Winter is really here now.

This morning, I woke up to see that most everything was covered in a thin layer of snow. I'm glad I got to drive the Civic a bit in dry conditions. I can confirm that the Civic is extremely pleasant to drive. It has all the good qualities of Civics, as well as something many Civics lacked: torque.

I reluctantly put the Mazda up for sale yesterday. I already got a call from someone who just lost his own 323 in an accident and we talked for a while. I hope he buys it, since I would like the person who ends up with the car to be a 323 enthusiast.

Alex and I joined my friend Will and his wife Marie-Helene for a shopping trip to the USA this past weekend. We drove there in his mid 90's Grand Cherokee. I have never driven any vehicle with a more vague feel in the steering. It's almost scary. What's also scary is the sheer number of SUV's in the US... it was not easy to spot our car in the various parking lots, as it was often hidden by much larger SUV's, like Ford Excursions or GMC Suburbans.

I have a new theory on why American cars are not stylish or efficient in their use of fuel and space: Americans don't demand this in their cars. They are content to buy large vehicles with no style fitted with 200 hp 4.5 liter engines, as long as the monthly payment is low. It's sad.

Cool cars spotted:
Porsche 996 turbo
Pontiac GTO
Toyota Supra turbo
Audi S5
BMW M5

Finally!

I finally picked up the blue Civic from Pat's last night. What a relief. The radio is too loose and bouncing around, but other than that, everything is fixed, even stuff I didn't ask him to fix, like some of the lines of the rear defrost, or the cigarette lighter, which now works. I didn't actually drive it much, and I was mostly fiddling with the radio while driving. Tonight I'll go for a longer drive, after I find a way to wedge the radio into its slot.

I guess it's time to finally sell the 323... I've been putting it off, but there's really no point in having two daily drivers in my neighbourhood.

Cool cars spotted in the last couple of days:
Aston Martin DB7
Porsche 997 turbo, looking mean in black
Aston Martin DB9... wow, what a beautiful car

My old agendas 1986-

I used to draw a lot in my notebooks and agendas in school. Fortunately, I kept a large number of my agendas. I have most of them from 1987 to 1999. There are a bunch of photos and drawings of cars. Here are some highlights:

1986-87
Very little car content, drawing of a flaming fast Porsche 959.

1989-1990
Drawings of "tuned" versions of the two cars my parents owned at the time: a 1987 Dodge Aries and a 1985 Dodge Caravan.
Various drawings of BMW's and Jaguars.
Various drawings of Triumph TR6's, the first car I ever wanted to own.
Drawing of a Ford GT40
Computer drawing of a Jaguar D-Type (I used to like to draw cars in the Paint program)

1990-1991 (the year I got my driver's license)
Computer drawing of 959, Testarossa and Ur-Quattro
Photo of a Silk Cut Jaguar XJR9
Photos of Ford RS200

List of "Cars I've driven in chronological order"
Colt 200 (my friend Jean-Walter's mom's car, which he let me drive)
Mercury Topaz (Jean-Walter's dad's car, which he let me drive)
Hyundai Excel (driver's ed car)
Dodge Aries (Mom's car)
Honda Civic
Toyota Tercel
Saab 99
Honda Civic
Isuzu Impulse
Dodge Caravan AWD
Dodge Caravan (Dad's car)
BMW 325iC (Dad's car)

1991-1992
Drawings of Audi Quattro's, Mercedes 190E 2.3 16,
Photos of rally cars and Audi 90 Quattro IMSA GTO car

1992-1993
Photos of Audi's, Caterham's, Lancia's and Maserati's
Drawings of "future Maserati's" and Maserati Shamal

List of "Rare or significant cars on which I must get my hands"
Lamborghini Silhouette
Lamborghini Miura SV
Maserati Bora
Audi S1
Porsche 959
Dodge Viper
Audi S2
Jaguar XKSS
Ferrari 288 GTO
Koenig C62
Porsche 911 Turbo S
Lancia Stratos
Nissan Skyline GTR
Ford RS200
Lotus Europa Special
Porsche 917
Ferrari Testarossa Spyder
Lamborghini LM002
Ford GT40
Zender Vision 1

1993-1994
Photos of race cars by Lancia, Porsche, Audi
Photos of Pike's Peak Audi, Ferrari 348 Challenge, Jaguar XJ220,
High quality drawings of Audi S4

List of Vince's Top 5
Audi Ur-Quattro
Ferrari 288 GTO
Lamborghini Miura
Jaguar D-Type
Lancia Stratos

Rounding out the top 10
Koenig C62
Maserati Ghibli
E30 M3
Ford RS200
Lotus Esprit Turbo

1994-1995
Photos of Audi Quattro's, Lamborghini's, Maserati's, BMW race cars, including the awesome 635 CSI BMW Teile car.

Drawing of the 8 group B cars
Audi Sport Quattro
Lancia Delta S4
MG Metro 6R4
Citroen BX4TC
Ford RS200
Peugeot 205 T16
Ferrari 288 GTO
Porsche 959

List of top 5 engines:
Delta S4 super-turbo-charged
Maserati twin turbo 2.0 liter
Bugatti Quad turbo 3.5 liter 12
BMW Maclaren power plant
Ferrari twin-turbo V8 (F40)

List of best 4-cylinder engines:
Ford RS200
Lancia Delta S4
Porsche 944 turbo
BMW M3
Lotus Esprit 300

Top 6 new cars
Bugatti EB110S
Ferrari 355
Audi S2
Maserati Barchetta
Lamborghini Diablo
Ford Escort RS Cosworth

Top 5 budget sports cars
first gen RX7
Rabbit GTi
Toyota MR2 mk.1
Merku XR4Ti
Audi 4000 Quattro
(I went to test drive all of these at some point)

Top 5 4-doors
BMW M5
Audi S6
Lancia Delta Integrale
Mercedes 190 E Evolution
Lister Jaguar Sovereign

Top 5 FWD
Lotus Elan
Saab SPG
Ford Taurus SHO
Alfa 164 S
VW Corrado G60

wow... this is taking long to type!
To be continued...

Wish list

When you get together with other car guys, one subject that is likely to come up is your car wish list. Of course, there are many versions of the game: no limit budget, maximum 5 cars is a fun one, 50 000$ limit is another, 5 cars, only new cars allowed, etc. All versions are fun to play.

However, I enjoy "reasonable" dreaming more than "lottery win" type dreaming.The list I propose today is the following one: a realistic list of cars that one could reasonably afford at one point. Here is my list:

1- 2nd gen Miata: I like these cars more and more, gotta have a roadster

2- Saab 9-3 5-door: I still like Saab's and their terrible resale value makes them affordable

3- Jaguar XJ sedan: proper Jaguar sedans are lovely, but probably not reliable enough for every day. I like the idea of a sort of car for special occasions

4- Chevy Astro: tow + camping vehicle. I've always liked these vans, I think they just look right. Also, they can tow 5000 pounds

5- Honda race car: something like my present car, around 200 hp and reasonably light weight

6- Smaller Honda race car: something like a 70 hp ITC-class Civic std, that can be used on track when the other race car is unavailable, as well as for enduros.

I think that this list can be put together for under 60 000$, or the price of a new luxury car. Imagine having all these cars... It would be a dream come true. Of course, the space to keep 6 cars would be extremely expensive! Still, it's fun to dream.

What happened to going to check out the M3 with Rob? Choke. He saw reason and decided to hold on to his 325 a while longer, as he's looking to buy a house.

I thought I would pick up the blue Civic today, but Pat said that the antenna cable needed replacing and he said there is a weird short that prevents the turn signals from working properly. Looks like the car will be with him for another few days. I stuck my residential parking sticker on the Civic, and it's often hard to park the 323 without it (which gets on Alex's nerves, since I promised her the move to the Civic would be seamless for her... oops!).

I went running tonight and broke my record again, despite the sub-zero weather: 46:34 for 10 km. I did 5 more pages of master's paper, so I'm now at 30 pages. Feels good!

Cool cars spotted:C6 Corvette Z06
Aston Martin DB7
late 70's Chevy Van camper in mint condition

Winter!

Ok, now it feels like winter. It was 0 degrees pretty much all day. It's the first day I had to wear a tuque on my walk to work. There are still some sports cars out there... I saw a Z06 last night.

I visited my Civic at Pat's yesterday... I look forward to taking possession, hopefully this weekend. I gave him the MP3 player to install, I hope he pulls it off.

I was chatting online with my buddy Rob and, as usual, he started sending me ads for used BMW's and race cars. When he sent me an ad for an E46 race car at 33 000$, I suggested he just trade in his 325 for an M3 and just enjoy that car, using it on the street and at the occasional track day. I told him if he really needed to race, he could borrow my car. The M3 is an extremely competent track car, even in stock form. I bet it's equally pleasant to drive on the street. We're supposed to go check one out tonight, if Rob doesn't choke!

My Master's paper is due on December 20th. I really attacked it today and I'm at 25 pages out of 50. I hope to add another 5 pages tomorrow. My new philosophy for this paper is to attack it (after procrastinating all summer). ATTAAAAACK!

Cool cars spotted:
Touareg V10 TDI
Jeep SRT8
C5 Z06

Winter?

The weather man predicted wet snow tonight. We'll see. I've noticed this year that people are driving their exotic and sports cars until late in the season. In fact, I saw a Porsche 997 Turbo, a Ferrari F430 and a BMW Z4 M Coupe today. Good for them! People pay enough for these cars, it's nice to see them getting some use.

Grassroots Motorsports, the best magazine for North American auto enthusiasts in my opinion, has an article about a Saab 99 they bought to make into a vintage rally car. I'm jealous! I wish I had enough time, money and space to have several low-buck project cars. As it stands, I can't even finish the one project I've got going... the blue Civic.

Drive in the countryside

Alex and I went for a lovely drive in the countryside today. We drove the 194 km "Circuit du Paysan" in the southern Montérégie area, between Montreal and the U.S. border. The roads were pretty straight, but the scenery was beautiful. I love driving in the country so much, even in a car with 82 hp.

I brought Pat a starter (20$, found on the internet) to install in the Civic and tomorrow I'll bring him the new brakes. The car is taking a while to finish, but I want it to be in top shape so that I don't have to worry about Alex when she drives it. Also, I have to be ready in case I have to go through with the Transport Canada inspection (see previous posts).

Pat let me try his flat red Civic with the SOHC vtec motor and it moves pretty fast. The interior is stripped out and I figure it must weigh about 200 lbs less than my Civic. Pat showed me a stock exhaust system he had lying around (one like mine) and I realize that the exhaust might be restricting some of the power from the B18. Something to look into...

Carl told me someone stole the air filter off the race Civic while it was parked outside at Trac. Thieves are lame.

I finished reading Ben Lovejoy's trip reports on his excellent web site. It's sad to come to the end of these reports, as they provided a nice distraction when I had a free moment to surf the net.

Cool cars spotted:
Audi S8 V10
AMG E55
AMG SL63
Lotus Esprit S4