Measurement of a Man: Engines, Mileage, Pipes and More

In order to understand the very different men in my life, I attempt to size them up using their individual relationships with their autos.

My father has now retired, but was a professional geologist. He has ever been really outdoorsy. He’s best-known for chipping a stone here, collect a fossil over there. He is unquestionably a man’s man, but has never been very attached of any kind of machinery. Gears and motors have a way of bringing out his inner animal even though he is a real gentleman. I can think of times when I was very young, watching my dad with his head under the hood of a car and listening to him swearing at the Industrial Age.

Dad would switch tires on our VW camper vans when necessary, but would never have been one to fawn over chrome grille work or aftermarket center caps. He might pour some water in the radiator or dab Rust-oleum on rusted spots on our van, but scrubbing headlamps with toothbrushes or guiding Q-Tips around dashboard knobs were not affairs that happened in our garage.

On the other hand, my father-in-law is a complete car man through and through. I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew every make, model, and year of every vehicle that ever graced the Pennsylvania turnpike. He is happy to spend a Weekend afternoon admiring cars at an Antique Car Club Rally or scouring the whitewalls on his car.

He grew up in rural northern Pennsylvania and graduated rapidly from a teething ring to a pitchfork and pliers. Where he grew up, farm boys were expected to learn everything they could about animal husbandry and automobile mechanics. He has preserved his passion for gadgets, wheels, and motors, but has no interest in animals. He left the farm, never looking back, and went to college.

My husband is also a teacher; just like both of our fathers, but that is the only thing they share. He doesn’t like camping out, carefully washing his cars, or collecting rocks. He loves to spend his Saturday grading papers as he sips fancy coffee drinks at Starbucks.

He puts gasoline in the car, but would be more likely to use his Toyota center caps as paperweights on his desk, than as a fashionable way to pimp his ride. Not that he has anything against anyone who obsesses over their center caps. He vacuums his vehicle bi-annually, but is content to drive about town with “Wash me!” scrawled above his rusted bumper for a year at a time.

My daughter’s boyfriend is a juiced up version of my father-in-law. (I think they would bond speedily if sent together on an errand to a car parts shop.) The Boyfriend got a aftermarket exhaust kit for Christmas and is pleased now that his car’s exhaust growls deeply, letting everybody know he has arrived. “I can hear him coming a mile away,” my daughter grins, plainly in the throes of young passion.

Yes, men and their relationships with cars are complicated. Sometimes these relationships reflect an expression of a man’s maleness, while others treat cars as a foe – a required nuisance to conquer or at least endure.

Some name their cars, and others blaspheme them. Some treat their vehicles with TLC, while others cop bragging rights because their car or truck is beaten or has the most mileage. Car tales are exchanged over beers, like war stories used to be told around a campfire.

Why else would the auto industry continually sell billions of dollars in decals, auto alarms, hoods, exhausts, center caps, dashboard accessories, trick headlights, window tinting, backup sensors, seat covers, rims, and chrome?

Whether the vehicle in the driveway is fuel for cursing or cooing, I’m inclined to suppose there’s some kind of mechanised mojo in there – something reminiscent to “If you build it, he will come.”

Apple iPod MP3 Player Accessories

Most people today spend hours commuting to school or work each week. They are stuck with a daily trip which they cannot change. Although they have to commute each day, that doesn’t mean they can’t get more from traveling or at least enjoy the time spent on the road. A solution might lie in the fact that many drivers today own an Apple iPod mp3 player.

Most iPod owners bought the iPod for the capability of playing your favorite music but there are many other uses of this little miracle. College students can record their class lectures and transform them to mp3 format and play them back via their iPod mp3 player. Today, the most popular books are available on cd in mp3 format also. It is so easy to download music as single songs and full albums for your mp3 players also. You’ll be amazed at the huge variety of ipod mp3 player accessories available.

Even basic vehicles today have better then average sounding audio systems, most drivers would love to be able to play your recorded lectures or music through your car audio system. A few years back you could spend a day searching specialty stores looking for the right ipod car adapter for your specific vehicle, but those days are over. There are websites which offer great ipod adapter information as well as the largest variety of iPod mp3 music adapters and accessories.

Finding the correct mp3 music player adapter is quite easy. If you have an after market receiver like Clarion or Pioneer, just match your brand ipod adapter. Of course if you have the original manufacturer’s source unit, just find an adapter made for your specific vehicle be it Chevy, Acura, Toyota or whatever. This is actually quite easy when you have access to a sufficient supply of brands. You car and truck adapters made by USA Spec, Soundgate and many other manufactures to apply to almost any make of car or truck.

With a new ipod adapter, you’ll be able to listen to your favorite music, audiobooks, lectures, podcasts and more right through your car’s sound system. Your commute will become more productive and enjoyable and will seem much shorter.

 

 

 

 

2008 Chevrolet Malibu

The 2008 Chevrolet Malibu brings back a characteristic of Chevy sedans that made this car one of the most popular in the Chevy lineup. All right, so what was it that was missing you might ask?

Does size matter? The size of this car was not something that garnered many complaints. In its class of midsize sedans, the vehicle has always been known for its relatively roomy interior. Compared with its competitors like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, the trunk space is really good and there’s lots of leg room for thefront seat as well as rear seat passengers.

How about power? As far as engine power went, there were not many complaints. While the 2008 Malibu comes with dual overhead cams, that was not the case in prior years.

Before the Chevrolet 2008 Malibu came along, this Chevy was short-changed in the looks department. As previously mentioned they had plenty of pep and good midsize roominess and that’s what made them such good reliable family cars. Chevrolet got that right in spades. In 2008, Chevy turned some of their focus on to the aesthetics of this car that has a long history of good looks and sportiness.

So what’s the status of this nice and practical vehicle as of the year 2008? Now that she is looking hot. Chevrolet always knew that they could make a good practical car and make it good looking as well.(To see what I mean take a look at all the 2008 Malibu’s for sale on this page). The Malibu got a beautiful new makeover in 2008. The front end is new with a nice-looking split horizontal grill, and two pairs of round headlamps. There’s a bit of a muscle car look to it also, what with its significantly widened wheelbase. Chevrolet made this Malibu into a car that you love for its practicality, smooth ride and good looks.

All this being said it certainly would not be a big surprise if the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu was in the running for a Best American Car of the Year Award.ward.