Thankful to be proven wrong

Turns out my predictionating before the election wasn't so good:

It really should be a Reagan-style blow-out by Obama this November, that fact that it won't is scary.

But I'll gladly take the hit on this one.

Won't the real US please stand up?

Why aren't we outraged about the financial crisis - specifically the huge paychecks these guys/gals are (still) getting. Personally, being a bit of a socialist, I've always said they get paid too much/not taxed enough.

But a friend recently said something interesting while I was venting about executive pay and the lack of outrage. Maybe we aren't actually that outraged? Well, not exactly. His theory is that, put in the same situation, none of us would behave all that differently. The American dream is to be at the top of the pile, raking in the dough. Given the choice between doing the responsible thing, or taking home the big check, might we all do the latter? Are we not outraged, or do we have some seriously broken morals?

Top 10 Cars to drive, not drive, on first date

The folks at Autoblog have recently done some posts on the 10 best cars to drive or not drive on first dates. The cars-not-to-drive list is fine, mostly uncreative, but number 10 is pretty amusing:

Any time you get behind the wheel of a Ferrari, you're having a good day. The 599 GTB has all the goods: the prancing horse, a 600+ hp V12 and a $300,000 price tag. But it's not for first dates. We know you think we're crazy here, but if you show up with one of the hottest supercars around, the date peaks at "Holy $!%*, nice car!", and has nowhere to go but down.

However, the list for 10 cars to drive on a first date starts badly and goes downhill from there. The (not yet available) new Camaro and the Mustang? Mazda RX-8 and Caddy CTS-V? The (also not yet available) new Honda Insight? When they said:

The only problem is that we're less qualified to write [the best date car list] than [the worst date car list], but we decided to give it a go anyway

They weren't kidding. Two cars you can't even buy. Two pony cars ( ok, maybe that works for a subset of "ladies"). Two serious sports cars. The Camry made it on the "good" list because it's boring and would appeal to a date's parents (I didn't realize this was written for the High School audience only) but the Taurus made it on the "bad" list because, well, it's boring and somebodies' parents probably like it.

But lest I be accused of all talk and no action, I think I can come up with better list of 10 cars to bring on a first date:

1. Cooper Mini. Probably not the Clubman.
   
2. BMW 2002. Old BMW has cachet, doesn't scream prick, pretty hip. Won't strand you like the cooler but less reliable Alfa GTV
3. 2nd (and maybe 3rd) generation Benz SL. A classic, not as pretentious as the newer ones.
   
4. Original Saab 900 3-door. Hip and different. Not a Volvo
5. Volkswagen Passat. The choice if you want to look practical but not dull at the same time. Wagon may be preferable, may not, depending on the date (if date likes wagons, any Euro version may do, which also negates "Not a Volvo" from above)
   
6. Volvo C30. Ok, there's really nothing wrong with any new Volvos. I'm just a Saab guy. But the C30 is cool.
   
7. "Smokey and the Bandit" Firebird. Mainly for the ironic hipster, but even my wife likes it (and she's the reason the new Camaro and Mustang drew my ire earlier)
   
8. Jeep Cherokee. Note: there is no "Grand" in there. An unpretenious SUV, and in my opinion the one that deservedly began the current SUV craze, but not ridiculously large.
   
9. Any old, formerly expensive car. Good chance date won't really know what the hell it is, makes for interesting conversation, shows some eccentricity. And daring, since it might break down.
   
10. Any non-beater. If you need a car to impress your date, you're a loser. And who wants to date somebody who's that impressed by your car?

I've actually strived to make my picks fit number 10. I don't choose cars for potential dating situations because 1. I'm married, and 2. I'm a car guy. But if you are seriously considering my advice on this, uh, don't. See previous sentence.

Retrospective Reviews: 1990 Mercury Capri XR2

After a bit of a hiatus, my retro reviews are back. This was car number 3 I drove, the much maligned Mercury Capri XR2. Let's just say this was not one of the family's finer moments. I mean, look at the thing (ours was white, and it did look a *little* better). At least we got the XR2, which had a 132 hp turbocharged 4. As a power-addicted youngster, I think the appeal of this car versus the recently introduced Miata was that it had a bit more balls, and it didn't seem as much of a girly car. Oh, youth. It did also have the possibility of putting more than 2 people in it - see the rear seat! The integrated tonneau cover was pretty slick, but being all manual you had to get out of the car to put the top up or down.

This car wasn't that great than. But it wasn't all bad. It's a convertible, and as I've rediscovered with my own recently purchased convertible, I forgot what a blast a drop-top is. And it was quick. Around 7.5 to 60 as I recall, which beat the girly-Mazda by something like 1.5 seconds. Torque steer was a handful in 1st and 2nd, so a firm hold and a little arm wrestling was required.

I really don't have a huge amount to say about this car. It should qualify as a footnote in my automotive history, except I learned to drive a manual in it. As did my mom, who hated this car. She called it "the tin death trap," or something equally morbid. It didn't feel like the most solid car. But learning to drive manual resulted in my mom eventually getting a quite remarkable car, a '94 240SX, which I'll write about in the future.

One more thing. The Capri was based on a Ford of Australia vehicle. Might also have been called a Capri. Ford still makes some Aussie specfic cars, but this saga obviously didn't leave them with a great outlook, as they've not done anything like this with their models from down under since. GM isn't having much better luck, although the new G8 seems like a nice car. Wait, what car was I writing about? Unlike the previous 2 cars I had driven, the Capri did not leave much of a mark on this enthusiast's soul. That's perhaps the best commentary on its failure.