28,850 miles - Linkage

Looks like the 2003 Trans Am made it to another Blog... check it out... there are some really neat pics of cool cars in this blog. (www.photocars.blogspot.com).

Thanks jarapet from flickr.com!

28,500 miles - I'm Hit

Leroy gets into his first accident. It happened yesterday (05/25). I was heading into Manhattan for a few happy hour drinks and dinner with my BFF when I was 'bumped' by a charter bus during the massive merge into the Lincoln Tunnel. Crazy. I will post go into details later. But right now...

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY everybody!! Don't forget to spend some time tomorrow to remember our fallen soldiers.

Motor on!

28,358 miles - Summer Lovin'

T - 2 days until Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of summer!! And you know what that means... local car show circuit is on!! This year, I promise to attend more shows. But first, a look at the good ole local boys from Liberty Classic Car Club of Bayonne, NJ... good times :)

This is only my third outing with them, but already I see the challenge; to keep these car show photosets fresh with new vehicles (and hopefully, faces too... I'm still workin' on gettin' in on the good side with these guys)... and I accept it! So without further adeiu, click either pic below (or here) for pics.

Motor ON Detroit!!

28,000 miles - Down at the Twist and Shout


... headin' home from work on the western spur of the New Jersey turnpike. Mary Chapin-Carpenter's 'Down at the Twist and Shout' was playing... rather loud...

27,953 miles - These Little Things...

make owning a MINI an utter blast. So today I'm driving home after having a nasty day at work, when all of a sudden a little girl riding passenger side in a hulking H2 rolls down her window and screams from two lanes across - 'Hey mister, I love your car!' and proceeds to smile and wave furiously (as only little kids can). She continued to wave and stare for no more than a quarter mile... just enough time for the H2 to speed passed me, but those few seconds were all I needed...

My bad day? history :)

27,586 miles - A New Tire for Leroy

Ok. I bring my MINI in for a promotional free 10 point inspection and what happens?

I had the tech inspect my tires on account one of them was constantly low on air. Well, according to the technician, the rear drive-side tire had nails... that would explain the weekly visits to the air-pumps. I also had the tech check out a knocking noise coming from my engine. Turns out the passenger side engine mount needed to be replaced. And last but not least, the tech noticed the wear marks on the roof and decided that they've gotta go. So it is roof number three for me!

Everything was covered under warranty except for the tire...

I originally planned the inspection to take no more than a couple of hours, however the roof would take at least a day due to a part on order. So I left Prestige with a loaner... a 2006 Hyper-Blue/white roof MINI-Cooper S. A few observations;
I said this before and I'll say it again; the hatch is a much better ride than the convertible. The car feels tighter, more put together. The view out the back is so much better.
The hatchback is quieter than the convertible. You can really hear the sweet sound of the engine... and the limitations of the stock sound system. Gone are the crisp treble sounds and the deep bass beats. While the Harmon Kardon sound system is 'lost' in the interior noise of the convertible (forget about sound quality with the top-down!), the stock radio's weak speakers are exaggerated inside the hatchback.
As for the sunroof? The roof is cool... I enjoyed playing with it; opening it, closing it, engaging the screen... fun! For about five minutes... I'm sorry, nothing beats driving with the top down.

Well that's it for now. I'm off from work today... the sun is out... and my MINI looks ready to go... motor on everybody.