I received a nice letter in the mail from the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department telling me I was speeding. They even provided proof in the form of photographs.

Truth is, I was not driving that car the day they said the violation happened. I was home, in New York - not in Washington, DC, driving 62 in a 50. I know who was driving my car, but it was not me.

In any event, they did not issue me with a fine - instead they said this is a "warning" and next time, I will be given a fine if I speed.

They even have this whole web site portal to login, view the pictures and pay the fine (if applicable).

I never received one of these letters before, I hear it is illegal in some states for the police to use speed cameras - but I guess it is not illegal in Washington, D.C.

Heck, I've seen cops outside of their cars using speed guns and I've tweeted being pulled over in the past - so I guess this should go on the blog as well.

Posted at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Travels | Comments (4)

Just a quick post, to follow up on the flipped car, head on collision, smaller car fire I've seen.

Today, on the way to a meeting, I saw this HUGE car fire on 287 between exit 14B and 14A.

I was able to see the the dark fog of smoke for miles and miles.

Posted at 4:57 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (1)

On the way to the airport last week, Monday - to go to PubCon in Las Vegas, we hit a bit of traffic. As we approached we saw what happened. There were about three cars involved, all really badly damaged. In fact, they looked they were all charred from a huge fire.

Here is a picture of one on the cars that seemed the most damaged, flipped over and the wheels are missing. I suspect the outcome was really not good, which makes me pretty sad.

I didn't see the accident happen, although I have seen accidents happen in the past. And I have seen cars on fire and I've been in car fires (small one when I was a kid). I've also been in my share of accidents, even one where a cop hit me - I kid you not.

Here is the popular street on Google Maps:

View Larger Map

Anyway, it is sad to see accidents, especially ones like this.

Posted at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (1)

I upgraded my iPhone to use the beta developer preview of iOS 5 and I am in love with many of the features, especially the notifications. (Yea, Android people, I know - stop there.)

One thing I want is that my car's navigation system be more integrated with my iPhone or even Android phone.

(1) I want the notifications to stream from my phone to my navigation.

(2) I want to ditch my car's GPS and use the GPS built into my phone.

(3) I want live Google Maps traffic to display from my phone to the navigation.

(4) I want to let my wife and kid watch movies streamed from my phone on the navigation while I am driving.

(5) I want to be able to stream anything via Airplay or USB from my device over my navigation.

Am I asking too much?

This has been a dream of mine since driving to Toronto in 2006. I just wanted this data streamed to my car's navigation.

Posted at 5:10 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , iPhone | Comments (2)

It is not every day where you see a neat geeky license plate - well, maybe I see one or two every day. But most people do not.

Yesterday, I was driving home from work and spotted a New Jersey license plate that read "ONLINE."

The person seemed lost, which was ironic, but it was nice to see a license plate like this in my neck of the woods.

Posted at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (2)

Yesterday, I was at a meeting and I received a call and a bunch of text messages from my office telling me my car would be towed if I don't move it now.

What happened was, I arrived at the office building, the parking lot was like a zoo. I found a spot, but apparently the spot was in a loading dock.

A truck arrived and wasn't able to fully unload. They saw my plates, the RustyCar License Plates, Googled them and called my office.

The office called me and within minutes I was able to move the car. At that time, there were a bunch of open spots but whatever.

So there you go, the my ugly license plates that reads RustyCar led upset people to RustyBrick and helped save my car from being towed.

One of the perks of having a branded license plate - oh yea, I am sure there are plenty cons.

Posted at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (1)

I pull up to the office this morning before 7am and someone is in my spot!

And I thought my car was branded.

Posted at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (0)

I was behind this car, if you call it that, this morning. Just look at the exhaust. It looked like a huge power plant of some sorts...

Note: The car was sitting at a red light. It was not revving the engine or anything:

Posted at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (4)

Hate when I see traffic:

Posted at 2:10 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (1)

I was driving to work this morning, by myself and looked over and saw this:

I then thought --- hey, what if I was a lonely guy? What if I never had anyone sitting in my passenger seat? What if I had no friends? What if everyone hated me?

This would make me feel so sad.

Posted at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny , Just Interesting , Motor Vehicle , Rambling | Comments (2)

When I got my new car I was a bit upset that they simply transferred my old plates. I wanted to get the new NY license plates, even though they look way uglier than the original ones - I personally like the colors. Yea, I know.

I decided that I really wanted those ugly plates, so today, I ordered personalized license plates from the NY DMV. I did the transaction online, I would never walk into a DMV. :)

Guess what I got:

Yep - RustyCar!

Back in the day, I had a personalized plate for my car. It was an abbreviated version of RustyBrick, since you are only allowed 8 characters - but I eventually stopped renewing the personalized version. I still have one of the two of those plates. Maybe one day I will blog about why I got rid of them.

Posted at 4:11 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (2)

Since getting my new car a few weeks ago I have been having a real fun time playing with the technology. I like cars, but I like cars not for their transmissions but rather their gadgets and little toys. The Lexus I have has many little gadgets, some are permanent, some are given for 90 days to try and some are given for a year to try.

I wanted to give you a detailed overview of one feature named the Lexus Enform eDestination system. When I was researching for detailed screen shots and features, I really didn't find much, so I figured this may help others in research mode.

In summary, eDestination lets you lookup places, addresses, points of interestes and so on via your computer and then wirelessly send them to your car. One thing I always hated was fumbling to plug in an addresses for a business meeting and wasting five minutes with that, instead of just getting in the car and driving. This let's me locate the business address, send it to my car and then just drive away in a matter of minutes. It is much easier to find a place on the web site, then enter an address in the navigation. I should add that I could always use the Destination Assist feature, which calls someone and they send the destination to my car - but I will hopefully write another blog post on that later.

To get started you need to have a login to the Lexus Drivers web site and a valid Lexus Enform subscription, which came free with my car for the first year. Once you login, you can then click on the eDestinations link on left hand side within the My Lexus section. Here is the screen for this page:

Now you want to click on "Manage Destinations" and a new screen will come up to let you search for destinations three ways:

(1) Points of Interest
(2) Address
(3) Zagat

I typically use address but here is a screen shot of the points of interest form:

Here are the search results page for a look up on medical categories in my area. As you can see, the results are clear and show up in the map:

The next step is to click on a result and be taken to the add screen. In the screen shot below, this is where you choose the name of the eDestination and which "folder" you want to add it to. I have three folders currently, frequent places, business and personal - but who knows if my folders will change in the future. Here is a screen shot:

Fill out this form and you are then taken to the sync screen. This screen lets you confirm that you want to send the data to your car's navigation system. Here is a screen capture:

The sync status also shows on the eDesitnation home page:

Hit "Send Changes Now" and the screen should refresh after a few seconds and show all green:

You are not done yet. Now you need to go to your car and click on the "Dest" button on the right side of the navigation screen. Here are pictures from Lexus:

The next part I always find confusing for some reason.

You then go to the "Points of Interest" screen from the destinations screen:

Then click on "eDestinations" from the Points of Interest screen:

On this screen you click the "Download" button on the bottom left:

Say "yes" to the confirmation screen:

Then the download progress shows up, it eventually will say download is complete:

Finally, it will then show up in the eDestinations, under Points of Interest, section within the folder you selected on the web site above:

Overall, I really like how it works. Like I said, I find it confusing that eDestinations is under "Points of Interests" and not the "Address Book," but I will get it after time. Another Issue I have is that it labels all my eDestinations on the map with a Lexus logo. I would love to be able to label them with the various labels given to me in the Lexus navigation screen. Outside of that, I really like this feature.

Posted at 7:07 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (4)

Today, I picked up my new car - the car I bought on Twitter. Historically, my cars have been getting bigger and bigger. I have leased three Lexus automobiles in the past 9 years or so and each of those gradually got bigger and bigger. And I am a guy that likes small cars.

My first Lexus was when I was single and had little to no-expenses. I was driving a SC 430 convertible, which was extremely fast but also very small. Here is a picture:

I was sad to see that car go, but it was horrible in the snow. The next car, I made sure to get all-wheel drive. The car's size grew, and the budget shrunk - I now was married with expenses and a new home. I got the IS 250, which is a nice car, still pretty small and peppy. Here is a picture (I do have some real ones but this looks nicer):

So now I traded up a bit to the GS 350 AWD. I wasn't planning on getting this car, but like I said, I saw a deal on Twitter, where I could hand in this car 6 months early at no cost, if I lease another Lexus. So I did. And the deal on the GS was just too good to pass up. I assume the deal was too good due to them being considered death mobiles - but hey - it's worth it.

I guess you can say, I am a sucker for Lexus and new cars.

Posted at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (3)

Some of you know that on Friday, I bought a car via Twitter. I'll share more about the car when I get it sometime today.

But yesterday, I spent a couple minutes packing up the stuff in my IS 250, which I got 30 months ago, into a single bag. It amazed me that I was able to put all the stuff in my car into a single, smallish bag, to make the transfer from car A to car B efficient.

The transferable stuff includes but is not limited to:

• E-Z Pass
• Snow scrapers
• Coins
• Umbrella (never use)
• CDs I never use
• Radar detector
• iPhone charger
• Tissues
• Pens
• LED Licenses plate (don't use)
• & More

That is pretty much what I have in my car. I know some people that live out of their cars and the cars are a complete mess. Mine, is pretty much spotless.

Are you a clean, messy or in between clean car?

Posted at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (0)

In 2008, I signed a lease for the Lexus IS 250 and I have been pretty happy with the car. You hear all this news about the toyota accelerator recall and how cars are driving away even with the break on.

I had to do my 20,000 mile routine maintenance this week, so I scheduled a maintenance thing with Lexus (I actually like going to the Lexus service area). They tell me that they have a accelerator recall they can do voluntarily but for free. So I said, sure go ahead.

Today I dropped off the car and got the loaner. The service guy tells me I am doing the recall, I said - "yep." He said, "you know, we have never confirmed any of those reports." I shook my head in agreement, because if they did, they would likely have a solution by now. But at the same time, I am thinking, why would you say that? I mean, just say the recall I am doing on your car will keep you safe. Not that I am worried, but telling me you haven't confirmed or found an issue makes me feel like Lexus and Toyota is incompetent.

In any event, he explained that they will be replacing the accelerator pedal and also pushing a software program to the car. The software basically looks to see if you are on the break and at the same time accelerating at a 30% incline or more. If you are, the engine will shut down. Pretty cool!

Anyway, I give up this car at the end of this year - so far, it has not drove off by itself.

Posted at 9:49 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (0)

I was driving back from a client this afternoon and on Interstate 287, right about over here, a copy was in his car, with his door open, looking like he was going to shot a moving car.

As we got closer, it looked like a laser speed gun. I've never seen a cop on the highway have his door open, looking behind him, shooting a speed gun before. I've only seen it when a copy was in his car and his door was closed.

As I passed him, I saw that he clicked the trigger. Not at me, but at someone behind me. I then saw his blinker and sirens go on. Then I saw him pulling over a car.

I was about to make a break for it, since my exit was just about 500 feet from that location. But I noticed that he pulled someone else over, which is good for me, bad for them. I did recently get a ticket, which seemed to turn out to be a way for my town to earn money.

The above picture is the closest image I can find of a cop doing something similar to what I saw. It is funny, because this is an Israeli police officer.

View Larger Map

Posted at 3:24 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (2)

The NY DMV announced that they are replacing the old white and blue license plates with these new "Empire Gold" and blue license plates.

Personally, I think they are nice. I assume when you put them on cars, they will likely not look so great - for most cars. But I still like them.

Most people will need to get these new plates with registration renewal after April 2010. Not all people need to get them, such as special group or profession plates - they get new ones, but different ones. It will cost an additional $25.00 for most people to get these plates.

For more questions about this, see the NY DMV's FAQ on this topic.

Do you like them?

Posted at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (7)

I am not sure why these types of things make me laugh, but they do and I am sorry. Remember when I was amazed at the car that parked on top of another car?

Well, how about a single SUV parking on top of two cars and then driving away. Check out this video:

Via @Jason.

Posted at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny , Motor Vehicle | Comments (0)

Since my first car, I have this red stuffed animal bull keychain hanging from my rear view mirror. I think technically, it is illegal to have these things hanging, but everyone does it. In any event, here is a picture of it:

The bull is about 13 years old. My brother-in-law gave it to me (or I took it, I don't remember). I was/am a huge Michael Jordan fan and constantly watched him play with the Chicago Bulls. I actually saw him live, thanks again to my brother-in-law, several times in New York against the Knicks and also against the NJ Nets.

So when I saw he had this red bull, the logo of the Chicago Bulls, I wanted it in my car.

Since then, 13 years and I think about five cars later, it has been hanging in my car since.

This morning, he comes to me in Synagogue, to tell me he his kids (my nephews) found the same bull in white and wanted to give it to me. Why? So the red bull doesn't feel lonely. Too funny. Here is a picture of that white bull.

It is white, the lighting was weird in my car that early in the morning.

Didn't Michael Jordan play for the Chicago White Sox? ;-)

Posted at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (1)

I spotted an article from up in Utica, New York (near Syracuse) that showed a car parked on top of another car.

In reality, the car drove through bushes. Past those bushes was a parking lot. But the parking lot seemed to be about 10 to 15 feet below the foor of bushes.

Here is a video of the event:

Posted at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (0)

I jumped in my car to pick up yet another salad (I am good).

I decided to check my email while sitting in the car. I hit reply to that email and the GPS screen changed as if I was making a phone call. I first thought that I called someone by accident, but that wasn't it. I then figured out that every time I hit reply or new email, the iPhone sent a command via bluetooth to my car's GPS that I was making a phone call.

This is the first time something like this happened to me. I honestly think this is a quirk. But if it happens again, I'll update this post. If not, then it was a one time quirk (if that is even possible).

This happened in at least three cases:

• Hitting Compose Email
• Hitting Reply to an Email
• Clicking in the search box and searching for an email

Posted at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Category: Computers , Motor Vehicle , iPhone | Comments (1)

On September 4th, 11 days ago, I told you I would be driving a Hummer for a few days. Well, 11 days later, and probably at least 3 more days going forward, I will still have this Hummer.

In short, Prestige Lexus's Collision department lied to me. The car should have been done in 4 days, so technically by Wednesday of last week, the latest. I call for an update and they tell me, they needed to do more work and get more money from Allstate. Then the light they ordered was damaged, so they had to reorder it. The story goes on and on. So this 4 day fix is already on day 11.

I asked the guy, to be honest and tell me when it will be done. He said, he hopes by Friday, ah so 14 days later. If he is telling me the truth.

Why am I so upset?

(1) I don't think this guy is lying to me, I just think he has bad info and has limited control on when the car can be fixed. I just wish he would have set those expectations from the start and not tell me it would be done mid last week.

(2) I really dislike driving the Hummer. A few days of driving it around was fun. But honestly, I am so sick of it. It is just too big and not a convenient car to get around in.

(3) When I call Enterprise to ask them if I can return it for something else, which they said I can do at any time - they tell me they only have cargo vans available, to call back tomorrow. So I called again and again, still, only cargo vans. So I am paying more money every day for a car I do not like. What I find incredible is that when I came in to rent the Hummer, they listed off like 15 cars I can pick from. Now they only have cargo vans! I don't believe them.

I just feel like Enterprise is screwing me cause Lexus is clueless.

Posted at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (1)

Earlier this week, I got in a minor accident which required that I bring in my car to get the front bumper fixed. FYI, this is only my second real accident in my life.

In any event, yesterday - I dropped off my car at the dealership to be fixed. From there, I had Enterprise pick me up from there and get me a rental. My insurance pays $30 a day for a rental, so I decided to get one.

Enterprise had a bunch of cars available for $30 per day, but they also said for a few buck more per day (about $10) I could get a Hummer H3.

I thought about it for a bit, thought how much I hate big cars (I hate driving them, I hate seeing them on the road, etc). I figured, heck - why not drive one for a few days. So I got the Hummer H3 for a few days. Why not? It isn't like I have to keep it for three years - so give the big car a try.

The car is huge. It feels like a truck. It handles very well. It has very good acceleration for a car (truck) that size. But it is big, big. Coming from very small cars, my whole life, maneuvering with this one is different. I am very careful when backing up, making turns, pulling in/out of my garage and so on.

But at the same time, it does make you feel empowered when driving on the road. You know, like you are the big kid in the class and no one can mess with you. I drive around, with my huge engine and car and think - hey, I can drive over that car. Not that I would, but you know the feeling.

In any event, I will likely return the car in a few days and get my small car back. I doubt I will regret renting the Hummer. It is fun trying out new cars. So why not make the best of a bad situation (the accident)?

Posted at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (6)

I was driving just a a few minutes ago and noticed I was at 16,999 miles on the odometer. So I was thinking, when I hit 17,000, maybe I should blog it - since I can blog about virtually anything. But then I thought, who cares? I don't care that I hit 17,000 miles.

As I was driving, I was getting nervous, what if it hits 17,001 and I miss taking a picture at the 17,000 miles. So I started to slow down, thinking maybe it won't change as fast. I thought to myself, that was dumb. So I speed up to try to get to my destination faster. Yea, I know, speed doesn't change the miles it takes to get to a specific destination, but it was interesting to me, to have the feeling that speed did make a difference, even though, intellectually, I knew that had no say in the equation. Jeez, the more I blog about this, the dumber it makes me look.

In any event, you get my point. Even though you and I know speed has no factor in the number of miles it takes to get to a destination, going faster or slower does make you feel that it might be less or more miles. Kind of crazy.

In any event. I did not snap this picture until I arrived at my destination and I was lucky, it stayed at 17,000 miles.

The first time I took a picture of my speedometer was when I showed you how the car warned you if you were going over the speed limit.

Posted at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (1)

A month ago, I got a speeding ticket, in fact, I tweeted a picture of the cop who gave me a speeding ticket (which was my claim to fame). Last night, was my day in court - well, kind of.

As I said in my previous post, the officer told me to plead not guilty, so I did. When I got to the court house, which is a minute from my office, I got on line. There was initially confusion as to if we should sign in or stand on line. In any event, there were three individuals at a long table. We each went spoke to these individuals and arranged a "plea bargain" deal with them. One of those plea bargainers was a person I knew from the community (i.e. being too local).

My speeding ticket, which was a fine and 4 points on my license was reduced to a non-moving violation with no points and a $150 fine. I took it. To me, this means the court just wants your money and they don't care much about the DMV's point system.

In any event, I had to then go with my plea to the judge in the court room. We sat in the court room (probably fifty of us) and waited for the judge to call our names and ask us if we accept our plea and plead guilty to it. Keep in mind, you can plead not guilty and get a real court date. Most everyone took the plea deal and went on their way.

The court judge was actually a guy who lives around the corner from my parents home. He called my name and then looked up and saw it was me. He made a face and a "oh" expression but then read the plea bargain when I smirked back at him. I didn't want him to feel awkward, but then again, this is a local court, and I am sure he knows many people who stand in front of him. Just felt a bit too local for me.

In any event, I took my plea, and paid by the county clerk's desk. Wish they took AMEX, but MasterCard worked. They got their money, I didn't get points - we are all happy.

Posted at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (5)

I hate talking to people and using the phone, so I am glad I was able to schedule my car maintenance check completely online, without having to talk to a single person.

I went to my local Lexus place's web site and clicked on the "schedule" appointment feature. I set up my appointment online in a matter of minutes. I am sure this will mean I will be getting email spam, but heck, no people!

Here is the summary of my car appointment:

How cool! I love the web.

Okay, need to go to my next in person meeting - chat with you all later. ;-)

Posted at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (3)

After work last night, I come out of my office, walk to my car and notice that it would be impossible for me to get in via the driver side doors. I really got mad, really mad. What a lack of consideration and respect for others. I was actually thinking of jamming my door into this guys door over and over again, until his car moved. But I calmed myself and went to the other side of the car and climbed through the passenger side. Understand, my car is pretty small and I am not.

Here is a picture of this guys disrespectful and offensive parking job. And if you know who's car this is, forward him the email. I am still mad about it.

Back View:

Front View:

Okay, I complained in 2006, 2007 and 2008, so I guess this makes my annual "you can't park" post for 2009. But seriously, this is the worst parking job ever and the most disrespectful one! Yea, still mad.

Posted at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (6)

Over Passover, I parked my park at the Synagogue and it sat there, under a tree for three days. The result? The back half of my car is covered in bird poop. Time for a car wash...

I was too lazy to take a picture, so I went to Flickr and searched for cars with bird poop on them. There were tons of pictures, so I thought I share my favorite shots of cars nailed by bird poop.

I wouldn't stand there if I were you:

Bird's eye view:

Bird diarrhea?

Ugh:

Goes well with the Honda logo:

Can birds vomit?

Bird pellets:

The classic station wagon:

Bird poop and a parking ticket?

Bird looking for revenge:

What in the world did this bird have for dinner?

Posted at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny , Motor Vehicle | Comments (4)

In America, for a car to get towed, they need to bring a tow truck, then spend 20 minutes hooking up the car and then tow the car away. It is a big process and you rarely see it. In Israel, it is common and done incredibly efficiently.

In short, they have this special truck that just pulls up along the car. Then it presses a button and two metal lifts shoot out from under the truck and go under the car. It then lifts the car up into the air and puts the car on the tow truck. It is that quick.

Last night, while eating pizza (yes, in Israel and I eat pizza) with Tamar and her husband, we notice a tow truck doing just that. Here is a picture:

As the car is being lifted in the air, three or four girls come running out of the store yelling. The girls are pleading, in Hebrew, with the tow truck operator (maybe a cop) to give them a second chance. After a minute or so of talking, he puts the car back down and one of the girls give the guy a kiss on the cheek. I guess the pleading and maybe flirting paid off.

I hear that having your car towed is very costly and very inconvenient. The only benefit Americans have is that it is not easy for a car to be towed, relative to how it is done in Israel.

Posted at 5:39 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Travels | Comments (1)

I was in the local pizza shop at the corner of Route 59 and College Road.

The car was making a left turn, while another car was driving straight down the street. I guess they did not see each other and they hit hard. I think everyone was mostly okay. However, the cars fronts were smashed in. One car pretty much stood its ground, while the other was turned around and landed on the grass. The air bags were deployed. I was like 50 feet from it, inside.

Of course the whole store got up and looked for a really long time. Pretty crazy. Never seen that big of a fresh accident. I did however see a car on fire a while back.

Posted at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (0)

About two weeks ago, I renewed my driver's license online. Last night, I got my new NYS driver's license.

It had the same picture of my previous license, which was from about ten years ago, when I was 18 or 19 years of age. I guess they think we all look the same from 18 to 28/29...

My face is different a few ways:

1. Got a goatee now
2. Put on several pounds (to say the least)
3. No gray hairs

But I am proud to say, I still own that shirt, although the jacket ripped and I no longer have it. Oh, and the hair do and the amount of hair is still the same.

Are you brave enough to post your driver's license photo? Should I dare do a blog-meme? Nah, I'll spare you, but if you are brave enough, do please post your driver's license photo.

Posted at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (15)

This morning it was incredibly foggy. Went I began driving, I noticed the GPS was off. It thought I was maybe 50 feet from where I was. This is unusual for this GPS, because it is built into the car and uses more than just satellite to pin point my location. As I continued to drive, it remained off.

Here is a picture, see, I am not on a road:

I guess the extreme fog this morning had something to do with it.

I have seen this a lot with external (portable) GPS devices in NYC (tall buildings) or with bad weather or in tunnels, but never in my area in my car.

So I thought I take a picture and blog it (cause that is what I do).

Posted at 9:23 AM | Permalink | Category: Computers , Motor Vehicle | Comments (0)

I am a strong believer or adopter of using technology to increase efficiency and utility. Automation, streamlining, and efficiencies are core to my way of working. In all honesty, I am a bit of an efficiency nut. Even the way I enter or leave my house, is done so with the most efficiency as possible, to not waste a second. I am crazy.

So when I see car concepts from companies like Ringspeed named iChange, I get excited. iPhone-controlled car to demo at Geneva Motor Show via MacWorld explains that Ringspeed is demoing a car that using the iPhone as a way to control certain elements of the car. It replaced your keys, and I already have those smart access keys for my car and I would love to ditch them, and my other keys, in place of my iPhone. Yes, access control can go wrong, as I experienced first hand, but I would much rather put up with those issues on a rare occasion than to have to carry extra keys. Let me do away with all my keys!

Back to the iChange, here is a picture of the inside of the car, take a look at the left top of the picture, the iPhone holder:

The iPhone will also turn on and off your headlines (which I am not impressed with, because that should be automated based on if it is raining or dark outside).

The cool thing is that this care is the "world's first car whose body adapts to the number of passengers on board." Now that is cool!

Posted at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , iPhone | Comments (1)

In about a month, my New York drivers license expires. I got a letter in the mail from the NY DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles that I can renew online. There was a catch. I had to get an eye exam.

I don't wear glasses, but last time I went to renew my license, I was 18 years old, I almost didn't pass the eye exam at the DMV. I was struggling to see the letters. So this time, I was nervous that I would fail and have to wear glasses where ever I drive. Don't get me wrong, I see fine. But if I drive without a GPS at night to a place I have never been, I wear glasses so I can see the street signs from further away. But typically, I rarely where glasses. I did not want to have to wear glasses when driving. So I was a bit anxious with this eye exam.

Last night I Twittered off to eye doctor and I was off. In fact, Daechon offered me a discount on contact lenses, if I wanted. Thanks Daechon, I am good (see above).

The doctor gave me my eye exam, it was quick. I scored a 20/25 in each eye individually and a 20/20 in both eyes together. I know you guys were worried.

In any event, I then went online and completed my renewal of my drivers licenses. The thing is, my photo is from when I was 18. I look a heck of a lot different now, then I did when I was 18. But I guess that is not my problem.

Posted at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (0)

There is a snow storm coming and there is about 6-12 inches of snow expected in my area.

A reminder, when you park your car at work - and, I assume you are all going to work today, put your windshield wipers in the up position. Nothing worse than trying to dig them out of the 12 inches of snow. This way you can brush the snow off easily, without really damaging the wipers.

Since I was the first one at the building this morning - like almost every morning, I put my blades up. I assume the rest will see my car and do the same.

But I am no longer worried about getting stuck here. My new car, which is now over a year old is all wheel drive. My old car was known to always get stuck in the snow. But I don't think that will happen this time, at least - I hope not to blog every other day about my car getting stuck in the snow, like I did the years before.

Posted at 8:54 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Weather | Comments (2)

While driving in Boston this week, I noticed a huge CTIGO gas station sign.

Why am I telling you about this sign?

(1) It is really really really big.

(2) It may be bigger than the Amoco sign that I saw in St. Louis a couple years back.

So when I spotted it, I made my wife take a picture, so I can simply blog about it.

The sign does not look as big as the Amoco sign but it may be. The Amoco sign in St. Louis was not all that high. This CITGO sign was mounted on top of a building, but the Amoco sign was just on top of a gas station. So it is hard to visualize which was bigger.

Posted at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny , Motor Vehicle | Comments (2)

The most surprising part of the trip, which is over 200 miles one way, probably a total of 500 miles driven the whole trip, was that I did not get one ticket.

I did not get a speeding ticket, I did not get a parking ticket, I did not get a ticket for J-walking.

Before leaving, I warned my wife, that I would be lucky if I did not get at least one speeding ticket. The roads were wide open, mostly straight, conducive to going very fast, without noticing.

I did see several cars pulled over by police cars. I was, fortunately, not one of them. I did use a radar detector the whole way there and back, so that might have helped. I wasn't going 100mph, but I was not always going the exact speed limit.

I was lucky.

Posted at 9:18 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Travels | Comments (1)

Check out this grungy car! How cool!

On the way to work this morning, I snapped a picture of it.

Posted at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (4)

Just a friendly reminder, that almost every day, this same guy, still can't flipping park his car right.

This is today, but today wasn't even that bad:

Very annoying!

Posted at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (3)

I live in New York, but I am about 20 minutes from New Jersey. New Jersey gas prices are much cheaper than New York prices - so I typically like to fill-up in New Jersey, when I pass through.

Yesterday morning the gas tank light went on. I was too busy to get gas in the morning and in the afternoon when I went out to pick up a bite, I was too lazy to stop for gas. On the way home, I learned about possible news that required me to drive to New Jersey. So I decided to hold out and see if I can make it 20 minutes to the first gas station in New Jersey.

Typically, I make these decisions when I am driving solo. But my wife was with me this time and she doesn't like it when the gas light is on. Which wife does? :) But she braved the drive with me and we pulled up to the gas station and filled up for $4.01 per gallon. Then, as we continued down the highway, I noticed gas stations selling gas for $3.55, I was bummed we didn't try to go longer and get that price.

This is not the first time I wrote about this topic, I wrote about driving on empty with my old car as well. Note the image above really doesn't due justice to the dial, the dial was on empty and the light was orange for a long long time.

So how far can you go?

Posted at 9:23 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (3)

I was driving to work yesterday, yes I work Sunday mornings, and I saw this car.

(1) What first caught my attention was that the car had its top down in 30 degree weather. Brrrrrr.

(2) Then I saw the interesting license plate, as you can see in the image above.

(3) Then when I passed the car, I notice a dog was buckled into the passenger seat. The dog was sitting up like a person, wearing a snow hat. Way too funny.

Posted at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny , Motor Vehicle , Travels , Weather | Comments (4)

So I got my new car and on my travels to NYC today, I noticed that the speedometer showed lights up when you drive faster than 78MPH.

Now, I am not saying I was driving. I just observed this and took a picture as it happened.

Speedometer under 78 MPH:

Speedometer over 78MPH:

How cool is that?

Posted at 6:54 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (9)

This Sunday morning marked the first time it snowed this season, plus the first snow fall in our new house. I actually shoveled the drive way and did not hire a plow to do it for me. I wonder how long that will last.

Here is a picture of the snow in my back yard:

It may have turned out to be a few inches by the end of the day. Nothing major but with all first snow of the season, the weather channels play it up.

But how about timing....

I got my new car a week ago today and within a week, we get our first snow. So how did it drive? It drove great. I did not slip, skid or get stuck. It drove. So no complaints are what I was looking for. I have no story to tell - which is good but bad for the blog.

Overall, good timing...

Posted at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Category: Homey , Motor Vehicle , Weather | Comments (1)

It has been a day and a half since I got my new car and I am still adjusting to it.

The main thing that throws me off is the SmartAccess feature. In short, this car doesn't have a real key. You have this key but you don't put it in the ignition, you just press a start button where the ignition would be. Here is the description from Lexus's site:

With a unique secure code, the SmartAccess key automatically enables you to unlock and open all four of the vehicle’s doors and its trunk without removing the key fob from your purse, pocket or briefcase. There’s no visible key cylinder. As soon as the sensors detect the presence of your SmartAccess key, the door unlocks when you touch the handle. SmartAccess even activates the lighting entry system to illuminate your points of entry from the exterior puddle lights to the ignition button. It just takes one push to start the engine.

(1) When I open the car, I need to remember, no need to take the key out. Just wrap my hand around the door handle and pull. It automatically disarms the alarm and unlocks the car when it senses my hand. Yes, you need the key to be somewhere on your body.

(2) When I leave and park the car, I no longer need to press the lock button on the key. I just close the door and press a button on the door handle. The car is armed and locked. Yes, you need the key to be somewhere on your body.

(3) When I get in the car, I press a "Engine Start" button to start the engine. Yes, you need the key to be somewhere on your body.

(4) When I shut the car off, I press "Engine Stop" button. Yes, you need the key to be somewhere on your body.

There are other things the key can do that I haven't even learned yet. Trust me, I will be reading the manual over the weekend.

This SmartAccess feature will probably save me a few seconds each time I use the car. I like that. :)

Posted at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (1)

This morning I said Farewell to my Lexus SC 430 2005. The car will be missed, that is for sure. But it is time I move on and think about things that are more important.

Why did I go for the Lexus IS 250 AWD?

• There is an awesome deal on this car this month through a a national program.
• It is all-wheel drive and can actually work in the snow.
• Much better fuel efficiency than my old car.
• Much less expensive than my old car.
• Fits three more people (5 people in total) when compared to my old car.
• Much smoother car, it is made for normal roads.

Looking forward to driving it in health every day, except Saturdays. ;-)

Posted at 5:12 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (8)

Within 6 hours, I will be returning my car for a new car. Yes, I am the type that leases cars. And it is time for my current car, the Lexus SC 430 2005 to go back to the company and for me to get a new car. What am I getting next? That will be a different post. Let me first write my tribute to my SC430.

My car isn't the most practical car out there. It doesn't fit boxes too well, It often gets stuck in the snow and the tires are expensive and break often.

I enjoyed driving with the top down on many occasions. Yea, it is a pretty car.

So pretty, it once got broken into and often people would flash me, because of those High-Intensity headlights. Heck, I even found nice little surprises on my dashboard after snow storms.

But what I really liked was the Lexus customer service, in fact, they have surprised me once or twice with that.

So, now, it is time to say goodbye. Just in time for the winter season. I hopefully won't be blogging about not being able to get to work or being stuck in the snow. I will miss you SC430. Your speed and comfort was very enjoyable, but it is time I get more practical with my cars and more economical as well.

For more of my car stories, check out the motor vehicles archive section on this site.

Thanks for all the memories!

Posted at 9:43 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (2)

My lease expires this March. What I want next is a four-wheel drive car that is small and fast. I love my current car, but there are certain things I hate about it....

- Won't drive in snow
- Is very bumpy

I want a smooth car that handles snow well.

I also want the car to not be a large car. I want it to be smallish and quick.

Judah at Excel Diamonds sent me information on speculation over the Ferrari FS 599 Fuoristrada SUV. Wouldn't that be a sweet ride?

No way am I getting this puppy...

Posted at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (4)

Don't you just hate getting behind a slow driver? I personally cannot stand it, especially when you are in a rush.

Whenever I get behind a slow driver, I typically think of this stupid little thing I used to do. To kill time when I first got my license, a couple friends of mine used to drive around the area.

We actually picked streets that were curvy, long and main roads in the area. As we drove, we decided to drive well under the speed limit, just to annoy drivers behind us. When there was a line of 15 cars behind us, we would turn off to a different street, let them pass and start all over again.

So now, whenever I get behind a slow driver, I think it is pay back for all those times I made others suffer.

Yea, we were bad kids. ;-)

Posted at 9:01 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (2)

I was driving last night and this caught my eye.

Had to look twice.

Posted at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (3)

Yesterday afternoon, I was driving two of my nephews to my house and they begged me to put the top down. So I said OK.

It was 70+ degrees yesterday. It is the end of October. I am driving with my top down in October in New York. Global warming?

Today it is suppose to hit 75 here and may go up to 80 in some parts of New York. It is nuts!

Am I complaining? Nah, I prefer this over snow. I am not looking forward to the snow season, some of you may remember all the hassle I had with my car in the snow.

I am looking forward to returning my car lease around March, right about the time of Spring. :)

Posted at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (2)

I am a huge GPS fan, I live and die by it. I was curious how you label your home in your GPS?

People say never to put your home as home in the GPS, because then whomever steals your car can easily pay you a visit.

I then took two seconds to think about that, and I was like.... But my registration card, insurance card and other personal information has to be in the car. It is the law to carry these forms of identification in your car. So they can plugin your address into MapQuest, from your insurance card, and drive to your house. So it is a bit easy with a GPS.

So take the poll below. How do you label your home in your GPS?

Me personally, I don't label my home "home," because I am a geek. What is your computer's home address? ;-)

Posted at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (5)

Remember my ordeal with Five Star Parking?

Well, today I finally got my refund. I think I had to remind them to send it to me. Because it wasn't mailed our until I sent a follow up email saying I never received it.

Well, now I got it. So this mess now costs me a lot of time, and about $450, as opposed to $700.

Nice that they came through with the $150 parking refund, I guess.

Posted at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Travels | Comments (1)

A stranger asked what was the end result with my broken door lock on my Lexus.

Well, as you know, I went in yesterday and was pleasantly surprised (makes you wonder if they read my blog, highly doubt it). I got there at 3:30, worked until about 5:15 and then they told me it was done. I packed up my computer and stuff, went to see the service rep and he told me it came out to be about $50 cheaper than the estimate. I said thank you, and I went off on my way.

I also noticed they washed the car, so now it looks spanking new. Well, maybe not new.

That picture makes the car look pretty hot, doesn't it?

Anyway, $430 later, I have a new working lock that I will never use. I.e. the electric lock worked fine...

Posted at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (1)

I walk into the Lexus service shop and this guy spots me and calls me in. He starts to take down my information and gets a phone call from his boss (as he is talking to me). He said, "excuse me, this is my boss." I nodded that he should take the call. He talks, hangs up and tells me.

The eyes are watching from the sky.

He explained his boss is watching us talk right now and explained my situation. The then said, don't worry, your car is being taken care of right now, just take a seat in the waiting room and when your car is done, we will let you know.

Now that is customer service. Someone IDs me, knows my story, and just tells you to go on your way. I did not waste any time with this service at all, as of yet.

I am actually sitting in the waiting room, typing this now. I hope it all ends well with this service call, but so far, off to a great start.

Posted at 4:29 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (6)

To continue my story of My Car Was Broken into at Newark Airport Short Term Parking and lexus wasting my time... I finally got in touch with the parking company today.

I explained the situation. The lady was very nice. As expected, she said, we cannot cover the damage to the car, since it is a "park and lock" garage. Funny, a park and lock garage that costs $150 for a few days of parking...

In any event, she promised me a refund for the $150 charged to me for parking. The least you can do is not charge me for parking my car there, when it wasn't found in the same spot...

Anyway, I am giving Five Star Parking, a single star for customer service. Which is kind of convenient for me, since their logo only shows a single star in their name... I know, it is in the five...

Hope I get the check.

Posted at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Travels | Comments (2)

I can't tell you how many times in the past three-years or so, Lexus Service has wasted my time.

I feel that I am very considerate of people's time. I expect others to be the same, especially if I am paying them.

This morning, I called Lexus Service. I explained the situation to them about someone trying to break into my Lexus, and they fully understood what I needed. They said I can come in at 2:30 for a scheduled appointment and it would probably take an hour and thirty-minutes to fix.

So 2:30 comes, I get to the Lexus Service station and check in. BTW, the Lexus service station may be one of the best places to waste your time. I sit and wait in the waiting area for someone to help me. During this time, I turn my laptop on, connect to the free wifi, while drinking an free ice-tee. I am working, the guy calls me in and I go to his desk. He then says I should go back to the waiting area while they look at the car. Ten minutes later, he comes back and tells me they don't have the parts.

I said, so why did I bother coming in? Of course, he couldn't answer, nor did I expect him to answer that question. I was nice, don't worry. I don't blame him. But they need to stop wasting my time.

They do this all the time. It happened when I had to replace my tires, it happened when my windshield cracked and had to be replaced, it happened a few times at least.

I always ask the service rep before coming in. Can it be fixed when I come in, the first time. They say yes. It is just not nice. Get on the same page please. People's time is important. Not just mine, but all your customer's time is important. Please value it. I am sure they pay enough.

Speaking of which, the lock will cost just under $500, just below my insurance deductible, to be fixed. Great. :)

Hopefully it will be fixed Wednesday, but who knows. Good thing I can drive the car with no problems. It just looks like I stole it, if you look at the door handle.

Posted at 4:55 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (1)

After landing from my my flight yesterday, and knowing that I have been fasting all day, plus had to go to work later.

My wife and I walked to where we parked the car, in short term parking at Newark Airport. We walked up and down the isles, and couldn't find it. I found that weird, since I wrote down the exact location I parked the car.

I finally give up and call the parking security. They sent someone to pick us up and find the car. After driving around the parking lot for ten minutes, she said the car may have been moved. It was moved to the security side of the garage. Someone tried to break in.

When I got to the car, the windows were down and the locked was disabled from the driver's side. It looks like this:

I am now at the Lexus shop, waiting for them to fix it.

It appears to me that the only damage to the car was the lock being pushed in. I have no idea how much it will cost, but I do know my deductible is $500. :)

The car itself was in perfect condition. Nothing was taken, nothing was damaged, just the lock. In fact, the car still locked using the electronic key lock.

I filed a police report and signed a couple papers at the scene of the crime.

What irks me the most is that I was still charged $150 for parking. They take no responsibility for any damage or inconvenience. They just charge you $150 and send you off, on your way. I probably will complain to the parking company after I get my bill from Lexus.

It obviously could have been a lot worse. I could have not had a car to drive home in. Next time, I know not to park my car at the airport. It is just amazing. They move cars from one spot to the next, if they are broken into.

In any event, we drove home. I went to work, worked for about an hour. I then came home and broke my fast. The day didnt turn out too bad. And, like I said, it could have been worse. But I do feel I was violated or at least my car was violated. I was going to title this post, "My Lexus was Violated & Abused."

Live and learn...

Posted at 2:46 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Travels | Comments (6)

I have been driving on empty for the past two days.

It is a good thing I work less than 4 miles away from my office. The light has been on for a while.

I had to go out before and finally broke down and bought some gas.

The fill up cost...

Guess...

One guess....

About $55.

Can you drive on empty?

Got to love the response at Yahoo Answers:

if your gas tank is empty, then you can't drive it....

Nice one!

Posted at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (2)

You guys probably know by now how much I hate people who can't park.

Well, here is one for the record books.

Yea, this guy is smack in the middle of two spots. Amazing!

Posted at 2:35 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (5)

Remember, I told you that I got hit by a cop? Well, here is the update on that story.

We spent the next few days getting quotes from various auto body shops. We found a reputable guy at a fair price to do the work. The cop mailed a check, as he said he would and I then hired the guy to fix the car.

First, let me say, I could not of got hit by a nicer person. The whole experience was rather easy and professional.

Next, the auto body shop I hired was awesome. Get this. He not only gave us a great price. He drove to the car, looked at it, and gave us a quote on the phone. Then when I gave him the go ahead, he drove, picked up the car, fixed it, and drove it back the same day.

How is that for service!

I highly recommend this guy. The name of the shop is KRV Auto & Body. It is a fairly new shop. The number is 845-296-3677. Any car problems, give this guy a call.

Posted at 8:33 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (2)

Last night, I went out to dinner with my wife and sister and brother-in-law. Traffic was absolutely horrible on the way in and way out. I am not sure if it had to do with the yesterday's blackout in the upper east side, but it was bad.

In any event, after reaching the restaurant 30 minutes late, we ate and left. The drive home was worse. Driving up 1st avenue to get to the FDR north was a pain. About three blocks before the entrance with the FDR, I felt a largish knock on the back of the car. The whole car rocked forward and I just sighed.

I get out of the car, with my brother-in-law and we go look at the situation. I took my wife's Jeep, because I can't fit more than two people and a RustyBrick bag in my car, so at least my wheels were damaged. In any event, the guy who hit me, had a small Honda Civic. His right headlight went under my Jeep's left bumper. His headlight was smashed in and the left bumper was scratched and a ripped under the bumper.

I am waiting on a quote from a body shop guy now...

But get this, the guy who hit me was an office duty police officer. He was very nice and apologetic. So we exchange information and go on our way. Today I call him to give him the cost estimate...

It gets worse. I finally get onto the FDR north. Of course, more traffic... I merge onto the ramp to get onto the George Washington Bridge and the car in front of me, in the right lane hits a large divider cone. It rolls right in front of my car - something I can't run over. So I had to stop, put hazards on and have my brother-in-law run out and move the cone.

We are back on our way.

I merge off the GW Bridge onto the Palisades parkway and buckets of rain start coming down. I can barely see, but I keep going. The rain stops and we see accidents all over the place. The other side of the Palisades is closed down due to a huge accident, huge.

That was my fun adventure last night. No car fires but still fun.

Posted at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Travels | Comments (7)

Yesterday, late afternoon, I was driving back from a wedding in upstate New York, on NYS Thruway (I-87 South), and there was a huge fog of black smoke in the air. As we got closer, we saw this car with flames coming out of it. We also saw small fire cars driving north (to come back around south) to the fire, we then saw later fire trucks doing the same thing (but that was after we passed the fire).

I couldn't find any news about the car fire this morning. From the looks of it, it appeared there was no one in the car, while it was on fire. At least, I hope no one was in the car.

My wife actually said, hey - should I take a picture for your blog. I guess my blogging is rubbing off on my wife.

Posted at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Travels | Comments (6)

Just Rude. Yea, looks like the same guy I wrote about last week. It is! But new picture and new day.

Today:

Thursday:

Notice how today's image, the scratches behind the back tire are no longer than. New truck? Same fleet? I don't know.

Jimmy at RB suggested I invest in these, I think I just may.

This is like the fourth time he parked like this. Basically, every time I have seen this van, it is parked in two spots.

Posted at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (6)

Today, I got to my office at about 6:35am and there was one van in the area I parked. There was literally a hundred spots on both sides of this van. But this guy had to park in two spots!

Here is a picture:

FYI, this is not the first time this van parked like this.

This is not the first time I am complaining about how someone else has parked. I wrote about a guy who parked too close to me in the past. If you need help parking, use the practice your parking online tool I wrote about in the past.

Trust me, I am not the only one who takes pictures of people who park poorly. There are hundreds of photos tagged at Flickr as ycantpark for people to let off steam about bad parkers.

Don't be a bad parker, please.

Posted at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (3)

As I told you, I had to get my bulb fixed on my car. I had a 1:30 appointment... I never described the Lexus service center...

You drive up to the Lexus dealer, right off Route 17, in Ramsey NJ. You pull up to the service center and drive into a waiting room for the car - I call it a car waiting room. A valet guy takes down your information and tells you to go into the Lexus service station on the left. I walk in, and a secretary greets you. You then are told to meet with a service representative who takes down the problem with the car and has you sign a document or two. He then asked me to wait in the human waiting room.

So I go there, this is my first time waiting, I normally get a loaner car...

It is a sweet room. LCD screen, free wifi, free bottled water, free sodas, free cappuccino/coffee machine, free cake and free deli sandwiches. So while I waited, I decided to take video on my Treo.

I was sitting in the right front corner, and I panned left. Then I walked up to the food.

While I was there, about 30 minutes, I saw a guy come in three different times to refill the food and empty the garbage. During those 30 minutes, only three people took anything from the table.

Nice place. I should have taken video of the car waiting room.

Posted at 3:54 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (3)

Yesterday was a sweet day, just sweet. It was in the mid 70s, the sun was out and I had places to drive. Well, my wife had places for me to drive... ;-)

So I convinced her to let me drive with the top down. FYI, she doesn't like bugs...

Visibility when driving with the top down is more than perfect.

These are the times I love this car, when it is not snowing. Otherwise, I take my wife's car to work.

But to ruin a good drive, I notice my rear lamp indicator goes on. My right break light needs a new bulb... So I have an appointment to fix it, under warranty, today.

It is about 77 degrees outside now, clear, sunny skies. So I think I will drive to the Lexus dealer with the top down.

Posted at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (3)

This is a reminder to me, and if you like - also you, to never crash a Ferrari Enzo.

Are you kidding me. That is a $643,330 car, and there are only 349 units. Well, now, 348 units. :)

Posted at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (3)

Judah at Diamond Vues emailed me a link to a $8,800 Luxury Car Wash. Yes, there is such a thing.

There is a 61-stage car wash, it is nuts.

I know my car needs a good washing, especially after all that snow. But it doesn't need one this badly.

Posted at 5:55 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (2)

Last night is started to snow a bit, but I was able to get my car to work. However, I doubt I will be able to get it back. There are rumors that this weekend, it is suppose to snow a foot or so.

Here is a picture of what is going on now.

Worse comes to worse, my brother will drive me home and I'll leave my car here until Sunday.

We will see.

Update: I dug my car out, it wasn't bad. There was a plow there, so he helped by pushing away a bulk of the heavy snow. Then I dug under the tires and rocked it out.

This is what the car looked like when I first arrived Sunday morning.

Posted at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Weather | Comments (1)

Judah from Diamond Vues showed me a post at BornRich.org describing the Tryane II. The Tryane II is a car made of wood, completely by hand.

The car took 2000 hours of work, it is 900 lbs, 13' 7" long, 5' 4" wide and 4' 4" tall. It can drive up to a 100 miles per hour and gets between 55-70 miles per gallon. It is made of gaboon marine ply and mahogany veneers bonded with epoxy resin.

How crazy is that? Imagine seeing someone drive by you in that. Imagine this car crashing into yours. Ouch!

Posted at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny , Just Interesting , Motor Vehicle | Comments (1)

I was driving to the bank a couple hours ago and I looked in the rear view mirror and saw this car. I looked closer and it was a Red Bull promotional truck.

I pulled out my treo and attempted to take some pictures of it. They aren't great, because I was driving and the Red Bull Truck was behind me.

I looked up some past Red Bull Cars and found this but that is a totally different car.

I spotted this while driving on Airmont Road, towards College Road, in Suffern, NY.

Anyway, thought this was interesting and would make a good personal blog post.

More pictures at Flickr.

Posted at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny , Just Interesting , Just Weird , Motor Vehicle | Comments (1)

This title look familiar? It is, I wrote about it less than two weeks ago when it snowed last time. But I made progress.

I got my car out about a few hundred feet before I got stuck. I was luckily able to get my car back into its parking spot and then drive my wife to the bus.

But again, my car is left stranded in the parking spot. If there is a little hill and I have to go up in it slush or snow, it won't happen. I can go down hills or even drive on snow when it is flat, but up hills, forget it. No matter if I had speed or not, I could not make it up the hill.

I thought maybe after getting four new tires and renewing my nys inspection, I would have better luck. But no.

So I have my wife's car - good thing for it. Thank you wife!

Posted at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Weather | Comments (0)

Wow, I am basically done now with this whole car thing. Let me take you back.

It all started when my car didn't make it to work with me. In fact, I tried several times to get it out of the snow but it remained stuck. Finally, a few days later I was able to free my lexus from the snow.

But as I drove the car to work that morning, I noticed a yellow thing sticking out of the snow. To my surprise it was a 306B inspection ticket - i.e. I did not renew my NYS inspection.

I figured it was no big deal, since I bring my car in every 5,000 miles for service at Lexus. But I was wrong, I failed my NYS inspection with four bad tires and a pair of bad wipers. So I ordered four new Dunlop SP Sport 5000 DSST CTT for my car and Lexus called me this morning, to let me know I was all set.

Lexus replaced and serviced:

• Wiper blades
• Four tires
• 30G Strip
• Camber adjustment
• Car wash
• Front height control sensor
• Four wheel alignment with thrust angle adjustment

And I was out of there. I then drove to the place that failed me for my inspection, paid them an extra $10 for a "re-inspection" and got my red NYS inspection sticker (one above is from NYS web site). But I was upset, because they took off the wheels to examine them. I was hoping they leave everything as they did after Lexus did their work.

In any event. I called the local Justice Court and I was informed I can mail in $50 money order with the ticket to plead guilty for the parking violation. I do that later today and I am done. Phew!

Posted at 1:03 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (1)

Friday I told you I failed my nys inspection due to (1) bad wipers and (2) four bad tires.

So my wife, she is great, had off today and she pitched in by dropping my car off at the Lexus place. The Lexus service guy called me within the hour and told me the costs of the stuff. Honestly, I was a bit surprised it wasn't that bad of a rip off.

Getting past the fact that needing to replace 6 tires (so far), after having the car for 28 months. Yea, I know.... But he assured me, Walter is his name, that I would not need to replace them again for the remainder of the lease (obviously outside of potholes, etc.). But he said, I would also have to get a wheel alignment.

He threw the wheel alignment in for free and charged me a reasonable price for the four tires and labor.

The tires go for $299 retail at TireRack.com but he didn't charge me much more than that, so I thought it was cool. Plus he is charging less than the the place I brought the car for the inspection.

And they are throwing in a car wash, which the car needs sorely - due to all the salt from the snow that buried my car.

I don't think I'll publish the prices on the site but I am getting:
- Windshield wipers (which I felt worked perfectly fine)
- Four tires
- Wheel alignment
- Car Wash

I should have the car back today some time.

But an added bonus, my wife got to pick a loaner car. She is driving around in a Lexus RX right now and wants to keep driving it all day. So I guess I'll get my car back tonight, after she swaps the cars back.

Then some time tomorrow, I'll have to get a re-inspection for $10.

Only then can I deal with the nys inspection ticket.

Remind me when I am blogging about getting a new car, to make sure not to get a rear wheel drive, low profile tire, sports car. I do like the GS but I got about a year to decide...

Update: So they call, they tell me the car is not being too cooperative. They had to replace a caster or chamber because it was frozen. The wheel alignment is not 100% and they want it to be 100% before they give it to me, they have been trying all day... They had to replace a piece for the headlights. Plus some other things.

Bottom line is that they need to continue working on it tomorrow. They promised me it won't cost any more. But they need to keep it overnight. I got the loaner car, so I said, no problem.

Posted at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (1)

My car saga continues...

So my wife dropped off my car for an inspection today - thank you wife!

I get a call that I need all four tires replaced and new wipers.

I heard horror stories about non-Lexus dealers installing tires on my car and totally ruining the car. Since these tires are kinda special - run flat, high profile, etc.

So I told them I'll pick it up and bring it to Lexus.

So now, the car is picked up - thanks wife and Dad (currently on conference call for past 1.5 hours).

Monday I have a scheduled appointment at the Lexus place to replace all four tires and wipers.

Then I need to bring the car back to get "re-inspected."

After I get the inspection approved, then I can pay the fine for my inspection ticket.

Next week, Ill share with you the ridiculous cost of these damn tires, that I already replaced once.

Posted at 2:47 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (3)

I was driving to work this morning after freeing my Lexus from the snow trap and I noticed a little yellow thing in the lower part of my windshield. It was buried in snow and ice, but I could make out the letters "tion" sticking up.

So when I got to my office I dug a bit and then took a picture:

I noticed it was a parking ticket of some sort. So I began digging it out and after a but of work and ripping the ticket a bit, I was able to get to it.

I brought the ticket upstairs to my office and let it defrost a bit. I actually thought of maybe putting it in the microwave, but decided not to.

After it defrosted I opened it up to find out I forgot to renew my New York State inspection and I got a ticket for violation code 306B.

I called the court and they told me it would cost $130 or so, since I was overdue by 30+ days.

So now I need to get my car inspected and pay a fine.

See, you find nice surprises in snow.

Posted at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (0)

Well, not free as in money, free as in mobile. I finally was able to get my car out of its snow trap.

What did it take?

- A new shovel
- Digging around the car
- Digging under the car
- Ice scraping really close to the wheels
- Rocking back and forth
- Calling my brother to push on the car

And I am out after three attempts and about 1 or 2 hours of work.

Oh, and if you are family and friends and find the title of this post weird... I am hoping people search on Free Lexus SC 430 and for this post to rank well for that term. Then you see those ads at the top of the page and under the post? Well, they should be targeting keywords such as Lexus and similar keywords. If someone clicks on those ads, I may make a dime. After a couple hundred thousand clicks, I may make the time I spent digging out my car back in AdSense income.

Posted at 6:25 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Weather | Comments (7)

This morning, I explained that I had to take my wife's car to work because my car was stuck in the snow. I decided to head home early, work from home and try to get my car out.

I shoveled out the back of the car (the car is rear wheel drive). Scrapped the ice from under the wheels and began the cycle of going in reverse.

It didn't go out, so I rocked back and forth. As I did that, the car began shifting horizontally again.

As you can see from the image, the right side of the car, is once again, stuck in the snow.

I think I will wait it out another day and take my wife's car to work again.

Posted at 4:49 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Weather | Comments (11)

Remember yesterday, I told you the snow is coming, well, it came a bit later than expected. It started about 8pm (EST) and when I woke up, there was an ice storm. So the snow wasn't high or deep, just very icy.

I try to pull my car out, but it just spun. After trying for about 10 minutes I gave up. It actually did move a large distance. Picture the car just being picked up and put into a parking space on the right. In fact, that is what it did. It slid from one spot to the next - horizontally. I got too close to hitting my car, when I decided to stop and give up.

I decided to take my wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee. Wow, is it amazing in the snow. I simply turned it on, backed out and drove to work. It was as if there was no ice or snow on the road.

Of course this is where my wife makes fun of me for buying a car that won't drive in the snow or ice.

Posted at 9:37 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Weather | Comments (0)

This morning, it was extremely foggy. I decided before I pulled into work, I take a picture of the visibility while sitting at a red light. Notice how it is hard to see. :)

1. Extremely Foggy
2. Very Dark
3. Windows are fogged up also from cold

Not only the above three items, but also when it is early, sometimes your brain is a bit foggy. Unfortunately, I couldn't take a picture of the inside of my brain at that moment.

Posted at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Weather | Comments (1)

So I was away this whole week in Chicago, a place colder than New York. But when I got back, my car has been sitting still for about five days. This morning, at about 6am, when it was 17 degrees outside, I got into my car.

The car was ice cold. You know, when you get into the car, it hurts to touch the steering wheel. That cold.

Anyway, I release the emergency break, put it into reverse and the began pulling it out.

It felt cold, so cold the car was stiff. A feeling you feel most winters.

I guess that means winter is here. A cold car.

Oh, I got that image from Google Images the source is no longer live.

Posted at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Weather | Comments (0)

I was reading the new MacWorld last night and saw a geek product, that I absolutely must have. It is an LED scrolling license plate frame. I can pop that on my car and drive in seriously style.

The one Macworld wrote about is at the Sharper Image for now only $29, but it is not available for sale at this time (I was literally about to buy it).

Amazon as a similar product but for a whopping $180. Streettags.com sells it for $80.

I guess I am just obsessed with geek gear. I still did not get the T-Qualizer Shirt, maybe because the "Wife" won't let me.

But I am on a mission to get this license plate.

Posted at 8:43 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (18)

There are a few things that bug me big time, one of those things is when people don't use their turn signal (aka blinker) when making a turn.

The worst is when someone wants to pull over to the side of the road but refuses to let the drivers behind him that he is doing so. So instead of signaling, he just pulls over by breaking and swerving to the side of the road (hopefully he moves the car to the side of the road).

But I find it annoying when someone is making a right turn into a perpendicular street (the street I am making a left out of) and they don't signal. It is nice to know if you can make a possible left turn, as the car on your left, is making a right turn.

It also bugs me when someone in front of you is making a right or left into their parking driveway and does not signal.

Finally, one that doesn't signal when switching lanes or making a turn onto a street at all.

It really bothers me. It is just common courtesy, forget the law.

Posted at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (5)

My car has those new headlights that are incredibly bright. So bright that, I would guess, 1 out of every 10 drivers I pass by flash me, to tell me to turn off my brights. My headlights are called "High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Headlamps" and "Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS)." What does that mean?

Well Lexus defines "High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Headlamps" as;

Headlamps that provide illumination three times that of conventional halogen headlamps while power consumption is reduced by roughly 30 percent. They also feature auto-leveling that automatically adjusts the angle of the headlamps to help reduce glare to oncoming drivers.

Lexus defines "Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS)" as;

The Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS) helps illuminate more of the road in a turn. In a left-hand turn, the left headlamp will pivot up to 15 degrees (the right-hand headlamp remains pointed straight ahead) and in a right-hand turn, the right headlamp will pivot up to 5 degrees (the left-hand headlamp remains pointed straight ahead).

(1) I love that it lights up more of the road, really good stuff.
(2) I don't like getting flashed by other drivers.
(3) The auto-leveling feature light indicator comes on too often, even thought Lexus tells me to ignore it, it still bothers me.

So next time you pass a car with bright lights, don't assume it is the drivers fault. It is just the car. Oh and when I bright you back after you bright me, I am sorry.

Posted at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Rambling | Comments (11)

So as you know, I am in St. Louis this week. We drove by this Amoco station, which is now a BP station and I was amazed by the size of this sign. I had to come back to the camera, so I did. Look at how big this sign is. It must be some sort of landmark for the Amoco sign to remain while the station has been converted to the BP brand.

It seems like I am not the only one fascinated with this Amoco sign. Seems like many others tagged pictures at Flickr with the keywords amoco and some even with amaco but many of the images are of this particular station.

The station is named Hi-Pointe Amoco, St. Louis, MO and is located at the corner of Skinker and Clayton in St. Louis, Missouri. I have posted more pictures of it at Flickr.

Posted at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny , Motor Vehicle | Comments (3)

Every so often I park in a spot with no cars around me. But then I get back to my car and it is surrounded with other cars. Ok, so that is expected. But why, why, why park so close to me that I can barely open the drivers door, to get in to the car.

This just happened to me, when I stepped out of the office an hour ago.

Look at how small the space was between me (sitting in the car) and the car next to me.

I barely fit, barely. I know I not a small guy, but still - come on!

If I know you and this is your car, then this is a joke - just playing. ;-)

Posted at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (1)