I Never Promised You an Organic Garden

During the Super Bowl Dodge had an ad depicting the emasculated miserable men in the United States who are so unhappy in their relationships that they have to drive the Dodge Charger in order to find happiness.  I  can’t begin to describe all the reasons why this particular ad is so annoying and offensive… and thanks to Producer MacKenzie Fegan I don’t have to.

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I saw this UK PSA today via Digg and it is quite impressive. Unlike most of the bloody, gory, scary PSAs usually used, this one is quite pleasant to watch, but I think makes its point.

I recently saw a disturbing but powerful video out of the UK that will be used in driver’s ed. classes to show kids the dangers of texting while driving. I have put the video in the post below, but be aware that it is quite gruesome and potentially difficult to watch.

I am torn about the effectiveness of a video like this.  It reminds me of the train crossing videos I was subjected to in driver’s ed. that show people being destroyed by trains while trying to race the train.  They were disturbing and to this day I am nervous crossing a train track.  On the other hand, I stop and look both ways and treat the train tracks with respect.

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Since I forgot to post an item for Technology Today last week, I am going to post a second one this week. I am pleased to announce that Matt, my multi-talented husband, has now launched a blog of his very own. From Bits to Bites & Windshields to Worship will be about Matt’s four main interests — computers, cooking, cars, and Christianity.

He plans to post once or twice a week with interesting facts and insightful commentary on topics he is passionate about. There is already a few weeks worth of information ready for your perusing pleasure so — CHECK IT OUT!

Matt and I took a trip to Indianapolis today to visit the new Smart dealership and take a test drive. Unfortunately we forgot to take a photo of me with the car, but we had a great time.

After a 30 minute wait ,we were able to each take a turn test driving the tiny car with the very friendly and somewhat overly helpful sales person. I really enjoyed the car and could definitely see myself driving one in the future.

The sales person seemed somewhat surprised and impressed by how much Matt and I already knew about the car and by my spirited driving. He was ultimately very helpful and not pushy, so if we do buy one, we will be sure to go through him.

Here are the pros and cons after our test drive experience:

Pros:

• Plenty of head and leg room inside the cabin: Matt, who is 6′1″, was able to get in the car and sit comfortably with the seat still being able to slide back even further.
• Cute!: The Smart is absolutely adorable, and it comes in a variety of attractive colors. Matt and I both agree the metallic blue is our favorite.
• Great gas mileage: It is rated for 33 mpg city and 40 mpg highway. With only having an eight gallon tank, it won’t hit your wallet quite so hard every time you fill up either.
• Eco Friendly: Not only does the Smart get great gas mileage and have the lowest emissions of all non-hybrid cars, but the entire production process has been designed with environmental friendliness in mind.
• Lots of storage: While there isn’t a backseat, the Smart does have a reasonable trunk that could easily hold groceries, a days worth of shopping plunders, or an average size dog. There is also a storage compartment in the fold-down tail gate for holding things like jumper cables, a first-aid kit, and other emergency essentials.
• Great handling: The Smart has an electronic stability program, anti-lock brake, brake assist, automatic hill start assistance, and quite a few other active technologies that help improve the handling and acceleration in all conditions.
• Comfy: Both the standard cloth and upgraded leather seats are very comfortable and come with optional seat heaters to keep your buns warm.
• Unique: The Smart is nothing like any of the other cars on the road today, and you aren’t likely to run into twenty cars just like yours on the way across town.

Cons:

• No Clutch pedal: Because the Smart has an electronically controlled automated manual transmission, there is no need for a clutch petal. This left me, an avid manual transmission fan, feeling a little disconnected from the car.
• Sluggish: The 1L 70hp engine does not have the pep of our 2.8L 170hp Passat.
• Rough idle: Because the Smart is a 3 cylinder tuned for peak efficiency, it idles very low and can feel a little rough or unbalanced.
• No cruise control: From the perspective of a lead-foot, who uses the cruise control to keep from getting pulled over, the Smart’s lack thereof is somewhat troubling. However, because it is designed primarily for in-town travel it is not a surprising omission.
• Blind spots in the cabriolet: Matt and I both tested the convertible version, and because of the way the back window is designed to accommodate the convertible top, it left me feeling like I couldn’t easily see what was going on behind me. Fortunately the non-convertible version has plenty of visibility.

All in all it was a great car, and Matt and I both gave it a 9. There are still a few more cars we want to checkout before we decide what to buy, but the Smart is definitely high on our list.

With a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend just finished, I thought I would post some of the things I am thankful for:

• A great family (mine and Matt’s), who came all the way from Virginia to spend Thanksgiving with Matt and I
• A dog who doesn’t bark at my cat non-stop
• A job I love
• A husband who is a whiz in the kitchen among other things
• Two working vehicles
• An amazing group of friends

With the Probe GT nearing 200,000 miles, Matt and I are starting to think about what our next car might be. Among the top contenders is brand new to the American market: the Smart Fortwo. While it has been popular throughout Europe for many years, the Smart Fortwo will be brought to the U.S. for the first time in early 2008.

This two door, three-cylinder, gas powered, micro-car will get 40 – 50 mpg, which makes my wallet very happy, and comes with all the bells and whistles for only $15,000.00.

Despite the tiny size it will also be very safe because of a metal exoskeleton similar to roll cages used in NASCAR.

My favorite part is the one of a kind look. You are not going to see these on every corner like the Toyota Yaras or Honda Fit. We will have to test drive one first to see if they are really as good as they seem, but this could very well be our next car.