another rabbit is reborn

As stated previously, I needed a reliable vehicle that will go from point A to point B and do so in an efficient and desirable manner. So, it’s time for me to introduce the world to my new Volkswagen rabbit!


 chic magnet

Feel free to pause to clean up the saliva that’s now soaking your chin. Below I’ll describe the pure awesomeness that is this wonderful awe inspiring 1980 Volkswagen Rabbit.

who needs a radio?

Now, you might be asking yourself “So… why a VW rabbit?” but really… why not?! Notice the convertible top, pretty cool huh?! This little beauty was created in 1980 and has roughly 180,000 miles on it. Although it uses gas (not diesel) the plan is to learn a lot by working on this car and eventually move towards diesel land. A new and well diagramed service manual has been purchased and although its 800 pages of text is intimidating, it’s nice to have and will prove handy.

lock that cap!

From the photos you’ll observe the locking gas cap, an increasingly important feature these days. And notice the almost wood dash and steering wheel, nothing says style more than wood trim! Next we have the [what could be] leather interior, a true luxurious mobile. And every serious sports car driver deserves the informative central console gauges for when you need to know your vehicles temperature, the number of volts the battery is holding currently, and of course a clock for logging all those 0-100 kmh (0-62mph) time trials on the race track.

living the dream…

One picture shows the five gears, yes that’s right, 1-2-3-4-…5 gears! This is my first manual (stick), a type of vehicle I’ve been preaching against forever now. Sure I’ll have one less arm and one less leg to use for other things while driving but who cares… it’s a rabbit!

five gears!

I’m not sure what the L means near the logo but I assume it’s German for Awesome.

L = Awesome

So we’ll see what happens. I’ve already compiled a lengthy TODO list for fixing this little hummer up and do look forward to learning about automobile maintenance. I’ll of course keep you all updated :-)

A new used car is on the horizon

Within the next few days I’ll likely have an automobile chosen for purchase. This vehicle has the following conditions:

  • Reliable : Last for at least a few years, and remain decent for resale
  • Cheap : The total budget is $3500 USD
  • Efficient : At least 30 MPG (12 KM/L)
  • Rushed : Need it within a week (the minivan very recently blew up!) :(

It won’t be a life long car (but could be) mainly due to cheap Diesels being difficult to find. Within a couple of years a goal of mine is to have a Biodiesel vehicle, you know, something that is optionally powered by stuff that grows.

Throughout history I’ve done very little car shopping, especially with such defined budget and time constraints. So far I’ve discovered the following problems:

  • Price: Most all of the desired vehicle prices exceed the budget
  • Unsure: Not sure what I want, or why. First instinct is Honda or Toyota (or VW for diesel) but who knows!
  • Distance: The Internet is nice for searching and finding but vehicles far away are difficult to transfer home. Driving from ‘Boston, MA’ to ‘Portland, OR’ sounds fun, or having it shipped, but not really doable.
  • Time: The upcoming week is approaching fast!
  • Reliance: I rely too much on having a car and must further utilize alternate methods of travel. This much is certain.
  • Lines: Somewhere lies a fine line between a noteworthy car with 140 000 miles (~225 000 km) versus a sketchier one with 80 000 (~130 000 km)
  • Information overload: Too many sites offering vehicles, a super hip meta car search tool needs to exist

Only time will tell what’s going to happen… enjoy (and be a part of) the ride! :-)

Happy Pi Day

I hope that everyone has (or had, or will have) a wonderful Pi Day today. At 3/14 1:59pm I’ll be counting the seconds down to taking my final Engineering Graphics exam but at the same time will be remembering how great π is. Awhile ago Eric put a visual representation of Pi in his blog, and thank you Sean for sharing this holiday with me. I’ll be sure to pass the word to my fellow aspiring Enginerds today.

My ecological footprint on our planet is bad

click me for enlargement

I took a quiz today titled “my ecological footprint” and as it turns out I have a somewhat large footprint (although to my credit, smaller than the average in my country) so that said is it time for change? Of course, but change is difficult. Not only does it require effort and work, but money. In our society being “different” or “ecologically responsible” is expensive and I’m somewhere near the poor category. You should take the quiz too and report your results. Living in the suburbs = bad score.

An excerpt from my quiz results:

WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON.
IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 4.6 PLANETS.

And here I thought I was doing good because, well, I recycle. But, that most certainly isn’t enough.

Some I know of:

  • Find ways to use public transportation (difficult in the burbs, but doable)
  • Become a vegetarian again (was for 10 years before succumbing to the dark side)
  • Get a more efficient car (but… it’s the mini van!)
  • Eat more natural foods (expensive but our bodies deserve it… we only have one!)
  • Stop eating fast food (it’s so easy, and cheap, but bad… very very bad… but so good)
  • Stop supporting companies that are evil
  • Become better educated

Well, if you have any further suggestions for change please let me know. Or, if you know of a few spare planets that would work too.