So today was my day off. In so being a rare Tuesday off of work I decided to put some productive hours into my two cars. This is a relatively normal activity for me on my days off. I've worked on cars since I was a kid and I continued to enjoy doing so into my adulthood. Hell, I would not have bought my SS if I didn't enjoy the car hobby to an extent.
The morning started out with the Camaro. I've had an ongoing issue with my Camaro since moving from my house last October. I used to be able to do everything in my driveway with all the easy access to water. Problem is now that I live in an appartment and I don't have a self-service wash for about a good 15 miles I had to find detailing services that are worthwhile. About all I can do is change oil, but even that is met with suspicion by the main office. With that in mind I spent the morning visiting local detailers and I think set up something good that get my Camaro ready for camaro5fest.
The afternoon was spent reading up on the manaul for the new Fiesta. I'm using this thing as a commuter car and I did not have a chance to get familar with all the new sensors in recent Ford's. If I listened to what my dealer had to say I would be getting oil changes and tire rotations every 5,000 miles instead of 10,000 like Ford says in the manual. So in the end I'm saving myself a couple bucks on ole 5W20, not too shaby for some light afternoon reading.
Admist all this I have to deal with several issues throughout the day from non-car people. First the girlfriend told me that I needed to get a new hobby and tells me that I spend too much time with my Camaro.
Next my co-workers who all travel like I do (30,000 miles plus) start having an arguement on the Blackberry about oil change intervals. Both keep insisting that their respective Altima and Accord need oil changes every 3,000 miles. When I tried to polietly explain that they should review the specs in the manual because the interval could be three times longer than what they were changing it, they thought I'd lost my mind. Next when the neighbor rolls in from work he states to me owning two new cars must be a pain because I have to change the oil every 3 months or 3,000 miles.
When I try to explain to him the changes improvements in oil and engines the past thirty years you'd swear I was trying challenging his religion or something.
Chalk all this up to people not understanding anything about cars nor wanting to. I get there is a lot of voodoo out there in the car care world but geeze its really bad how lacking even general knowledge is. I've made some headway with my girlfriend to the extent that she now wants a V6 Challenger...not what I was going for but okay... Lets just say its a good thing she has more redeeming qualities like MLB package, NHL Center Ice and Sports Center come to mind . One co-worker insisted on changing his oil every 3,000 miles even after I told him to consult his manual, his money not mine.
As for the neighbor, he aborted the shoptalk when it became apparent that he didn't know what he was talking about. Now I grew up in a family that at the very least knew the basics of car care so for me this is all normal, I suspect for many of you it would be also. Is it just me or do some of you feel like the lone sane person left in the world when it comes to your car/cars?