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Driving
I do not, by any means, have a sporty car. It's a '92 Civic LX; a 4 door sedan with a 1.4 liter 4-cylinder SOHC engine. Zero to sixty in a little over 10 seconds. It gives out, at most, 102 HP. Still, I love driving it.
I love driving in general. I love the feel of taking a corner a little faster than you ought to. Easing off, plowing through, then putting the hammer back down. I love taking the little dirt shortcuts between my school and home, because the tail can swing out a bit and I can feel just that little bit more excited about driving my little car.
It's fun to go down the windy bits of road with the windows down, feeling the tires grip the road, and the added G's weighing on you through the turn as you give it that little extra bit of gas that brings you just that little bit closer to the line that separates "controlled" and "crashed".
The sound of the engine, the feel of the weight shifting from front to back as you accelerate and to the front again as you brake; It's the connection between man and machine.
It's going on a drive for the sake of a drive. It's getting home, and staying in the car, not to listen to music, but to hear the engine tick itself to sleep.
It's getting through a long day on the road and patting the hood with the satisfaction that this machine isn't JUST a machine; it's Your Car.
Does anyone else here feel like this?
I love driving in general. I love the feel of taking a corner a little faster than you ought to. Easing off, plowing through, then putting the hammer back down. I love taking the little dirt shortcuts between my school and home, because the tail can swing out a bit and I can feel just that little bit more excited about driving my little car.
It's fun to go down the windy bits of road with the windows down, feeling the tires grip the road, and the added G's weighing on you through the turn as you give it that little extra bit of gas that brings you just that little bit closer to the line that separates "controlled" and "crashed".
The sound of the engine, the feel of the weight shifting from front to back as you accelerate and to the front again as you brake; It's the connection between man and machine.
It's going on a drive for the sake of a drive. It's getting home, and staying in the car, not to listen to music, but to hear the engine tick itself to sleep.
It's getting through a long day on the road and patting the hood with the satisfaction that this machine isn't JUST a machine; it's Your Car.
Does anyone else here feel like this?
Comments
I grew up with my dad plowing into turns in his car, the back end sweeping into a barely-controlled fishtail, my head pushed back with Gs and my nose filled with the scent of burnt rubber. He taught me to drive stick; the sound of the one-two slam of the clutch followed by the squeal of the tires was a defining characteristic of my childhood. Today, in my car, I like to recreate all those things, pushing the little car's speedometer far to the right on an empty stretch of interstate at 2 AM, or spraying dust across the street as I slide in to a turn. Most of all, I love that feeling when your hand is on the shift knob, knowing that you've become a part of the inner workings of that mighty machine, and feeling the scream of the gears in your bones.
I'm hoping that, if all the chips fall into place over the next several years, I can eventually upgrade to something with a bit more kick.
Oh, and before someone jumps on me, note that you'll shorten clutch life too, but probably not enough to notice if you don't overuse your clutch to begin with.
Alright gents, who's gonna open up the can of whoop-ass on this kid?
Well, boating is awesome in its own right (though I've only ever driven skiffs and Boston Whalers, that sort of thing), and the mechanics of making a boat go really fast are even more awesomely complex than those of an automobile. I'll give you a pass. Not sure about Sonic, though.
I love to drive with the tops off on slightly cloudy days and go slow with the engine purring at 2K RPM, my car doesn't have a working radio nor does it need it, its kind of a "project" car but I have no regrets. It's been kind to me as my daily driver (keep in mind that my work commute is about 8 miles) and with every repair, it just gets better and better.
1) The air conditioner doesn't work, while the fan does.
2) The windshield wipers will not work
3) Electric locks, gear shifting, and headlights short out
and finally 4) No cruise control.
In addition, rainwater has begun to leak in my car, and I finally found out where it is coming from (Yes, in addition to the sky, ha ha ha). Apparently it comes in through the top of my front passenger door, and back down through the molding on the floor of my car. Frankly, if I had a halfway decent car, I might enjoy driving. For now, I will settle for gritting my teeth.
My next car will definitely be a standard transmission. I miss the feeling of being in control of my car. With an automatic transmission I'm just sitting there trying to trick it into shifting when I want it to. Also, taking turns on the highway or going on ramps makes it want to shift if I don't give it gas. Not fun.
Lots of storage space, though!
The Odometer reads 183000 miles, but it's around 200000.
The speedometer goes out randomly, so the odometer doesn't count the mileage.
My Air conditioner and heater don't work.
It burns oil like crazy.
I can't shift into park because the shifter is messed up, so I have to leave it in neutral and pull the emergency brake anytime I park.
The transmission won't shift unless I let off the gas like I'm in a Standard every time it wants to shift.
The fuel gauge changes randomly.
The temperature gauge doesn't work correctly, and my car has overheated a few times with it pegged out on cold.
The radio went out and now is just fuzzy all of the time, no reception at all.
The headlights are total ass, and I have to drive with my brights on everywhere, which are just bright enough to be normal headlights.
The paint is peeling like crazy, just as all of the stock paint on Neons from 95-99 (I think that's the range)
My suspension is about to go, and every bump is like a roller coaster.