Sea Trials

It's a little off topic, but it just wouldn't be fair to post without giving a big set of hugs to the fine group above that took in the annual Sasquatch Festival last weekend. Over the last couple of years, I've been fortunate enough to rekindle my passion for great live music. Thankfully, between this festival, and Bumbershoot over Labor Day weekend, plus some local shows that pop up every now and then, I get ample opportunity to get my fill of bands locally without having to travel. But, if I follow my 'bucket list', don't be surprised if you see me at SXSW, Bonnaroo, and New Orleans Jazz Fest someday.

The revelry with crazy fools above is also the reason that I still have no FM reception and a transmission fluid filter sitting on my desk at home. Nonetheless, I've done enough work on the car where I thought it was prudent at this point to do a real drive test - to get out for a few miles on the highway and check some of the systems and comfort levels on a longer excursion.

For my job, I have occasion to travel on local road trips, so I headed up to Whidbey Island this afternoon. It's about 100 miles round trip, mostly highway, so I got a chance to experience some good cruising mileage. I made the following random observations:

- Cruise control works. It's not smooth, and you can actually get a little seasick because the car accelerator pulses slowly. Lubricating the throttle linkages and cable may help (Ah! a new thing for the list...)

- Cigarette lighter works. I don't smoke, but with the few roadtrips I have planned for work this summer, I'll need to have power for the GPS unit and phone.

- With the top up, the road noise makes the radio useless. I'll definitely need to think about this before we do any sort of stereo mods.

- I have a BMW hat (see photo above), but not a Mercedes-Benz Hat. Father's Day is coming up.

- An 85-MPH speedometer just looks weird. The car is an '82, built just after the Iran Hostage crisis, and oil then was around $38/barrel (that's a lot for 1982 - trust me). The 380 was built as a more fuel efficient alternative to the 450, the original SL of this generation, made from '72 - '80. Remember the Honda CVCC and the Toyota Corrolla? It's a fun little history lesson to read the owners manual. It says stuff like 'Don't idle while standing still!' and 'Don't use the Air Conditioner - just because you LIKE to travel in comfort doesn't mean you should!' Still, this speedo cracks me up.

- The seats and the ride itself are pretty comfy.

- I hear engine knock. Thought I could get away with the cheap gas. Nuts.

- The car is very eager to engage a passing gear at higher speeds and seems more at home on the highway vs. the city streets. The burble and squat are actually startling.

A quick explanation is due here.

The web site message board I frequent for this model refer to a 'Burble and Squat' produced by the 380. The burble is the noise the engine makes starting at about 2500 RPM. It's a nice little V8 growl that sounds like a kid blowing bubbles in her milk through a straw. The squat is the result of the torque being delivered to rear wheels on soft springs; the car hood rises about 6 inches into the air and it kinds feels like you'll go airborne. Disconcerting the first time, but neat once you get used to it.

Step on the gas - burble and squat.

Unfortunately, the skies were not quite sunny enough to go through the exercise of dropping the top. The dark clouds in the photo below were directly on my path home and it wasn't worth the risk. But, a great road trip for sure.

Enjoy-