Unexpected Southwest Airlines Southwest Road Trip: Day 3

We planned on completing our road trip on Day 3. Didn't happen.

In retrospect, I should have deferred to my wife and let her plan the meals. But I was on a mission to get home as quickly as possible and thought she would just slow us down with meals and potty breaks. After a breakfast at our hipster motel's oatmeal bar, we headed towards Phoenix.

I was not expecting so many mountains in southern Arizona. I was expecting flat expanses of desert.

Without any plans for lunch, the kids got grumpy. Because restaurants were 50 to 100 miles apart from each other, they had to wait. We ended up at a lovely but rough cafe in Quartzsite, near the California border. 

Quartzsite is known for two things. First, in the 1800s, camels were imported and raised here by the U.S. Army. Now, the town is a destination for destitute senior citizens who live in vans and RVs. It was featured in Nomadland.

The "town" was pure chaos. People on ATVs. An RV parked called MAGA...

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This Brat was just one of the many wild things we saw in Quartzsite.

To lighten my mood, the kids bought me a back scratcher at the diner.

We crossed the might Colorado River! We're finally in California. The river crossing was kind of anticlimactic.

Lots of cool carspotting opportunities. Like this Mexican Suzuki Jimny next to the Morongo Indian casino.

Or this Ferrari 612!

We hit rain and traffic in Los Angeles and it really slowed us down. We picked a Japanese restaurant in Santa Clarita (north of Los Angeles) for dinner. The meal was easily twice what we normally paid outside of California. At least I spotted a Renault Duster in the parking lot. I gushed at the middle class Mexican dad who owned it. He was confused by my excitement.

We continued driving into the night along Interstate 5. It was simply too much mentally and physically for the kids. They were crying from sitting for so long. So we spent the night at Harris Ranch in Coalinga, three hours short of home.

Harris Ranch is known for its steakhouse. Many people driving between San Francisco and Los Angeles stop here for a meal. I knew it had a hotel, but I could never figure out why anyone would stay there. 

We had a nice room and this was what we saw when we stepped out our door in the morning (on Day 4):

We walked to the restaurant and I got some beef with my eggs.

Epilogue:

We got home around noon on Day 4. I returned the car at Oakland airport with 12 minutes left. The bill was $2,200(!). We also spent $600 for three nights of hotels/motels.

I asked Southwest to reimburse us $2,800, I didn't ask for gas or food. They offered $1,400. I was PISSED. I appealed and on March 14, Southwest decided to reimburse us the entire $2,800.

THE END.

My Daily Driver: @jcreech3's Subaru Forester

1. How did you come to the decision of buying this car?

When it was time to get a new car I had some hyper specific criteria due to my short garage.  It had to be under 185 inches in length, fit two rear-facing car seats, and not cost an arm and a leg to lease along with some other nice to haves.  After a day of lugging a car seat up and down auto row I learned the hard way those are difficult criteria to meet and this was the best option of the bunch.  

2. What has your ownership experience been like?

Overall very good.  I haven't had to open the hood except for oil changes (knock on wood), it has all of the nice bits you expect in a new car like push button start, apple car play, automatic emergency braking, etc, etc.  It turns like a pig and is underpowered but it doesn't make any sporty pretenses. I like to pretend it is just a reliable 1990's Land Rover which keeps expectations in check.  I have had daily drivers in the past where every time I start it up I am competing in the Targa Florio and that leads to frustration when I am sitting in traffic. 

3. What is your fondest memory with this car?

I took it on an extended road trip from San Francisco to Chicago and back via Montana and I-90 on the way there and various bits of state routes south of I-70 through Utah, Colorado and Nevada going back.  It was a great car for taking the road less traveled because I didn't have to worry about ice, dirt, or crummy roads.  It isn't a fast car by any means but it does just fine at the far upper end of its capabilities.  

4. Why do you love cars?

My dad.  It was something we got to do together when I was a teenager.  We went on a lot of adventures together and the cars gave us a reason to go and spend time together.  As time goes by I am incredibly thankful for all of those memories and shared experiences.  To me cars are a physical manifestation of escapism as well as a representation of our best selves.  Day to day life might not be glamorous (especially with kids) but once in a while you can put the top down and spend a few hours driving down the coast.  

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If you would like to participate, just answer the above four questions and submit one to three photos of your daily driver to milhousevanh at geemail. Thanks and have fun!

My Daily Driver: Alan's Subaru Outback XT 5-speed

1. How did you come to the decision of buying this car?

I wanted something Japanese, quick and tunable with a large hatch and good safety ratings for the kids. Started out searching for a first-gen Forester XT (that means turbo) with a 5-speed manual. Searched for most of my wife's pregnancy with first child, couldn't find any that weren't beat to death with high miles and poorly chosen/executed mods.

A few weeks before son (now 5 1/2) was born, finally came across 1-owner 2006 Outback XT 5-speed on CL. Limited spec, with electrically-adjusted leather heated sports seats (very Recaro-esque), massive dual-pane moonroof, great stereo, climate control--all the Lexus-like trimmings. It's better looking than a Forester (best looking Subaru ever after SVX IMO--they really lost the plot after this gen) and way more comfortable too. Like a grown-up stealth STI.

2. What has your ownership experience been like?

Very, very good. Its only previous owner was an LA area lady lawyer (and a chair member of the 1984 LA Olympics) who special ordered it--very rare spec. She maintained to a tee, and the car came with a 3-inch stack (for only ~70k miles) of dealer maintenance receipts in the glovebox. It smelled and looked brand-new when we took it home.

The car has been surprisingly reliable and has never let us down, but I've continued to maintain it to a high standard, using all OEM or quality aftermarket (read: tuner) parts. Done most of the work myself. Now approaching 140k miles and the car still runs strong and feels fit. It's fairly heavily modified, with various STI turbo plumbing parts, upgraded TMIC, protune, various reliability upgrades (cooling, oil lines etc.). Mostly STI Group N chassis parts (motor mounts, trans mount, diff mount), Legacy GT control arms and bump stops, Tein coilovers, Whiteline poly bushings, upgraded rear roll bar and mounts, camber correct kit, bump steer kit, roll center correction kit, STI calipers, rotors and master cylinder/booster.

It is the perfect Swiss Army car. It hauls dogs, cement mix, lumber, greasy junkyard project car parts, kids, groceries, ass. It was a 5.0 second to 60 car stock with 250 hp and 250 lb. ft., am now producing about 330/400 with much more to come once the engine finally goes pop (ringlands--only a matter of time on any EJ25, even stock), at which point I'll fit a built-for-boost block with all my current stuff plus a bigger turbo and probably an E85 setup for ~500/500.

It hangs with and occasionally bullies my buddies' M-cars and Porsches in the canyons and no one ever looks at it twice, much of might be to do with the fact that the exhaust remains bone-stock after the uppipe/downpipe. There is a louder whoosh from the recirculating (stock) blow-off valve due to the divorced downpipe, but that's it.

3. What is your fondest memory with this car?

Bringing my first son home from the hospital in it after a few weeks of ownership. His premie frame buckled into the massive Recaro babyseat was a simultaneously hilarious and harrowing sight. Lots of other great memories, mostly family roadtrips, a few onramp drag race conquests, the most recent being a Dinan (according to the trunklid) E39 M5.

Its nowhere near as nice cosmetically as it was, but mechanically it's fit as a fiddle, and though certainly a little louder and harsher riding than stock, the holistic approach we've taken in tuning means it drives like an OEM STI product--no jank tuner issues. I don't vape either.

4. Why do you love cars?

As a very young kid, it was the noise, speed and wide variety of vehicle types and their associated looks that drew me in. Sustaining and growing the passion through adulthood it's been their engineering, history, and always striving to be a better driver and mechanic.

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If you would like to participate, just answer the above four questions and submit one to three photos of your daily driver to milhousevanh at geemail. Thanks and have fun!

My Daily Driver: @hardworkrr12's Subaru WRX STi

1. How did you come to the decision of buying this car?

I sell cars for a living. Subarus (and Saabs but that's a different story) have always sort of been my favorite. I sold Subarus for a few years but I had left to sell other brands. In March of 2017 I was on my third Subaru lease in a row (a 2016 Forester XT) and I didn't love that car. I am not an SUV guy. In that month I returned to a Subaru dealer as a salesperson/internet manager. As I perused my freshly printed rate sheets I noticed that the residual for a 36 month lease on an STI was "higher than the nuts on a giraffe" as some of us in the car business might say. Little background on leasing: the higher the residual the lower the monthly payment, as a rule of thumb. I had always wanted a WRX. I had always really wanted an STI, but it just never seemed attainable. But with the lease program they were offering it started to come into view. The next month the residual went UP by one point, making the program even better. A customer came in with a Forester one year older than mine, more miles, same package, and lacking the turbo motor that my (maligned) XT possessed. The amount my used car manager offered her on a trade was enough to make me take a closer look at it, and I had him appraise my own Forester. At the end of the day my payment was going to go up by about $100 per month with no money out of pocket. I asked one of my co-wokers if I should do it. He asked, "do you have a wife?" No. "Do you have kids?" No. "Then do it." That's what we call a closer in my business. I signed the lease on 4/20/2017. Nice. 

2. What has your ownership experience been like?

Flawless. I have now had the car almost 3 full years and it has 35,5XX miles and it has not given me one single problem. If you read Consumer Reports, the WRX/STI models get Subaru's lowest marks for predicted reliability. I chalk that up to the owners who modify them, abuse them, and crash them. I have driven my car and driven it hard, but never abused it, and aside from tint, clear bra, and all-season tires I haven't changed a thing on it. It has never let me down one damn time. All servicing done on time as well, of course. 

3. What is your fondest memory with this car?

Hard to say. Every single time I've ever driven that car, be it for five miles or 500 miles, it has put a smile on my face at least once. About three days after I got it I was looking out the window of my bedroom around midnight and it was parked right outside and I was just so proud to have it, so happy to have it. After reading about the original Bugeye WRX in Road & Track in 2001, Reading about the first US Spec STI in 2003, talking my dad into buying a 2004 WRX Hatchback, and selling dozens and dozens of WRX/STIs to other people, I finally had my own. I had made it. That is probably my favorite memory of that car. 

4. Why do you love cars?

As a small child, I remember watching cars drive by on the street and being fascinated by the sounds the made, the exhaust sounds. As I got older of course, it was the freedom thing. I grew up in a smaller town away from the main part of the town and you needed a car to go anywhere/do anything. Having that freedom what just the best. Also, going somewhere while sitting down and putting minimal effort into it. I like that too.... 

Ed: And here's @hardworkrr12's YouTube channel.

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If you would like to participate, just answer the above four questions and submit one to three photos of your daily driver to milhousevanh at geemail. Thanks and have fun!

2019 Danville car show

While everyone else was in Pebble Beach, I attended a typical American car show last Sunday.

2019 Radwood Norcal photos

Another success!

After over a decade of going to car shows and museums, I am pretty jaded. But the Radwood shows, which focus on 80s and 90s cars, never disappoint.

Of course, the parking lots to these shows often have true gems, like this 4WD Toyota cargo van.

And this Aztek.

This diesel VW Dasher was recently purchased from this used car lot, which always has interesting inventory.

This old Subaru sedan was very clean.

When I posted these pictures on Twitter, this Escort GT and Buick Regal got the most comments and nostalgia-filled stories.

One of ten McLaren Mustang M81.

This was the highlight. Francisco bought this from a Michigan widow. The Impulse had been in storage since 2006! Two-toned, turbo, RS.

I thought this was a concept car, but it's an Acura NSX widebody. And it's for sale.