Undercover Police Interceptors

on't you think they'd remove the "Police Interceptor" plaque from the back of undercover/unmarked Police Interceptors?

Pickups

Came home today. Guy in my development has a car (pickup?) cover on a pickup truck. Can't decide if that's weirder than handicap plates on a pickup or not.

Harley Touring...

Harley touring bikes are interesting machines. They span the gamut from sporty to staid.

I've ridden my share - most of my time on my friends Screaming Eagle Electra Glide. Wonderful bike for going down a long straight of highway. And they allow you to ride in colder weather - I can ride my windshield-less Softail Deuce to about 43 degrees, I feel as if I can ride a tourer, behind the batwing, until about 10 degrees lower.

The bike is nice in a straight line, but quite simply, not suitable for a more aggressive riding style. I ride my Deuce the point where when leaning right, I've have to straighten up to avoid a mailbox at the side of the road with my shoulder, and then lean back down. On a recent ride, I hit my right heel and my left peg. This never would have been possible on a road king or a batwing.

We went out with a group not that long ago, and while the three of us up front were pushing it (Deuce, Dyna Super and Dyna Wide Glide), both the Superglide and Crossbones behind us were takin some metal off their boards, and were not able to keep up as a result.

But I digress. The point is, I'd still own a Road King or a Super Glide. They are a good combination between long distance with storage and sporty. I particularly like the two bikes with a 21 inch tire on the front.

I don't understand the UltraClassic thing though. I don't find them pretty - too big and bulky. I'd rather have a 1950's Harley than a 2009 Harley that looks like a 1950's Harley. Harley seems to be so intent on keeping this look that they put a whole new frame under the same sheetmetal and hard bags. I'm glad they gave it a wider back tire - it's been way too long since the typical tire on the back of any motorcycle is a 170 or 180mm, that the tiny tires on the back of the cruisers needed an upgrade. Here we had the biggest of bikes, riding on the smallest of tires.



Perhaps it's the woman who determines the Ultra. I've have an ex-friend who has a Road King and then bought an Ultra. Check the picture above. In my mind, the bike isn't as good looking as a Street Glide or a Road King. The only difference I can see is the standard tour pack and the huge back seat. Now if I'm reading the options catalog right, you can easily add the tour pack to a Street Glide or a Road King, but it's not as easy to replicate the big back seat. Which leads me to believe maybe those guys with the Ultra's aren't in charge of what they are riding anymore - the little woman is.

$50,000 Cars..

All of you with $700 a month car payments on your 5 series BMW's, here's a flash. You are wasting your money. Oh, yeah, and the 5 series cars are ugly, but we'll save that for another post. I hate to bring this to your attention, but mid to large sized cars with hot motors, well designed spacious interiors, heck well designed sporty EXTERIORS and kickin' sound systems are now availalble - for about $25,000. All in.



My favorites are the Ford Fusion and the Chevrolet Malibu. First, both cars are at or near the top of J.D. Powers quality ratings, both overall and in powertrain quality, the two areas I consider critical. The Fusion SEL with the V-6, the sport package (17 inch wheels with Michelin rubber), Microsoft Sync, the upgraded cloth interior (if not the leather) is a tremendous car. The six speed automatic is rarely confused. The Fusion may not quite handle up to my Porsche 911 - but since it holds twice the people and about eight times the stuff, I'll give it a pass. The Fusion handles well enough to put stripes in the undies of your front seat passengers - enter a turn at sports car speeds, no one will expect the Fusion to be able to pull through. The car has little touches that you used to only find on luxury cars - lights to light up the street from under the side view mirrors. The fold down rear seats are a must - it'll hold anything you can put into it from Sam's Club or K-Mart. I had 40 boxes folded flat in the Fusion when I was moving. And very well designed - the releases for the seat backs are in the trunk, not the car. You rarely need to push the seats down from in the car, you need to do it when you're standing at the trunk with something that won't fit. The only thing that will fit in an SUV that won't fit in the Fusion is something big and square - like a old style television (with the large pass through, most of todays' 37" or 42" flat panels will likely make it home).

The steering is even communicative. Yes there is some front wheel drive pull, but when you feel it in the steering and it doesn't pull the wheel out of your hands, the car is telegraphing it's moves to you - you are in charge, not it. The car is also good in snow with front wheel drive, and AWD an option.

The Chevy Malibu finally addresses one of my key criticisms of General Motors cars. The two tone interior is beautiful, good materials and all.



The LTZ, shown at the beginning of this article and below, is striking.



My other favorite is the new Honda Accord. You get classic Honda reliability, and with the leather and aluminum interior, a very tasteful place to spend time.

I'm not as familiar with the details of the Malibu and the Accord - I don't live with one every day, and I don't have the press credentials (yet) to borrow one from the factory. But given the reviews of the Malibu surpass the Fusion, it looks as good or better and it's rated very highly by JD Power, I'm not worried that it's gonna be a winner.

And guess what - virtually no performance difference between your $50,000 (maybe $60,000) German wundercar and the $25,000 variety. The 2008 Honda Accord does 0-60 in 6.3 seconds and goes through the selected slalom at 66.6 mph. The BMW does 0-60 in 5.5 but does the same Edmunds slalom in 65.3 mph. Sally the soccer mom is never gonna notice the difference. The BMW - $61,000. The Accord - $28,000 and change. You can buy a spare for less than the BMW.

Differences - well, I'd like intermittent wipers. I'd like a little more support under my right leg for long trips. No distance sensing cruise control. But I can buy a Ducati's and two Triumph cycles every five years with the money I save. Keep your BMW.

American Cars..

Boys and girls, it's time to stop being Lemmings. In the mid to late 70's when foreign cars started to get really good most of the people I tried to tell this, well, didn't listen. They still were bying Camaro's and Firebirds that 0-60 in 10 seconds and had lousy quality, instead of Toyota Celica's that got twice the gas mileage, were way more dependable and were just as quick.

Well, now we're on the other side. The Lemmings are buying foreign cars because everyone in the neighborhood is. And you know what - they're still good, but the American cars are damn good.

I will admit, I was aflicted. Between 1985 and 2007 I owned a Porsche 944, a 911, a Mercedes C, E and BMW X5 as well as one of the most awesome cars I ever owned, a Nissan Pathfinder. I had a hand me down Chevy Blazer for about 4 months, and a couple of Jeeps, all as station cars, but they were all old and not really relevant. The cars were good. The BMW, to be honest, was not as dependable as it should have been - it needed a steering rack, etc. The Pathfinder was damn near indestructable. At 150,000 I gave it to my ex-wife still running strong. I would change oil, tires and front brakes. Yes front brakes. At 150,000 the car still had it's original rear brakes. Oh, changed the plugs and belt at 100,000 miles. Not even the hoses. The car ran and ran and ran and, well, it's on it's way to 200,000. Well in the divorce, I got to keep the Harley and the wife got the Nissan. So I got a company car. 2008 Ford Fusion. I expected to go out and start shopping for something fun - Infinity G37. Corvette. Honda S2000. 350z. You know what - the damn car gets 23 mpg mixed, handles and goes well, is comfortable for 4 and will hold 5, has the awesome Sync sound system and looks damn good. 20,000 miles and not a problem. The interior, with a faux black wood strip along the bottom and contrasting grey and black, it so much nicer than most Camry's it's pathetic.

It's time for all you foreign car lovers to take a look at JD Power. The top two ranked mid-sized cars are the Ford Fusion and the Chevrolet Malibu, the new version of which is just as nice, if not nicer than the Fusion.

Riding in a Group

I'm a group rider. I'm pretty social - between friends (3 or 4 groups) and a couple of web sites I hang out with, I seem to always have someone to ride with. Been a couple of years since I really went out by myself. Well, it rained two weekends ago, I was busy last weekend, tomorrow is comitted, and next weekend is busy. Bunch of friends were going away Saturday and Sunday, but with commitments Sunday, no go. So I went and got the scoot and did about 120 miles by myself. Up to wash the bike, then watching some Olympics and lunch at Old Man Rafferties. Then down the Canal to Allentown, rockin trip down 524 for some ice cream and home.

You know what? It's awesome riding alone. Bein a good rider, bein social and having a nice bike, it's always nice comparing and storming with some of my boys (and girls). But you know what, riding by myself, I didn't need to make sure I was ridin fast enough to keep the bombers interested, while slow enough to keep the pack together (I lead alot). I didn't have to worry the track was gonna slow my butt down. It was just nice to worry about only me, and to go at a pace that was good for me. To stop for gas, or stop at the bank when I needed.

Maybe I'll take off next Tuesday and scout new roads around Frenchtown that look awesome on the map...