As fast in a straight line as the Mustang was, I never really "jelled" with it. It was a bit too heavy, too cumbersome, and the seats never quite fit me right. I was always playing around with aftermarket backrests and couldn't find a good seating position.

I decided to see what Carvana would offer for the GT. Holy smokes used car prices are crazy! I got a smoking offer from Carvana, but ended up heading to my local Honda and Subaru dealers to test drive some vehicles. I tried a Civic Sport. Again, my back said no bueno. Then I tried a Forrester premium. It was OK.

Then. Then it happened.

I test drove a base WRX manual. My God, where have you been all my life WRX?! This is the most fun, comfortable, and good looking car I've driven in a loooong time. Automotive love at first sight drive. Subaru matched the Carvana offer, and out the door I went with a Subue!

It's a base WRX, so no fancy bits like heated seats, a sunroof, etc. But it has the great driving bits; all wheel drive, summer tires, great manual trans, decent radio. Oddly enough I've become less and less of a fan of electronic and other fancy tidbits over the years. And I like it just the way it is with great looking 17" wheels and a perfect stock stance.

Anyway, that's all the news from Lake Woebegone. Be well, do good work, stay in touch, and save the manuals!

Steeda springs, struts, bumpstops, and camber plates installed. It handles sooo much better. And she is grounded to the ground.

Monday: I love driving light Japanese cars! Builds a Civic R at Honda.

Tuesday: I love pickups! Builds a manual Toyota Tacoma Off Road at Toyota.

Wednesday: I love diesel Benz's! Shops ancient diesel MB's on Craigslist.

Thursday: I love a comfy car! Shops used Lexus at Carmax.

Friday: I love a cheap car! Shops lease deals for basic Subaru Impreza's at Bluebook.com

Saturday: I love muscle cars! Shops superchargers for Mustang in driveway at American Muscle.

Sunday: I just want something reliable! Shops Camry XLE's at Toyota.

Monday: Repeat as needed! Add browsing Singer Porsche and BaT after buying lottery ticket at 7-11.

Amazing how much crud comes off of a new car with clay. I tossed the clay, so there's no exciting pic to show. But knowing that many cars are stored near rail yards before delivery, I guess it makes sense that a new car with almost no miles on it would be covered in dirt, dust, and rail road fall out.

Anywhoo, after clay was a single pass with Wolfgang swirl remover, then Poorboy's black hole glaze, and topped with 2 coats of Collinite 476 wax.

Then I mowed the lawn and cooked steak for dinner. I'm officially exhausted. Is it Friday yet?

The weekend means house projects and this is the beast that's been taking up a lot of my time. Ten foot long, two inch thick maple countertop from Lowes. I'm building built-in's in our den and this will installed on top of a row of shallow cabinets. It's such a heavy beast that it wouldn't run through my Bosh portable table saw. I had to get out the circular saw and cut very slowly to rip it down. Maple is like iron.

I got the summer wheels out the shed and used Sonax cleaner and Sonax rim protector on them. They're not perfect, but they still look pretty good after a couple seasons of three season daily use. Still rocking the stock Pirelli's, which are known for being kinda' crappy. I'll probably swap them out for Michelin AS3's this fall.

BMW meets Ranchero?

If I fold the front passenger seat way back, fold the rear seats down, and accidently scratch the hell out of the dashboard, I can fit 10 foot long 1x8 poplar boards into my wife's Rogue - and close the hatch!

Luckily it's a beater or else I'd be a dead man with the scratches. I did get a disapproving look, but at least I'm building her some nice shelves for the den. And cooking garlic paprika chicken legs for lunch - so there's that.

Life lesson? Use a towel when loading long stuff into a Rogue to save a dashboard, and possibly a marriage. Isn't there a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy quote about towels? I think everyone who travels through space and time needs one.

Sacrificed a 10mm nut to the car Gods today. Decided to run out at lunch and install my new UPR catch can.

Of course I was in a rush and dropped the little 10mm bolt that holds down the engine cover into the engine bay somewhere. Sigh.

But I did get the catch can installed.

And it was a bit low in oil. Of course I was too rushed after the bolt fiasco to find a clean funnel - so some oil spillage ensued.

Hopefully I've gotten bad luck and dumbassery out of the way for the rest of the month. Not likely. But hopefully.

@awesomeaustinv Girls dorm? I'd be calling security. That guy's a whacko.

It's so weird to go to the OG site and just get a big 404 error.

Anyway, good to be here!!

Here's a pic of my current ride. Love the engine, hate the seats.

@rusty-vandura said in Things you want but would never pay for?:

@dr-zoidberg For me, the answer to your question would be a Poverty-spec Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport.

Even a base Wrangler comes out at 32-34K. Crazy prices!

Got up at 3;45am, rode the bike on the trainer for 2+ hours, walked the dog, went into work at 9am to do a datacenter disk array migration, and about to take a nap before my son and I go to some live amateur Muay Thai fights tonight.

Tomorrow is a quick car wash early in the am, back to work for more datacenter migration work, then I'll practice cyclocross mount/dismount skills. Probably end the day with steaks on the grill and a cold beer.

Whoo hoo!

GMC Typhoon!

This is my favorite pic from the series (comment is mine):

Take it for a hot run on the weekend. Are there some mountain roads or back roads where you can wind it up a bit, test the brakes, see if the coolant holds up, etc?

Grit guards are fantastic. I just had to throw away one of my old buckets this weekend. Not sure how it happened, but it sprung a leak and was leaving a trail of soapy water all over my driveway.

Car looks great by the way. A clean engine is a fast engine.

Hey, join the "broke our leg on a bike and now it's full of metal" club!

Perks include pain medicine, lots of couch surfing and watching TV, overthinking the accident a million times, and hobbling around on crutches.

I got t-boned by an SUV back in 2006 and it blew my lower right leg into many parts. 4 surgeries later I could walk again.

Good times, good times.

Glad you made it out. You'll heal up - just take it easy and rest up. Also, if friends or family offer to go shopping or bring you food, please take them up on the offer.

EDIT - If you have any questions, feel free to send them over. Happy to chat about it.

Great shots!

I feel bad for the little guys - flying around like little drunken Cicada's, lying on their back trying to flip over, with their little legs flailing around.

Awww! Enjoy the Dad life. My son's got one year left at home before he leaves for college. They grow up fast!

$41,500