Category: Cars

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One of the ways I relax

Took a long drive yesterday This was my first time on hwy 2 since it reopened.

The road was partially closed for 4 or 5 years. At it’s highest point it’s about 7000 ft. One very bad winter, the snow, ice, and rockslides caused a large section to slide down the mountainside. CalTrans opened as much as they could in the Summer but it wasn’t open to La Canada.

I used to take it home sometimes from work. It’s not as fast as the Freeway (well come to think of it, in rush hour traffic… it might be faster!) but the scenery is beautiful and if you’re someone that likes to drive, it’s a great road to forget about the work day on.

I took a few pictures but it really was the wrong time of day to get nice shots. I couldn’t resist a picture of the road, it’s new and smooth.
This is the kind of road my car was built for.

Drove all the way to La Canada from Wrightwood, it was a great drive! I had the top down, the road to myself and it was sunny & beautiful.

Coming back from La Canada right at the base of hwy 2,  I watched a young deer saunter across the road.

He was at least a 4 point buck, once he crossed the road he paralleled it for a bit. I drove by slowly, keeping an eye on him.

My concern was that he might panic and dart back into the road ahead of me then both of us would have a bad day.

I don’t think California lets you keep what you kill… the image of a deer strapped across the front of my car is amusing. The further thought of the cost to repair the inevitable body damage is not!

As I got even with him, he started to panic a little… when I realized he was trying to get ahead of me, I accelerated away. He disappeared into the trees a second or two after I passed him.

I wish I’d been able to grab the camera and snap a few pictures of him, he really was beautiful. But paying attention to the road took priority.

Seeing that deer made my day. Between him, the drive, and the sun on my skin I returned home very contented.

Gotta do stuff like that more often.

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This is something you never want to see at your dealership…

But I Understand.

These guys are from the Teamsters Local 495. These men work at the local BMW parts warehouse in Ontario.

The fact that the parts warehouse is 10 miles from the dealership is one of the reasons that I didn’t believe the service people when They said the problem with my A/C was a schrader valve.

I could have driven to the warehouse and picked up the necessary part myself.

Apparently BMW North America has decided to turn all these folks into unemployed folks. I’m not too sure of all the facts but it seems that BMW N.A. is outsourcing these jobs in the name of higher profits.

The website for these folks is located HERE. If you’re curious go take a look. One of the things that I

did learn is that Since these people are protesting every Saturday they’re in an interesting position to observe BMW reliability.

On of the guys mentioned that they see a lot of 7 series BMWs coming in on flatbeds. I’ve heard of problems with the 7 Series and personally know one person that sold her 7 at a loss to buy a Hyundai.

Her 7 had failed many more times than she could count, leaving her stranded at the side of the road.

She said it was usually on a freeway near any Airport… she’d be buzzing along at 70 or 80 then it was like someone clicked the off switch. The car would simply die and couldn’t be restarted. She got tired of seeing the dealerships, and even more tired of tow truck drivers.

She’s been much happier with her Hyundai. It works and in the 3 years she’s owned it she’s done nothing but have the oil changed.

I’ve noticed when I take my car in every other Monday that there’s always a lot of 335s, 535s, & 135s in the service drive.

The protesters were noticing the same sorts of things and they weren’t surprised when I suggested that BMW was hiding something.  They felt that BMW wasn’t being as forthright about the motivations for outsourcing the parts business as they should have been either.

They did say that BMW North America and BMW Germany didn’t behave the same towards their workers. Perhaps it’s a Situation of American greed vs German labor laws. I’m not in a position to comment.

They did get a kick out of my describing my car as a “Pussy” car. (Every time I want to ride it… it’s got a headache.)

They wished me good luck and I wished them the same.

I’m blown away that companies are doing this kind of thing but many of the corporate honchos need to keep getting their bonus checks so they can keep their mistresses in fancy condos and quiet.

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Well I pick up the car today

Dropped it off on Monday

Picking it up today… 5 days for a schrader valve??? I’m sure there is a much larger story there.

We’ll see just how long the thing holds together this time.

Hopefully, I can actually take a bit of a trip NOW.

On the Plus side…

EDD has apparently approved my unemployment. Although the only thing they sent me was the claim form to fill out. Yep, nothing else, no instructions, no info packet… nothing!

Not complaining though… This is the form that’s most important I fill this puppy out every 2 weeks and they sent me a check.

So I’m furloughed and my future is uncertain but I’ve got unemployment for 6 months.

There’s a guy that wants to talk with me about a job, out of state on Monday. I’m listening and I’ve been doing some internet research on the area… Small town, looks nice I’ve just done a quick skim but It might work. Especially if we’re talking something permanent.

Time will tell…