Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Beautiful Days


How about that? An ordinary day turned into an extraordinary sunset here in Arizona.

Monday, July 22, 2013



 This is what I'm driving now. It's a German Smart Car, made at Mercedes Benz. Yeah, they're available in the U.S. now but the ones they make here are not Mercedes products. I wanted the real deal. It only took me 6 years or so to locate one for sale. The owner bought it in Germany, had it modified and upgraded at Brabus (who does tuning and specialty work for Mercedes) and then when he immigrated to the U.S. he had it shipped over here. He had to sell it, and I was in the market for a car. His loss, completely. I was so excited to see this car for sale I was really not able to contain myself. So, it's turbo-charged. It has custom body panels. It only has 25,000 miles on it. If I behave while driving, I get 40-45 miles per gallon. It will easily do 75 or 80 mph on the Interstate, it doesn't feel unstable or anything like that. Because of the turbo it really moves when you want it to. I love it almost as much as I loved my former car, the Vette:

 

 But, alas, this is what happened when Gary used the Vette to go see a friend in Phoenix one day:

 

 Turns out, Chevy products do not function well in this position. Gary's fine, but the Vette was totaled. After searching for a replacement car for several months, I managed to talk him into a Smart. Don't know how, I only sent him one link---and it was to the Craigslist ad for my new car pictured above. Well, bless his heart, he has certainly warmed up to my little go cart. While test driving it, he had his nose crinkled and a sour look on his face. Now, he drives it every chance he gets and he is quick to tell friends and strangers how awesome our little tiny car is. I've got to agree. I love my little Smart.