Week of December 10th

12/10/12

• 2010 Ford Edge SEL: This thing is horrible, hard echoey interior, cheap seats, hideous seating position, tippy feeling. And it's big, yet my hair still hits the headliner, I can't believe they were making stuff like this up through 2010!
• 2010 Ford Edge SEL AWD: Mielage is terrible at ~21MPG on the highway! For the price of this vehicle everyone involved should be ashamed. 

12/11/12

• 2004 Jeep Liberty 3.7L: Very Jeep like. Feels offroader-ey, but still manageable on the road; as opposed to the wrangler.
• 2007 Lincoln MKX: More money, but same crap fest as the EDGE.
• 2004 Suazuki XL7 V6: Still a stout little frame on body truck. Aside from a half hearted attempt in the interior it isn't trying to be anything but a little offroader.
• 2008 Chrysler Aspen: This tarted up Durango just makes no sense, it's still Dodge cheap inside.
• 2004 Ford Taurus: Average, average power, average breaks, average handling for a family sedan. Just average. C-.

12/12/12

• 2002 Nisan Maxima: These age out great and are really fun to drive. Great power, good steering response, but man they do not fit big Americans so great.

12/13 - 12/16

ROAD TRIP!!

I abandon my day job to jump in the GMC 2500 and roll out to Colorado to go get a friend's new racecar. 

Cleveland to Denver is 1,331 miles, over all, the trip with stops would take about 24 hrs. So it's up real early to get on the road.

Sadly due to weather concerns we took the open trailer. The land whale will be used soon enough. Crew Chief is ready and I'm ready!

Our first stop for the night was in Keamey Nebraska, I'd like to have something to say about it, but we got in at night and left early. 

Somewhere along the way I came along a vending machine that sells obvious.

Yea I fricking hope so! Your'e the Vend-it-HOT. Items should DEFIANTLY be HOT.

That possibly hot mess behind us, we continue on through out the day entering the dry scrub of western Nebraska and then south west into Colorado. Then something magic begins to happen. 

 Off in the distance the horizon begins separating from the clouds.

 Now almost two days into the trip, the Rocky Mountains loom into view.

By the time you get into the Denver suburbs you can see the snow caps and the sheer size of them starts to become apparent. Also by this time you are at over 5000' above sea level. the air is so delightfully crisp and thin, just like being in a plane.

We hit the hotel in town to dump our stuff then it's off to load the car.

It's name is now "Cheddar" because well, it looked more yellow in the pictures.

It's a First Generation RX-7 running SCCA E-Production. This is one of the top of the heap for full amateur closed wheel. Beyond this is GT category and the Pros.

That engine may look small, but it's a 2100 pound car and that Wankel Rotor engine puts out over 200hp with no turbos. 

You need a lot of Tach for a Rotor engine, they technically don't have a redline so much as a point at which the flame front can't complete the burn before it ends up kicked out the exhaust port.  Also note the dual EGT gauges, because these beasts make close to 1800 degrees in the exhaust. and it's a fine line between peak mixture and destructively lean.

Once the garage is emptied and the seller has his check we head out for some visiting with the chief's friends (the seller was one of them), and then it's well past time for bed.

In the morning there's a surprise out the window. The dark mountains that blocked out the sun so early the evening before are now glowing with golden hour morning sunlight.

Good morning massive mountain range!

After breakfast we check that we still have a racecar and then it's back on the road home.

Still there, Still, Cheese Colored.

We quickly rock through Nebraska and Iowa (75 MPH speed limit!) but by around Midnight it's time to stop and we end up in Davenport RIGHT on the Mississippi river. 

Did I mention it was RIGHT ON THE RIVER? 

The Blue arrow is where we stayed. the parking lot is maybe 12 feet above the river surface. The red arrow indicates the down hill road we had to use to get to the hotel, In the dark, late at night, after driving all day. We really hoped the brakes were in the mood to work.

Giant river tank with Giant local Mississippi river fish monsters. 

All the places we stayed were great, but the Holiday Inn Express here in Davenport was the nicest with some great folks at the counter, also it was like $75 for a double queen on no notice. SCORE!

Oh yea and they had a machine that poops pancakes.

After eating robot feces pancakes we check the car again and then it's off on the final run back to Ohio.

Lucky Old Man River didn't have a taste for cheese in the night. 

It goes all the way from up there, to down there.

At 7pm on Sunday we end up finally back in Cleveland to unload a shiny new present a week early. Four days, 2, 662 miles, way too much junk food, one actual meal, and back to work on Monday!

It's wet, but it's here!

Next step is to get it in a shop and get to work!!!