03/21/05 I've mentioned on the Elise page how I wasn't thrilled with it as a daily driver and that I had been tooling around in a beat-up borrowed Montero. Well, the Montero has been getting progressively worse (the latest being some kind of an electrical/alternator problem that I didn't want to deal with since that would entail digging into its grimy innards). So two days ago I returned the wretched thing, running off its battery in the dark and rain - only side marker lights with all other electricals turned off to conserve power. Made it, but only just. This is exactly why I had promised myself not to get a used car for daily transport. A few days ago I had started looking at used Focus SVTs as a possible cheap daily driver. But the final trip in the Montero set me straight - NO USED CARS FOR TRANSPORTATION. One look at the early part of my PAST section will tell you I'm not being a snob, it's just that I'd like to think I've paid my dues. Ok, what then? Looked at new Focus - eeeeh. Mazda? Nice cars but they don't do it for me. Then I remembered driving my mother's Scion xB and thinking that it was a really nifty machine, aside from being an automatic. So maybe a manual one would work.... A couple calls to dealers, giving them credit info on the phone, confirming interest rates, etc. Then I just went over to the dealer of choice, signed some papers and drove off in my new Scion. Easy. No money out of pocket and the payments don't start till May. On the way back met my friend David at a bar to celebrate the new arrival, then home. At night the pictures turned out predictably poor:

The following day in the daylight I took some better ones. The Box (this is its official name now) looks kinda funny next to the Elise. Total opposites. Both Toyota-powered though so they're siblings in a way...

So my ever-changing garage now looks like this:

Not bad. I'm happy - for the moment ;) I wonder how the Box would do at the track....

03/22/05 Pretty funny - a lot of people have been giving me a hard time about the Box purchase. This thread on roadfly is a good example. David even went to the trouble of altering one of my pictures to suit my 'new image' (click on it for a larger version):

They laugh now but let's see how they feel about being passed by a toaster on the track! To that end I've ordered a set of cheap 17" wheels and BFG KDW2 tires. We'll see if Roy stands up to the challenge or chickens out. Ha. I was driving the Box today on my favorite road, throttle-steering it around most turns. It's a lot of fun actually. Yes, the Box rulZ! :)

03/26/05 Got the wheels and tires. The wheels are cheap 17"x7" from Tire Rack - the brand is Sport Edition and they are $129 apiece. Regrettably heavy at 21.5 lbs each but can't beat the price and I like the look. The 'carbon grey' color is cool.

Interesting how much the wheels change the character of the car - here it is with stock ones:

For tires I decided to try BFG KDW2 to see how they work. On a brief run down my favorite road the reaction is a bit mixed - not as sharp response-wise as I had hoped and the ultimate grip, while decent, is not what I would have liked either. Maybe with break-in they'll get better and it remains to be seen how well they work in the wet. Weight-wise the wheel/tire combo added 9 lbs per corner vs stock 15" steel wheels and 185/60-16 all-season tires. The new wheel and tire weigh 44 lbs combined. Yes, there's a perceptible drop in acceleration which is a pity since there wasn't that much to begin with. To equal the weight of the stock setup with 17s I'd have to get SSR Comp wheels but at $350 each they are considerably more expensive and I didn't feel like spending that much. Besides, I actually like the look of these new ones better than SSRs. The styling of the SE wheels makes them look bigger than they are whereas the polished lip of the SSRs does the opposite. So OK, I won't break any performance records. That was a given anyway. And yes, it's still going on the track April 29th :)

Before I get a hundred e-mails, yes I know the Box needs a wash. I'll get to it. One last item - filled up today, 26 mpg for the first tank. Not bad given how I drive.

UPDATE: Drove the Box in the rain on the new tires. They work great! Wet grip feels like about 95% of dry grip. In fact it's so much fun that I want to go driving in the rain again. And again. In fact, I did. Woo-hoo.

03/29/05 Someone suggested a custom paint job for the Box (thanks, Don!)

I'm tempted.... ;)