Mmmm.... Mini Cooper....
There were no zipcars available in Beaverton when I tried to make a reservation yesterday afternoon for the evening, so I had to go get one in downtown. There aren't any super fun cars out this way, though the Impreza is actually pretty damn fun. But since I had to go downtown anyhow, I decided to get a fun car. So I had a Mini Cooper for the evening. They are a bit confusing/not intuitive. I never did figure out how to turn off the radio or adjust the volume, which made me feel a bit silly. I tried all the buttons on the stereo. Who ever heard of a car that you have to look up in the manual to make sure that you are interpreting the gas gauge right? But I did that, too.
It also apparently has a strange transmission set up. It is automatic, but has an option for you to control the 6 speed transmissions shifting through some sort of automatic clutch set up. There are paddles on the steering wheel for this, or apparently you can change the automatic shifter into a stickshift somehow. I didn't try that part, not having driven stick really. I did stumble into trying out the paddles, not knowing what they were, though I figured it out fairly fast. It was a lot of fun to drive. I am a responsible sort of person and didn't speed too much, although I did have some fun with accelerating, and I did find out that it feels and sounds like you are going 30 when you are going 70. I didn't get home with my groceries until 11:15 pm, but I sure was tempted to go drive out south on I5 and see what more it could do. Or even to just go and drive it for a few hours for fun.
I had to drive it back down town this morning and have it there by 8:30, and I needed to be at work at 8 and didn't want to deal with crazy traffic, so I left my house at 6:15. I don't think I have ever been having so much fun with a commute at that early of an hour after that little sleep. It made me start thinking about buying a car. Any car, I suppose, but especially a fun, fast, zippy little car. I want to try one of the BMWs or Miatas next time I do an evening rental like that and don't have to worry about the hourly rate as much.
It also apparently has a strange transmission set up. It is automatic, but has an option for you to control the 6 speed transmissions shifting through some sort of automatic clutch set up. There are paddles on the steering wheel for this, or apparently you can change the automatic shifter into a stickshift somehow. I didn't try that part, not having driven stick really. I did stumble into trying out the paddles, not knowing what they were, though I figured it out fairly fast. It was a lot of fun to drive. I am a responsible sort of person and didn't speed too much, although I did have some fun with accelerating, and I did find out that it feels and sounds like you are going 30 when you are going 70. I didn't get home with my groceries until 11:15 pm, but I sure was tempted to go drive out south on I5 and see what more it could do. Or even to just go and drive it for a few hours for fun.
I had to drive it back down town this morning and have it there by 8:30, and I needed to be at work at 8 and didn't want to deal with crazy traffic, so I left my house at 6:15. I don't think I have ever been having so much fun with a commute at that early of an hour after that little sleep. It made me start thinking about buying a car. Any car, I suppose, but especially a fun, fast, zippy little car. I want to try one of the BMWs or Miatas next time I do an evening rental like that and don't have to worry about the hourly rate as much.