This past weekend the family was up in the SF area for a few days and we needed to rent a car, moving from SF to/from Marin County is not for cabs.  We chose Alamo and there's a great story to tell and one that irks me just to recant.

The bad news, let's get that out of the way: I was in a hurry and took the "pre-pay" tank option - wow, is this for suckers.  You pre-pay a tank of gas at a fair price, in this case +/- 60 cents less than the local average, which sounded good.  The challenge is, you need to bring it back empty to take advantage of that.  I didn't have time to make up a spreadsheet to calculate how many miles I'd actually be driving and the avg MPG I could expect.  The net result is that I used like 1/3 of a tank of gas.. I chose not to empty the tank into the street to truly bring it back empty, nor did I have time or inclination to find someone to siphon it off to.  I just dropped it off and will follow up with Alamo after the fact.. it's not more than $30, but boy am I steamed over it.

The good news: We reserved a mid-sized, sounded good.  I got there and discussed what car I would get, and was led to believe it would be a Chevy HHR or PT Cruiser, both of which I've rented before and both of which suck harder than a Dyson.  However, in the SFO Alamo, you go to the lot and pick the car of your choosing from among the ones of the size you paid for.. lo behold - in the mid-size row was a Toyota... Prius!  I was elated to get a Toyota in the first place, but an eco-friendly (see all my solar postings people) Prius!

The Prius is a great car.  It's not super elegant, it's not super fast, but it's all that you need, works like a charm and gets great mileage!  It did take me 3 hits to the manual (RTFM) to learn how to start the car, as well as stop the car, but after 2 days, I was a pro.  I'm proud of Toyota for this car, but not sure I would get one.  I'd prefer a hybrid with a little more oomph and accessories for my car-loving taste.   But I may keep waiting for a good hybrid that meets my "criteria."  I wish BMW would make a hybrid

 

 

Thanks to Tonya Bauer, form work, I now know!

 

mostly food... hey, i like sushi..

2008-05-01 Google OSO Conf

 

i even added a small review to yelp

 

 

Got my Xcel Electric bill today and wasn't sure what to expect.. well, I should have been more optimistic!  82.3% decline YOY (year over year) in electric consumption (the net of what we needed - what we generated).

 

it's been a while. i'm due for a new one

 

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Well, I still love my Acura TL ('04) and all, but I guess I have a small itch to look to see what else is out there and tempt myself that maybe I'm ready for a new car.. Why?  Nothing pressing.. my car still has much of what I'd want:

• 6-speed and nice and zippy
• NAV
• Bluetooth for hands-free phone
• 4-doors (hey, I can't pretend I don't have 2 kids)
• Nice stero system, with satellite radio
• Excellent mileage - currently around 26-29MPH (I have the advantage of mostly highway)

Here's my baby..

So, what can I gain from a new one?

• all wheel drive.. Not required reading, out here in Colorado, but real nice to have a few times a year.. reeaal nice
• iPod interface (again, a little esoteric, but I currently use a cassette adapter, so would be a nice upgrade)
• A *little* more speed - more than that, I don't need

So, what's in the running:
Lexus IS-250 - a good looking car for sure!  Why it's out of the running:

• The AWD model is only available in automatic (not deal breaker, but demerits) and is much lower on the HP than the IS-350, which is the same size, but has a much bigger engine
• When I rammed my foot on the gas of this puppy, it wheezed at me..

Infiniti FX-35 - This one tempted me, and still does.  It looks and sounds real beefy!  It's very comfy and has a smooth and powerful ride.. not sportscar power, but nice, you know it's there power.  Lots of gadgets and amenties for all!  What is holding me back?

• A little expensive.. if I trick it out, gets near $50k - ouch!
• It weighs as much as a cargo ship, almost.. 4,000 pounds+ means poor mileage, sub-20 MPG for sure - possible deal breaker

So, what else?  Well, upon a reco of a friend, I took the BMW 335xi for a little spin - woah!  BMWs are a little overpriced, but when you mash the gas pedal into the floor and the turbocharger on this thing kicks in, you quickly stop thinking about the price and start thinking about taking it out on E-470 and going 100mph.. So, where am I with this one?

• They only had an automatic, pffft, so I drove it and liked it, but they will get me a 6-speed (naturally, like my current Acura, a 6-speed is rare - has everyone lost their love for a manual transmission!?!?)
• They don't have too many with the gadgets I want - Nav, iPod, Sirius
• BUT - this is cool - for the first time in my life, I may build one to *my* spec (if I go forth here)

to be continued with a BMW test drive next weekend... maybe

 

Well, I still love my Acura TL ('04) and all, but I guess I have a small itch to look to see what else is out there and tempt myself that maybe I'm ready for a new car.. Why?  Nothing pressing.. my car still has much of what I'd want:

• 6-speed and nice and zippy
• NAV
• Bluetooth for hands-free phone
• 4-doors (hey, I can't pretend I don't have 2 kids)
• Nice stero system, with satellite radio
• Excellent mileage - currently around 26-29MPH (I have the advantage of mostly highway)
  

Here's my baby..

So, what can I gain from a new one?

• all wheel drive.. Not required reading, out here in Colorado, but real nice to have a few times a year.. reeaal nice
• iPod interface (again, a little esoteric, but I currently use a cassette adapter, so would be a nice upgrade)
• A *little* more speed - more than that, I don't need

So, what's in the running:

Lexus IS-250 - a good looking car for sure!  Why it's out of the running:

• The AWD model is only available in automatic (not deal breaker, but demerits) and is much lower on the HP than the IS-350, which is the same size, but has a much bigger engine
• When I rammed my foot on the gas of this puppy, it wheezed at me..

Infiniti FX-35 - This one tempted me, and still does.  It looks and sounds real beefy!  It's very comfy and has a smooth and powerful ride.. not sportscar power, but nice, you know it's there power.  Lots of gadgets and amenties for all!  What is holding me back?

• A little expensive.. if I trick it out, gets near $50k - ouch!
• It weighs as much as a cargo ship, almost.. 4,000 pounds+ means poor mileage, sub-20 MPG for sure - possible deal breaker

So, what else?  Well, upon a reco of a friend, I took the BMW 335xi for a little spin - woah!  BMWs are a little overpriced, but when you mash the gas pedal into the floor and the turbocharger on this thing kicks in, you quickly stop thinking about the price and start thinking about taking it out on E-470 and going 100mph.. So, where am I with this one?

• They only had an automatic, pffft, so I drove it and liked it, but they will get me a 6-speed (naturally, like my current Acura, a 6-speed is rare - has everyone lost their love for a manual transmission!?!?)
• They don't have too many with the gadgets I want - Nav, iPod, Sirius
• BUT - this is cool - for the first time in my life, I may build one to *my* spec (if I go forth here)

to be continued with a BMW test drive next weekend... maybe



 

this is a test post

 

At the Mets new Citi Field!

 

I got one and love it...

Special 'friends only' offer: Save up to $30

 

Just got my Xcel Energy bill and this months was one to remember!  I knew it would be a good month, we had lots of blue skies and sunshine, but also it was cool - the ideal conditions for generating your own KwH via our solar panels.

If you look at my handy chart, you can see where March ended up, about a 70% decline from March of 2007 - WOW!  I'll work on my XLS later and calculate some better ROI, but those kind of numbers are awesome!

 

go to about 1:50..