AM, December 30, 2012
Anonymous said...: The best winter car I've had was a non-Outback Legacy wagon with snows on all four corners. Handled much better than the taller Outbacks, and still had enough clearance for any sane conditions.; 11:03 AM, December 30, 2012
Bruce H. said...: The gray hair didn't bother me much, and I could ascribe the totteriness to diabetes instead of old age, but when I walked by the open utility closet at work and wasn't even tempted by the ladder up to the roof, I knew I had gotten old.; 11:08 AM, December 30, 2012
RevolverRob said...: I have to agree with Tam and disagree with Ed.

I daily drive a 2010 Mazdaspeed 3. 263 horsepower, 280 foot-lbs of torque, and front wheel drive. Yes, it does have some torque steer, if you hammer it in 2nd gear on an uneven road surface. It's not the end of the world and it's easy to drive and compensate for.

Also, nobody I know under 35 owns a convertible that isn't a Miata. So...you pretty much age yourself by driving a non-Miata convertible (sorry Tam).

With regards to small FWD car, Mazda 2. Used around 12k, 2300 pounds at the curb, 1.5 DOHC 4-cylinder, with slick shifting 5 speed, 108 horsepower. I know, it doesn't sound like much, but the MZ2 is an amazing car.

I bought one for the wife two months ago and enjoy it as much as my 'Speed 3. The car handles well, stops well, can really hustle if you can drive it, and gets good mileage. We just drove home for the holidays and on the way back average 36 mpg at 78 mph. It was a toss up between the Mazda and the Honda Fit. I'm extremely happy with our Mazda purchase.

-Rob; 11:16 AM, December 30, 2012
og said...: You can also get an old Cherokee or Exploder with a lot of miles for next to nothing, and either vehicle, if you have someone in the know inspect it, will be good for 20,000 miles of hard thrashing with little or no investment. Perfect for big range trips, and harsh winter weather. There's several on Craigslist right now in indy under a grand. If you get one that has decent brakes and tires,and isn't leaking too much of any specific fluid, you could go ten years of broad ripple occasional winter use without anything more complex than adding fuel and topping off fluids. The Cherokee with the inline six is the stronger engine, but the ford gets better mileage, as a rule.

And both are regularly available used with manual transmissions. Either a Cherokee or an Explorer is a flat out hoot to greenlane in with a stick. No, they're not sports cars, but most sports cars won't drive up inclines of ankle deep mud, either. As for feeling old, you never feel more immature than the first time you bog in a mudhole and have to winch your way out. I'm thinking about cars again, but I will never be without a 4wd again in my life.; 11:22 AM, December 30, 2012
Tam said...: Revolver Rob,

"Also, nobody I know under 35 owns a convertible that isn't a Miata. So...you pretty much age yourself by driving a non-Miata convertible (sorry Tam)."

Yeah, 'cause all those S2000s and MR roadsters are parked down at the old folk's home.

I bought the Z3 before I was 35, but that's because I bought it used and with cash from the settlement after my motorcycle wreck.

You'd see a lot more under-35s driving Z4s, Boxsters, and TTs if more under-35s could afford them. SLKs, though? Those are definitely made for Doctors' second wives.; 11:58 AM, December 30, 2012
Alien said...: 1) What Og said.

2) 4WD truck (definition of "truck" may vary among users). Advantage of "4WD Truck" is that "truck" works in any climate. Only penalty I've discovered is gas mileage. SoBro SUV partially abrogates gas mileage penalty.
3) Ownership of "Truck" is not denying previous amorous relationship with sporting vehicle (aka "Nazi Roller Skate"). What was is "was" what is is "is." Moving on is not personal failure.

YMMV may vary, but we rarely experience extreme angst over tearing pages off the calendar. Or, at least we should not.; 12:01 PM, December 30, 2012
Buzz said...: I'm not letting up on Wrangler front. Tam, Sarah Connor, same image.

I think Tam could easily modify a Hi-Lift jack mount to be an "evil child killer with laser mounts" carrier for trips to the range, to scare the living shit out of the neighbors.; 12:26 PM, December 30, 2012
Old NFO said...: Do what ever works for you, to hell with the rest of us... :-D; 12:29 PM, December 30, 2012
Robert Fowler said...: Buick.

I bought the lovely Mrs. a Buick Terraza minivan for her 51st birthday. Nice little V6 FWD. Fold down the back seats and I can haul every gun I own to the range. With enough ammo to supply a Platoon of Marines.

One of the Kids at work the other night told her since she had a Buick, she must be old.; 12:39 PM, December 30, 2012
Weer'd Beard said...: I bought a Ford Edge, and assumed I'd hate it. Unibody, manual tranny, and a FWD car platform pretending to be an SUV, but frankly I totally am in love with it. Even the base engine gives it a LOT of zip. Also now that we're getting the season's first batch of global warming I'm impressed with how it handles in the snow.

For a little less in every direction my dad has a Ford Escape that we drove from Mass to Virginia for a family vacation, and it was the inspiration for me getting the Edge.

Just stay away from the My Ford Touch crap.; 12:47 PM, December 30, 2012
Anonymous said...: I'll put my $0.02 on getting a beater for winter. Living in Western PA in the late 70's everybody put their good car away in October and drove a rust bucket with studed snow tires till May.

I think my brother put Rusty Jones out of business repairing his CJ-5.
The gas tank fell out of it one time when he filled it up because the staps holding it in rusted and broke. Good times!

Gerry; 1:08 PM, December 30, 2012
Critter said...: Ravishing brunettes have that effect on one.; 1:11 PM, December 30, 2012
Ed Foster said...: I have been snarked by the mistress of the genre and respectfully retreat to a place of utter humility, but must ask that we agree to disagree on AWD for highway cars.

Like the Colonel's opinion of double action pistols, I regard 4WD on highway vehicles as both a violation of the engineering term elegance, meaning the simplest answer to a problem, and a wonderful answer to a question never asked.

http://www.thesupercars.org/fastest-cars/fastest-cars-in-the-world-top-10-list/ Not a FWD in the group, and when Corvette comes out with a front wheel drive as standard I'll fry up some crow to make a pie.

Differences of opinion make horse races, and I've lost money on the ponies before, so we'll see :-)

P.S., it's been insane around here, but I imagine I should be able to get off that package we mentioned tomorrow or Wednesday, as well as a long overdue similar package to Og over at Neanderpundit. I'll send the tracking number to your e-mail.

I'm through Indie at least once or twice a year, and it'll cost you a steak and a brew.

Also, a short funny story. A very bright lady I do business with runs a metal finishing business here in CT. She told me that she was looking forward to the day when she could sell out and move back home to Indianapolis.

I mentioned that I knew someone in Indy, and she asked where. I couldn't quite remember offhand, so I said "some place near a canal and bike path with a lot of hippies".

To which she replied "Oh, Broad Ripple".; 1:18 PM, December 30, 2012
Kristophr said...: Two used studded snow tires. Two BMW wheels from a junk yard.

A set of cheap tire chains to deal with ice storms.

I'll be you can get this done for under $200 if you shop hard.; 1:21 PM, December 30, 2012
Snowdog said...: well, if you get one with the soft top, technically you could call this an AWD Roadster...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrJLHXodqD8

Snow shouldn't be a problem, but even a bobbed Deuce is a bit big to find parking spaces at times.; 1:24 PM, December 30, 2012
Kristophr said...: Sorry about the snarky comments about snow in the earlier thread ... but out here in Wyberia, this stuff is just climate, not bad weather.

If you don't have 4WD, you really do need a cheapo set of snow tires and some chains stashed away in the garage.; 1:24 PM, December 30, 2012
Kristophr said...: Snowdog: Parking is easy .. you just have to be willing to crush a Prius or two.; 1:26 PM, December 30, 2012
Anonymous said...: A second set of wheels with Bridgestone Blizzaks will turn damn near anything into a great year round vehicle.

Corey; 1:30 PM, December 30, 2012
Tam said...: Ed,

For extreme performance sports cars, FWD is generally contraindicated, but the old "torque steer" demons were exorcised decades ago, and plenty of fine high-performance coupes and sedans get by with only the front wheels being driven.

AWD, on the other hand, is no bar to performance at all, as witness the Bugatti EB110 and Veyron, Ferrari FF, Lamborghini Murcielago and Aventador, Audi R8, and practically every top-end Porsche since the 959... To say nothing of more mundane vehicles like the WRX and Lancer Evo. (Inasmuch as the word "mundane" can be applied to a WRX or an Evo.); 1:44 PM, December 30, 2012
RevolverRob said...: Tam,

Yes, they basically are parked at the old folks home. I run with the local SCCA Solo crew, everyone under 30 drives a Miata, Mazdaspeed 3, or usually a Honda Civic SI.

The S2000s (of which there are plenty) are exclusively driven by the over-35 crowd, and the majority of them are owned by the over-50 crowd. Remember, that's a car, where the newest one is 7 years old now and still costs more than a 2 year old Civic SI. The MR roadsters are well...non-existent.

And yes I completely agree, if I could afford a Boxster S that wasn't 12 years old, I'd have it.

-Rob; 1:45 PM, December 30, 2012
Anonymous said...: A friend of mine wrapped his BMW around a concrete and steel guard post, and his replacement was a Suzuki Samurai. That was in the 80s.... There is a cute little Suzuki that replaced the Samurai.; 2:05 PM, December 30, 2012
Ed said...: As a former owner of a CJ-5, I can tell you that they are a blast to drive in the snow with 4WD, but in 2WD/RWD mode (for less than totally bad conditions) they are terrible, as the back end is light and will whip out from under you on hard breaking or in curves with wet pavement. 4WD makes you go faster in slippery conditions, but no system helps when you need to slow down quickly.

Before FWD became more prevalent, the solution for RWD vehicles was to put more weight in the trunk and tire chains for really bad weather. Good portable ballast can be had inexpensively in multiple bags of clay-based kitty litter or playground sand that can be broadcast to gain traction in a pinch.

I like your current choice of vehicle for about eight months of the year. Repair what you now have and love, but procure an alternate optimized for the other four months to use as a backup and for trips to the range. Choice is good.; 4:03 PM, December 30, 2012
KCjoel said...: Tam,

I think I might have the answer: 2WD Ural Motorcyle with sidecar.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/29/intrepid-motorcyclist-rides-ural-through-blizzard/#continued

But you wouldn't be the only one in Indy to use one in the snow.; 4:10 PM, December 30, 2012
Will said...: "but the old "torque steer" demons were exorcised decades ago"

I beg to differ. Granted, it has now been almost a decade, but I used to regularly come upon single car crashes when patrolling CA freeways. Took me a long time to figure out why, as the drivers were completely clueless as to why they crashed. This was both wet and dry conditions.
Eventually, I realized they were all FWD, and attempting to make an exit ramp from the left hand lanes. That, and they typically ended up in the same off road location near certain exits.
"Clueless driver" also became a key factor in the chain of events that led to them coming to rest in a ditch.
But, I came to a conclusion that the handling dynamics of the FWD, under certain, but common, conditions, was causing loss of control.
Later, it dawned on me that this dynamic could be the cause of lots of multi-car collisions, but generally the CHP was just looking to determine who was at fault, and overlooking the original cause. They only dug deep if there was a fatality, and in this case never connected the dots to build a big picture.; 4:23 PM, December 30, 2012
Ken O said...: Ed, you are correct about the CJ5 sliding around. The newer TJ's and JK's weigh almost twice what a CJ5 weighed, have a longer wheelbase and wider track. This has made them far more stable. My TJ crosses the truck scale at 3550 with the top and doors off, and 4000 with them on. A Wrangler with an aftermarket anti-slip system like a Detroit Locker would handle very well. While I do not live in the snow belt, I have never had an experience similar to yours when driving in ice.; 4:53 PM, December 30, 2012
Garand Gal said...: If I may, I'd like to suggest a big ugly beast. We have an '86 F-150 1/2 ton that we picked up for just over scrap prices. We did have to put some work into it, it still needs a tune up, a carb rebuild, and the granny gear is so low that you're better off starting in second no matter what, but it starts every time and if we ever need to move it'll pull the house for us.
The body looks like it's been worked over at Gitmo and I've discovered that this pleases me. People tend to give my beat up truck a wide berth lest it implode their fiberglass snoflaykes by association. Heh.; 6:03 PM, December 30, 2012
Bram said...: Just got back from a nice lunch. Took the wife's 328xi (manual trans, Sport Package & all weather tires). The AWD made it right up the long driveway despite the 6 inches of snow the wind had redeposited there. And after leaving the driveway, I wasn't driving Granpa's sedan or Mom's minivan.; 6:16 PM, December 30, 2012
Tam said...: Will,

"Eventually, I realized they were all FWD, and attempting to make an exit ramp from the left hand lanes."

Lift-Throttle Oversteer != Torque Steer. :); 7:10 PM, December 30, 2012
Anonymous said...: Did 360's in my Firebird in '95, soon sfter buying it. Get chains.

Ulises from CA; 7:45 PM, December 30, 2012
Lergnom said...: +1 on chains. The winter of '93-'94 in Philly was memorable in that something winterish came out of the sky every 5 days or so. The entire main street was closed due to ice one day. Oh, and my '75 Volvo was down one cylinder(out of four). After I dropped the GF at her job, I got home and ordered the most aggressive chains Whitney had. I left those things on until April.
I replaced the Volvo with a FWD '93 Taurus which was a delight in snow.

Oh, and you're not old until you can use the words whippersnapper and hepcat without sounding ironic.; 8:36 PM, December 30, 2012
fast richard said...: Your Zed Drei is a nice little car. I would be inclined to either get winter tires or a separate winter car. You know your options as well as most of us. No car is perfect. Choose the compromises that work for you.; 8:37 PM, December 30, 2012
Mike said...: Speaking as someone who works on these cars for a living...

The idle problem is either the oil separator or a bad coil.

The oil separator will cause a bad idle cold, and get a bit better as the car warms up. A bad coil will cause a dead cylinder that doesn't change with temperature.

Have the shop you take it to hook up a smoke machine to check for the oil separator problem. If they don't have a smoke machine, they aren't suitable for working on BMW.; 9:11 PM, December 30, 2012
Dirt Sailor said...: I've never noticed Subarus as being especially an asshole lesbian car. Maybe that comes from living in Colorado, where they sell so many subies that getting one under MSRP is a bad joke.

Tam, as a few snow stater, I highly regimens an older Subaru, with studded show tires, if they still exist.; 10:17 PM, December 30, 2012
Will said...: Tam,
yep. Chop throttle, flick wheel to right, back end starts to come around, cue panic. And maybe add a dash of brakes in the middle to really stir it up. And awaaaay we go!

Only encountered one fatality doing this. Honda Del Sol, at approx 100mph (probably faster), according to witnesses. She exited much farther down the road, and took out a 50ft light pole right in the driver's door. DRT.; 10:57 PM, December 30, 2012
Brad said...: Used Jeep Cherokee in the 97 and up range. The straight 6 is very easy to work on. And you can accesorize it almost as much as an AR!; 11:52 PM, December 30, 2012
perlhaqr said...: Yeah, screw the BMW. Get a Viper and stick it on snow tires in the winter. F$&k growing up. ;); 2:12 AM, December 31, 2012
Robert said...: Will Said:
"(Then complained that his 4.L 4x4 Ranger only had a top end of 116mph, compared to the Talon's 140mph.)"

Only if you don't know which resistor to cut off the ECU circuit board. Then you can go over 140.; 8:37 AM, December 31, 2012
Will said...: He got tired of the gas mileage of the 4.0L, and went back to driving my '86 Colt 1.6L Turbo. That got 30mpg at 70mph. Wish I could have got that back. He gave up driving, and died a few months later, at 82.; 12:10 PM, December 31, 2012
Jennifer said...: Meh. I went from Thunderbird to Taurus before I was 20. Hated the Taurus and sold it shortly after giving birth to my son. Yes, I sold a sensible sedan and purchased a 280ZX. Red with t-tops. But hey, it was a 2+2 so there was a place for a car seat. Sadly, the z got t-boned and was replaced by, heh, a convertible BMW. And now I'm back in sedan that only pretends to be sensible in the way only an SER SPEC-V with no muffler can.; 1:37 PM, December 31, 2012
Justthisguy said...: I can't really think of anything helpful to write, except that I do wish you well, Ma'am, and

HAPPY NEW YEAR! (blows kazoo, shoots pistol (in a safe direction)); 5:18 PM, December 31, 2012
Anonymous said...: Just get an old 70's C20 or F150 (if you can find one) and then you'll be able to go through anything including hell and wave at the devil as you plow by. This from a country boy who grew up in South Dakota.; 7:34 PM, December 31, 2012
Opinionated Grump (Rich in NC) said...: Don't get rid of the Zed Drei
fix the niggling problems a little at a time the same way they got here...
Your summer driving will thank you.
Rich in NC; 3:24 PM, January 01, 2013
wrm said...: Aaah the 959. I seem to recall Pournell mentioning that Borland couldn't get one imported because nobody had crash tested them. But there's one in Petersons so something changed.

But that's not what I came to comment on.

Dropping the 'vert is a sign of old age. But, you can then have a midlife crisis. This is not a bad thing. Except, you already had a bike.

I sense a challenge.; 2:13 PM, January 03, 2013

View From The Porch

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Stranded.

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