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Hi! Integrating interests of cars, mountain drives, road trips, tech, food, comics, anime, etc...

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CarSpace

Drives Like Lightning...

Welcome to Rex's CarSpace blog! Changed the name from Self-Proclaimed Corner Junkie to Drives Like Lightning. Why? Because I drive fast and cut quickly from side-to-side like a lightning bolt. Sadly, I also have that kind of attention span.

Jul 27, 2007 - The Pack Mentality...

I was actually able to make it into work early this morning (615am).  Now you figure that being that early, there should be little traffic on the road right?  If you do, you obviously don't live in LA or don't know LA traffic.  Rush hour begins at 5am and lasts until 11pm on Fridays.  Scary isn't it?  Yeah, don't remind me.  As I was saying...  While driving, I noticed another annoying trend among LA drivers: the pack mentality.  Now here's what usually occurs.  People merge onto the freeway and if they're by themselves, they tend to drive a little faster.  When they hit a pocket of resistance, they get absorbed into that blob- unless you're like me and try to maneuver around it.  Sadly, these "packs" usually take the entire width of the freeway (aka: from the fast lane to the slow lane), are 5 to 10 cars deep (or long- however you want to put it) and travel at the same speed (usually 5 to 10 mph SLOWER than the speed limit).  So yes, maneuvering takes a little effort.  The weird thing is, people try to block you off when you're trying to just get around it all and you're left wondering, "why??".  I just want to drive either the speed limit or 5 mph faster...  Is that too much to ask?  These packs impede forward progression and will most likely be the start of something much larger and more problematic: the dreaded traffic-jam.  Now we all know about my dislike of SLOW drivers in the FAST lane.  Why doesn't anyone just move off to the right???  It's like you flash your brights and they drive slower- not just the car in the fast lane mind you, the ENTIRE PACK.  WTH!?!  Now to those of you reading this, please be courteous and move over if you're in the fast lane.  Please yield to the more speedy drivers.  It'll save more headache and stress if you just let them by than having them try to "bob and weave" their way around you.  :)  Thanks all!

6:38 am | Categories: traffic, road rage
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Jul 25, 2007 - Decisions, decisions...

My friends Scott and his wife Reiko have been looking around for a car/suv for a long while now.  Okay, maybe not that long but it's been at least a couple of months now- in Rex time, that's quite long- hey, a week is a VERY long time.  Hahaha!  They're expecting their first child in October (i think- right?  CONGRATS AGAIN!!!) and this prompted the sale of his beloved track/drift car: the 240sx.  The search and criteria for the vehicle have gone from SUVs to wagons, leather or cloth, navigation system or not.  I've suggested the Murano, the Legacy/Outback Wagon, the VUE, the Outlook, etc.  Their target range is roughly $25k-$30k.  Reiko doesn't want leather because it burns your buns after a hot day in the sun and leather has that sticky effect in the summer when you have shorts.  So we looked into ventilated/cooled seats.  Unfortunately, nothing in that price range- new anyways.  We talked over their "needs".  Whenever I give advice, I break it down to "needs", "wants", "misc"- where needs are the MUST HAVES, wants are the would like but it's not critical and misc. is the "fluff" like, 6 CD changer or dual illuminated vanity mirrors.  This is what we broke it down to:

Needs: Cargo space (with a kid on the way, you need room for a stroller, etc.), ample room for passengers, larger car/suv

Wants: NO LEATHER or ventilated/cooled seats, Navigation system (due to the inclusion of a back-up camera), higher ride height

Misc: nothing really...  which makes things slightly easier...

Now you can see why I picked the vehicles I mentioned earlier.  The Saturns are great bargains and are very nicely designed nowadays.  The quality has gone up from previous years and the interior is quite comfortable.  It still has its flaws, but c'mon- for the amount of car you're getting for the money, it's pretty reasonable.  I can go on but to make a long story short, we've settled on...  **DRUM ROLL PLEASE**

A CERTIFIED USED 2003-2005 Acura MDX.  (preferably Touring w/Nav. but we'll see what we can do there).  So we started searching around on AutoTrader and found a couple of good deals.  One has about 50k miles, is a MY2003 and is priced at $23k.  Another has about 70k miles, also a MY2003 and is priced at $26k due to the Touring trim and Nav. package.  While I see the argument for either car, personally I side with the car that has less mileage.  That means I have more time with the car in its lifecycle.  It gets scary when it's so close to 100k miles because that's when major maintenance starts taking place.  I can also just get an aftermarket nav system like the TomTom or Garmin.  But to pay another $3k to get the "tech goodies", is a bargain.  This is where budget comes in and how you want to prioritize your needs/wants.  There will be compromise but thankfully, in our society, you're not completely lost- you can get things to add on in due time.  Ultimately, I told him that they'll just have to check it out for themselves.  So we'll see how things go.  If I go with them I'll post up our findings...

4:53 pm | Categories: car buying, advice, suvs
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Jul 25, 2007 - The "Pez" effect...

Your typical Pez dispenser...

I bet you're wondering what a Pez dispenser is doing in a "car" blog; even though I've indicated that I'm going to go beyond those borders- I assure you it's relevant.

I'd like to introduce you to my annoying traffic concept: the Pez effect.  It deals with slow drivers in the fast lane that are oblivious to the fact that they need to move over or drive faster.  Why do I call it the Pez effect?  Well, if you're the unlucky person behind the slow moving vehicle, other cars get "slotted" in front of you- essentially moving you further and further back.  Yes, theoretically you're still moving but you could've been a lot further ahead.  Now I was caught behind this person because they cut me off to get into the fast lane.  I figured, okay, that's fine- just move at our pace.  Well, they didn't.  Trying to be courteous, I just drove behind them for a few miles.  Now LA traffic is horrific around 7am, so I wasn't happy when I started seeing the "Pez effect".  After finally being able to get around them, I just drove off into the proverbial sunrise.  Why am I writing about this?  Well, if you're a slower driver, please- I beg of you- please be courteous and mindful of the people around you and move over if it seems that you're holding people up.  Thanks everyone!

4:29 pm | Categories: traffic, courtesy, road rage
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Jul 25, 2007 - So this is what I've decided...

I contributed to blogs earlier that were little known on InsideLine.  So thankfully, we have this area now on CarSpace and I'll be sharing my thoughts here instead- combining CarTech and CarTuners.  I'll also provide insight on what friends are doing and questions I've been getting asked lately.  Enjoy the ride!

4:18 pm | Categories: introduction
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