Not sure whether my finished donut spare installation made it before we went down: trunk rack installed 4 by James Lampert, on Flickr The spare is attached to a plywood rack I built, that also holds my brand new jack, my lug wrench, two pair of wheel chocks, and the portable charging unit. I got a GPS navigator for my birthday, and I've been working on a bracket to attach it to my dashboard. Here is the bracket, ready for installation (once I'm convinced the paint has fully cured). GPS bracket final by James Lampert, on Flickr The bare brass tongue hooks it under the edge of the radio bezel, and the saddle on the back side (made of epoxy putty) rests on the dashboard, secured with a couple Command adhesive tabs.
Wow! That is impressive work. We are getting close to needing a new car. Since it will be our forever car (we figure when the new one wears out; we will be done driving) we want to get exactly what we want.
This is only my third. Arabella (my 1978 Datsun 510, named after the Model A Ford in Nanny and the Professor) was a hand-me-down from the original owners (my parents); she gave her metallic little life for me in (if I remember right) 2000, on the 5 freeway, near the Airfan Building in Commerce: the car directly ahead of me stopped short, and I locked the wheels, skidding in a question-mark-shaped path, ending up across traffic. While I was trying to figure out how I was going to get pointed back in the right direction, a gray Toyota Tercel slammed into me, pointing me back in the right direction, but destroying the freshly-rebuilt front-end in the process. When she was hauled off to her final rusting place, she had an artificial cala lily attached to the antenna, and an epitaph on the hood. My 1998 Toyota Camry was bought off the Enterprise used lot, on Net 30 terms. I told the sales rep that the only two absolutes were (1) Japanese, and (2) antilock brakes. By the end of 2020, it (notice the change of pronoun) had degenerated into a sagging old rust-bucket. I donated it to KUSC, with the stipulation that it be sold for scrap. And on the last day of 2020, I bought a 2018 Nissan Leaf. Do you sense a pattern? Acquiring a 2-year-old vehicle, and keeping it for 20 years? I'm hoping my Leaf develops enough character to rate a name. I think I mentioned that (after I'd left the charging flap unlatched once, and the autosound installer who did my sonar left it unlatched once, and both times it flew open on the freeway, with a loud bang), that I designed, built, and installed an indicator that gives a flashing light ("FLAP AJAR") and a loud, obnoxious beeper, if I power up with the flap unlatched. Which is to say, I had sonar installed. Because I don't like backing into things, and I like backing into people even less.
We are currently leasing a Leaf, and enjoying it very much. We weren't quite ready to make the plunge to buy electric, and Nissan had an amazing lease agreement that we couldn't pass up. We are hoping when the lease is up that there will be more options available because my guy is very loyal to the Chevy brand, but the Bolt just wasn't cutting it for him when looking at electric vehicles. The bells and whistles the Leaf has are very nice, and it is comfortable driving as well.
And here is the final GPS navigator installation. I say "final," but I'll need to make a few small changes, like some black adhesive-backed craft foam where the unit is rattling against the radio bezel. GPS bracket installed by James Lampert, on Flickr Also notice my no smoking sign: POSITIVELY NO SMOKING OR VAPING OF ANYTHING IN THIS VEHICLE. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT.
I surely did notice your awesome no smoking sign. I agree on all points! Reminds me of the days when my hubby had to be creative installing an 8track and a CB radio.
I love your relationships with your cars. Over the years we have had many as we kept adding children. Then, in Hawaii, we bought mostly *North Shore* cars; which were very cheap but did not last long. Since we have been back on the Mainland; we bought our first new cars. We bought a new 2000 Honda CRV that we loved. We planned to drive it for many years but it was totaled by a drunk driver in 2003. Right about the same time my husband's truck broke so we needed two new vehicles. We found him a truck and me a new Focus for a reasonable price. Sadly, the Focus was a lemon and I only drove it for 18 months. It also made me very uncomfortable because it was so small and driving down the freeway I would think, "If I had been driving this when we were hit; we would have died". (We really feel that sturdy little Honda saved us.) When the Focus's check engine light came on at only 18000 miles I was like, okay, we are going to get that Pilot we have been wanting. We bought a new 2005 and it has never had a serious problem as is nearing 200,000. We are not as fond of the new Pilot's design but it will still probably be our next car. They seat 8 and since three of our kids have families of 5; we often need those seats.
