Pepe's Garage

On a beautiful sunny Valentine’s Day, we were just checking around town. Chilled down for a cuppa joe at Peet’s next to Apple Store in Burlingame. Orkid and I discussed whichever I should get a laptop or desktop computer.  I could get a 15″ with a 24″ LED monitor to go with it when I need more work space.  Yeah, I need it for graphic designing. 15″ is still too small for the work I always do.  Bringing a laptop with me could be easier when I need a break from diddling around the house too much and head over for a good coffee at some local joint in town, a change of atmosphere. I just leave the monitor and extend keyboards at home.  Then there’s the 27″ iMac, big screen, big hard drive and blah blah.  I can always use Orkid’s laptop to use anywhere. I’ve also add that I could simply get the new Apple iPad to make life more fun. Eh, who knows.  I don’t like having too many computers under one household. While discussing computers becoming a bore, I had an idea and told Orkid that since today’s a beautiful day, why not we go test drive a VW Jetta Sportswagen TDI. Her eyebrows raised and a “hell yeah, let’s do it” came out of her mouth.

Anyway, we left Burlingame back to San Francisco, met up with the guy at VW dealership. We get to test drive the new VW Jetta Sportswagen TDI.  This certain car has a nice panoramic sunroof. Leather upholstery. Few other neat additions to this silver sportswagon.  I have to say this that this car is miles better than the Subaru we test drove back then.  Amazing power, smooth ride. Excellent DSG transmission. Comfy cockpit and Orkid loves the passenger seat. Roomier. Step on the gas and boom, you’re on the other end of the block. Yeow.  This IS the CAR and Orkid said the same thing.  A note to residents of the bay area, you want this car, get it from Royal Motor Sales located on 280 South Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA 94103. Their website is http://www.royalmotorsalesvw.com. What’s cool about them is that they DO NOT DO MARK-UPS which several other dealership in the bay area have done so.  MARK-UPS are sign of robberies. I would buy any VW, Audi, or Mazda from Royal. Nice people though.

A nice silver VW Jetta Sportswagen TDI

Anyway, back to the VW car, the engine is a well-built motor. Heavier than gas-specific engines and that’s how diesel engines are because it’s design to tolerate high compression. Most funny thing is that the dealer told me some nut put his nose behind the exhaust pipes and he couldn’t smell or breath anything nasty from it. Of course, the engine is the latest diesel tech and have special filter in it unlike older diesel cars. The MPG of this zoomy car is, woof, 32 city and 40 freeway. People who owns them have reach 50 or more mpg. Now we’re working on getting it. We’re not in a rush really. If we miss it and have to wait next shipment then that’s okay.

What about Subaru Diesel? Nevermind them, they’re lagging behind as usual. We are not going to wait for them to bring the Boxer Diesel cars to come to the USA. It may arrive 2012 or 2019 or whenever. Too bad! Subaru, you’re missing  the opportunity, big time.

Hey, you’re about to have a child soon, a mini-van is a better buy? Shut the fuck up, peeps! There’s no way we’re getting such a lame vehicle to stock up on lots of useless things. Mini-Vans are the bane of road, a blight, and a dangerous one. Mind you, think having children running around in the mini-van considered fun and safe? I ride a motorcycle every-frickin’ time and I keep seeing mini-vans weaving all over the road. Hell, my close calls, in higher numbers, were always mini-vans! Few of them were SUVs and lame-duck drivers. By luck, I married a woman who hates mini-vans like they’re made of pork. The Sportswagen’s roomy, very roomy. So, shut up and hide under your mini-van’s back-row seats. There’s one thing I like about mini-vans, they’re great to take pictures of big brown bears breaking in for food while the Fat family picnicing somewhere else. Bears love to tear up mini-vans into pieces in search of food.  Hell, I can actually smell something putrid from these vans. I reckon it’ll be spilled milkshakes, crumbs of fast foods, cookies, forgotten diapers, and so on. Yak, what do bears see in them?

Wow, I ranted a lot about mini-vans, don’t I?  Ah, back to work, bye now!

Sure, there are many. Still, most of the vehicles sold her in the USA are extremely useless.  A Porsche 911 GT3 RS would be nice but I would feel like an ASS driving it on public road. It would reflect my ego which I don’t have. I preferred to stick sports cars to track days and nothing more.

Then there are big SUV. People drive them because they’re considered “safe”. O golly, such folly! The real SUV are almost all gone and most of the time you’ll see on the road are PSUV. What’s PSUV? Psuedo Sports Utilities Vehicles.  It means it looks like an SUV but underneath it’s a car. Take VW Tiguan, for instance, underneath it, it’s actually like a Golf and it’s more of a jacked-up Golf. Jeep Compass is actually a Dodge Caliber and, dang it, it’s an eco-box car. There are many like it. Very few companies got it right. Nissan Xterras, Jeep Wranglers, Land Rover Defenders, and a few other are pretty much the real SUVs.

SUVs and PSUVs aren’t so bad compare to US’s worst best-selling nightmare, the Mini-Van. So evil, so bland, an eyesore and no self-respecting man would drive a damnation of a Mini-Van. Sure, it’s roomy inside, good enough for kids to play around, making loud noises, parents focusing on their children yelling at them to shut the fuck up instead of driving, dogs lolly-lagging about and scraping their soiled ass on the carpet floors. Sure it’s roomy enough for every Fat Americans all over. I always steer clear of Mini-Vans when I see them.  Total lack of respect on the road! Thanks goodness, my wife LOATHE Mini-Vans! I’m saved.

Luxury cars are super nice. Quiet, smooth, and expensive. Would be nice to have a Maybach, maybe a Rolls, why not a BMW 7-series?  I wish I could but money is pretty much precarious these days. Even if there are enough, it wouldn’t be worth it due the size of the car and the miles per gallons. What about maintaining them? Whoa, hefty price tags.  However there are affordable cars that are like luxury cars. The luxury cars are suppose to be smooth, powerful, and have the least interior road noise.  The Cadillac CTS’s not bad but has a road noise that can bug you but not that much.  I wondered if the Ford Fusion’s quiet? Looks nice inside. What the Subaru Legacy? VW Jetta Sportswagen TDI? Man, I like quiet cars.

My wife and I are slowly searching for the right car, new or used.  We have a few choices:

Subaru Outback 2009 (before Subaru ruin the Outback line-up with the new bulkier 2010 models): This sportwagon is a pretty good choice. It’s AWD and roomy inside.  Perfect for us to haul friends to Lake Tahoe so we can snowboard or boulder. Great enough for Orkid to make photoshoot where the roads don’t exist. Great boxer engine. Only downside is the miles per gallon and can only stick to fireroads at best. That’s a not bad thing. Again, great boxer engine! Sorry, I am Porsches and BMW motorcycles addict.

Subaru Outback 2009

Nissan Xterra: It has the only downside, the mpg isn’t very impressive but appalling low. Although it’s a good modern SUV and you can take seriously off-road path anywhere else. It’s tall and I wonder if it’ll fit in a proper garage?

Nissan Xterra Off Road Package

Audi A3 TDi: Small, sexy, and my wife’s dream car but the only thing that’s keeping us away from getting this car is it’s pricey tag for such a small car. Great diesel power, excellent mpg, and, again, sexy.  I remind my wife that the TDI engine and the underpinning is very much similar to VW Golf TDI. Funny, the Golf’s cheaper than the Audi A3. I would say to Audi, “Nice Try, Bub!”

Audi A3 TDI

Mini Clubman: I like it but my wife isn’t too keen on it because of it’s size and it’s price. I think she was getting even on me of rejecting her dream Audi A3, grrrr!  It’s slightly smaller than our present car which is a Mazda Protege5. Mini’s funky, though.

Mini ClubMan

Honda Accord Tourer: Only sold in Europe and elsewhere. Much to my greatest disappointment, they’ll NOT bring them to the US! Stupid accountants! Anyhoo, super sexy sportswagon that cannot be called a stationwagon or else, it’ll be an insult.

Honda Accord Tourer

Toyota Prius: We wouldn’t mind it. Looks better now. Interior’s nice. A friend of mine gave me a ride on it and it’s an interesting machine. MPG is a gaping “WOW”! Small though.

Toyota Prius

VW GOLF TDI: What the hey? Gobs of torque, easy to park, and the cleanest diesel of all diesel. Too bad it’ll not drink a B99 diesel fuel which would be so cool.  I like it but my wife said it’s too small. “Hello, it’s the same size as the Audi A3 but only taller!” I said to my wife. Heh.

VW Golf TDI

VW Jetta Sportswagen TDI: This is the car that my wife and I can finally and fully agree upon getting it. Great mpg, punchy engine, roomy and sexy.  The un-mini-van, sports car like feel, go the distance, and so on. The new diesel motor is now cleaner and very quiet. Review has it that the test driver couldn’t tell if it was diesel or gasoline. Cannot wait to test drive it.

VW Jetta Sportswagen TDI

Yeah, we need to test drive most of the cars. We’re taking our time on it. The Mazda Protege5 runs fine and it’s a very reliable go-getter but less that impressive miles per gallon and mediocre power.  Sad thing is my wife can only drive automatic. Would have been really easy to pick up a manual just to save money.  I also reminded my wife if she really wants to VW Jetta Sportswagen, she will have to put up with it’s front wheel drive system and will be able to head over to Lake Tahoe during winter. Plus, even if we get a good deal on either Xterra or Outback, we will have to put up with it’s size and miles per gallon.

Man, cannot wait to test drive them, it’s gonna be PHUN!!!