Hail and Farewell Part 3 (The Hail)

For years I have considered myself a non-conformist. So again I will say to those of you that don’t know me, purchasing a Honda Anything (Outside of an NSX) is really not my style.

Having dealt with a German Car in an area like Augusta GA is akin to having the USS Enterprise. No one wants to touch it and everyone wonders what it is (or so it seems). So when I got to the Cleo Bay lot in TX I was immediately drawn to the 2007 VW Jetta GLI. Sleek, turbo and fast as all hell, however that wouldn’t stop my German car maintenance blues. As a matter of fact with it being a turbo it would most certainly add to my “who can fix it” problem. So after the flogging of the test drive to Copperas Cove I pulled on the lot to look for something more “responsible”.

Well Dillon (the salesman at Cleo Bay good looking out!) asked what it was that I was looking for. I told him that I would really like a V6 and leather. Everything else that usually falls within those lines has what I look for in comfort. Even if it doesn’t I know that I will more than likely do enough work to the car to make it what I want it to be. So he pointed me to a 2006 fully loaded Accord EX. V6, creamy leather interior, Satellite radio……………….hummmmmmmmmm this thing shows promise.

Well they maxed me out on my trade in of the Passat (of course) and this is a certified pre-owned Honda which means that it comes with a 100,000 mile power train warranty along with other perks and bonuses. Truth be told, unless you just like throwing money down the drain or you are one of those “I have to have it first in my neighborhood” types. I really don’t see the benefit of buying brand new anymore with all the certified pre-owned programs out there.

While not as smooth as the VW Passat that I had it had more than enough punch and with the upcoming modifications I am sure that I will be well within the 275-300 hp range in no time. I will start with the visual modifications first and go on to the sound system which will be tricky as the climate controls are integrated with the head unit. Stay tuned as this will no doubt be just as interesting as the last 2 babies that I had.

Hail and Farewell Part 2

Wow. I really don’t know where to begin. Well in 1997 I got to Ft Hood from Germany and needless to say I was in need of a car. Around that time Civics were all the rage but for some strange reason I was always drawn to the style and torque of American cars.
So I fished around a few lots and there it was in all of its Bright Red glory. The 1997 Pontiac Grand Am GT, Sunroof and all. (Any and everyone that really knows me knows that I would be the last person on earth to actually buy a bright red car, as red was my LEAST favorite color) It was at the time a huge 4 cyl car by all accounts at 2.4 liters. Brash and not shy on power. It was listed at 150hp and 150 ft.lbs of torque but bone stock it ran 15.4 in the ¼ mile so I figure that for some reason Pontiac felt it necessary at the time to downplay the actual numbers. (Yes I had the pink slip from the track to prove these claims) I put 6000 miles on my car the first month that I owned it.
Well if there ever was a labor of love then this car would become my obsession. At the time no one was really doing any modifications at all to anything outside of the Honda/Acura crowd. It would be a few years before the Dodge Neon and others would start seeing aftermarket support. So I did what any other car nut would do…………….I improvised.


First things first. It was TX so Window tint isn’t an option, it’s a necessity! So of course I went with the titanium blend that has a silver sheen during the day and is black at night. Then there was the installation of the Iceman Intake, the painting of the valve cover to match the car along with the brake calipers. I began to tidy up the loose wires in the engine compartment with yellow wire loom. The next mod was the strut tower brace to prevent body flex in heavy corners. Then came the JET air/fuel module (that was later stolen along with the aftermarket radio. Ignorant bastards probably thought it was an EQ). While in GA for school I had a set of BMW M3 mirrors color-matched and installed. Upon my return I had a set of Intrax lowering springs installed to set the car 2” lower than stock then bought a set of 17” Konig Appeals in Onyx (no one in Killeen had them at the time). I installed cross drilled and slotted rotors in the front. By the time I finished with the suspension I could take “the loop” at 70mph (the loop is a stretch of road as you leave the Ft Hood Hospital exit that’s rated at 25mph. With the PROPER suspension I was able to take it at 70 mph with no tire squeal what so ever) Later came the second Sony Xplode Head unit with the 2 Legacy 10” subs with the 1000 watt Power Acoustik Amplifier. While I was in Korea I would come back on leave and Install brand new black carpet, BomZ Racing seats and had the dash, center console and door inserts red.

The thing that I look for in a car can be summed up in one word………..comfort. I mean if I am going to spend about 2 hours a day in traffic in my car then it should have all of the toys and entertainment that one would want. It should be comfortable to sit in for hours without having to get out and stretch. Basically I should feel as if I am one with the car. I could drive from TX to GA and only need to stop for gas. Never feeling out of place or getting those phantom road pains. Just let the windows down, open the sunroof and go.
Well as fate would have it, I would remain in Korea for 5 years. During that time my car would be looked after by various individuals who would keep watch in between deployments. Well as most of you know, letting someone “borrow” your car is always a BAD IDEA!!! Not just in the conventional sense but BAD from ALL angles. Needless to say the story gets rather hairy from here.

One broken AC compressor (between $800-$1200 for repair) a speeding ticket (going 89mph in a 70mph that was NOT mine) in the glove box pretty much told me everything that I needed to know). So there sat the GA, inoperable for no less than 18 months in a storage facility. Upon my return to the states I would not have time to wait for the repairs so I purchased the VW and drove to GA from TX all in the hopes of sending for my red child in TX.




That idea never panned out and now I am on my way BACK to Korea so in all fairness it felt that since the car was paid for and was not in BAD condition overall that it would better serve someone else. So I put it on Craigslist. Initially I was going to take all of my modifications and sell them individually while scrapping the car but something strange happened when I opened that storage unit and looked at my baby again. I began to wipe off the dust that had accumulated over the last 18 months to reveal what was essentially still a showroom finish and realized at that point that I couldn’t see it sitting next to a 1976 Pacer in Cletus’s Junk Yard left for dead.

On Craigslist I was asking for $900 for everything but the speakers and amp. A lifelong friend of mine from KC told me that he was looking for a car for his Daughter that was about to graduate so I told him that if he came to TX from KC to get the car I would only charge him $500 for the car with a clear title (since he would spend a good amount on gas the price drop seemed reasonable.) So now I can rest easy knowing that my long labor of love is in good hands. Hell If I could I would fly up and help put her back together.


Thanks for being there for me all those years. For being the one steady element during those hard times. Thanks for getting me not only from A to B but from A to Z. You were always in the background, always on the road and always dependable. When I picked you up from the dealership you had 6 miles. Now I leave you with over 120,000 miles of memories.

Thanks.

Hail and Farewell Part 1

For as many years as I have been in the Military we have always had what’s called a “Hail and Farewell.” This is an event where we greet newcomers to the unit and bid adieu to those that are leaving the unit and hopefully going on to bigger and better things.

Well it’s time for me to say Farewell to a few good friends of mine who over the years have served me very well and with honor. First I will start with the relative new comer. My 2000 VW Passat. When I got back from Korea in November 2007 there was limited time for me to make my arrangements in TX and report to Fort Gordon GA. Therefore I didn’t have time to get the Grand Am repaired to make the 1100 mile trip from Killeen to Augusta. So I did what most red blooded American Soldiers would do………..I bought a new (new to me that is) car. For me it was love at first drive. I have always been a fan of the VW Passat and the test drive didn’t disappoint. It was smooth and responsive. The suspension was firm and it handled well. Making my usual test run to Copperas Cove and back the car hit 130 mph (don’t judge me!) with no problems and felt like it really wanted to be in its home country on the Autobahn.

Back at the dealership all of my terms were met on Friday and they wanted to do a once over again and really detail it and I would pick it up on Monday. When I picked it up on Monday it was like we had known each other for years. One thing about me with cars is I have to “feel” as if I am a part of the car. Ergonomics are a big part of a car purchase for me. So my first stop was to Best Buy to take out the horrible factory (it was probably pretty good in 2000) head unit and replace it with something that was Satellite and iPod ready. At that point that was all that I needed.

On the drive to Augusta everything just felt so right. I was even running with a new charger thru ATL at about 120 mph at 3 am with no one else on the road and it never at any point felt like the car was struggling to keep up. The only problem that I had with my Passat was that it was so easy to speed in because it never felt like it was actually going fast. It was so comfortable at 80 and above. Good thing that I have a good radar detector!

Over the course of the next year or so I began to make small but meaningful (to me) upgrades. One was to switch out the American factory light switch with a European one. The difference is that the American version only has 2 settings; either lights on or lights off. The European switch gives the option to turn on just the parking lights if you wanted to. Then we had to get rid of those cloudy 2000 stock lights and replace them with something more clear and vibrant. Next was to replace the factory tail lights and then change the bulbs from regular to LED’s. Took off the tall center mount antenna and replaced it out with a stubby. I changed the stock side markers from cloudy clear to black. I installed an AlienTech window controller which allowed me to control the power windows AND Sunroof with the factory key fob. I installed a brand new coolant reservoir along with a brand new bank 1 catalytic convertor. Then was the mother of all upgrades. The silver carbon dash kit. The reason that this was the mother of all of the upgrades is because I originally had a wood grain interior. Well I couldn’t just overlay the carbon fiber on top of the wood so I needed to get all of the wood grain pieces in plain black first THEN overlay that with the silver carbon fiber. Well that task took me about close to a year. I had to order various pieces for the car from GERMANY!!! Since they didn’t offer the GLX in any trim other than the wood grain in the US.

After effectively putting about 39,000 miles on the car from November 2007 until the great trade-in on May 29^th 2009 (got max value on the trade-in thank you!!!) it was time for me to say goodbye. Many of you know about the follies that I had here in Augusta with the dealership and the money that they would charge for certain services. One reason was because they were the only VW dealership within at least 100 miles and they were the only ones in town with the tools to work on a VW. You know that you can only hear someone tell you that such and such service will cost you $800-$1200 so much before it starts to get on your nerves. So that’s why the car had to go. It was to the point that I would hemorrhage money for simple things like a damn coolant flush because for a VW you need special tools.

Well now it’s in the hands of someone in TX and I can tell them that they are getting a hell of a car and I know for a fact (I called around) that they have no less than 7 VW dealerships in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area and a few more VW tuner shops. Getting work done for the next owner would be a snap. So to my friend I say goodbye and thank you for your service.