Sold to Carmax

Why
Saves us money
No longer need to pay VA car tax, registration, insurance, or to fill it with gas.

Saves me time
One less vehicle to maintain (oil changes, etc.).

Easy in/out with the bikes!
Now I don't have to move a car to use a two wheeler!

Guest parking
Our neighborhood is parking-challenged. Now we can at least ensure we have one spot handy for a visitor

Carmax
Wow, talk about a no bullsh*t business. They buy cars. They sell cars. Two independent operations and you can participate in one, both, or none. There is no discussion beyond how the process works, and they do not waste your time. I was impressed (with them and their offer for the car). Sold.

Fun on four wheels

I usually try to keep this blog strictly on the topic of motorcycles, but I caved in light of our recent acquisition:



About five years ago, I began commuting regularly in a 1991 Honda Accord DX from Oakton to Rosslyn, and it did in my left knee. It got pretty bad, and I went to a handful of doctors and underwent physical therapy. The result is a condition I can deal with, but that still doesn't gel with certain kinds of motion.

The experience left me in a bit of a bind. I'm an avid anti-fan of conventional automatic transmissions. My aversion to automatics is a mix of inherited values (Dad, you rule!) and personal preference. So during the peak of my injury, I researched many solutions to driving a manual transmission without a left leg. I even prototyped a vacuum-assisted, hand-operated clutch master cylinder on that 91 Accord. I came so close to engaging the clutch with the squeeze of a bicycle brake lever, but the throw of the Geo Metro brake booster I employed wasn't long enough...*sigh*



I spent a lot of time on that project, and when the the execution failed, I was regrettably out of steam. So I used the DC Metro and my Ninja 250 as often as possible for commuting in order to limit my use of a clutch pedal.

Back on topic - my research had uncovered more than just a Frankenstein of off-the-shelf parts. I had learned about Toyota's Sequential Manual Transmission (SMT) that was fitted to the MR2 Spyders. This transmission was exactly what I was looking for - a manual transmission with a clutch, but a clutch the driver didn't have to operate. Awesome! It was way out of my price range at the time - both because I was just out of college and because the cars were still more or less brand new.

So that should explain why we sought this mid-engine convertible as our next automobile. In some ways, traveling in the MR2 Spyder will be a lot like traveling on the bikes. There is no storage space, save for a little cavity behind each seat and the trunk rack we snagged from craigslist. We'll probably want to keep earplugs on hand for long highway trips (SureFire makes a great pair, believe it or not).

The bottom line is that I do consider the transmission a compromise, but an acceptable one. And now I don't feel so bad about living without an MG B!