One Year

odometer reading: a whole lotta miles

A year ago today I picked Mr. Q up from Global Imports Mini in Atlanta. He’s been waxed n polished twice since I’ve had him. Once by Bubba and once by a remorseful dealer. In all it’s been a good year of Motoring. Although I had issues with the dealer, or rather the brain dead Motoring Advisor, those were worked out by dealing directly with the man in charge of all the mechanical gods. Rough Idle still plagues Mr. Q, but it is down to once on a tank of gas rather than every time I get in it. I can tolerate it. No matter how much the people don’t want to believe it, the problem really does seem to come down to the BRAND of gasoline I use. When I use the specific ones they told me to use it does not happen. When I use the brands that are more convenient to get (I live right next door to a gas station), it does happen. Oh well. Gas mileage remains fairly consistent. I haven’t really noticed any slight power loss. Though, considering I was driving a 78 corvette, anything feels like a loss of power.

Mr. Q is as stock as the day I drove him off the dealer’s lot. Of the options I got on him, the only one I regret are the white wheels. They look cute, but damn are they difficult to keep clean. I have the “V” spoke wheels, which are also a bitch to clean thoroughly. I step on the brakes and they are dirty. Solution … use brakes as little as possible! We like!!

The options I love are the heated seats. I use these year round. On a long road trip the heat feels nice on a tired back. With that option came heated mirrors and windshield washers. Since I garage the car, I’ve only seen the heated mirrors work once … but they are kinda neat. Not too sure about the windshield washers. The one time I used it when it was snowing, the stuff froze on the windshield. Guess it was really cold. That explains why the car was dinging at me. The last thing, which most folks think I was crazy for getting, is the Navigation System. While the Nav Lady can be irritating, I love that I can just jump in the car without a map. Living in a new city it’s been nice to be able to say I really haven’t gotten lost yet.

One bonus option is the headlight washers. With just a little practice you can work them so they squirt the driver or passenger of a car beside you. I have enjoyed that feature once or twice. : )