Posted by Raul on July 8, 2011
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It seems Nixon was in the office when I posted for the last time…well…not that long. But it’s been a long time since I posted something that wasn’t on the run, like the previous two to this one.
Lots of things keep going on around here, including a project of taking apart a couple of components to fix some little details in the interior of a car, in which I got “a little” carried away.
Oops!
One thing leads to the next, and one problem shows the brother component also in need of attention, so what started as a small bunch of simple things ended up as a big project without much planning, thus taking more and more time. Five days, I thought it’ll take, and has been how many weeks so far? And still not finished!
And then comes the minivan that is making all sort of noises in the front suspension and steering box; and then the little one, which lost the accelerator cable in the last parts running 
So my apologies for not showing up for a while in posting and commenting in your blogs. I’ve mostly been in “Read and Run” mode due to the little time left by the other activities, but I hope now I can separate time again for a more “proper” blogging.
I must admit it makes me sad not to have the time to write, visit and comment in my friend’s blogs.
See you soon! 
Raul
Posted by Raul on May 12, 2011
It’s been with me for such a long time. So long that it seems it’s been forever.
At first I didn’t choose what kind of car it’ll be, it just happened to be there when I wanted one, and so it became part of my life. With a happy heart from my part we both started to roam the land together, without knowing what the future would be.
After so many years of trouble and continuous fixing to keep it rolling, it just became the way things are, without much thought about the practicality of that fortuity association, and even more, the logic behind the continuity of such association.
There was no reason to question why remaining the ownership when the absence of practicality was the norm. Maybe becoming accustomed to the same sight everyday; maybe the bothering thoughts of having to start from scratch at rebuilding and upgrading another one. This car runs good enough, even if it’s not what it’s really needed, so why bother with the restoration process in another car that has the desired characteristics.
But then, without the intention of searching or shopping around, after so many years, this other car showed up and presented many of the characteristics that seemed to be the ones originally desired.
Practicality is still absent, I must add and admit, yet the many different characteristics that make the personality of a car, and that are the ones that most appeal to my desires and needs, seem to be there.
It is not about the opportunity to switch cars, but rather the situation that, having appeared from nowhere, call the attention to the forgotten elements that create the deepest bonding that suppose to be the base in everything.
All the forgotten questioning that became buried in the past, to give way to a dull, numb driving of the already driven roads; and even more, defy the acceptance of continuity when the old questioning surface once again.
But then the doubts: What if, after going through the same long process of restoration, the impracticality still shows up in this other car? Wouldn’t that be changing everything just to get back to the same place? Why bother then?
At the other hand: Is it all these doubts because of fear to fall into the same situation after so much work? What if the different characteristics really make a big difference? Why not to give it a try?
Then again; is it proper to fail to the given word of continuity? And does such condition really exist? What about the roads that cannot be traveled because the actual car doesn’t adapt to the requirements of such roads? Should be a renounce to those roads the proper way of behavior? Or just a point of cowardice or social adaptation?
What a confusing situation!
To drive or not to drive! To restore again or maintain forever?
I can’t deny the excitement of just the thoughts of driving that other car in new, different roads; different to the normally traveled for so many years, once the restoration process is completed (if such thing exists!).
Maybe pondering the situation a little longer; maybe forgetting about it completely and just keep going as it has been for so long, to the point of becoming again “the way things are”
The eternal internal battle of logic and reason against feelings and intuition: Which one brings the permanent, or at least longer, state of internal harmony?
Why do we humans love to always create new problems to ourselves?!
Raul
Posted by Raul on April 26, 2011
1958 Messerschmitt KR200
Are microcars making a comeback?
From the 40’s, and during the 50’s and 60’s there was a full line of manufactures creating all sort of very small, cheap cars. The intention was to reach a market of people who didn’t have the money to buy a “normal” car and to pay for the highly priced fuel in Europe.
These so named microcars were part of the scene in cities and roads of the European world, and some of them even made it to the US. But while fuel prices here were low, and roads long, microcars didn’t stand a chance against the big, luxury local vehicles of the time, so those little examples of basic transportation became simply curious toys, if not the target of all kind of jokes.
"Yes officer, it IS a car!"
Now we are faced with increasing fuel prices and crowded cities, so many people look at European models that might have something to offer for the local roads. So far the VW Beatle made a comeback, together with the Mini (under a different manufacturer), the Smart Car, and now it seems the Fiat 500 will be roaming American roads by 2012.
These are not the same as they used to be of course. These are updated models that meet all the requirements for new cars to be legal in this country, so what once was a small, simple, affordable transport vehicle, has become a luxury; highly technological device that reflects modern’s times.
My 1957 BMW Isetta 300
I’ve always been fascinated by small cars, to the point that I own a little Isetta 300, so when I heard of the Fiat 500 comeback, I had to go and see it with my own eyes.
It was a pleasant surprise to see that little car among the other “monsters” at the showroom. Retaining the simple lines inside and out; small but roomy enough, and even with some luxuries included such as electric sunroof and power windows.
I was ecstatic for the availability of the vehicle in a short time, and even the crazy thought of eventually buying one in the future did cross my mind…until I saw a picture of both; the old and the new Fiat 500 standing side by side.
Fiat 500 "New vs Old"
What happened to the little car concept?!
If you take a look at the picture of both cars, you’ll see that there’s nothing small about the new one, well, in all fairness, the original one was classified as a “microcar” so I guess the new one could still be considered a “small” car. But for someone like me, that like the original concept of the microcar (think of a scooter with a body for rainy days), the excitement of a brand new microcar available for purchase in the present, dissolved like the colors of the picture under a heavy rain, and floating down the street drain it disappeared once more.
I guess is still about restoring the little one to make it shine once again in the presence of others; those who remain in the race of incorporating more and more elements, size and weight, as the way of natural growth nowadays.
So no…microcars are not coming back…
Raul
(Sigh!)
Posted by Raul on April 19, 2011
A couple of days ago I had the opportunity to visit the Denver Auto Show, and check out the latest additions to the market by the different car manufacturers. It wasn’t the best or more extensive presentation that could be but, hey…it’s Denver, not Paris!
Besides the usual new models that will replace the actual ones now on the road, there were some nicely restored collector cars (two or three), some very aggressively adapted pick up trucks (those you need a ladder to get inside), and a couple of chrome and leather carrying bikes…you know…those that like to imitate thunder in a sunny day.
What surprised me the most was the very commonly added computer screens and extensive array of buttons and controls over the center console in the majority of the vehicles. It seems the convenience of centralizing all kind of information (GPS, vehicle status, environmental information, climate control, music selection, etc) has become the norm for the new models, only denied to those basic and cheaper models of the line. Those vehicles also had several buttons located in the steering wheel to control the stereo and the cruise control system.
Do we read the owner’s manual in every device we buy? At the other hand, is it a car or the Millennium Falcon?
I can understand the need for information; personally I like to know what’s going on with the car at all times while driving, but it seems too much for the majority of trips people make (including myself).
It becomes like a very expensive and technological decoration, to make the car look and the driver feel of driving the “latest”, no matter what it is. Driving around with a very cool screen ON in the center console of the car and a complete array of buttons and knobs, surrounded by a tiny line of neon light: The future is here!
Does anybody use all the possibilities those system gives?
I must admit, it looks pretty futuristic; the perfect console to impress friends, family and sporadic new acquaintances! But the point is; are all these new systems a necessity or just the elements to turn a transport device into a luxury toy that appeals to our child senses? Has it become a way for us to show off when there’s no other element of pride to show?
Do we buy our pride in comfortable monthly payments?
Makes me wonder…
What’s your take on this?
Raul
Posted by Raul on January 24, 2011
If you decide to diagnose your vehicle why it doesn’t start, check first the Crankshaft Position Sensor instead of the Ignition Pack and harness…it’ll save you a lot of time!
Last week I’ve been spending a lot of time with a vehicle that simply refuses to show what the problem is and why it doesn’t want to run. I’ve checked the ignition; timing; wiring; fuel delivery system; vacuum controls for leaks; etc, and it shows everything fine, yet it refuses to run!
For many years I’ve considered cars as a reflection of people; not only because we all tend to choose a car for a shape and characteristics that suppose to reflect us in many ways, but mostly because vehicles tend to “behave” in the same way we people do.
Take for instance this vehicle I’ve been working on (and still not finished); doesn’t it look like those situations where we are asking a loved one “What’s the matter?” and the only response we get is “Nothing”.
So we quietly think and analyze every memory we have from the past couple of days, trying to find a reason why our loved one is “functioning” in a completely different way than normal. We ask questions, but the answers don’t give any information of what the problem could be.
With the vehicle I’m working on, if the problem showed clearly, it’ll be really easy to apply a solution and the necessary corrections to make the car run smoothly again. The whole process would be quick and painless, and would avoid any unnecessary frustrations and loss of time.
With an honest answer to the question of “What’s the matter”, a change in common actions, or corrections of results about past ones, could mean the solution to the affecting problem, so the situation would be corrected, the problem solved, and friends again, without any misunderstandings and bad moments to everyone involved in the situation.
But just like some vehicles simply refuse to tell openly what the problem is, and somehow start a game of deceiving, with a loved one the same exact situation can happen, leaving us all like that car mechanic (me), who is trying to find the solution by just observation, testing and analysis of responses as the only way to get to the real reason for the change in operational mode.
I know in human situations many times the refusal to “talk” could be with the intention of not hurting feelings, but if both parts have love for the other, then the one with the problem could trust the other and be capable of openly telling what the problem is, and the other part should be able to accept a possible painful criticism that could mean the need of changing a personal behavior.
A car mechanic would want to know what the problem is in the vehicle because his intentions are to fix that problem, and is willing to accept the possibility to have to disassemble lots of components just to reach the part that is the reason of the failure; compared to the driver of the car that, normally, is not interested in fixing anything by him, but in only to have a good running car to use.
So, instead of being just drivers in our love relationship, we have to become mechanics ready to diagnose and repair any problem the relationship might incur in, no matter how much work might be involved from our part.
And like that stubborn car I’m working on, please, please, just tell what the problem is, instead of playing games that only make the mechanic think of the possibility of sending a still good working car to a junk yard!
We already have too many “good working units” roaming the lands in despair after being “discarded”, just because too often in their relationships they refused to tell what the problem was.
Raul
