Car Reviews

I have decided that my dream job is two fold. The first part would be hosting the American version of the greatest show on television, Top Gear. I would be the main host, I would hire a pair of my co-workers to host the rest of it. The best part would be trying to hire the Stig.

The second part is to write for Car & Driver. This has got to be the best job ever. You get paid to beat the crap out of cars, drive them on tracks, long term, take random road trips to figure out what you like and don't. The best part is people pay to read your opinions. I know you have the journalistic responsibility to be neutral, but lets face it, MINIs are the best car ever. Never would they loose a comparo.

With that being said, I am not going to write a review, but I will give my highs and lows of some cars I have taken home from work.

2002 Jaguar X-type 2.5

Highs: Cheap, AWD

Lows:Feels Cheap, 165hp with AWD and 2 tons = slow, automatic transmission searches for gears at the same pace OJ searches for the "real" killer

2000 Mercedes Benz SLK 230

Highs: Retractable hard-top works great, good shoulder room for a small convertible, I love a thick steering wheel.

Lows: Transmission lunges before upshifts, supercharger needs more boost, massive cowl shake over bumps is unnerving.

2008 Chevrolet Suburban

Highs: Displacement Management, operates on 4cy at cruising speeds, got 17mpg city/hwy. Commanding view, but easy to see all around.

Lows: Parking Decks, Ballantyne Soccer Moms, who needs this much SUV?

2005 Mazda 3

Highs: Nav, Leather, Bose, Roof, in a small car. Useful cargo space. Good power and reflexes.

Lows: No lower back support, big blind spot at the right quarter panel.

2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara

Highs: Drives like a heavier SUV, lots of options per dollar, I actually think it looks good.

Lows: Lower seat cushion has ZERO support, leather feels like plastic, anemic motor is also thirsty, only 15.2mpg.

2007 Honda Accord

Highs: You know it will last forever, seats are nice and wide, quiet as can be.

Lows: As vanilla as a Honda, steering does not communicate what the car is doing, everybody has one.

Merph

My friend Meredith just gave birth to a baby girl... Avery Joy Nelson. It is crazy that I am now at an age where most of my friends are married, now starting to pop out kids. When it is a former girlfriend is seems all the more unreal. I feel bad for her because her water broke in the weeeeeeeeee hours of the morning... her sister posted this evening. I hope the labor wasn't too bad Merph. Congrats to you and Jeff.

Jay Leno

Tonight I watched the Jay Leno Show in prime time for the first time, which may be why they are failing. The most disturbing part is that my favorite part of the show was completely ripped of one of my favorite blogs. Fail blog. He has really lost relevance, it is sad. I hope they do not take Conan of the air, if they do, I will follow with no hesitation. Its the hair.

I might as well start this year off with a post. I would like to be better at this, but right now the blog is very low on the priority list. I just post once a month to keep my account active so I don't loose the archives. I enjoy looking back and reading when I really thought I had something to say.

Some things going on with us this year:

Amanda is looking for a career change still, and I am not above it either.

I start school... I'd like to be done in two years so I will have to take two classes in both spring and fall, and take a class each summer session. I may skip one and move it to the spring of 2012... that is when I expect to graduate.

We are not sure about vacations... we would like to go to Chicago, catch up with friends, see a few Cubs games, maybe to Atlanta for the opening series. I know we want to go somewhere, but it all depends on jobs, school, and of course, moooolah.

Other than that, we are hoping to hold on, just like everyone else.