Auto design WTF?s.

It all started with the Pontiac Aztek (ok, maybe not, but that’s where I’m starting.)   This thing looks like the person who designed the top and the person who designed the bottom never talked.

And then there is the Toyota FJ.  Not a bad looking vehicle, but you gotta wonder why they put that huge, seemingly unnecessary, blind spot on a vehicle that already had poor visibility out the back.

Another case of one designer not talking to the other.  This time is was the left side and the right side. 

I saw this one about a week ago.  The skewompus belt line caught my eye, but I didn’t catch the make.  Today I saw one again and discovered it was a BMW.   Seriously, what’s with that back door line?  Did someone accidentally smoosh the clay model and no body wanted to fix it?

Now as you might know, I’m not a big fan of how cars are all looking the same these days, but looking different doesn’t have to look like a mistake.

My Cars

Took my cars out for a photo shoot the other day.  Here’s some of my favorite shots.

Bye bye clutch, bye bye happiness.

When I went out to buy a new Mustang back in 1999, my only 2 requirements were that it had a 6 cylinder engine and a manual transmission.  The dealership told me there were only 3 with those two in the entire state of Utah, and I could choose between the red one, the other red one or the third red one.

So I got a red one.

Saturday I was at the Honda dealership looking at cars with a friend.  She ended up buying a new Honda CRV.  While the paperwork was being put together I inquired about a Civic sedan, and discovered something I find to be a disturbing trend in the automotive world.

There are only 2 Hondas that even offer a manual transmission in their lineup.  One is the Honda Fit, which looks like a shuttle from Star Trek, and is definitely not my style.

The other option is the Civic Si Coupe, which only comes with a 6-speed manual.

Now, this is more my style, but frankly if I was going to buy a 2 door coupe it would probably be a Mustang or a Challenger.

Now I haven’t looked into other vehicle lines, but chances are good that if Honda is eliminating the manual transmission in most of it’s line-up, so are other manufacturers.

And I find it just a little sad that if you are looking for a nice small sedan with a clutch, your options are being limited.

Cat on a hot [tin] roof.

So Friday I rented a kick-ass tiller so that I could finish the ramp in the back yard so I could park two of my old Fords back there. 

A friend of mine and I had plans to get together that evening and when she called I told her “I just need to rearrange the cars and clean up.  then I’ll head right over.”

She just started to laugh.  “I’ve never heard that before: rearranging the cars.”

Anyhow, they’re all rearranged.  Now the area between the house and the garage is obstruction free, and I can get any one of the cars out with moving at most one other vehicle.  And that block is just the Jeep, which is easy to get out of the way.

Tonight, when I was up on the roof getting that last picture, first I noticed the sunset.

And then I had a visitor.  Here’s Denny, right at the peak of my house’s roof, just looking like he wanted to ask “Whatcha doin’”

Yeah, the crazy cat climbed up on the roof just to see what I was doing.  And he’s running around on the roof like it’s solid ground.  Cats.  Go figure.

But, at least I got one project done this summer.  And with only 24 days left until teachers are back at school, my next project had better go quickly.

Phase II complete.

Phase II of house  project 4,529 is complete.

When I built the garage over a decade ago, the plan was to put up a retaining wall and level out the ground behind it.  Obviously, I didn’t get right on it.

Well, this summer is “retaining wall” summer.  The final plan is to put a carport in the back there so I don’t have to shuffle all the old Fords around to take them out for their occasional drive.  And they’ll all be covered and out of the weather.

I decided to build the retaining wall with cinder blocks.  One side is right up against the back wall of the garage, the other side will be covered with dirt, so looks are irrelevant.

Phase I was cleaning out all the tree debris that was left over from the big tree removal of 2010.  We have curb-side yard waste cans here in Salt Lake, so it’s just been a matter of cutting the branches up, filling up the can and then waiting until Wednesday, when the empty the can, to fill it once again.  I still have a little bit of wood left, but it’ll be gone before the end of the summer.

Phase II was to build a short concrete wall, just enough to give me a smooth, level foundation to put the blocks on.  It took me and my roommate 3 hours to build a 30’x8”x6”(average) concrete foundation.  The project went smoothly, except for the second trip to Home Depot for another 10 bags of cement, and a few of them ripping inside the Jeep.

But it’s done.  It looks pretty good, and in a few days will be ready for me to start placing the blocks on top.  Then a little concrete inside them to hold them in place and the retaining wall will be done.

Almost a decade of difference.

For those of you who don’t have a wing named after you at the Henry Ford Clinic, the Ford LTD and the Mercury Marquis are really the same car.  Literally, the Marquis is an LTD with Mercury makeup on.

Which is why these pictures of my two cars are really comparing oranges with oranges.  The blue orange is my 1969 Ford LTD, the white one was built almost a decade later, my 1978 Mercury Marquis. 

Can you see the differences that almost 10 years of design changes made?  Can you see the similarities that prove these two cars are very closely related?

Which one do you like better?

Wasatch Car Club

I’ve been invited to join a new club, the Wasatch Car Club.  If you are a car fanatic, everything from old classics to new commuter specials, you should check it out.  It’s brand new, which means the users are in a position to shape it into something they really like.

Even if you are not a fanatic, you just might find something you want there.  There’s a section devoted to answering questions, for non-fanatics who just need a little help.

Check it out, or not.  The choice is yours.  (Yes, Writer, I stole that from something you may recall.)