A Wonderful Weekend for Gawking...2012 911 GTS

The weather was very nice this weekend, around 60 F, and everyone was out and about.  We avoided the crowds and Black Friday weekend bedlam-shopping-mania and opted to stay home and collect leaves, wash the truck, clean up the house, and walk several miles.  Saw this en route:

It's a 2012 Porsche 911 GTS.  Simply beautiful.  I'm personally not a big fan of the decals on the doors of this car, but the painted red brake calipers against the black rims are a very nice touch.  I like the classic silver metallic finish too.   Someone has really good taste in cars. 

Stumbled Upon: Vintage 924S

To my US readers-- Happy Thanksgiving!  We had a wonderful holiday, good food, and cold but sunny weather, and lots of quality time spent with family and friends.  Typically we go on a long walk in the afternoon on Thanksgiving day.  Today was a charmer, in part because during our foray I spotted this:

It's a vintage Porsche 924S, which were made from the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s.  It's not my favorite design the way the 911 is, but it's still unique, and that bright red paint really stands out.  Someone has taken pretty good care of this car.  The 924 was the first front-engined, water-cooled model mass production vehicle that Porsche ever developed.  It was also the first Porsche to come with an optional automatic transmission-- not a good thing in my opinion but it was inevitable. 

Our New Nitrocharger Sport Shocks...For the Truck

Among our other vehicles, we have a favorite 2002 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck.  This is our down home practical utility, hauling, and snow vehicle.  It's our workhorse.  My husband is attached to it the way I am to the Porsche, and previously was to my BMW.  The last several years have seen more snow on the Eastern seaboard than previously, which has led to a lot of rust on the truck.  In fact, the 2002 model Tacoma is known for its undercarriage rusting out.  But at 149K miles, ours is still going strong.  We change its oil frequently using Mobil 1 synthetic and Mobil 1 filters. All other transmission, transfer, and differentials are filled with Red Line Oil products.

We've been managing the rust at least.  This past summer, the Tacoma's front and rear brake calipers rusted out and we replaced them.  Then a month ago I took it to the dealer for a factory safety recall repair on the plate which holds the spare tire on underneath; the old one was deemed unsafe because of their tendency to rust through.  On a brighter note, last year I bought my husband a brand new set of Michelin LTX tires for the truck, and they ride nicely, and are less noisy than our previous BF Goodrich Radial all Terrains. Living on the urban East Coast, off roading isn't a frequent option, although the BFGs did last for 80,000 miles.  But I love Michelin and always had that brand on the BMW.

By far the most exciting thing we did with the Tacoma was have new shocks installed on it last week. These were not just ordinary shocks: we got ARB Old Man Emu 4X4 Nitrocharger shock absorbers-- some of the best on the market.  They're manufactured in Australia based on extensive testing in the Outback.  My husband knows Jim Jackson, who started ARB in Seattle and attended a few SEMA shows in Las Vegas with him. Jim has moved on from ARB to another position within the automotive industry. While most drivers purchase Bilstein, KYB, or other brands, ARB are more robust but just not as well known or advertised.  Old Man Emu is the Snap-On tool of shocks while Bilstein and others are more like the Sears Craftsman version.

We had this done over at Arlington Motorcar Service, where Eliot, the General Manager, did a great job advising us on what to get and explaining how these shocks work, are installed, and what to expect.  Overall they did an outstanding job. 
 
The Nitrochargers give a great ride: very sporty but still comfortable and adaptable to the road condition.  They give you a noticeably increased sense of control.  We haven't taken it off road yet but are looking forward to that someday. 

Compared to these babies, the factory shocks looked like toothpicks.  Their installation even raised the truck by an inch or two.  They're definitely quite an upgrade, and well worth it for a vehicle we use all the time for just about everything other than pleasure/performance driving, which is what the 911 is for. 

The New 2015 911 Carerra GTS

Forbes recently published a review and s w e e t  series of photos of the new 2015 GTS.  There are several variants of the GTS available, from a "base" Carerra S GTS loaded up with extra features all the way up to the track-inspired GT3, which has been modified to be street legal.  With the GTS models, you get extras like Porsche Sport Exhaust, the Sport Chrono Package, bi-xenon headlights with a smoked lens, and Porsche Active Suspension Management.  The interior features a unique combination of fine leather and Alcantara-- the latter is most easily described as a synthetic suede used in race cars because of its superior grip and durability-- and it's really plush to boot; I've touched it.  However, stick lovers be warned:  the newest GT3 street version comes with PDK only, and is not available with a manual transmission, the lack of which no doubt will make Porsche purists unhappy.  Luckily you can still get the other 911 Carerra GTS models in a stick or PDK.  

Looking Back 20 Years at My First Manual: the Honda CRX Si

About 20 years ago I bought my first stick.  It was a second-hand 1989 Honda Civic CRX Si in black.  For a while I even owned an additional one in white, also a manual, but that's another story.  The black one was my favorite and daily driver.  I loved it and kept it for about 6 years and 155,000 miles, until everything started failing on it and I sold it and bought the BMW E36.   The CRX was an enormously fun car.  A true two seater, it had a hatchback with a power sunroof, front wheel drive, and 1.6 L, 108 HP 4 cylinder 16-valve 1590 cc D16A6 engine with multi-point fuel injection.  It had a surprisingly roomy trunk and the stick shifted like butter.  It certainly was not a high performance car in the way a Porsche is, but for its size and fuel economy it was a little rocket and the high end version of a Civic.  It was by no means a collectible car, but it ran and ran with little maintenance, and didn't cost me much to operate-- plus in those days gasoline was around $1.00+ per gallon.  Towards the end of its life I had a new clutch put in, but no other major work. 

CRXs were manufactured from 1983 through 1991.  Mine was the third generation, which was replaced by the del Sol in 1992.  Just a few years ago, Honda introduced what is supposed to be another successor to the CRX-- the combined combustion-electric CR-Z.  You can look at it on the Honda website.  There is serious debate as to whether or not the CR-Z lives up to its CRX predecessor in terms of performance and uniqueness.  The CR-Z is certainly reminiscent in appearance of the CRX.  I've been thinking about going to test drive one just to satisfy my curiosity.  Ok-- I have to-- my curiosity won't let up.  Let's do this!  Reviews of the CR-Z have been mixed, and I've heard that if you previously owned a beloved CRX you'll be disappointed. I'm bracing myself but going to be open minded:  I'm getting ready to buy a new daily driver car as my work commute is going to be changing dramatically (for the better!) soon, and the Porsche is not an option for the coming winter and Northeast foul weather.  I've got my eyes on a couple different cars, and looking forward to spending time behind the wheel test driving those.  I'll  be sure to share my experience here.