I really hate to post on this again but I just got back from another business trip, which meant another rental car. This time I was allocated a Chrysler Sebring Convertible, Limited Edition. I was initially quite excited - it's been a while since I drove a convertible. I retracted the roof which was a nice, smooth mechanism, and it vanished below a hard tonneau cover at the back. Nice. It certainly made the car look better once the roof was down. The overall external design was actually quite attractive. The interior left a bit to be desired but it was better than some of the recent stuff I've driven. The power seat was comfortable and had enough range of movement for me, although being a convertible, the lower windscreen top did mean I had to have the seat quite low. The tilt-and-slide steering column had a good range of adjustment in it, but I couldn't quite get it to where I was comfortable. No biggie though - things were looking impressive for an American car. I was prepared, for the first time in a while, to be pleasantly surprised.
Sadly it all went a bit wrong when I let the brake off and started to drive.
Where to start?
Well the engine certainly has a lot of torque and power (235hp in a V6). The problem is that the chassis is so bad that if the road is even slightly wet, you just sit there with the front wheels spinning. Oddly, the car did seem to have traction control, but it took a good 3 or 4 seconds before it kicked in. And when it did, it was like the engine had seized. There was this awful mechanical bang from the front, the car lurched forwards and it felt like 5 of the 6 cylinders had exploded.
It got worse when I got to the first corner. With the exception of the Smart ForTwo, this thing has the most awful understeer of any car I've ever driven. The Chrysler just plows straight ahead, irrespective of where the front wheels are pointed. To say it nearly killed me on the first motorway off-ramp is an understatement. As I slowed from 60-ish to 30-ish to deal with the cloverleaf junction, the front lost traction and away I went, over the hard shoulder and on to the dirt. I let off the brakes just in time to stop from going over the edge - the wheels regained just enough grip to turn the car away from disaster, but really - braking from 60 to 30 and it won't turn? Is this the dark ages? My Honda Element, with it's high centre of gravity and rollover-inducing long-travel suspension can handle clover-leaf junctions in the wet at 50mph with no problems.
The rest of the Chrysler's handling is commensurate with the boat-like size of the car. (It's 5 metres long yet the EPA classify it as a "compact".) It wallowed over bumps and undulations in the road and the steering was the usual over-excited affair. A bit keen - like a Jack Russell terrier. You know the sort - so sensitive that the car follows every rut and bump in the road unless you're actually trying to steer it in a straight line.
But perhaps worst of all, from the fill-to-fill calculation I made on the gas-mileage, this thing managed to squeak out an abysmal 14.5mpg.
(sigh).
Why does this keep happening? Do the car-buying public just not know that there are better vehicles out there?
Monday, June 23, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Cellphones in cars - why?
As much as I hate the UK, they have done one thing right even if they can't properly police or enforce it - they've banned cellphone usage in cars. Now if only America would follow suit. OMG. RU SRIUS?
Yes I'm serious. In the 8 years since I've lived here, I've provided accident witness statements to the police 11 or 12 times because of people having crashes in front of me. On 10 of those times, they were using a cellphone either to talk or text, and on one notable occasion, the woman was using a laptop on her passenger seat.
I think the problem is that for some reason, people in America perceive car driving to be a right instead of a priviledge, and consider it to be easy and thus something that should require very little mental effort on their part. That's why they spend so much time doing other stuff behind the wheel, and in Utah at least, that seems to be why they have so many car accidents.
Seriously. At what point is your brain malfunctioning so badly that it thinks it is safe to look at a phone to send a text message whilst piloting a 2-ton weapon at 70mph?
Here's an idea - and I know this is revolutionary to those of you who think you're so important that you must use a cellphone 24/7 - when your phone rings, pull over, or better yet, leave it. Cellphones have a wonderful feature called "last number redial" - use it. I find it entertaining when I'm driving with others in my car, and my cellphone goes off. I either leave it, or hit the 'stop call' button to send it direct to voicemail. At this point, I've had passengers genuinely shocked that I didn't answer the phone. "Aren't you going to answer that?", they ask incredulously. "No - I'm driving."
Yes I'm serious. In the 8 years since I've lived here, I've provided accident witness statements to the police 11 or 12 times because of people having crashes in front of me. On 10 of those times, they were using a cellphone either to talk or text, and on one notable occasion, the woman was using a laptop on her passenger seat.
I think the problem is that for some reason, people in America perceive car driving to be a right instead of a priviledge, and consider it to be easy and thus something that should require very little mental effort on their part. That's why they spend so much time doing other stuff behind the wheel, and in Utah at least, that seems to be why they have so many car accidents.
Seriously. At what point is your brain malfunctioning so badly that it thinks it is safe to look at a phone to send a text message whilst piloting a 2-ton weapon at 70mph?
Here's an idea - and I know this is revolutionary to those of you who think you're so important that you must use a cellphone 24/7 - when your phone rings, pull over, or better yet, leave it. Cellphones have a wonderful feature called "last number redial" - use it. I find it entertaining when I'm driving with others in my car, and my cellphone goes off. I either leave it, or hit the 'stop call' button to send it direct to voicemail. At this point, I've had passengers genuinely shocked that I didn't answer the phone. "Aren't you going to answer that?", they ask incredulously. "No - I'm driving."
Saturday, June 14, 2008
The ruinous cost of petrol in England
I'm on a brief trip to the UK at the moment and the price of petrol over here is ruinous now. Of course if you're reading this in England, you already know that but for those back in America where I now live, it's the equivalent of about US$12 / US Gallon now. Petrol tanker drivers going on strike, truck drivers blocking the motorways with go-slow protests, petrol stations running out as people panic-buy and still the government won't change their over-400% tax rate. Makes me wonder if I should come back for a few weeks and set up another nationwide fuel protest like I did in 2000. Dump The Pumps. Ah - those were the days. The internet archive still has copies of my old site, back in the halcyon days when I brought the country to a complete standstill.
Boycott The Pumps
Original stories in The Telegraph and the The Oxford Mail
Boycott The Pumps
Original stories in The Telegraph and the The Oxford Mail
Monday, June 9, 2008
Indicate, then brake
Too many people nowadays seem to have forgotten how to use their indicators. All too often I follow people who slow down and slow down and slow down to the point of basically being parked in traffic, and only once they've caused the obstruction do they use their indicators. If at all.
It would be so much more helpful (for those of us who aren't telepathic) for you people to actually indicate your intentions ahead of time. That way, we have a chance of keeping the traffic flowing by going around you.
Instead we're presented with what is essentially a parked car. Have they broken down? Had a medical emergency? Which side do I go around? Left or right?
On more than one occasion I've had people park in traffic like this, and as I've gone to go around them, they've nearly turned into me. The scenario is very typical in Utah where I live, where nobody knows how to drive, much less understands where they are or where they're going. They'll amble along in the left lane, then realising they need to turn right, they'll slow down to a complete stop (with no indicators) waiting for a gap in the traffic in the right lane. As everyone behind them is being forced to go into the right lane to go around them, they're stuck until they do eventually turn right across the traffic and cause an accident.
I think part of the problem in Utah at least is that they mistakenly call indicators "blinkers". That tells me all I need to know. These people don't believe those pretty orange lights are there to indicate their intentions, they believe they're there to blink on and off.
It would be so much more helpful (for those of us who aren't telepathic) for you people to actually indicate your intentions ahead of time. That way, we have a chance of keeping the traffic flowing by going around you.
Instead we're presented with what is essentially a parked car. Have they broken down? Had a medical emergency? Which side do I go around? Left or right?
On more than one occasion I've had people park in traffic like this, and as I've gone to go around them, they've nearly turned into me. The scenario is very typical in Utah where I live, where nobody knows how to drive, much less understands where they are or where they're going. They'll amble along in the left lane, then realising they need to turn right, they'll slow down to a complete stop (with no indicators) waiting for a gap in the traffic in the right lane. As everyone behind them is being forced to go into the right lane to go around them, they're stuck until they do eventually turn right across the traffic and cause an accident.
I think part of the problem in Utah at least is that they mistakenly call indicators "blinkers". That tells me all I need to know. These people don't believe those pretty orange lights are there to indicate their intentions, they believe they're there to blink on and off.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Blondestar goes from internet joke to reality.
A while back there was a video and audio clip doing the rounds which was a spoof of the OnStar commmercials. It was called "Blondestar" and the woman's call for help was "Help - I'm locked inside my car and the keys are on the outside".
Well - life imitates art : Blondestar for real.
In case the link vanishes, here's the story. The best part of it is the pictogram they made for the story. It's classic.
Automatic car features are supposed to make life easier for motorists, but they may be leaving some people without the know-how to do things the old-fashioned way. That’s what happened to a driver in Utah County who became trapped inside her own car.
A woman called Orem police Friday afternoon needing help because her battery died and she was locked inside her car.
When police arrived, they found the woman sitting in the car, unable to get herself out. She couldn’t hear the officers instructions through the rolled-up windows so she motioned to them to call her on her cell phone, according to police.
Once officers were able to talk to the woman on the phone, they were able to tell her how to manually operate the slide lock mechanism on the inside door panel to open the door and free herself.
“I'm just glad she had a cell phone to call for help,” an officer said.
Well - life imitates art : Blondestar for real.
In case the link vanishes, here's the story. The best part of it is the pictogram they made for the story. It's classic.
Automatic car features are supposed to make life easier for motorists, but they may be leaving some people without the know-how to do things the old-fashioned way. That’s what happened to a driver in Utah County who became trapped inside her own car.
A woman called Orem police Friday afternoon needing help because her battery died and she was locked inside her car.
When police arrived, they found the woman sitting in the car, unable to get herself out. She couldn’t hear the officers instructions through the rolled-up windows so she motioned to them to call her on her cell phone, according to police.
Once officers were able to talk to the woman on the phone, they were able to tell her how to manually operate the slide lock mechanism on the inside door panel to open the door and free herself.
“I'm just glad she had a cell phone to call for help,” an officer said.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
HOV Lanes
There was a time when HOV lanes meant just that - High Occupancy Vehicle. Around here they've come up with a brilliantly misconceived scheme to turn the HOV lane into a profit-making venture. It's so corrupt it could almost be the work of the UK government.
So rather than just allowing multiple-occupancy vehicles, buses and motorbikes, they now allow driver-only vehicles as long as they have paid for a permit. The shining jewel at the top of this plan is that the permit has to ride inside the vehicle with the driver rather than be displayed somewhere prominently.
In between dodging certain death at the hands of Utah drivers on the motorway now, I also have to contend with drivers who might or might not have an HOV permit, who decide that it's their own personal overtaking lane.
It's all a bit mad.
So rather than just allowing multiple-occupancy vehicles, buses and motorbikes, they now allow driver-only vehicles as long as they have paid for a permit. The shining jewel at the top of this plan is that the permit has to ride inside the vehicle with the driver rather than be displayed somewhere prominently.
In between dodging certain death at the hands of Utah drivers on the motorway now, I also have to contend with drivers who might or might not have an HOV permit, who decide that it's their own personal overtaking lane.
It's all a bit mad.
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