i love commuting

Tired Of Traffic? A New DOT Report Urges Drivers: ‘Honk’

As excited as I am about my new MINI cobe, it’s not easy to say goodbye to the original Cobe Car, the car I grew up with, my Mazda Protege. Time to get emotional.

That car got me to 1st period on time (almost) every day in high school. That car earned me my first (and so far, my only…) speeding ticket. Led me to concert venues to see bands I’m too embarrassed to mention now. Gave me a space for heart-to-hearts, petty arguments, and existential conversations that were entirely beyond my level of maturity. Set the scene for first kisses, goodbye kisses, awkward dates, and miserable breakups. That car took me on unforgettable road trips that fostered inside jokes and amplified uncontrollable laughter. It was my rehearsal stage for big presentations and speeches, my hideaway during emotional breakdowns, and my dining room in-transit for meals on the go.

It transformed into an imaginary karaoke bar for bad singalongs, and stood by as my schizophrenic musical tastes evolved through Top 40, Emo, Alt Rock, Pop Country, Indie Rock, Classic Rock, Motown, Folk Rock, and back to Indie Rock again. That car fought to keep the tradition of mixed tapes alive, with a glove compartment full of homemade, sharpie-decorated CDs that eventually lost their place to the iPod connector I shoved in the cigarette lighter. 

That car traveled to college with me, reminded me of home when I was homesick, and stood it’s ground during football season to host tailgates in between SUVs and pick-up trucks. It kept me safe in my first car accident. Endured undeserved foul language when my keys were “accidentally” locked inside in the middle of nowhere on a camping trip, kept me warm when I got stuck in a ditch during a blizzard, and forgave me each and every time I hit a curb and got a flat tire.

It held crammed boxes and oddly shaped breakables intact when I moved my life to Raleigh. Inspired me to start I Love Commuting.  And put up with all of my whining and complaining when in reality I had nothing to whine about. Even despite my maintenance neglect, she always got me where I needed to go.  We got lost together and we found our way together. And for that, the Cobe Car can never truly be replaced.

MINI Cobe certainly has big shoes to fill.

When I brought MINI Cobe home, my parents resumed ownership of the Mazda, in hopes that they could get a few hundred bucks for it from CarMax. But first I had to clean it out.

When it comes to my car, I generally try to avoid using the backseat as a closet. I kept it fairly neat and free of debris. So imagine my surprise when after all is said and done, I walk away with this collection of treasures:

-Two keepsake graduation tassels: (1) LCB Skyhawk Blue, (1) JMU Purple & Gold 
-One plastic hair clip
-One toothpick, in plastic wrap
-One button 
-One bobby pin
-Three clear glass vase filler beads
-One orange paper clip
-Two strips of velcro remnants from an EZPass
-One metallic green origami crane, made by yours truly from a Stride gum wrapper
-One mechanical pencil, no lead
-One plastic keychain with Richmond cab numbers
-One purple JMU ballpoint pen
-One-hundred and twenty-seven pennies
-Six quarters
-Three nickels
-Four dimes

Not Pictured:
-Two plastic water bottles
-One bungee cord
-One Sheetz coupon for a free MTO item (!!!!!!)
-One brown pea coat
-One Abercrombie & Fitch Shopping Bag (shirtless male model edition)
-One, never opened, Auto Emergency Kit
-One navy blue travel umbrella 
-Three maps: (1) Washington D.C. circa 1998, (1) Downtown Richmond, (1) Southeastern States 

When I first set out to find a new car, I did not imagine that I would be writing a down payment check 8 days later. I fully planned to take my time, consider all of my options, go for multiple test drives, read reviews, do the math to anticipate financing scenarios, and everything else that goes into making a completely rational decision.

That clearly didn’t happen the way I thought it would.

On the eighth day of my car shopping mission, I visited Crown MINI of Richmond. I had no real intention of buying a MINI because I thought it would be too expensive, but I figured why not take a test drive just for fun?

When I walked through the lot scanning the inventory, I tried my best to look only moderately interested, playing hard to get if you will.  What happened next was essentially love at first sight, followed by an irrational impulse to leave together immediately. I spotted a 2012 Hot Chocolate Cooper Hardtop, no racing stripes, black roof, minimal as far as design goes, but it was the manifestation of everything I wanted in a car. Different, but not obnoxious. Premium, but not extravagant. Small, but not impractical. And to my pleasant surprise, affordable, but certainly not cheap. 

I handed over my info for a credit check, and less than 12 hours later MINI cobe and I were driving back to Raleigh.

On the Eighth day of car shopping, the car gods gave to me:

Eight (ish) seconds to accelerate

Seven inch center speed-o

Six air bags for safety

FIVE. HOURS. OF. Paperwoooooork

Four cylinders

Three cup holders

Two doors with a hatchback

and one MINI with great fuel economyyyyyyy!

After spending hours online researching cars, I’ve narrowed down my “short” list to the following vehicles:

Honda Fit
Mini Cooper
Kia Rio
Toyota Yaris Hatchback
Mazda 2
Mazda 3
Subaru Impreza
Volkswagen Golf
Ford Focus

Now, it’s time to get serious.

In the last 3 days, I’ve visited over 8 car dealerships, test driving each of the above cars. With the exception of the Kia and the Subaru, because those dealerships didn’t have the cars on the lot…. pretty dumb move on their end. How do you expect to sell cars if you don’t have them for people to test drive! Idiots.

Not gonna lie, kind of tempted to get a Kia Soul just so I can buy a pet hamster to ride shotgun with me at all times.

Let me just say that I kind of hate car manufacturer websites.

I’ve been to every website of almost every make of car I think I might consider. And I can’t remember which ones I like and which ones I don’t, so I have to go back to the website to figure out what were the pros and cons of each.

Almost all of them seem to have some type of comparison tool, but of course they are different on every site and they suck on every site. It’s like they try to cram every little detail, even the ones that make no sense and are probably on every car that exists and all I want to know is whether or not there’s an audio input for my mp3 player.

I wish there were car personal shoppers that would do all the work for you that you don’t have to pay (like travel agents).

Day two: Creating my consideration set.

To help me narrow down my list, there are few things I have determined to be mandatory and not at all mandatory for my perfect car.

Things I’m looking for:

-Hatchback (had to start somewhere, and I like the way they look.)
-Automatic transmission (I’d love to drive a manual for the cool-factor of knowing how to drive a manual, but unfortunately car salesmen really don’t want to take the time to show you how it’s done.)
-Power windows and locks (this should be a given these days.)
-Cruise Control (I am shocked at how many cars don’t include cruise control as a standard feature. I loveeee using cruise control and I’d rather not pay $1,000 extra to have it)
-Volume controls on the steering wheel (this won’t make or break my decision, but it’s nice when a car has them. I consider this to be a “safety feature.”)
-Good gas mileage (“good” is negotiable)
-Center console or armrest (I just like it)

And I want all of this at or around the $20-$25K price point (No Audi’s, BMWs, or Mercedes for me)

Things I don’t care about:

-Sunroof/moonroof (Doesn’t really make a difference to me one way or the other. This seems to me like a place where I can save some cash by opting out of one.)
-Navigation system (I have a GPS system - that is a piece of crap - but I’ve heard that the in-dash systems aren’t that reliable anyway. Again, another added cost that I’d like to avoid.)
-Rims (Don’t even get me started.)
-Heated seats (I bet these are nice in the winter, but I’ve never had them before and I’m pretty sure I could live without them.)
-Floor mats (why does every car dealer try to throw in fancy floor mats for hundreds of extra dollars? My car is going to get dirty, especially on the floor. I can deal with that.)
-Satellite radio (I am conditioned to listen to my iPod so I don’t mess around with satellite radio.)
-4-wheel or all-wheel drive (if it’s snowing outside, I’m not leaving my house, therefore, I do not need all-wheel drive or all-terrain tires or cold weather tread, etc.)
-Automatic rain sensing windshield wipers (I CAN SEE WITH MY OWN EYEBALLS IF IT’S RAINING OUTSIDE. YOU’RE OFFENDING ME.)

Next step: Finding cars that fit these criteria.

Day one of my car shopping experience started with a phone call to the always trustworthy and reliable Mamacobe and Papacobe.

I think it’s a universal rule that parents know more about everything than their children, especially when it comes to cars. And I had absolutely no idea where to start.

Here’s a summary of the questions floating through my mind:

What’s the advantage of buying a car versus leasing a car?

Should I get a new car or a used car?

What can I afford?

What color should I get?

Should I get a hybrid?

How many cars should I test drive?

Do I want bluetooth in my car?

What are the best shoes to wear for a test drive?

What kind of tires will last the longest?

How many airbags do I need?

And so on and so forth.

Welp, let me just say my parent’s helped me narrow down my consideration set from EVERYTHING, to everything that’s new, rather than used.

Making some progress…

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve decided that the time has come to start getting serious about buying a new car.

Let me preface this by saying that I have zero experience in purchasing a vehicle.

The original Cobe Car was bought by my lovely parents, Mamacobe and Papacobe, in 2002 when I was 17 years old.  It was a used car, but was in excellent condition and had very few miles on it. My parents had a budget they wanted to stick to, but other than that they welcomed my input on the type of vehicle I wanted to drive.

From what I can recall, I pretty much just wanted a 4-door automatic with airbags, air conditioning, power windows and locks, and a CD player. For a seventeen year old girl, I was pretty practical-minded. I was never the type of teenager who wanted a “cool” car (however, in the early 2000’s in Chesterfield Virginia, “cool” basically meant a Ford Mustang.)

Now, let’s jump back to present day.

In my experience working in the advertising industry, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a few different assignments related to the car category, and the shopping experience has been one of the areas that I am responsible for dissecting and understanding.

In other words, part of my job is to empathize with those who are actively shopping for a car, understand what makes them attracted to some car brands over others, and how they make decisions throughout the car buying process.

Yet, when it comes time for me to buy a car myself, I have absolutely no idea what kind of car I want or where I should start.

Ironic, isn’t it?

Finding the next Cobe Car is going to be a serious endeavor, not to mention a huge slice of my savings account, so I want to be extremely confident about the car I choose.

There’s about a month and a half left in 2011, and my goal is to have my new car by 2012. This does not give me much time to research, test drive, and figure out financing, but I think it can be done.

Let’s just hope Cobe Car version 1.0 can make it through Christmas.
Wish me luck.

I’m not the most thoughtful driver when it comes to car maintenance.

Case in point: In the last year, I’m pretty sure I’ve only had 1 or 2 oil changes (Come to think of it, it was almost one year ago exactly). Which probably isn’t good for my car. But today I woke up extra early (meaning I set my alarm extra early but still woke up at the same time I normally do…), gathered my AAA Car Care Center coupons that I’ve been hoarding for months, and took the Cobe Car in for the oil change she deserved.

Not only does the AAA Car Care center have really excellent chairs in the waiting area, but they were extremely pleasant and nice, and made the experience quite painless.
That is, until I got the report card for my car. Granted, I knew this was coming, but hearing it was still hard….The Cobe Car is not doing well.

She is suffering from a disease I’d like to call Acute Commuting Fatigue.
Her shocks are almost non-existent, her air filter is clogging her engine to breathe correctly, she needs all four limbs (tires) replaced, the catalytic converter is not operating properly, and she’s making horrible noises and sounds of suffering that remain undiagnosed. (Other less-serious symptoms include: malfunctioning CD player, faulty power locks on both back doors, busted back speakers, a magnitude of cosmetic flaws throughout the exterior shell, and she requires a really annoying series of steps to get the windows defrosted.) But she continues to power through for the greater good of getting me to work on time.

For some of the more serious symptoms outlined above, the AAA center gave me a quote that’s somewhere around $1,500 for parts and labor, including my AAA discount (but this doesn’t include the cost of the four new tires I would need.)

!!!!!!!!!!

I love the Cobe Car, but she is not worth $1,500.
I opted out of all of the above for the time being and sheepishly handed over my credit card and my coupon for the $24.95 Holiday Oil-Change Package. Don’t judge me.

It seems inhumane (and probably unsafe) to keep the Cobe Car suffering for much longer. Therefore, starting today I am officially entering the research phase for purchasing a new vehicle.

I’ll be taking recommendations for vehicles to add to my consideration set and of course, I will be live blogging my decision-making process until I find the next Cobe Car.

Traffic was slowed down this morning due to an interesting collection of road debris.

Clothes.

Clothes strewn all over the highway.

Makes me wonder about the different scenarios that could have caused such a catastrophe.

Potential explanations:

1. An innocent man, accused of horrendous crimes, says goodbye to his wife, who is carrying his unborn child.  In order to save his family and provide for their future, he must fake his death and remain in hiding across the Canadian border. They stage a scene across 40-W to make it appear that he has committed suicide, having walked straight into traffic, his body is seemingly destroyed and vaporized, leaving only his clothing as the evidence of his existence.

2. Two young lovers, brought together by a forbidden romance, choose to flee the city during the early hours of the morning to start a new life together.  They shed their clothing and discard their belongings, as if to tell the world, “we don’t need your rules.”

3.The driver of a Kmart truck, suffering from exhaustion and dehydration, starts to nod off during his early morning shift. The hatch, improperly fastened, loosens just enough to swing the doors wide open, causing the cargo to tumble onto the asphalt.  The rough winds are powerful enough to slam the doors closed before too much damage is done. But not before a palette of Jordache jeans and Route 66 tank tops are lost to the open road forever.

4. A young girl awakens on her fifteenth birthday, bouncing down the spiral staircase of her majestic suburban home, to find her smiling parents standing with mounds of gifts for her to open before school.  She tears off the hot pink wrapping paper and rips open the first box, giddy with excitement. Her parents watch quietly with wide eyes, awaiting her reaction. The young girl takes one glimpse of a green cotton sweater, and suddenly she throws herself into a fit of fury. Green?!?! She wanted pink!!! Always pink. She runs to her bedroom, shouting words no fifteen year old girl should know, and in her tantrum, she gathers up as much of her closet as she can fit in her arms, storms out of the house to catch the bus, and in her grand finale of irrational drama, she chucks her wardrobe out of the emergency exit door, oblivious to the road hazards that have yet to occur, but satisfied that she has totally taught her parents a lesson.

Just my thoughts, but I guess we’ll never know for sure.