That’s easy for me: my 1000 mile trip to pick up our new Acura in Boise, and bring it home, quickly (Full story here). It’s now got 12k miles on it, from several longer road trips, and it’s been a flawless performer. I don’t get much seat time, except when we go on outings or trips, but it’s always a pleasure.
Of course, that’s a direct experiential automotive experience; the CC Meet-Up in Auburn was a peak experience on a social level, as well as car-watching.
So what about you? What’s your most memorable automotive memory from 2014, good or bad?
Ever since Paul posted the story of buying the Acura wagon, my eye catches them on the road, any time they’e in my line of sight,
Getting my learners! First step to becoming the gear head I want to be
Congrats Irv man! Your life is now really beginning!
My automotive highlight of the year was definitely joining more than 1900 other Miata owners — from as far away as Newfoundland — at Laguna Seca in September, to celebrate the MX-5’s 25th anniversary and be the first to see the new “ND” version.
Lowlight? ’89 LTD Crown Victoria heater core failure. More than six hours of labor on the horizon to dig out and replace this crummy $50 part, or so I’ve read, and meantime the poor car sits idle …
Win some, lose some.
Couldn’t you at least bypass the heater core so the car is drivable until you get to fixing it?
Sure … and I live in coastal California, so heater use is a very rare occurrence. But, I have too many cars, and the blue beauty will have to go when I can get around to it and bear to part with it, so I’m mulling over the best thing to do. She’s in great shape otherwise and not quite at 80K …
I was able to take my MX-5 onto the banking at Brooklands earlier this year – that was special
My ’03 Crown Vic Sport needed overnight servicing, so I ended up driving off in a new Taurus. The VanillaFamily have a new T&C so am not entirely out of the loop regarding new vehicles, but I was a bit disoriented by the new Taurus.
First off, I got out of the dealership after sunset. So I had to figure out how to drive this new car by its own numerous and plentiful LED lighting pods, screens, knobs and features. I discovered that this new car lacked any tactile feedback since everything seems to had been replaced by a smooth touch screen not designed for gorilla fingers wearing winter gloves.
While the ride was decidedly excellent, and the Taurus roomy enough for my 6’3″ frame, the overall sensation experienced as I flew down the expressway was that of an old man caught in a space pod. The interior was lit from dozens of LED lights which seemed to have been placed by an interior decorator intending to impress me, not enlighten me. I come from an era when lights in a car were for truly functional and important reasons, so encountering a car which uses lights in a manner to entertain and assuage some kind of useless emotion was aggravating.
The dashboard told me lots of things I just didn’t care to know. It was a flood of trivia coming from the music station the satellite radio was picking up, informing me that a musical artist with a completely unforgettable name was playing music that was completely forgettable. Pressing the various touch screen spots on the digital displays would change the screen’s appearances with menus, but there wasn’t a single tactile indicator that I pressed anything. This kind of sensatory numbness forced my eyes from the road repeatedly. Additionally, each brightly colored display threw new rainbows of hues across the interior of the Taurus, making me feel like a Mario Brother trapped in an IPod.
Yeah – the entire experience was a bit unnerving and it was the first time I felt like I needed to consider spending more time in new vehicles so that I could figure out how the hell to get down a road in one of them.
Thankfully, the new 2015 T&C remembered the human power of touch and the human need to focus while traveling above 70 miles per hour.
I feel like I should probably get off your lawn.
First off, I got out of the dealership after sunset. So I had to figure out how to drive this new car by its own numerous and plentiful LED lighting pods, screens, knobs and features.
heh, I know that feeling.
I went car shopping last January, on a day with the closest to decent weather last winter: 20 degrees F and solid heavy overcast. The dealer really wanted that car off the lot because they wanted to close the deal that day, rather than have me come back the next afternoon….so rush home to get the title to the Ford, log into the insurance company web site to print off a certificate of insurance then back to the dealer.
By the time I got out of there, it was 7PM, well and truly dark, and I was dealing with Wolfsburg’s idea of how controls should be placed and work, instead of Dearborn’s, and it was snowing, a lot. Roads completely snow covered and the new and strange car wearing notoriously greasy OEM Bridgestones.
Not only did I make it home in one piece, taking local streets, but those Bridgestones never lost grip, or else the VW traction control and ABS were so excellent and subtle I never noticed their operation, as opposed to the banging of the Ford’s traction control.
I bought my first car (I’m only 19 and with my money) a 1989 Caprice Classic LS B
Sedan, coupé, or wagon? Please show pics of the caprice.
As a 15 year old starting his first car search, how fun is the first car search, on a scale of 1 to 10?
Classy pick! All your friends will want to ride with you, though. Make sure to hit them up for gas money.
Well I guess my best motoring achievement of the year has been a full powertrain transplant into my ancient Hillman, I was designed and built before the advent of motoways and when NZs speed limit was 55mph with very few places where that could be attained, Ive stayed within the Rootes parts bin and have installed a 66 SuperMinx 1600 engine and full syncromesh gearbox and most recently a 73 Hunter(Arrow) diffhead 3:89 ratio in place of the 4.55:1 original, Instead of straining to get to our 100kmh speed limit it now cruises easily at that speed and will accelerate to overtake up to 120kmh, it will go faster though as yet I havent bothered, So now I have a classic capable of easy open road travel at last.
Highlight? Unexpectedly finding an ’88 Volvo 780 Bertone coupe for sale (I just happened to see it in a parking lot) and buying it a couple of days later.
Lowlight? The fact that I can’t seem to get anything done on said Volvo. Still doesn’t have a radio, still needs the center support bearing replaced, still needs…oh a number of things before I’ll trust it on more than short trips. But it’s nice when I can drive it at least…
Driving the R8 and RS5 at the Sonoma Race Way with my Dad.
+
@Mr Edward Mann
The search is about a 7 it can be nerve wracking you get good lookers with engine problems and good engines with rusting out bodies. But its still exicting.
And the car is a sedan
Looks nice! Really great shape. Basically, the factory already pimped your ride with all the gingerbread available at the time. Gingerbread meaning brightwork or additional trim pieces.
Attended the 20th annual Joe Lucas not-a-rally in the Mendocino Nat’l Forest in Northern California with my 1960 Series II Land Rover.
http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/mendoXX/mendoXX.html
It was epic.
Highlight was assuredly the long awaited test drive of a ’76 Coupe DeVille, the Holy Broughaman Gunboat. I thought I would love taking the bridge of that beast. And I did. Actively looking for a Sedan, still considering a 460 Continental in the alternative, awaiting test drive of same.
Low point, taking a friend’s car out to Long Island and realizing that the smooth rides of the ’93 Fleetwood and ’77 Electra have shielded me from the absolute travesty our infrastructure is becoming in the Northeast. The roads are truly in lamentable condition.
Doing a factory order for the first time ever: 2014 BMW 335i manual, M Sport, few other options, and two months later getting a call from the dealer telling me it’s here and could have been sold five times so come and get it.
There weren’t any 335 sticks in the entire southeast US—I’m in Atlanta—hence the factory order. They had a 328i stick but forget it; if I’m dropping that kind of cash I want an inline six, the last one AFAIK available in any car.
My most memorable drive of the year is when I flew out to Pa to get my old ’93 subaru back from my sister. She drove it for about 4 years and was about to trade it in for a pittance. Instead, I flew out there and drove it all the way back to StL in one 15-hour stint! Took a few nap-breaks on the road but enjoyed every minute of it. The picture was taken sometime around 2:30 in the morning somewhere in western Pa.
This year we’ve taken multiple family trips in “suby.” Most memorable is taking the kids to a drive in and having them fall asleep in the hatch area.
2014 was a great year and here’s to hoping 2015 is even better!
My wife and I had been discussing taking a trip out to see Mt. Rushmore which I had visited during a solo cross country motorcycle trip back in 1980. My brother decides to relocate to Laramie Wyoming from the SF bayarea where we both live. My wife also has a friend in Sandpoint Idaho who was putting on an antique flea market which my wife really wanted to attend. My wife had never been to Yellowstone park so that was factored into the mix. Our trip covered approx. 4,500 miles and 13 days. We stayed in Klamath Falls Or,Depoe Bay Or, Sandpoint Id,Gillette Montana, Rapid City S.Dakota, Laramie Wy, Midway Utah, and finally Reno Nevada. Because my wife wanted to loadup on stuff in Idaho the 96 Mustang GT stayed home and my 07 F150 XL long bed did the trip. This is a low level V6 truck that had a/c but no cruise control. Still it is quiet, smooth riding and handles surprisinly well. Last year returning from a trip to LasVegas it seized up the a/c compressor and had to be towed the last 200 miles home. Though it had been repaired it had shaken my confidence in it when it occurred at approx. 75k. Well no guts no glory. Cruising at a steady 65 mph. the overall fuel mileage was a little over 20 mpg. Did you know that the speed limit is 80 mph. in some parts of Wyoming? The most impressive part of the drive was state route 2 in Idaho to Missoula Montana. The most incredible sight was the Crazy Horse monument located about 30 miles from Mt. Rushmore (which we also visited and loved). Still, check out the story of the Crazy Horse monument which won’t be finished for another 50 years.