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About Me
As a man thinks, so he is. Some people are never.
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Alternate Route
Turn off the nav system, crumple up that MapQuest printout, and let's find out where the next random turn may take us!
 Unless we ever find ourselves at the point where one manufacturer has somehow managed to wipe out all the competition and we all buy our vehicles from the same place, we'll always have fans of the various makes and models trying to explain why their choice is the best choice out there. One quick look at the various comparison discussions on the CarSpace forums will make that obvious. I'd bet that even if there was only one manufacturer with one model to choose from that we'd have postings like this:
Well mine was made on a Tuesday and is blue, and you know that your Wednesday reds have had far more problems than mine.
One of the many criteria people use to compare cars is recalls, specifically the number of recalls on a vehicle. While that may be a general indicator of which vehicle you might expect more problems from, there are problems and then there are problems.
I've had a number of recalls over the years on my Nissan vehicles. The vast majority of them have been very minor items like windshield wiper arm or weatherstripping replacements, items like that. The most recent (pardon the pun) I can recall was one to replace the power window regulators in my Altima, which were operating fine for me, but if I needed new ones, I guess I needed new ones put in at no cost. The point is, that while some of these were safety related, none of them was for something that would be life threatening or would leave me stranded on the side of the road unexpectedly. The absolute number of recalls on a vehicle is something to take into account when judging a vehicle's merits, but what those recalls are for is far more important in my view.
There's a big difference between a recall for a problem with an ABS system that could cause a fire or failure of the brakes, and a recall for a faulty brake light switch. A recall for one major issue can far outweigh a handful of annoying ones.
Choosing between cars
Which one has the most problems,
or loudest whining?
 As you can see, there are days when you just have to get your car off the ground and this was one of those days as the Altima was due for a tire rotation. My buddies up at Tire Town have taught me well and I religiously rotate my tires every 6000 miles, no longer than that, and it really seems to have worked as I'm usually getting in the neighborhood of 45,000 miles out of a set of tires.
We put a lot of miles on our vehicles. The 2001 Altima currently has 135,000 miles on it so preventive maintenance is something I believe in.
This year there's a new addition to the equipment in the garage and they have installed a system for filling tires with nitrogen. It's a clever machine in that it filters the air to collect the nitrogen it uses, so there are no compressed gas cylinders to be delivered or tanks to have filled up. Nitrogen makes up about 78.1% of the atmoshphere by volume, so there's plenty of it to go around. One of the reasons they installed the system was because of the consumer interest that was generated by the claims being made about using nitrogen in your tires.
According to the Get Nitrogen Institute:
"Nitrogen in tires is becoming a popular replacement for standard air. Nitrogen is all around us... the air we breathe is 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and the rest is small amounts of other gasses. When it comes to tire inflation, nitrogen has many advantages over oxygen. With nitrogen tire inflation, improvements can be noted in a vehicle's handling, fuel efficiency and tire life through better tire pressure retention, improved fuel economy and cooler running tire temperatures"
Now the first thing I note in that quote is "nitrogen has many advantages over oxygen". That is no doubt true, but the nitrogen is being used in place of air, not oxygen. But semantics aside, we decided to conduct a long term test of nitrogen inflation using my vehicles since I take care of them, track mileage on a regular basis, and tend to notice when things might be changing on me. We started with my Versa at the first tire rotation at 6000 miles. We also filled up my mountain bike tires. And the Altima was done on this tire rotation. Here are my observations, point by point.
Handling - I can honestly say there's no difference that I can see or feel. Maybe I'm not sensitive enough to notice.
Fuel efficiency - The mileage I'm getting on my Versa over the last 7000 miles is the same as I was getting at the 6000 mile mark.
Tire life - We're not really far enough along to judge this quite yet. And the Versa is still on the factory Continentals so I can't pin the wear rate down until I get the tires on that I usually run.
Cooler running tire temperatures - Only anecdotal, but on a long highway trip on a very hot day, I tried feeling the tires to check, and they did feel less hot, but that was just an impression, not a measurement.
Better tire pressure retention - This one I'm going to agree with. The bicycle has retained its tire pressure far better than it ever has using regular air. It's very obvious that this is the case. I think this is the key to the handling, fuel efficiency, and tire life claims. Nitrogen molecules have a larger effective diameter than oxygen molecules and diffuse through porous materials (like tire rubber) more slowly. Therefore the tires lose pressure at a slower rate, so those folks who don't pay attention to things and normally wind up letting their tires run at too low a pressure, see less of a reduction in mileage and tire life, and properly inflated tires will handle better than under-inflated ones. Less of a loss is a gain... sort of. I'm not seeing a gain, but then again, I pay attention to what's going on with my vehicles.
I've also heard that because nitrogen retains less moisture and the oxygen has been eliminated, there's less corrosion and oxidation going on inside the tire over time, which could be a long term savings on fleet vehicle maintenance for example.
Overall, I don't think nitrogen is the panacea that some seem to think it is, but I certainly don't see any negatives to it either. All those little gains spread across the entire driving population might add up to a chunk of change and maybe a couple of fewer accidents caused by tire issues over time. Not a bad thing, and it keeps the economy chugging along as well!
Tires running low?
Inert diatomic gas
might be the ticket
 It's Labor Day and time to salute all those hard working folks out there who make this big machine run. As I used to comment when a friend would try to convince me that if I joined him in a home products business that all I'd have to do was walk to the mail box and get the checks, somebody has to be out there selling the stuff. There's not a lot of room on top of the pyramid scheme for more than one mega-diamond distributor. So here's a big thanks to all who actually do the work that needs to be done!
That being said, there's always room for improvement. Consider my recent experience with a local body shop. As you can see in the photo, they did a fine job on repairing the damage to the left rear of my vehicle. I even got a new clear coat in the process as there was one spot on the truck lid that had to be refinished. Body repair techs can do some amazing things. Sometimes I think they're involved in the Dark Arts. The new curve my wife had created around the pushed in tail light assembly is back to original condition, my car is shiny like new, and all is right with the world, correct?
Not so fast. Unfortunately, there is a hitch in this giddy-up. While it was in the shop, I was also having the front inner fender liners replaced because they were damaged. When I went to pick up the car on Friday, they had not been put in. The reason? Nobody had attached my name to the part, so they weren't sure which vehicle they were for. Must have been a rush of 2001 Altimas with damaged inner fender liners that week I guess.
After noticing that and waiting an additional half hour for them to install those as the shop closes, we walk out to the car and notice some damage on the tops of the doors right at the base of the windows. It looks like someone used a knife to strip off masking and the knife made big gouges in several locations. I was able to let them know that there was a problem before I left, so tomorrow it's back up to the shop for the confrontation.
We're at your service
Satisfaction guaranteed
Promise? Or just words?
 Louis Leaky, the Kenyan archaeologist and naturalist, spent many years digging in Olduvai Gorge, probing the evolution and nature of man. If a poker table had been his field of study, he may have reached some interesting and amusing conclusions about the nature of the beast. His studies may have included a survey of poker players and whether their mode of transportation reveals anything about their habits and tendencies.
Two species of poker player can be found roaming the green felt. First, there is the loose player.
When asked to think of a loose player, most people think of someone like Madonna. They might be right, but that’s not the kind of loose I’m thinking of. Loose players take big risks while chasing big rewards. They play many hands and don’t like to fold. Loose players may also be categorized as passive or aggressive.
Loose-passive players think of the odds more like guidelines than rules. They think any two cards can win, and that they are likely to be holding them. They will stay in the game right to the end, waiting for that big hand to hit. They almost never raise, and tend to bleed money slowly until it’s all gone.
Loose-aggressive players are the daredevils at the table. They like to take chances and push others around. They tend to win smaller pots and eventually lose the big one that takes them down.
Tight players on the other hand, don’t take a lot of chances. They see unacceptable risk and avoid it, preferring to pick their spots to get ahead.
Tight-passive players are born safety freaks. Even with a monster hand they will likely call a bet rather than raise. They do not bluff.
Tight-aggressive players believe in standing their ground when the time is right. They will fold and live to fight another day when the odds are against them. If the opportunity presents itself, they will suddenly seem more aggressive.
At last night’s game, we did a little two-part automotive survey. Each player was asked what their current every day driver is, and what their every day driver would be if they won the World Series of Poker and could afford whatever they wanted. Do you think our vehicle choices match our playing tendencies?
Loose-Passive (any two cards can win)
Drives an F-250, would buy a Mercedes-Benz CLK Coupe
Loose-Aggressive (daredevils)
Drives an Acura RL, would continue to drive an Acura RL
Tight-Passive (safety first)
Drives a PT Cruiser, would drive a PT Cruiser convertible
Drives a Nissan Versa, would drive a Nissan Altima Coupe
Drives an F-250, would drive a better equipped F-250
Drives a Subaru Impreza, would drive a Ford Excursion
Drives a Pontiac Grand Am, would drive a Lexus GX 470
Tight-Aggressive (fight on the ground of their choosing)
Drives a Ford Explorer, would drive a 4-door Jeep Wrangler
Dives an F-250, would drive a Lexus LS 460
Poker player’s rides
Insights into their psyche?
Made hand, or a bluff?
4:21 am | Categories:
acura rl,
automotive haiku,
ford f-250,
ford excursion,
ford explorer,
jeep wrangler,
lexus gx 470,
lexus ls 460,
mercedes clk class,
nissan versa,
nissan altima,
poker,
pontiac grand am,
pt cruiser,
subaru impreza
Comments (5) | Permalink | Alert Administrator |
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 Welcome to the new week. My first surpise of the week was to discover that if you Google "Alternate Route", this blog turns up on the first results page! Yes, it's at the bottom of the page, but it counts in my book!
From my recent visit to the Edmunds offices...
I forgot to give a shout out to Chintan Talati in Corporate Communications. he's the guy you'll see posting press requests in the Talk to the Press discussion in our forums, and the one who is responsible for me being quoted in Newsweek's The Boomer Files. Answer his press requests... he'll make you famous!
I'm also looking forward to being as much help as possible to one of the newest additions to the Edmunds editorial staff, Senior Editor John O'Dell. The LA Times' loss is most definitely our gain. The Hybrid Vehicles forum is at your disposal sir!
Since my 2001 Altima goes "under the knife" shortly, after my wife discovered that some contractor's trucks are longer than others in the parking lot at the bank, I though it appropriate to focus the Alternate Route's Haiku Corner on the cost of body repairs. The bumper cover popped back out nicely, but incredibly, the photo shows the massive damage that lead to a repair estimate of...
Fourteen Sixty Six
Tail light, and bumper cover
In reverse, too far
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