Jump to content
  • entries
    79
  • comments
    14
  • views
    33,509

About this blog

A monthly blog about all things associated with cars from car clubs, car events and random musings...

Entries in this blog

The Thing about Retirement Cars

Years ago my friend said that when he retires he plans on pulling out in front of every car he sees and then drive slowly as he does errands as payback for those that have done that to him. This from a man who accumulates speeding tickets like people collect souvenir spoons or Precious Moments dolls. I know for the cars I have owned, going on 25 strong now, I have tried to own either sporty cars or cars that were the sporty counterpart of a standard car. I started with a 68 Mustang Fastback onto

wh400

wh400

The Thing about Cars on Back Roads...

I live in Alabama. Not a place known for exotic classics or low production European cars. But even in a rural state like Alabama, surprises happen and on a recent trip that is exactly what happened. I am not talking about seeing some 2011 Ferrari 358 Italia or a Bentley Turbo R screaming down the road (which does happen in Birmingham). I am talking about cars that once drove the highways and by-ways of our world. My journey began in Birmingham taking me to the rural northwest corner of the st

wh400

wh400

The Thing About Cars and Racing...

As fall turns to winter and the colored leaves turn to brown and drop from their branches it is a rare home that does not have a football game on television (on Saturday, if you live in the south, on Sunday for the rest of the world). Whether you root for the SEC teams or love everything NFL there will be a group at someone's home drinking beer, eating chips, maybe grilling and quarterbacking from their chair. This is completely normal, and even encouraged, in most circles. In steps me. Footbal

wh400

wh400

The Thing About Chasing Cars - Part 2

So where were we – that’s right, on my way home from Pittsburgh to Birmingham, AL on a cold and rainy day. But no stinkin’ rain can dampen my spirits – I have a 79 Mercedes convertible to bring home. The rest of the trip is what one could call many things. Exciting? Strange? Frustrating? Twilight Zone? You pick the description, each and every one is true at some point along the way. 5:00 PM I return my rental car at a Hertz Local Edition where they normally will give you a ride back home, etc.

wh400

wh400

The Thing About Cars and Driving a BMW...

I drive a BMW. There, I said it. It’s out in the open for all to see, hear, interpret and judge. I drive a BMW and being a car guy this can be difficult when talking with people who are not car people and sometimes even with a fellow automotive lover. Whenever the inevitable question of ‘What do you drive?’ arises I am never quite sure what to say. I feel like the old make up commercial with the tag line ‘Don’t judge me because I am beautiful.’ I want to scream, ‘Don’t judge me because I own a B

wh400

wh400

The Thing About The Car Bug And Turning 50

http://thethingaboutcars.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-thing-about-car-bug-and-turning-50_53.html By the time you read this I will have hit a very major milestone in my life. I will cross over the half-century mark. I know when I turned 40 just last year, or was that 10 years ago? I was shown the secret handshake for those that are four decades old. No one has told me what secret comes with turning 50, maybe just getting to 50 in one piece is the secret in itself. They say you are as old as you feel

wh400

wh400

The Thing about First Cars....

In the past year I have purchased 2 cars for drivers in my household. This is an important rite for me as a parent and for my children. I believe right up there with a first favorite rock group, first crush on the opposite sex, or a first kiss lives the all the dominant first car. Mainly among men, but women too, is the pride, or maybe the embarrassment, of sharing what their first car was. Some have the unfortunate story of owning an AMC Pacer or their parent's hand me down wagon with full wood

wh400

wh400

The Thing about Rental Cars - Part 1

Summer is soon here and a lot of people will be traveling and that often means renting a car. I travel a lot, sometimes two or three cities in a single week. That means a lot of rental cars. Each city I go to becomes not only a new experience but an opportunity to drive a different car. I find there are two experiences that come with renting a car. First, what type of car to choose? With so many options this is not as simple as it sounds. Second, the excitement of what car I will get my han

wh400

wh400

The Thing About Chasing Cars - Part 1

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Mr. Dickens penned those words over a hundred years ago and for many of us this happens on a regular basis. My story for the next two months is just like that, the best and worst of times, rolled into one. Unfortunately, more the worst of times but with the rose colored glasses perspective of the best of times. Please enjoy my journey with me. Wayne Carini of Chasing Classic Cars, Jeff Allen and Meg Bailey from The Car Chasers, the Gas Monkey

wh400

wh400

The Thing About Car Prep...

I have a love and hate relationship with deadlines. I hate deadlines because as the day approaches I typically leave 2 days for 30 days of work. I also love deadlines because, well, they make you get things done. For example, you are the one hosting the neighborhood Christmas party. Normally you hang that last Christmas ornament and the last string of lights by December 24th, 10 PM. The #%@& Christmas party throws those ideas out the window and makes you frantically work to get the house rea

wh400

wh400

Carism for World Peace

I belong to many automotive related groups on different social media. From old cars to new cars, cars that people see on the highway to ones sitting in someone's garage in a 1,000 pieces, particular brands, types and even colors - you name the category there is most likely some car group out there related to it. Most of these groups require a rule that when broken is dealt with swiftly and with justice. What makes me write about these groups along with the above rules is that I theorize tha

wh400

wh400

The Thing About Rental Cars - Part 2

http://thethingaboutcars.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-thing-about-rental-cars-part-2.html A new car is exciting and there is something about the new car experience that only a new car provides. The smell of new leather (or leatherette?). The thunk sound of a solid shutting door. The smell of the engine, heater, air conditioner as they reach maximum operating temperatures for the first time produce a magical experience. The issue for most is that the experience comes once every 4 or 5 years. More f

wh400

wh400

The Thing about Cars in Foreign Lands...

My family and I recently spent 9 glorious days south of Cancun, Mexico. Blue and green ocean waters, white sand, blue skies, and migrating butterflies made for a wonderful time. For this trip we did not rent a car for our entire stay and instead used a golf cart to drive around our mostly Americanized ‘town’. However, as a car nut I nearly broke my neck looking at all of the different cars that are used in Mexico. The thing about Cars in foreign lands is that one feels like you are in an episod

wh400

wh400

The Thing About Rental Cars - Part 3

The greatest rental car comment ever uttered has to have come from Jeremy Clarkson on BBC's Top Gear. As he and James May set off on some excellent adventure Clarkson shows up in a light blue Toyota something or other. He points to the car and says James asks how in the world could a boring sedan be the fastest car in the world? Mr. Clarkson exclaims 'It's a rental!'. From that point forward the little car never had a chance. So it is true with all rentals, they seemingly live the life of a L

wh400

wh400

The Thing About Cars: Making Car Friends

The long, dark and cold days of February are ahead. Thankfully February is a short month that quickly leads into March giving us glimpses of warm spring days to come fighting winter as the ocean waves fight the beach during high tide. Back in the days when you produced your own food February was a month where little outside work could be done making reflection a possibility. Even in modern days February makes me reflect on the past. As I review the film of my life I realize how many frien

wh400

wh400

The Thing About Car Events...

While I love and breath cars I actually earn my living working with technology systems. You learn early that a software system consists of people, process and technology. Add a new computer but don’t change processes and nothing changes. New people, old technology and well, you get the point, you won’t see any improvements. You need a system. The same can be said of car related events. Whether it is a Friday night cruise-in, a Saturday morning Cars and Coffee or full weekend car festival three

wh400

wh400

The Thing about Transforming Cars...

Transforming cars. You expected to see this car, right? The all famous Bumblebee Camaro from the 2007 movie 'Transformers'. Yes, that is a transforming car but I was thinking about cars that transformed our country, the world and how cars have been made and sold for the last 100+ years. To define and determine what makes a car one that created transformation in the automobile world some rules need to be set. First we need to agree on what defines a car. Next, we will need to know what is consid

wh400

wh400

The Thing about Cars...

There is a Thing about Cars that can't be described. For some it is a 'thing' about cars, a love, or sometimes even a lust, affair. For others there is a thing about cars that makes them mysterious and hard to understand but still attractive. Finally, there are those whose thing about cars is simply that, they are things. I want to declare that 'The Thing about Cars' is meant for everyone from those of us with gasoline in our veins, or in the case of this person, on his knuckles. To those

wh400

wh400

The Thing about Where Cars Live...

Travel anywhere in the country, the world for that matter, and many people could identify where they are simply by the cars they see. Blindfold me, throw me on a plane, and place me in the airport parking garage and I am confident I could tell you where I was. (Note: For anyone who would like to try this, I have never been to Hawaii.) The question though is why? Is it Nature versus Nurture? Is it climate related or is it geography? Is it simply an outcome of financial ability or is there even a

wh400

wh400

The Thing about Driving Classic Cars

Ahhh, Fall! Cool and dry weather. Foliage turning the leaves colors that even the Home Depot paint department can't replicate. Life is slowing down as we prepare for that inevitable coming of winter where being indoors is best for our fragile human bodies. Fall also gives us the opportunity to get our classic cars out and enjoy them for a Saturday evening cruise-in, maybe a car show, or just a Sunday afternoon jaunt on some pretty back roads. Imagine how I felt when my good friend told me

wh400

wh400

Horsepower or Handling - Which is best?

In the car world there is always something to debate. Ford versus Chevy. Slammed and stanced versus original. Stretched tires or sidewalls as tall as Mount Olympus. Even import versus domestic. If you put two car people in the same room they will have 8 opposing positions on a single car. I know this because I am one of those people. The big debate that I lived through during the end of the horsepower wars (mid-60s to the early 70's) and through the economy car wars of the 80's was:

wh400

wh400

The Thing about Cars and Do Overs...

My belief is that the Digital Video Record, or DVR, not the cell phone, is the major reason for today's distracted driver. You ask, the DVR? I say yes and before you tune me out as yet another loon talking about the foibles of driving carelessly, let me explain why I believe that I do. WHEN I WAS A KID...this is the point where the eyes of my three teenagers glaze over and their minds head off into a land that I no longer remember nor do I want to. So let me start again, When I was a kid the id

wh400

wh400

The Thing About Spring Cleaning Cars...

<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLnfcbi_j84/UxOPHeumsJI/AAAAAAAAGZE/WqucH80WwCw/s1600/rug4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLnfcbi_j84/UxOPHeumsJI/AAAAAAAAGZE/WqucH80WwCw/s1600/rug4.jpg" height="190" width="200" /></a>I remember as a young kid there was always one weekend I truly despised. The dread would begin as the snow started to melt, the sun began to shine warme

wh400

wh400

Do you like it? Then it is perfect.

Today someone in a BMW E28 group on Fa cebook posted a pictures of some wheels he planned to install on his car and asked the inevitable question: "What do you all think?" I looked at the post and knew, just knew, many purists were going to comment 'Dude, that is hideous', or 'I guess if you like to look like one of those guys' and the other myriad of comments that come from the question 'What do you think?'. I wrote to him: And I meant it. I recently purchased a 2000 M Roadster in sil

wh400

wh400

The Thing About Cars - New Year's Resolution

There are over 50 million people who have fitness center memberships in the United States. Six million of those signups happen in January as part of a New Year’s Resolution. By the time you read this, 80% of those people will have stopped going. Thinking of New Year’s resolutions, fitness centers and our promises to ourselves and others for what we are going to accomplish or change begs the question – What is your plan for your car, or cars, this year? I don’t make resolutions as a matte

wh400

wh400

  • Blog Statistics

    • Total Blogs
      448
    • Total Entries
      2,348
×
×
  • Create New...