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Car Talk

Wednesday, January 31st, 2007

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Ever since some person who’s going to be in the same circle of hell that’s reserved for bicycle thieves hit the Tercel, I’ve been noodling over the idea of a new car. Not a NEW new car, but a new to me car. A newer car, shall we say.

I have shopped for cars exactly once in my time on planet Earth - and that was when I got the Tercel. I wasn’t even really shopping for a car, I’d just decided that I’d lived long enough without one and I was walking around my neighborhood and there he was, the Yodler. I bought him the same day that the owner put the for sale sign in the window. I’ve got his birth certificate - in Japanese - and every single record of every single oil change etc etc amen. The first time I took him in for an oil change the guys at the shop - they’d been working on Yodler since he was brand new in 1985 said this: “You’ve got Marsha’s car! You got the better end of that deal, no matter what you paid.”

Yodler carries a ton of camping gear, he is hopelessly reliable, he works as a kitchen when it’s raining and your campground doesn’t have a cook shelter, and he gets outstanding mileage for his 21 years. He’s compact, so it’s not hard to park him here on parking challenged Capitol Hill. Given all those qualities, what I’m looking for in a new car is pretty specific. In a perfect world, I’d find a well loved, low mileage, 1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon.

That’s not going to happen, so we’ve been shopping and I’m pretty disappointed at the offerings. I really like the Yaris, it’s super cute, but it’s just too small to suit my needs. I like the Matrix, but it doesn’t get the mileage that the Yaris gets. I like the Subaru wagons, but they seem to come with too much engine, which means lousy fuel economy, and it’s not easy to find one that isn’t all wheel drive, and excuse me, I do not need that. And all of those things are quite expensive, and I am a fiscal conservative. I ain’t buying a car that I can’t afford and I ain’t working for my car. Man.

The closest thing to acceptable so far has been the dull as dirt but well reviewed Ford Focus Wagon. I sat in one yesterday and I can’t say I loved it. I really liked the Passat wagon, man, that’s a nice car, but how can a car that’s 10 years newer than mine get half the mileage? I’m aggravated by the fact that most cars we’ve seen don’t come close to offering the fuel economy of my 1985 Tercel. And those that I can afford are too teeny and the hybrids are out of my budget.

Yo, Detroit. Yo, Toyota. Yo, auto manufacturers! I want a small four door hatchback that is reliable, fuel efficient, and doesn’t require me to take out a second mortgage. I would buy a diesel if I could find one, I’d buy a hybrid if it came in the configuration I want. It’s clear I’m not too picky, after all, my favorite car ever is a 1985 Tercel. Could someone get with the program, please? On the short list but not in the budget? The Honda Fit and the Toyota Matrix.

Current plan? Keep the Tercel a little longer and save more pennies. While I’m saving my pennies, maybe a new generation of smaller, fuel efficient econoboxes will hit the market. Here’s hoping.

You think I’m crazy? Check out this poem to an 87 Tercel.

[tags]Toyota Tercel Wagon[/tags]

Posted in Op/Ed | 7 Comments »

In Search of Something Real

Thursday, December 28th, 2006

Authenticity.

It’s the buzzword of the enlightened traveler. We seek the genuine experience, something unspoiled by commercialism or prior visitors; we seek the perfect interaction with the culture we’re visiting. Maybe our fantasy is to be adopted by a tribe, to receive some kind of acknowledgment that we’re not just another camera toting white shoe wearing tourist. Maybe it’s to have a time travel moment, to visit a land seemingly unspoiled by progress. Maybe we want to boldly go where no man has gone before. We are out of luck.

For some reason, writing about authenticity in travel has been flying across my radar lately. I read stories punctuated with introspective commentary about polluted cultures or an inability to leave our world behind. I’m starting to think we are missing the point.

We live in a small world. In a day and a half, we can be in the African bush, with a Hmong hill tribe, in the Moscow subway. Visas and politics not withstanding, the world is open to us. If our bodies and minds can be there, our global policies and influences are there too. And we tend to really enjoy things like Internet access and indoor plumbing, which got there the same way we did. I suspect we prefer a somewhat sanitized authenticity.

The word authenticity implies a genuine, distilled sort of experience, a kind of transitory purity that may exist somewhere, but will be gone as soon as we lay our eyes on it. Some time back I watched an episode of Globe Trekker where the host visited a tree house dwelling tribe in – oh, was it New Guinea? And I remember seeing western t-shirts on some of the tribe, left behind by the last camera crew, perhaps?

Sure, travel companies will charge you a lot of money to offer up a “real” experience, but what you’re purchasing is no more or less authentic for its exclusivity. Here in Seattle you can take a ferry out to an island and attend a “genuine” Native American powwow, with salmon bake and native dances – but the powwow we stumbled into last summer had a fun fair and roller coasters. There was a salmon bake and dancing, but also, cotton candy and fairground games where you could win a giant pale pink teddy bear. Was it less authentic?

The strip malls of Vegas are no less real than the Kingdom of Bhutan. We have to stop being offended by the Bob Marley cassettes, no, the Pearl Jam CDs, left behind by the last generation of travelers and take it as part of the experience. It is what is real now and when we travel we are in it. We are both cause and effect of this perceived lack of authenticity. We’re relying on our destinations to provide it, but it’s Shangri-la, it’s Atlantis, it’s Brigadoon and Camelot. You can’t get there from here.

The best we can hope for is to be authentic in our travels. Wherever we go, there we are.

Posted in Op/Ed, Passport Travels | 7 Comments »

Thank You.

Thursday, November 23rd, 2006

Click the image for full size, more readable.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. The Internet. It’s a freakin’ miracle.
The expats, for your genuine sympathy and understanding. Hooray for people who get it.
The Seattle Ukulele Players Association for making music part of my life.
The Tech Writing Superfriends, for sharing leads and putting me back to work.
The Seattle neighbors down the hill for their ever open door and delicious snacks and kindness.
My MIL who really makes me feel welcome and part of the family.
The US family, for understanding why I’d rather gouge my eyes out with a fork than travel on Thanksgiving weekend.
Mr. NEV, for your neverending indulgence and those really cute espresso cups*
You, for coming back to Nerd’s Eye View over and over as though there was something here of value.

Thanksgiving has to tussle with Passover for favorite holiday status, but it’s way up there. I’m off to my ex-neighbor’s place this afternoon, with a detour to pick up my stunt husband. When we go around the table and say what we’re thankful for, I’ll have too many things in mind to limit it to just one. And I’m thankful for that, too.

Happy Thanksgiving and thank you.

*In September, we ate lunch at the Stiftskeller at Klosterneuburg. I ordered an espresso and it came in a cute little cup with an off center matching saucer - the off center bit was so there’s room for your demitasse spoon, a sugar cube or two, and maybe a tiny chocolate. “Those are SO cute!” I said “Be right back,” said Mr. NEV. He returned a few minutes later and handed me a plastic bag. “I figured I’d ask the manager. They get them from the coffee company. Here you go.” Inside were two cups and saucers, wrapped in white paper.

Last year’s Thanksgiving post is here. And the sound track link is still good. Cue the Dido, again.
[tags]Thanksgiving[/tags]

Posted in Op/Ed | 4 Comments »

Late Fall Cleaning Tips

Wednesday, November 8th, 2006

It might be time for you to toss that Halloween pumpkin into the yard waste bin.
If you can afford to buy a swank new flat screen monitor, you can afford to recycle the old one properly instead of kicking it to the curb where it will be ruined by the rain.
A few minutes near your storm drain with a rake and your puddle jumping pedestrian neighbors will thank you.

[tags]sidewalk puddles, old monitors, rotting pumpkins[/tags]

Posted in Op/Ed | 2 Comments »