Stress mitigation mantra: Whether or not I get all my crap done, the sun will still rise, and I will (probably) still be alive.

Yeah

k

Car Review part 2:

I don't like big cars. I don't like 4 door cars. I don't like front wheel drive. I'm stuck with rentals for the next year, and the 3 aforementioned conditions encompass exactly 96.512375198% of rental car demographics. (and just take my word on that precisely computed statistic) The one National rental vehicle which creates the smallest gag reflex is the Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Yes it's big. Yes it's FWD. But hell I'll take 1 out of 3 for the time being. So for the second month in a row, this has been my car.

Looks: Not a bad looking car I must admit. The one I had last month in a deep metallic blue garnered several comments of "badass" from my roommate, and one "beautiful" from some random woman in the Food Lion parking lot. The frontal view is most certainly badass. Seeing one of these bear down on you in your rearview, you will not mistake it for any generic sedan. And the throaty exhaust note even from the base V6 further sets it apart from the average people mover.

Power (Powah): Base engine of course, but not half bad. The 3.5 V6 is good for 211/214 which in a 3400 lbs car isn't the fastest of things, but she'll certainly get up and move when requested via right foot pressure. Crusing at 100 mph+ does not seem to excessively tax this powerplant. ...not that ... I would know about that... uhm .. yeah. But even with the base engine, traction problems abound in this FWD configuration. When I first started driving this car, anything resembling a brisk take-off from a dig would result is prodigious wheelspin and the subsequent engagement of that cursed traction-control system. I have since trained my right foot to accomodate this fact. Fortunately, this car has very little torque-steer. I would love (and hate) to see how it behaves with the optional V8. By the way, the traction control system SUCKS ASS. If you can option it out, do it. It's completely useless. All it does it shuttle the throttle when wheelspin (i.e. impossible acceleration) is detected. So the net effect is to turn your vehicle into a bucking bronco as the throttle cycles open and closed repeatedly. *sarcasm* Oh yes, that does wonders for your traction!

Handling: Surprisingly good. Traction is decent. Suspension is a little stiffer than you might expect from a car of this ilk, but I like that. It offers a good balance of squishyness and handling. If you're looking for a floaty feeling land barge, I suggest you move on. I haven't really tried to push it to its limit in a corner, but from what I can tell it stays fairly neutral. Understeer is moderate. And it doesn't have much tendency to dive. Maybe I just need to push it harder. This car does not deal well with rapid direction changes however. It wants to lean into a curve and stay there. If you change your mind, it'll treat you to quite a bit of rocking and rolling.

Interior: Again not too bad, I like the brushed aluminum accents. I do have some minor gripes. The lack of clickyness on the turn signal stalk really pisses me off. Manually cancelling a turn signal often involves signalling the other direction and then carefully recentering the stalk in that sweet spot. Climate control also seems a little glitchy. For adequate heating on a 45° morning, I barely move the temperature selector into the hot/red part of the dial. Moving it all the way results in the equivalent of half a dozen blow dryers blasting into the cabin. Maybe I'm just not far enough north, but I've never felt anything like that in any other car. Also the temperature dials are these vertically oriented discs which move way too easily and only have about 1.5 inches of travel. Adjusting them on a bumpy road is practically impossible. But overall the fit and finish is pretty good. Well, except for being able to shift the entire center console around by pushing left and right on the gear selector.

Random Thoughts: FWD needs to die a slow, painful death. It's one thing for a lightweight, short wheelbase car, with a torqueless I-4 to be FWD, but quite another for a bruiser like this. I give this car a 6/10. If it were RWD it would get an 8/10. This car offers a balance IMHO. Looks that don't say, "I've given up on life", the way a Camry does. And a compromise between performance and creature comfort that won't beat the shit out of you on daily drives while not leaving you feeling like a castrated puppy at stop lights.

Work ... eating ... life ... so ... tired ...

WCSiNx's car reviews part 1:

When I first came up to DC for training, the rental I got was a Chevy HHR. Now anyone that knows me will tell you I am indeed a Chevy bowtie kinda guy, but I just simply can't justify this brain-fart afterbirth of a vehicle called the HHR. Where to start ...

http://www.edmunds.com/new/2007/chevrolet/hhr/index.html

This car by far had the worst visibility I've ever experienced. The glass surface was just plain small being surrounded by HUGE thick padded pillars everywhere you looked. The blindspots created by this setup were unbearable. It felt like I was looking through a series of peepholes as I tried to drive.

Power - none, granted it's rental and as such will typically have the lowest drivetrain trim, but I was getting laughed at by mopeds and lawnmowers.

Handling - none, think .. pig on rollerskates.

Ergonomics/Interior - actually not half bad. I think GM is finally learning that people want interiors resembling something other than the inside of a refrigerator from 1973. The seats were very comfy and control placement was quite natural. It did take me awhile to figure out that the rear hatch opened with a button press where normally there would be a handle/latch. I just don't see the logic of using an electric switch to activate an electric servo that's literally 1.5 feet away from the switch. Hello? How is this better than a manual latch? More stuff to break? Yay?

Overall 2/10

Who buys these things?

Well actually I've been here since September 10th on this crazy field assignment. Some days I think, "Damn this is teh kewl." Other days I think, "Jeezus I'm fucking insane." I hesistate to say much about my job other than it's an interesting change of pace, and I wish our subcontractors would get out of this us v/s them mentality. They're gradually warming up to us though ... or at least the running and screaming part is over.

I'm living in Annapolis. It's nice. It works for me because I don't deal too well with big cities. Not that Annapolis is particularly small, but the pace is a bit slower, people are nicer, and there's a lot of old world charm in this city. It kind of feels like San Francisco except more heterosexual.

Me on one of my rare excursions into DC.

I'm in DC.