I will state for the record before I even begin. I have NEVER owned a Toyota. I do not work for Toyota nor do I have any association wtih them and the following is my opinion and my opinion alone.
For eight years I drove a Geo Metro Convertible LSI in white. This is not my car, I have only film copies of me and my sweet ride and they are in Apples room and she is asleep. This photo is courtesy of Wikipedia .
As much as I loved my sweet convertible and the fact that it only cost me $15 in gas for two weeks worth of driving, it wasn’t without it’s faults. For a three cylinder I quite often found myself driving on only two. The locks would freeze up for most of the winter, causing me to have to crawl in through my trunk to unlock the doors. But, in the summer when the roof was down and I was tanned and loving my ride all the winter faults were long forgotten.
With all the recent talk about Toyota and their stuck gas pedals, I feel that I should come out and share my experience with stuck gas pedals. It used to happen to me with my Geo, all the time. Yes, ALL THE TIME. Mostly in the wintertime when the throttle would get frozen. But, there is a safe way to get yourself out of this situation. Turn your car off. It didn’t matter if I was still in the driveway or on the highway when my gas pedal would get stuck and the engine would redline, I would turn the car off, coast to safety and put on my hazards. I am not saying this is fool proof, but when your car is speeding out of control, instead of going into panic mode and trying to beat red lights, just cut the gas to the engine and coast yourself to safety as best you can.
Too many drivers these days don’t know how to get themselves out of situations. I am not sure if it is because they grew up driving new cars or what but, my Dad always had beaters and us kids learned how to drive in them. Over the course of the last 23 years of driving I have had my share of strange situations. Stuck gas pedals are just a small part of it. I have had to change my alternator on the side of the highway, too many flat tires to count, open the hood to spark the starter, timing belt blow out on the 416, power steering cut out on me, clutch cable snapping (Downtown in Winnipeg and yes, my Dad can drive without a clutch) and many more that I am sure I am forgetting. Back in High School my Sister and I were known for the beaters we would show up with, but it never stopped anyone from asking for or taking a ride. Just remember not to panic and you can usually get yourself out of a situation.
So be gentle on Toyota if you own or were thinking of owning one of their cars. And remember that the company that makes those apparently faulty gas pedals?? They don’t just make them for Toyota.
Categories:
Cars,
Driving
When you add in the car repairs from Hubby getting side swiped. Very, very expensive.
I could take the blame because I forgot to get milk today when I was out. But, actually going out these days is becoming so difficult that I am lucky to make it home at all. And no, it isn’t only Apple. J too is now adding fuel to the fire of going out in the car. Even though Apple has been much much better she still has her moments. But, J, my faithful traveler never wants to go out anymore. Even though I have explained that it is Christmas and we are doing things for others, nope he does not want to go anywhere. Argh.
So, I forgot milk. Dinner was ready and Hubby got home. J ran to tell him we forgot milk so he decided to go. I actually pleaded for him not to go and I would go after supper. But, he really really wanted his milk with supper so off he went. The snow started coming down really hard and Hubby pulled out of the grocery store, thinking he had lots of room. Which he did, if the roads were dry. He fishtailed (this is not making me feel good about the new car/truck) and spun sideways, with nothing he could do the guy that was coming around the corner slid into him. Hit mostly the back passenger door, with a small ding in the drivers door and the back hubcap. Nice.
Hubby actually said it didn’t make him feel good to not have control and that left me feeling less confident about our new purchase too. If he had been driving the actual car with the stick shift he could have braked and shifted his way out of the spin, but in this case, there was no shifting, just the locking of the brakes and the automatic switch into AWD. I guess I have more reasons not to go out in the snowy weather now.
Ahhh… off I go to pour a glass of milk.
edited to add: Yes, Hubby was not hurt it was just a minor accident. So minor none of the side airbags deployed. I am just thankful it is only a few irritating dings, but had to make light of the situation by posting about it. It took Hubby longer to get to the police station in the bad weather than it did to get the milk. They got there just in time though because the line up behind them was ridiculous. And I was also thankful that the guy that hit Hubby was a nice friendly guy. The two of them had a little too much in common, it is scary.
Yes indeed folks we got the confirmation that we are still indeed having a girl! I was more worried that J would be devistated at the baby being a boy than Hubby or I.
All in all the ultrasound went well. My placenta is no longer low-lying (very important for a home birth) and the baby was only measuring one week ahead. My belly on the exterior is measuring three weeks ahead so we (my Midwife and I) were worried that I was carrying a big baby, but she seems to be close to target and will most likely be the same size as J was when he was born (8lbs 5oz). And I didn’t have an overly large amount of amniotic fluid, which was another concern. So all in all everything looked great. That’s not to say that something might show up in the detailed report sent to my midwife, but for now I was breathing a bigger sigh of relief.
I will say that I am entering the tired zone and our week at the beach couldn’t come sooner (this time next week I will be soaking in the sand and surf). Any later and I don’t think I would be able to make the trip. As it is I do think that I will be slower than I previously thought. Vacuuming is now out (unless I want to start the labour, I may start vacuuming again in August) due to a pain on my side everytime I pull that sucker out. Cleaning bathrooms is out, due to not being able to bend over properly and clean the tubs and showers. Pretty much I am good for laundry and kitchen duty and that’s it.
Hubby is working away on the new basement, A’s room is almost done then a well deserved break will taken. All that matters is that A has a place to sleep the rest can be done a lot slower.
The new car is still a riot, I think this first tank of gas is a write off as Hubby insists on driving it every day (he drives like twice a week normally). We tested out the luggage in the trunk space and are ready to roll. I will say though that I am having a very difficult time changing from standard transmission to automatic. I have been driving a stick for 20 years (TWENTY YEARS!!!!!!) so I find myself pressing the phantom clutch and shifting into neutral a lot. The biggest test will come in the wintertime when I can no longer laugh at people spinning and sliding while I drive by in first gear, or when I can rock myself out of a snowbank with my clutch, those will be hard days and most likely I just won’t go out.
Categories:
Cars,
Pregnancy
