stuff123

TK has made her decision on a new car and is standing firm despite her friends “giving her the gears” regarding the car of her choice.

Aussies and Canucks have one thing in common. We are verbally polite. You have to read between the lines to figure out what we are really saying. It’s TK’s decision and you know where you can put yours. Hint: It’s kinda’ dark in there. I don’t leave as much space between my lines as other Canadians do.

So I haven’t kept up on all the latest stuff in new cars because I’m still driving the new car I bought in 2002. It works just fine and Alfonso fixes the minor stuff and the wear and tear stuff that the car gets in the light use I put it through.

But why did TK pick a Mazda 2. Truth is, I was wondering if she actually read gonna update my car and the answer is maybe. Looks to me that she has chosen a very functional and basic car and will most likely add a few personal touches to it in the final negotiations. Get them to throw in the better stereo for free or it’s no deal.

So I google Mazda Australia and Mazda Canada and Mazda USA. We don’t have a Mazda 2 in North America. The closest car I can see is going to be the 2010 Mazda 3 Sport which isn’t available yet. It’s really a 2009 but the car market here thinks we’re stupid or something so they think it makes the car “newer” if they lie about its age.

The Mazda has a very fuel efficient 1.5L engine and doesn’t have too many options—extra stuff. The Mazda 3 Sport will come with a 2.0L engine standard and then a whole list of options or extra junk (junk is just useless stuff)—Bluetooth, a military-like display for your dash, a 10 speaker stereo (where do you sit with all those speakers in the car), remote starter, remote keyless entry, bigger wheels, heated seats (I won’t tell you how I heat my seat), etc. etc.

So the 2010 Mazda 3 is going to cost us a whole lot more than what TK is going to pay for her Mazda 2. With today’s state of the world economy, we need Mazda 2’s. Not just in cars, but everything. That doesn’t mean that the higher priced models with more options aren’t still relevant. We just need to have the choice and we, the customer, will decide which one is right for us today.

The Mazda 2 idea is something I remember in my friends’ first cars. I didn’t get a car or license until my mid 20’s because I didn’t need one. Public transportation, friends and the fact that I was the youngest of 3 boys in a one-car family made that decision very easy. My friends had Volkswagen Beetles, Minis, Honda Civics, 6-cylinder Camaro’s with bench seats. Air conditioning meant you rolled down the windows by hand (if the handle worked) and drove quicker. The only real option you dealt with at the dealership was the colour.

So, for the North American car manufacturers, if you want to see your business improve give us Mazda 2’s and 3’s and 4’s, but let us decide what an entry level car should be and not you. And call a 2009 a 2009. Otherwise, when I get my next car in 2025, I’m going to ask for 2 stereos or it’s no deal.

TK, the big cat lover , put that in her Facebook status.

I might look at a Subaru or something different nowadays, but first I’d have to sit in it. Test drive would be good, too. And it would probably be white.

I’ve had a number of different cars over my time behind a steering wheel and rented many others in various business trips and I have come to a simple conclusion about a car. The most important thing it should do is get you from point A to point B as efficiently as possible.

Since I live in Canada, I used to always look at the big 3—Chrylser, GM and Ford aka Fix Or Repair Daily. I didn’t have any good luck with Chrysler’s or Ford’s so I leaned toward GM and specifically Pontiacs—6 or 7 in a row.

The last few have been much more comfortable because they cut out padding from the door so the interior is wider and they opened up the area around the pedals so my feet weren’t cramped.

They drive very nicely. When I accelerate it responds as it should. When I brake, it stops quickly. Brakes should be 4-wheel disc and ABS. Tires should be the best you can afford. The car would be white in colour, because it hides the dirt best and comes up clean. Get the paint sealant option so you don’t have to wash and wax it so often.

Why the Subaru? If it was good enough for the Aspen police force, then it will work in my neck of the woods, too. Other vehicles will have to do the same.

I would avoid the hybrids for now. They are a very good idea but I think you will be paying for research and development costs for a few years yet. The technology isn’t proven and the repair costs will be high because you will be forced to go to the dealership a lot more. It should be respectable on gas consumption.

I would take any new car to my car guy at Alfonso’s garage. The dealership visits will only be for recalls and warranty issues. Alfonso will tell me straight up what needs to be done and he lives and breathes cars. So, in my eyes, he is an expert and I don’t feel like he is taking me to the cleaners.

The bottom line for TK is get a car that you would like to drive. Sure, make some practical decisions on what works and what doesn’t but you are going to be driving it so it should suit your needs and not what others tell you.

Talk to some more friends about their ideas, and then go sit in a few cars. The car will tell you whether it is right or not. It’s not much different than buying a new sofa—just waaaaay more expensive.

Spend wisely and get a good pair of polarized sunglasses and a nice driving hat, if you are into hats. It’s a mode of transportation, not a reflection on your personality and a measure of your success.

Opinions are OK. Recommendations are just stronger opinions. Car of the Year awards are more about “bribing” the writers to get them to vote for the car.

So buy the car that makes you the happiest. It’s your money and no one should tell you how to spend it.

I think the one in the picture isn’t a good idea. Where do you put the golf clubs?

It was for this guy.

And if you don’t know who Dale Earnhardt Sr. was, you should get out of your cave more often. Yes I am joking, but he is perhaps the most famous race car driver that ever lived and sadly, he died doing what he loved to do, race stock cars.

In the field of auto racing the number 3 is Senior’s for eternity. No one wants to use it in the upper ranks of the sport because it would be considered a sign of disrespect to a fallen comrade. The only acceptable person to take this number might be his son Dale Earnhardt, Jr. but I don’t think he would accept it willingly. I think Junior would prefer to be number 8 but, due to contractual agreements, he has to settle on 88. It is more important to him that he be part of a motivated and forward thinking team than to just stay someplace where he could keep the number 8.

When I think of 3 in other contexts, here’s some of the things that came to mind.

• 3 Coins In A Fountain
• 3 Men & A Baby
• Three Dog Night
• The Three Musketeers

So I looked up the number 3 in a numerology related website—starlightnumerology. A lot of the things they said were true of my personality, but so were 4 and 8 and 11. I think that is part of getting older. You become more well-rounded in your personality because you have experienced more and you learn how to apply the new stuff you learned.

It’s Ernie the accountant at work again. He’s never satisfied if he can’t put something in a box—left column, right column, black, white, 6, nationality, etc. etc. It’s very much the same in psychology where they try to place you into only 4 boxes—thinker, relater, socializer, director. Thank goodness people aren’t that simple!

And only 3 coins means it’s a really new fountain, and 7 dogs would make it a much colder night than 3 and I’d feel a whole lot better going into battle with 4,302 Musketeers. The book and movie would be a lot longer, of course.

The significance of the number 3 in the lead of this story is not the number. It is the man that sat in the seat that drove that car on many Sundays in racetracks throughout the world. My only wish is that he wasn’t so stuck in his ways and wore his restraint system properly. He might have been able to share another magical moment with his son like he did when Junior won his first big race. Junior might one day become a father too and Grandpa won’t be there to spoil the dickens out of the little beater.

So a number is a number. You use it to measure something relative to something else. Human beings are what counts.