I’ve looked at a bunch of cars. Sedans, wagons, coupes.

For my money, for my desire, for my driving habits, I think I’ve narrowed things down to, essentially, the Honda Civic.

Yes, the full-sized 2006 Honda Civic. There are three model types, the DX, LX and EX. I’m thinking I’m liking the EX because, after all, that’s the one I drove.

A friend of mine at work recently purchased a 2006 Civic and allowed me a brief drive. I enjoyed every moment and then some.

First, I have to admit: I really like the styling of the new Civics. My fiance doesn’t care for the styling at all. I suppose it’s a love/hate relationship. But then again she wants a new Toyota Tundra pickup truck. She’s into fantasy; I’m into reality. In my opinion, gas ain’t goin’ down in price boys and girls. Those who think so are sorely deranged.

So, momentarily, let’s attack that MPG factor.

MPG of any given Tundra sucks. Period.

My 2003 Subaru Outback Sport gets around 22 to 23 mpg. That’s on a forgiving day.

With only two weeks on the odometer, my friend drove his new Civic to the Bay Area and back, and acquired 48 mpg. Last weekend he drove from Placerville to the East Bay and back. He acquired 43 mpg. And folks: that’s with a brand new engine. Mileage only gets better with a few more miles.

Quite frankly, those figures are better than the ones quoted by hybrid vehicles.

Here’s my take on Hybrids:

• Slow
• Ugly
• Minimal engine
• Huge battery box replacement costs
• Complicated electronic system susceptible to failure

The 2006 Honda Civic acquired an overall superior mileage figure to that of any Toyota or Honda Hybrid. Hybrid figures, people are discovering, are laced with falsehoods. The Honda Civic automatic gets better gas mileage than the standard transmission — due to its algorithmic shifting points. I am told it does not hunt for gears whilst traveling uphill.

I’m going to investigate having a Civic in my future.

BZ

Vice President Dick Cheney’s Halliburton implant has, once again, apparently stirred and ruffled some recent feathers with his comments regarding Russia — and in my opinion he would be positively spot-on with his analyses.

Russia’s Putin has been doing the feint-and-dodge in the worst place of all: in plain sight. Those who think that Russia is another dissembling former-powerhouse nation would be wrong — critically wrong. Yes, its Blue Water navy is primarily rusting; it has not a complete clue as to how it will make its next month’s army payroll; the Russian Mafia is alive and well domestically as well as abroad.

On the other hand as evinced by the photo at left, Putin has been doing his level best to court China and provide hardware and equipment to, eh, shall we say, “other nations.”

If you are not already aware, Russia sits on top of a vast (emphasize vast) wealth of untapped mineral, gas and petroleum deposits. And Putin, as far as I’m concerned, means to draft Russia behind various world powerhouses and then, at the appropriate moment, make his move into the Left Power Lane. And he means, at this point, to do it with Energy.

Per Reuters:

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A speech by Vice President Dick Cheney strongly critical of the Kremlin marks the start of a new Cold War that could drive Moscow away from its new-found Western allies, the Russian press said on Friday.

In shocked reaction to the harshest U.S. criticism of Moscow for years, commentators said Washington had created an anti-Russian cordon of Western-aligned states stretching from the Baltic almost to the Caspian Sea.

The Kremlin, in a reaction within hours of Cheney’s delivery in Vilnius, said the speech, which was full of accusations that Moscow was limiting human rights and using its energy riches to blackmail the world, was “completely incomprehensible.”

What remarks had Cheney made? From Reuters once again:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House on Friday backed Vice President Dick Cheney’s tough speech on Russia and said Russian President Vladimir Putin should move on democratic reforms before hosting a major international summit in July.

Cheney had said in a speech in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on Thursday that opponents of democratic reform in Russia “are seeking to reverse the gains of the last decade.”

Putin’s moves for Russia have been precisely as I’ve indicated: in plain sight had one been able to read them for what they were. Further explanation:

The new tensions come as the United States is seeking support from Russia on applying pressure on Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions.

Russia, which has major investments in Iran, has stood firm against U.N. sanctions on Tehran to the chagrin of Washington.

“They add up the pluses and minuses, they don’t want to trash the relationship with Iran,” said Steve Pifer, a Russian expert for the State Department in Bush’s first term and now an analyst for the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He said the Cheney speech was a signal that Washington “is uneasy about some of the directions that the Russians are moving in.”

Cheney criticized Moscow for playing power politics with its vast energy reserves at a time of record world prices and accused it of bullying neighboring countries, many of which were dominated by the Kremlin in the Soviet era.

Pifer said that was a reference to Russia’s turning off its natural gas taps to Ukraine in a pricing dispute that disrupted supplies to Europe briefly.

Putin is doing precisely what he intends: to bring Russia back into the international spotlight and recreate and reassemble its former Glory Days when the USSR was one of only two Superpowers. He is doing his best to forget 1989, Ronald Reagan and the word “Balkanized.”

Putin has already placed his nation directly in conflict with the United States with regard to his supplying Iran with technologically-sophisticated air defense systems.

From the Jerusalem Post, 01-31-2006:

But the far more controversial decision by Putin’s regime – to sell Russia’s sophisticated air defense systems to Iran – not only changes the situation in principle but triggers a scenario for possible regional and even global catastrophe.

Israel had room for maneuver for a year and a half, until Iran’s probable completion of its first nuclear weapon. Now it has only a few months, because the Russian air defense systems protecting Iranian nuclear objectives will be fully deployed by autumn of 2006. An Israeli strike would be much more difficult, if not impossible, once these systems are in place. This means that a preventive strike by the Israelis would occur most likely before this summer.

Russia’s role in advancing the date of this potentially desperate military action by providing Iran with high-quality air defense weapons raises the question of whether Putin might have had some additional purpose besides the profits from his weapons sale. Israel’s defensive strike would likely incite Iranian action to block the shipments of oil through the Straits of Hormuz.

Putin seems to perceive such a scenario as beneficial to him.

Much is linked. Much is controverted. Much is deeper than most would suspect. You would do well to do what is popularly termed today: “connect the dots.”

They are present if one wishes but to see.

We in the United States see Iraq. We see Afghanistan. We see Iran to a degree. We see North Korea. We need to see Russia.

Of course — most of our students couldn’t identify Ohio or Texas or Montana on a map if their lives depended on it.

Can you say: “Would you like fries with that?”

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I am posting now from my home high atop various Sierra Nevada mountains. The problem is that I have not been home for quite some time, despite the fact that I have nothing more than a telephone modem. I will be bringing my Big Bruiser HP Pavilion zd8000 laptop down into the Sacramento Valley and, with luck, I will be able to convince my ISP to show me how to link up to another dialup number.

I am undergoing Blogger Withdrawal and it isn’t a Pretty Picture at all. Please stick with me. I am not going away. Anything but.

BZ

First: Is it just me? Am I the only one frustrated by Blogger seemingly day in and day out — at least 5 times in the past two weeks? The first post I lost was monstrous in size and damned near caused me to hurl the Confuser out the second story window. Today I was ready to post at 4 AM and again lost the post. Has this occurred to anyone else? This is my third try at the same post today and . . . very frustrating!

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Yesterday was the so-called “Day Without Immigrants” or, as some Mexicans are saying, the “Day Without Gringos” as documented by the AP:

Thousands of Mexicans took to the streets Monday to support migrants in the United States and celebrated what they called a “Day Without Gringos” by shunning U.S.-owned supermarkets, fast-food restaurants and American goods.

How has it impacted you? Here is how it impacted me yesterday in Sacratomato, Fornicalia:

— I worked out early in the morning at 3:30 at a large fitness chain; the standard three Mexican males were wearing the cleaning uniforms and doing their jobs as per normal;
— I was the recipient of a large work product shipment at 9:00 am, the load delivered by a Mexican driver handling a Freightliner. He helped me unload 4,200 pounds of product. Then he drove to San Francisco;
— I motored along a major adjacent highway where a large housing subdivision was being built; I specifically slowed down so I could see who was working on the various sites. There were a number of clearly Mexican workers wielding various construction tools;
— I had a hankering for a hot doggie from a major national doggie chain; I was served by a Mexican female cashier.

That’s how it affected me. How did it affect you?

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Post-script:

I believe I have determined that, for whatever reason, Blogger has decided that it will no longer publish from work. I customarily blog from my work computer very early in the morning and that venue seems to have been removed — covertly by my I.T. people or by various Acts of God, I am uncertain. In any event, this is clearly going to impact how frequently I blog during the week — combined with the inconsistent familial events I have experienced and will be experiencing in the future. I am going to try to solve this problem — I may have to bring my own huge laptop from home and connect via dial-up modem.

Now Blogger won’t let me add an image. Again I ask: am I the only one Blogger seems to despise?

So there I was. Pumping gas into my little Urabus Wagon yesterday and it hit me: though it’s “paid-for,” my compact car gets no more than perhaps 23 or 24 mpg. I can use AWD because I must negotiate snow and heavy rain in the winter and I find myself conflicted; I’m getting the “new car” bug. But, on the other hand, I don’t want to take out a loan for gas.

The conflict goes something like this: I’ve historically purchased smaller cars, well, because I’ve never had the money or inclination for large cars. Once I purchased a 1997 Ford F-150 pickup, but it turned out to be a total turd. Everything, electrically, that could have gone wrong went wrong. From my friends’ experience, I just happened to buy the Black Marble. That’s the largest vehicle I’ve ever purchased.

The most luxuriant vehicle I ever purchased was a new 1987 Pontiac Grand Am, which was optioned out completely. Of course, I purchased the car about 35 seconds before my ex-wife decided she wanted that appellation. Goodbye Grand Am.

In this order, I’ve had the following cars:

– 1966 Ford Fairlane 4 door, white (the GrungeMobile — remember your first car?)
– 1974 Subaru GL, 2-door, orange (Sammy the Subaru!)
– 1979 VW Rabbit, 2-door, cream (vinyl seats: slippery!)
– 1978 Ford Granada ESS, 4-door, my first leather seats, 289 CID wimpy V8
– 1980 Ford Courier pickup, white (total dog!)
– 1982 Toyota Tercel wagon, 4-door, white (really enjoyed this one)
– 1980 Yamaha XS-11 motorcycle, maroon (went really fast in a straight line)

Then, of course, the “ex-wife” traded my car in for:

– 1985 Toyota MR-2, 2-door, red (led to my divorce, amongst other things)

and then I purchased a:

– 1985 Chevy Sprint, 2-door, blue (I had to buy the optional right side mirror!)
– 1982 BMW R100RT motorcycle, silver-blue, full bags – what a great bike!
– 1987 Pontiac Grand Am (my favorite car to this point)

Then here’s my 1988 divorce!

– 1985 Toyota SR5 long bed pickup, 4X4, blue, with matching shell
– 1989 Geo Metro, 2-door, blue
– 1984 Honda Magna motorcycle, black (monster engine, but overheated too easily)
– 1997 Ford F-150 pickup, green (total dog)
– 1998 Suzuki DR650 thumper (damn near killed myself; sold it)
– 1999 Chevy Metro, 2-door, green (oddly enough, one of my favorite cars)
– 1999 Chevy Tracker, 2-door, same color green
– 2003 Subaru Outback Sport, 4-door, AWD, white

And there you have it. My compendium of vehicles.

The sad thing is that now, at “over 50” shall we say, I am getting the “new car” itch — but for something with automatic and nice seats and cushiony and more upscale. I don’t want an SUV or a pickup truck. I want something I don’t have to shift, sings to me nicely, has great heat and air, and handles potholes with aplomb. I don’t want a dinky car.

But, of course, theres the rub.

Check out gas prices. Now that I can “afford” a nicer car, do I want to purchase something somewhat “opulent” that, comparitively speaking, sucks gas like there’s no tomorrow?

Perhaps I should throw this into the equation: I live 75 miles from work. One way. At my previous assignment, I lived 89 miles from work. One way.

I’m now about 5 to 8 years from retirement. Depending on how bad Management pisses me off.

Whaddaya think? Should I go for the EconoBox (like a Civic, an xB, Cooper S, Corolla, etc), or should I check out larger automatic models with decent mileage like the Impala, Sonata, Lucerne — or do you have any other suggestions?

I want an automatic. I want a slightly larger car. I want the best gas mileage I can get — all it has to do is acquire over 24 mpg. I want it optioned-out. I don’t want to shift nothin’.

Any thoughts?

BZ

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P.S.

Sorry about the infrequent posts. I’m still wrestling with various personal and familial issues. I’m sure you’ve all Been There and Done That.

BZ