22 April 2008

Cars: Trial & Error

Trial and Error is the key to figuring out cars.

Well, it is for me. For some reason, my initial Y-chromosome did not come equipped with the typically built-in automobile compatibility gene that tends to be attached somewhere in the main centromere of the gender-linked allele.

So, learning stuff about cars for me has come as a trial-and-error process. Of course, my own disinterest in really learning about cars coupled with the lack of an appropriately conducive environment have added to my ignorance.

By this process, I have learned the following:
  • A car can be totaled on a cloudless, sunny, warm Sunday afternoon by hitting a tree at 35mph.
  • Animals tend to hit vehicles rather than get hit.
  • Buying a vehicle from a grocery store parking lot (even if it is run by the car lot across the street) is not a good idea...especially when you can only drive an automatic...and the car you're buying on impulse is a standard.
  • Headlamp fluid is not an actual requirement for driving.
  • The brackets holding the exhaust system to the car will rust and fall off, with no direct effect on the exhaust system.
  • Water in the headlight casing causes the lightbulb to blow frequently; thus, I learned how to change the lightbulb with ease.
  • When the engine sounds like the gears are rubbing together without lubrication and you are a couple thousand miles over the 3,000-mile suggested oil change limit, you are probably out of oil.

And I'm still learning.

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