Oldsmobile Haiku

The Cutlass hit 91,000 miles recently.  In honor of of the momentous occasion, I have written a haiku:

My Oldsmobile
Ugly, cheap, reliable
It gets me places

To date I've spend $800 in repairs on the car.  Adding in the $1,400 I paid for it puts me at $2200 for seventeen months of ownership, or about $129 a month.  For comparison, that's less money than my cable TV or electric bill.

I still haven't addressed the manifold gasket, which will cost me around $900.  So far it hasn't been a problem.  I check the oil and antifreeze levels every time I buy gas.  If I were burning antifreeze, I'd either have a milky  white film in my oil or see white smoke coming out of my exhaust.  So far neither symptom has shown up, so I'll continue driving it and postpone the repair as long as possible.        

Porsche Boxster: One of the Best Sports Cars Ever Made?

 
To me, the Porsche Boxster should rank as one of the best sports cars of all time.  It's not iconic like the 911, or as beautiful as a Ferrari 275 GTB.  It doesn't offer the performance of a supercar.  In fact, it won't put up the performance numbers of some sedans like the BMW M5 or Cadillac CTS-V.

But with styling based on the 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder, razor sharp handling, and some semblance of practicality, it may be one of the best all around sports cars ever.  Early models currently sell for around $10-12,000, so it's also very affordable.  Short of a Mazda Miata, I can't think of anything that provides good, cheap fun and everyday usability.

Top down on warm fall days, across a countryside of two lane roads framed with autumn colors, through the musty smells of woodsmoke and dry leaves, and the accompanying sonorous wail of the Boxster's flat six engine, it would be a treat for the senses.