merry x-mas

24th again...
well, to be honest, i don't really feel "x-massy" today. since my grandparents died two years ago, this feast has somehow become less important to me.
but nevertheless, wherever you are on this planet and whatever cars you love - merry christmas to all of you...

dreaming, the 2nd

i barely dream of other cars - my corvette is enough for me.
i don't fancy having porsches (except as a giant "toy" for my baby), lotuses, maseratis, neither ferraris nor lamborghinis (although i wouldn't turn down the offer to take a ride with the new reventón). they are, of cause, beautiful cars, but in my eyes only the corvette's design speaks those words that make me weak: "i am speed".
pure, brutal speed.
the only thing that sometimes gives me a sharp sting is the fact that the new 2008 corvette comes with a new 6.2 l engine, the 437 horsepower V8 called "LS 3". not to speak of the new zr-1...
well, with already having 404 horsepower under my command, i shouldn't complain about being "underpowered". but maybe you know the old saying, that horsepower can only be replaced by even more horsepower...?

no, i don't regret having bought a 2005 model, not even for a second. i love my baby.
but a few more PS, another exhaust, different air filters... yeah.
*sigh*

dreamin'

did i mention that less driving leads to frustration?
it must have been frustration that made me look up old photographs.
when i was that small, i never dreamt of having my own corvette one day... i even never knew that there were such things as corvettes.

when i had my driving license test, the instructor asked me whether i was dreaming of becoming a racing driver - which was his way of criticising me (i still tend to ignore speed limits, he he). i always loved driving and hardly couldn't wait until i was 18* at least; placing my ass on the driver's seat for me always had been connected with dreams of freedom, speed and adventure. but i got my license nevertheless...

now i dream of spring, of warm, dry weather.
of sunshine...

sunshine... yeah.
once i was drying my baby after washing it, and i made long tender strokes with a soft cloth on the flaming red hull that glistened in the sunlight.
an old couple which was walking by stopped to watch me.
after a while, the old man addressed me the following way: "it's fun to watch you caressing this beautiful car..."
i answered that "everything that is beautiful needs to be caressed..."
he laughed. "my wife's telling me just the same!"

now i can't wait to wash my baby again.
i dream of it.

*in germany, you have to be at least 18 years old to get a driver's license

€ 43,000,000.-

the 43,000,000.- euro in the state-run lottery's jackpot are still looking for a new owner.
what would you do, if you won the money?

as for me, things would be quite simple.
first, i'd buy a 911 porsche carrera model 926 for my baby, to play with.
next, i'd buy a z 06. maybe a black one.
and a big garage with heating and a hydraulic lift.
and then...
well, first things first.

unfortunately, this will never happen...
:-(

i know, i know...

...there's a mistake in the banner text. sorry. i will fix it soon.
besides that: yeehaaa! all new design! i like the dark version much better than its multi-coloured predecessor.
black and red. vette colours.
yeah, baby.

---
textbug fixed. stickers 29-11-07

roadside assistance

...at least, corvette europe found me worthy enough to send me the corvette roadside assistance card - 8 (eight!) months after buying my baby. thank heavens i didn't need them during these months...

by the way, i still do not have a german user's manual.

not funny

ever thought about your relationship towards your car?
during the last few days, i came to think hard about this subject.

some guys are ridiculed because they love their cars more than their girlfriends... i guess i know the reason why (the love, not the ridicule). some cars are of a striking beauty, and most of them are (normally!) quite more predictable than the average female human... some cars even seem to have their own kind of life, of liveliness - which is especially true for a corvette with its thundering v8 heartbeat. but for me, that's not the whole story.

to be honest - i feel quite incomplete, or let's say, alone, without my vette. when i walk the streets, i really miss it.
think about that, folks... am i nuts?
how close can a human/vehicle relationship be? i don't know. my cars never have been mere objects, they've always been something like family members.
and maybe vettes are different - maybe they even come closer.

this ain't funny.

sometimes...

...strange things happen to those who travel with "eyes wide open" for the unexpected. on his trip to the states, my bes' friend ran into the sheriff on his third day...

original?

(c) by pixar

counterfeit?
(c) by r. hoffmann

now a little task for my readers:
find the 10 differences between the picture above and below and mail them to me!

vette pop-art

less driving leads to frustration. frustration, after a while, leads to boredom. and boredom finally leads to increased use of the computer...

vette pop-art
(c) by stickers

november

it's raining again. the weather has been cold and stormy in the meantime - germany's south last week even encountered the first snow of the year. and since the racing season is over, the main focus now lies on "club life".
if you like to race, it's better to be a member of a local club - you'll get a lot of advice and also technical help there. so i had made contact with the ac höchst in september, joining them for the three dmsb-slaloms i drove this year. and this is why i thought it necessary to tell them about my "other" (and more fervent) passion - my vette, my red baby.
this picture was taken when paying a short visit to one of the club member's place...

it's quite difficult to explain that you're not a rich kid
eventhough you own a dream car...

next topic on my list (still!!!) is trying to get hold of a german driver's manual. i can read and understand english to a certain extent, but when it comes to technical terms, i must admit i prefer my mother tongue.
so yesterday was the third time i rang my GM dealer and asked for this manual... well, you've got to consinder you're in germany. things take a lot of time here - and this is also true for german customer service!

another nice-to-have would be the corvette repair manual. you can't buy them here in germany, you've got to order them in the states, and although the euro gained a lot against the dollar, the price is still quite high (about 100 $ for a new one).

nice try...

my friends gave me a toy car to get me through winter - a corvette bigfoot, a vette body mounted on a bigfoot chassis (picture will follow).
and murmured something like "drug replacement therapy"... LOL!

well... there is no cure for the virus corvetticus, the corvette virus.
nice try! but can't beat the real thing.
once infested, always addicted.
i luuuuv it.

rheingau again

you might call it "lack of fantasy", or maybe i'm just running out of ideas. but the rheingau region has - even when the weather isn't that good - a very special charme, a kind of strange beauty. so again, me and my automobile alter ego went for a ride, visiting johannisberg castle where once tatjana von metternich dwelled, last descendant of an old family (which even dealt with war and peace in napoleonic times), saying farewell to the summer.

the castle now belongs to the oetker holding and is renowned for its winery. but although the wine it produces is quite good, you pay much for the name... too much for my liking. nevertheless, i like coming here - it's peaceful, somewhat quiet despite all the tourists.

imaginary...

...war paint study, the second.

this time i spent more efforts on the flash - the shape and its contours are improved now, but, to be honest, it's not yet correct. and the dot pattern gradation that accompanies the colour tone is still missing. i also left out the fender decals and the flash-shaped lucky stickers.

ingredients: 1 vette photograph, photoshop 7.01, 1 rainy sunday, 2 glasses of rhenania beer (a special dark ale). again, no vettes were harmed during the procedure.

fall

temperature's down, the skies are grey, the air is damp and misty. spray-like drizzle covers all the streets and windscreens.
leaves are falling.
it's wet outside, wherever you go.
no vette weather... it's sad, but we'll have to stay indoors.

i wish i could...

vette snapshot

my baby's got standard equipment - well, it's the stuff you get when you buy european models. there's nothing changed, nothing modified.
"european" vettes also come with a three-years warranty, as long as you don't change any elementary stuff or parts. so this is the main reason that keeps me from getting some nice-to-haves i'm longing for:

• in contrast to many other spoilers or wings (most of them are just ugly or embarassing), this is a real good-looking rear spoiler...
  
  
• also, the v8's sound could be boosted little bit (even good things can be made better!),
  
  
• and, last but not least, a nice add-on for the interior:

i wish i could... *rolleyes*
but this stuff will have to wait - until the above mentioned three years are over.
the second reason is the german tüv (the german national vehicles supervisory agency for technical matters, in the case of the borla stinger exhaust). and, of course, there is a third reason. it's quite simple - money.

well... dream on, stickers.

season's end

now, the slalom season is over for this year.
i participated in three and a half slaloms altogether - dmsb-slaloms in solms-asslar, schweinfurt, wallduern, and an adac club slalom in fulda which i count as "half" a slalom. started in the beginners' (rookies) class, got one cup (second place, in solms-asslar) and one last place (in wallduern, where again my opponents were much faster and lighter cars).
well, this is a beginning... and hopefully not the end.

next year, i will try the "g" class, which is meant for standard or near-standard vehicles, but this also means that my chances for cups will diminuish - at least, i would need a special chassis system and special tyres. a lighter car would even be better, but i'm not croesus, my funds are limited.
let's see.

playin' around

this is a war paint sketch i did on a lazy afternoon.

hey, sit down again, folks, relax!
i surely WON'T PAINT my baby this way, although it would be a real eye-catcher... just been playin' around with photoshop. and since i haven't worked on photos for a while, the results are somewhat crude. so please forgive me, this is just a sketch... ;-)

photoshop 7, 1 picture of my baby, 2 glasses of german beer and 1 cd (aaron copland, apalachian spring) were used in/for creating this sketch. no vettes were harmed during the procedure.

"overweight"

today, i drove my second "real" slalom, and i came out 5th (out of 6).
if i hadn't knocked over two traffic cones, i would have been fourth. but regardless of that, there was no chance to get a cup this time - the other participants in my group were customized cars (of renault clio or vw polo size) with more horsepower and less weight than my beemer. they had a much better timing - which means: my beemer is too heavy.
nevertheless, i did a good job - with each round, i was able to improve my timing for about 1 second. now i need to work on my precision. and on my u-turns.
still a long way to go...

annotations:
yeah, you're right. this is supposed to be a vette blog. but you can't drive slaloms with a vette - they're too long, and their ground clearance is too low. so this is why i take my beemer for this.

slowing down

driving slow with a fast car is difficult - it's like practising self-control, or self-restraint. but whenever i take my dad for a ride, i have to slow down.
maybe it's a question of age...
to me, it's more like a question of attitude. i like going fast. i do talk fast, and i argue in a fast way. i even think that my brain is thinking fast (or at least i hope so, he he).
my dad is not lethargic, but fast driving makes him nervous.
hm...
well, i don't know how i am when i'm old.

i remember someone i knew, she said that slowing down can be nice once in a while.

today the sky was deep blue, the sun was shining, so we went for a ride to the rheingau region (the taunus was a no-no because of the dalai lama's visit). we stopped for lunch at johannisberg castle, a spot my father loves.
nice 'n slow, with windows wide open so that we could enjoy the fresh air (with a faint smell of burnt wood).
right now, it's "indian summer" in germany, if this term is applicable to a country like this...
we did a lot of talking.
we had a good time.

cup theory

today, i participated in two slalom contests - the 2nd and the 3rd ADAC* Slalom "Lahn-Dill" in Asslar, Federal State of Hessen, hosted by the AC (automobile club) wetzlar.
i started in the newcomers' class. and in the first contest, i came in last, because i lost track in the middle of the slalom course. but in the second one, i got the 2nd place!
here is my cup...


well... maybe it's just an empty cup.
but for me, it's my first "real", i.e. professional, slalom.
ka-chaow...!


*ADAC = german national automobile association

"...what can you see?"

"wonderful things..."
howard carter* is history, but his words are still up-to-date. at the 5th covette sunday in st. leon-rot, hosted by the corvette club kurpfalz, lots of wonderful cars could be seen. corvettes of nearly all generations were presented - from imported automobile treasures of the early years up to today's corvettes made for the european market. kids could marvel at them, people could talk to the owners, and the owners could have a chat and exchange information on major and minor technical problems. even the weather gods must have liked what they saw: despite of dark clouds, it didn't rain.

"cozy" is the wrong word, and i still don't know how to describe this feeling:
i just feel great among cars, especially beautiful cars such as corvettes, as if i'd belong there. i love it!
the following pictures can give only a feeble impression of the atmosphere there...

i met a lot of interesting people - including people i already knew from the corvette forum but had not met personally until now. and me and my baby fit in very well... this calls for a retake.


upper row: three nice asses and corvette colleagues of the rheinland-pfalz area
middle row: a beautiful '58 corvette and my baby
lower row: now you can imagine how crowded it was...

*he discovered Tut-Anch-Amun's tomb in 1922

cruisin'

sheer horsepower can be that beautiful...

404 modern horsepower

while i was taking a series of pictures, a group of horses crossed the street behind me.
welcome to the taunus! although being close to the outskirts of frankfurt city, this area is still a little bit laid back, and on weekends you still can see people on horseback.

10 - 12 traditional horsepower

vetteless weekend

i haven't been driving this weekend, for the reasons stated below. boy, it feels bad. you can't imagine HOW BAD it feels!!!

this is how i think withdrawal treatment must be like.
yeah, maybe i'm a c6-addict.

now i'm a slalom driver

after feeding myself pain-killers up to the maximum dosage allowed the day before, i woke up on saturday with my head being better: not pain-free yet, but the blowtorch feeling reduced to something bearable. so i grabbed my helmet and drove to fulda, where the local motor sports club msc fulda held its 3rd club slalom.
yeehaaa - i did it... drove my very first slalom! i needed 2.20.xx minutes with my beemer* to finish a course of 1,600 m - not a bad timing for an absolute beginner such as i am, i was told. that makes a 10th place in a group of 13 participants (class 5 vehicles).

hey, i didn't finish last, and there is room for improvement...!

on coming home, my head started soaring with pain again, so i closed the door behind me and crept up to the sofa for the rest of the evening.
maybe fulda was a bad idea - but, he he, it was great fun!

*well, again i took my beamer out of the fear that someone might damage my baby...

migrane sucks

my head aches terribly. i've had this before, headaches so painful that they made me sick or even vomit, headaches that were always limited locally to a walnut-sized spot right behind my left eye and lasted from one day up to about three days.

by end of last year, i had a CT to clarify matters, but, thanks heavens, my brain was OK. "migrane" was the diagnosis. an ugly word for an ugly kind of pain. now i'm at home, trying to sleep, trying to ignore the feeling that a blowtorch is at work right behind my left eye, hoping for relief, now that i took my migrane medication.
i wish i had my vette's brain - less pain, and above all, the option to push the "reset" button...!

CT scans of my brain, pics # 5 - 9 (of about 60)

more vette pics

on the road...

at home...

i need help!

getting a license doesn't automatically mean you're a good racing driver. a license only says that you're entitled to play the real games (i.e. races).
i wouldn't say i'm a bad driver (of course not), but i do need some training!

today i've been at a club sports slalom event at mainz-finthen, a little airport at the outskirts of mainz (capital of rheinland-pfalz). had i been there one day earlier, i would have been able to participate, but so i was only a visitor and tried to ask the local people there every question that came to my mind. and then again... well, maybe this was the better part, because as a newbie, as a "rookie", my timing would have been awful, not to say embarassing (i've never been driving slaloms, only round circuits).
did i mention that i need training?

even more, i need something like a motor sports club, because for safety and environmental reasons you just can't practise on deserted streets or parking areas, it's forbidden. german regulations!!! i could cry...

vetters, unite

no, it's not another vette club.

i was just playing around with photoshop... people can do strange things when they're bored.

10th intl. motor weekend bad schwalbach

this weekend, there was an oldtimer- and us car meeting in bad schwalbach (well, you could skip the "intl." from the title). curious as i am, i decided to have a look and dropped by, but before i realized what was going on, i was assigned a number and a parking space and found myself amidst the automobile crowd.

since i didn't want to stay for the whole day, i fled around 15.00 hrs - there were too many people for my liking, too many sticky fingers on the freshly polished paint and too many noses pressed against the windows. additionally, it grew quite hot.
time to leave.

as you can see, there were lots of oldtimers (not only of american, but also european make & brand), but only few corvettes.

the latter i had met on friday in floersheim-weilbach at the "bootshaus" restaurant (sorry, folks, the food was lousy) where they meet once a month. there had been maybe 25 - 30 corvettes, parked neatly in rows, in all colours and years of construction you could think of. heaven! unfortunately, i didn't have a camera with me.
well, next time...

bonnie hunt's rear end

no, i'm no sexist. not that bonnie hunt isn't worth looking at, but i won't look at her “rear end”, although there is nothing wrong with it. but she just ISN'T sally. she only lends her voice to that character, and everytime i hear her voice, i have shivers down my spine. did i mention that i like sally? very much?
and, by jove, she's got a butt really worth looking at. very feminine, very voluptuous, very sexy.

sorry for that one.

btw, sally is a porsche. so much for good car design...

moreover, the porsche is not the only product making proper use of the female body's curves. just think of the coke bottle...

t-shirt mania

looking for a nice corvette t-shirt, i didn't find any that suited me, my likings and my wallet. so i decided to make my own - all you need is photoshop and a decent picture of the resp. car. so this is how it's gonna look like:

another vette pic, addendum...

btw, the reason why my baby looks so shiny and squeaky clean on this picture is the fact that i put on the first layer of "liquid glass".

it seems to work... ;-)

treatment:
for cleaning, i used the liquid glass wash concentrate (wc), and after drying i applied the liquid glass ultimate auto polish/finish. the latter one is very easy to apply; once it is dried, it rubs off easily, leaving the paint shinier and glossier than ever before.

another vette pic

...the first one that shows my baby while driving (picture taken by rainer, the beemer freak)

yeehaaaa!

i did it - i qualified for the national "A" license (racing license) of the DMSB, the federal german motor sports association. i passed the tests with a "good" in driving and a "very good" in racing theory.
the workshop took place in muehlhausen-obermehler, once an army airport of the former german federal republic's air force, now the perfect place to take racing lessons. as you can see, the weather was quite good - it was very windy, but it didn't rain, and sometimes the sun came out. the asphalt surface was perfect - smooth, lots of grip, no traces of repairs.

getting my beemer around the turns was hard work - compared with the weight of the front end, the rear end of this car is too light, so that it tends to break away, and if you aren't careful enough, you'll start spinning around... but fortunately, i managed quickly to handle that narrow borderline between staying on the race track (with screeching tyres) and going right into the tulips (thanks god, i didn't get there). so maybe it was even better not to take the corvette, since its advanced directional stability would have made things too easy, thus preventing me from learning.

hey, folks - that was great fun!

upper row: east german runways make perfect race tracks,

lower row: our makeshift pit area

the racing experience

i’d like to take driving lessons again – this time „sports driving lessons“, racing lessons. i’ve done this before, and it was great fun – on the saxony circuit, not one of germany’s fastest, but one of its most difficult racing tracks. btw, i’m the one with the helmet on, standing in front of the blonde one, and i’m in the silver car just behind the red one.

this time i'm thinking about muehlhausen near erfurt, and i wish i was already there… although i won’t take my baby. i’m gonna take my beemer (a 316i compact) since i’m afraid i(t) might crash. and i really don’t like imagining a life without my corvette – at least not at the moment!

cars on the pics: opel speedster (built on the same frame as the lotus elise). the upper picture was taken in front of the pit area, the lower one at the so-called "saxony turn". in the beginning of 2007, the course of the race track has been changed, since it is used now for motobike races only.

serenity

i’m sitting in front of the tv in a state of complete serenity, watching dave on the german telly.
well, that i feel that way is not only due to the fact that the presentation of my project today went extremely well, but also to the glass of 16-years-old dark bronze lagavulin with its distinctive taste of burnt rubber, heather and peat.

and as the movie goes on, i feel that we do have a lot in common, dave kovic and me – we both are not the bold ones, we’re more the shy types, gentle, polite and terribly old-fashioned, always a little bit anxious, feeling like we’re pretending although we meet or even exceed the expectations of those around us.
makes me think about it, but i can’t help it – i’m just the way i am. an old dog doesn’t change its spots.
or maybe i just should get rid of the lagavulin…

schleichwerbung!

der sommer naht...
mit entsetzen habe ich die unmengen staub und pollen auf dem feuerroten lack meines guten stückes zur kenntnis genommen. hmm – dabei sollte mein baby doch sauber sein und glänzen! deshalb geht es demnächst der vette an die dreckige pelle:


solcherart ausgerüstet, habe ich für die kommenden wochenenden wohl eigentlich keine ausrede mehr...! und ob die mittelchen etwas taugen, werde ich hier berichten und nötigenfalls auch mit fotos dokumentieren.

nachdenkliche grüße von eurem ollen stickers...

another ride

this time, i had company – rainer (the aforementioned beemer freak) and his BMW 325 eta youngtimer*. the “eta” in the model name is not the E.T.A, but stands for “energy efficiency” – and with a consumption of 8 to 9 litres per 100 km and a good acceleration (for a beemer, he he), this little old lady really earns that name. just some info:

• 2.7 liter 6 cylinder engine
• 122 horsepower
• 298530 km (!)
• built in 1986

unfortunately, the eta model series was cancelled by the end of the 80ies.

the picture left was taken at a parking lot ahead of “bad camberg”, a little town in the taunus range (“bad” is german for “spa”, they’ve got mineral water sources there), and the right one at one of the stops we made.

*in germany, “oldtimers” have to be at least 30 years old, “youngtimers” start at 20 years of age. this distinction was made for tax reasons.

playgrounds 1

the winding taunus roads are an excellent playground for both bikers and 'vetters. they're not always as broad and shiny as this one, sometimes they're narrow and old, the asphalt surface broken and the markings faded. if you like to go cruising there, they may lead you through small villages with no more than 20 houses, where you won't meet a single soul except maybe a lonesome granny walking her dog...


left side: downwards direction, right side: upwards direction. btw, the dim shades on the rocks are wire mesh (or is it mesh wire?) ...

fuelling my passion

...for driving has become quite expensive. gas prices in germany are around 1.40 euros (1.88 US-$) per liter (gas quality: 95 octane, the one my automobile alter ego - the "other" stickers - needs).

now you might ask why prices are so high?
not only because of the crude prices which have risen constantly throughout the years, but also because of the federal taxes. 65.5 cents* (0.88 US-$) per liter represent the share of the german mineral oil tax, and further 26.6 cents (0.36 US-$) per liter are due to the VAT which is 19 % in germany by now. so, without these taxes, you would only have to pay 47.9 cents (0.64 US-$) per liter.
brave expensive new world...


* source: mwv (mineralölwirtschaftsverband, federal association of the mineral oil industry in germany)

introducing stickers...

...newton mcqueen, the automobile version, to my friends:
they liked him, but he wasn't happy about the procedure involved - imagine that people unknown to you open your body and scrutinize your inner organs, snoop around under your hood and peek or poke at any buttons within their reach. would you like that?




btw, in the meantime he has recovered from this "shmooze" attack by steph *biggrin*. well, he's a little bit shy, just like me (and steph, hm, she definitely isn't...)

bad mood on sunny days...

have been busy all the week, there wasn’t any time for translating... *thatsnotfunny*
at least the repair shop managed to fix the air condition (after weeks of waiting for the spare parts to arrive). tried it out last weekend, and it works quite well. nevertheless, i’m furious - i’ve found a scratch on the hood a few days later. no idea how it got there - arrrghhh!!!
and today, i had to take a taxi on the way home since all trains were stopped west of frankfurt – there was a bomb threat. i hate them bloody terrorists. idiots. they make me waste money for things i normally don’t spend any money for, such as taxis.

maybe you’ve noticed by now – i’m not in a good mood...

mal wieder die werkstatt

mal wieder die werkstatt... die ersatzteile für die klimaanlage sind endlich angekommen, und damit steigen meine chancen, den sommer auch ohne gluthitze im cockpit zu erleben ;-)

die werkstatt ist leider immer noch dieselbe, es gibt nun mal keinen anderen vertragshändler in frankfurt, der auch corvetten wartet. das ist der nachteil, wenn man ein für deutsche verhältnisse noch relativ exotisches auto fährt!
wie dem auch sei, ich hoffe und bange. vor der abgabe habe ich auf die "sauerei" beim letzten mal hingewiesen - eine entschuldigung kam zwar nicht, jedoch zeigte man sich einsichtig, "dass das nicht sein dürfe". darum bin ich nun gespannt, in welchem zustand ich mein baby diesmal wiederbekomme... *nervösmitdenfingerntrommelnd*

another nice pic...

...of my baby. or even better: ta-dah, this is the automobile version of me ;-)

time-out, postscriptum...

been back to work today.
awww, i'm still coughing... people in my office are annoyed, people in the train fed me sweets just to make me quit barking.
and although i take codeine - i must have hurt a muscle, one of these who are fastened to the ribs. this is fuckin' painful!!!

tried to do some translations, as a distraction. worked somehow... but at least, nobody notices.
the board only marks a story as 'updated' if you add a new chapter, but if you add text pieces within the same chapter, it doesn't **disappointment**
i think i'll go to bed... he he, at least, the 'daydream cinema' is functional again (snigger). the codeine doesn't interfere with my mind, so maybe i can do some thought-work on the sequel.

time-out, the third

this time-out is for me again (the human stickers). i’m at home, my doc has put me on antibiotics since i’m coughing my lungs out (virtually). therefore i missed a lot of weekend fun, such as the “big night of the museums” where all of frankfurt’s museums open until 2.00 a.m. in the morning, and which my friends had to enjoy without me.

guess i contracted this bronchitis in the s-bahn… well, wherever it came from, it makes me rest on my sofa, mostly doze or just watch tv, since the toxins set free by the dying masses of bacteria don’t go unnoticed – they have their own nasty ways of saying “hello” to you, and if it’s only by giving you a good headache or making your limbs feel somewhat crushed. i particularly feel like the floor mat in a taxi (i.e. being stomped or kicked at). that means: no vehicular actions of whatever kind. my baby (the automobile stickers) has to stay indoors. no driving, no translating, also my emails go unanswered. sorry, folks! at the moment, i even find daydreaming hard, since i’m too tired to focus. i better have some sleep…

spinning around

you're never too old for learning, and even if you're a really good driver (i think i am - at least i once held a national A and an international C license*) it still makes sense to take lessons.

yesterday was “training day”. my favourite german automobile association offers training lessons, and the one i’ve been attending ran from 8.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m..
at the training circuit, they’ve got specially paved road surfaces – not only the “normal” asphalt ones, but also slippery ones that give you a pretty good impression of what driving on bare ice feels like. on exactly that road surface we learned how to brake and get around obstacles, and how to control our vehicles once you lost control…

a special “highlight” was the so-called “dynamic plate”, a metal plate set into the ground, that starts moving as soon as you’re passing. it is programmed in a way that the rear end of your vehicle gets pulled away, and since the surrounding road surface is slippery and wet, you start spinning around (if you don’t react and try any counter measures). it took me two times to realize that i could do very well indeed with steering (thanks to ESP), and that braking doesn’t help. and then i was able to control my corvette even under such awkward conditions! that was really fun, but i hope i don’t need to apply this knowledge in reality… on the training circuit, there is pretty much space, on the road there normally isn’t.

he he, i got a bit of a sun tan during the training, at least on the arms and on my face. summer, here i come! only my baby got dirrrrty. but i loooove car washing!

*these are racing licenses

i'm gonna be a member...

...at technorati.com:
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...maybe then my blog will be found & visited, finally ;-)

werkstatt-ärger

um es gleich vorneweg zu nehmen - mein fazit lautet "nicht wirklich empfehlenswert". das kann man im prinzip ja schon dem titel entnehmen... aber macht euch euer eigenes bild!

aufgaben:

• zu viel eingefülltes öl entfernen (es waren 6.5 statt 5.2 l verfüllt worden; der hinweis auf den fehler erfolgte durch mich, da man vor ort da offensichtlich nicht bescheid weiss)
  
  
• austausch des steuerelements zur überwachung der servolenkung (war durch marderbiss lahmgelegt worden), dazu ausbau des lenkgetriebes und neuvermessung der vorderachse notwendig
  
  
• austausch der defekten druckdüse an der klimaanlage

bewältigung der aufgaben:

• das mit dem öl wurde zufriendenstellend bewältigt. ich habe den ölstand kontrolliert; jetzt ist er wieder im „soll“.
  
  
• der austausch des steuerelements ging offensichtlich auch problemlos von statten, denn die lästige fehlermeldung („fahrzeugwartung fällig“) ist verschwunden. allerdings ist die einstmals recht straffe lenkung jetzt ziemlich butterweich, was ich persönlich nicht wirklich gut finde...
  
  
• das ersatzteil (druckdüse) wurde noch nicht geliefert, deshalb muss ich nochmal wiederkommen...

ablauf:

• am dienstag morgens gebracht, sollte mein baby am mittwoch mittag abholbar sein.
  
  
• mittwochs kam dann der anruf, daß das ersatzteil (druckdüse) noch fehlt. die zeit wurde deshalb bis donnerstag verlängert.
  
  
• donnerstag mittags habe ich dann angerufen, ob ich die vette abholen könnte. das wurde bejaht, ich sollte gleich vorbeikommen.
  
  
• eine halbe stunde später, vor ort, war meine vette natürlich noch nicht fertig, ich stand/saß knapp 1 h herum und wartete.

fahrzeug:
so dreckig und siffig (innen) habe ich noch nie ein fahrzeug zurückbekommen! ich habe erst mal eine stunde gewischt und gewienert. nur zum vergleich: mein beemer wird an der galluswarte betreut und ist hinterher immer sauberer als vorher, auch innen!

fazit:
die queen würde sagen - "we are not amused". ich war's auch nicht.
und da ich ja bereits für zu viel öl bezahlt hatte, habe ich auch darauf bestanden, zumindest 1 l davon mitzunehmen (allein schon deshalb, um zu sehen, welche ölsorte mir man denn da in die hand drücken würde). nennt mich ruhig nickelig, aber in dem moment hatte ich die schnauze echt voll...!

time out, die zweite...

mein baby steht in der werkstatt. und das schon seit gestern...
was passiert ist? beim ölwechsel hat man fälschlicherweise 6.5 liter in den motor gepackt anstelle der vorgeschriebenen 5.2 . nun mag man glauben, dass "viel" auch "viel hilft", dem ist aber leider nicht so - zu viel öl ist (nicht nur für corvetten) schädlich, es drückt nämlich auf die wellendichtungsringe.

bei der gelegenheit wurde auch gleich das längst überfällige steuerelement für die überwachung der servolenkung ausgetauscht. somit werde ich endlich die lästige fehlermeldung los, die ich aufgrund des marderbisses bekam. außerdem kümmert man sich auch um die defekte klimaanlage (deren ersatzteil hoffentlich morgen eintrifft, damit ich am nachmittag mein gutes stück wieder nach hause holen kann...)

und ich? ich habe urlaub, sitze zuhause und würde eigentlich gerne cruisen.
grummel...!

street games

let me cite a few words from „the xenophobe’s guide to the germans“: “the germans love their cars more than almost everything. while the italians reserve this kind of adoration for their children, germans prefer to keep their children indoors so that their cars can play safely on the streets.” how true. german autobahns are a wonderful place for playing, unless you play too hard... some stretches do have speed limits, and when the weather is good, the police lurks in the greens and bushes that line the highways and interstates, trying to catch those who think that “speeding” means “qualifying”.

well, speeding isn’t really that bad – it may be costly and could earn you some “points” in the national delinquent driver’s registry in flensburg, but drinking and driving is much worse. germans get their driving licenses for lifetime. once you have it, you never need to refresh it – unless you get caught drunk, or get into an accident with a glass of beer or two. how low your alcohol level ever might be in such a case – it just doesn’t matter. once they find traces of alcohol in your blood, you are guilty by law. in this case, your license may be taken away, not only for a few months, but also for years, and trying to get it back is so painful that only few will succeed. but let us not talk of such nasty things.

saturday is car washing (and lawn mowing and street cleaning) day in germany. and since the weather promised to be fine, i drove to that kind of car wash where you can wash your car by yourself. to be honest, i won’t even think of letting a pair of hairy plastic brushes scratch the victory-red hull of my automobile alter ego! patiently, he endured the annoying procedure – what else should he do – until he was squeaky clean from top to tires.
by the way, corvettes are still not a common sight on german streets. i've met ferraris (mostly red and yellow) and lamborghinis (orange), but no corvette yet. once i was followed by a red ferrari, and people stopped and openly stared at us. strange…

that afternoon, i decided to visit the rheingau again. the rheingau is a beautiful countryside region approx. 30 km away from frankfurt, directly facing the river rhine, with lots of old castles, vineyards and monasteries. one of these, eberbach monastery, once was used as a film set for umberto eco’s “the name of the rose” (starring sean connery). unfortunately, it is also a tourist spot, and lots of them bloody tourists also crowded the streets. so i paid only a short visit to that famous place and drove on to johannisberg castle with its wonderful terrace, hoping for some refreshing drinks (meanwhile, the temperature had reached 79 degrees which is very warm for springtime in germany). but also here the tourists had claimed every seat available, so that I went back to my car and left.



nevertheless, i had lots of fun! i love the full, rich sound of the C6’s V8 engine - i just can’t get enough of it, and therefore i don’t need any music when driving. it would only be distracting… ;-)

stickerama, sticker-drama

sticker sind aufkleber. sie sind normalerweise in vielen größen und farben erhältlich, doch meist nicht in der ausführung, die man auf dem eigenen auto zu sehen wünscht. man kann sie jedoch auch selbst herstellen, indem man sich eine firma sucht, die sich auf folientechnik spezialisiert hat, und denen einen entwurf hinschickt. normalerweise funktioniert das auch – nur, wenn ich das anpacke, dann...

also, im internet einen anbieter gesucht und auch gefunden. auf die frage, ob man die entwürfe als datei schicken könne, wurde „ja, gerne“ geantwortet, und betont, daß es sich dabei um eine vektorgrafik handeln müßte. ähnliches hatte ich schon von meiner grafiker-freundin erfahren; also machte ich mich daran, die blöderweise in photoshop erstellten entwürfe in pfade zu verwandeln. an sich ist das ja nicht schwierig.

entnervtes antwort-mail der folienfirma – sie können die dateien nicht öffnen. von firmenseite wurde ich dann darüber belehrt, daß angeblich „corel draw“ das programm der wahl sei, wenn es um’s plotten geht. nun ja, ich hatte da so meine zweifel, aber noch hoffte ich auf ein gutes ende und das gute in corel. ebenfalls von besagter grafikerin hatte ich den hinweis erhalten, die dateien als EPS abzuspeichern. gesagt, getan... das EPS hingeschickt, denn dieses format sollte auch von corel zu lesen sein – wieder fehlanzeige. schließlich wurde mir mitgeteilt, daß es sich um corel 8.0 handelt. corel 8.0 und meine adobe-programme verstehen sich jedoch nicht, da zwischen beiden jahre liegen (und sowohl mein photoshop wie auch mein illustrator sind auch nicht mehr die jüngsten), deshalb habe ich die dateien herunterkonvertiert auf eine niedrigere version. blöderweise ließ mich nun mein illustrator im stich und machte aus wenigen läppischen 100 kilobytes etliche megabytes, die sich auf corel-seite natürlich wieder nicht öffnen ließen. um mir zu verdeutlichen, wie eine vektor-grafik auszusehen habe, wurde mir von firmenseite dann wieder eine corel-datei geschickt... wuhahaaaah!

fazit: ich habe aufgegeben und mir eine andere folienfirma gesucht. mal sehen, ob es diesmal klappt! die frage nach dem einsatz von adobe-programmen wurde zumindest am telefon geradeheraus bejaht. das läßt mich ja fast wieder hoffen...

...more pics!

in da hood

heisst nicht "unter der haube". und weder ich noch meine corvette haben in der zwischenzeit geheiratet, aber hauben sind gar nicht so schlecht! mein kumpel rainer hat mir seine geliehen, da er sie im moment nicht benötigt. leider spannt sie etwas. doch gut 3/4 meines "kleinen dicken" passen darunter und sind somit den schmierfingern und zippern meiner lieben nachbarn vorerst entzogen...

sieht blöd aus, aber es scheint bislang zu helfen. und eine rote corvette kann rein gar nichts entstellen ;-)

das baby zahnt...

autos sind gebrauchsgegenstände, zumindest für den normalbürger. es gibt jedoch auch die sorte enthusiasten, die in ihrem fahrzeug mehr sehen als nur ein schnödes mittel zur fortbewegung. mit anderen worten: leute, die ihr auto verhätscheln, pampern und sich sorgen, wenn etwas nicht so ist, wie es ihrer meinung nach sein sollte. ich bin so einer von denen.

stolz wie oskar, habe ich also meine corvette spazieren gefahren, denn einfahren muß ja schließlich sein. die ersten 1.000 km nicht über 3.500 – 4.000 umdrehungen kommen, besser bei 3.000, bleiben war der rat des händlers. ich habe mich, so gut es ging, daran gehalten. nur in ganz wenigen momenten konnte ich es mir nicht verkneifen, den 404 PS starken motor ein klein wenig zu kitzeln, so daß ich für wenige sekunden knapp an die 4000 rpm heranreichte – nur des sounds wegen. In diesem moment verwandelt sich nämlich das leise hecheln und blubbern in ein infernalisches grollen, das das herz höher schlagen und die corvette einen gewaltigen satz nach vorne machen läßt. dafür sind corvetten ja schließlich da!

nebenbei habe ich angefangen, genauer auf das zu hören, was der motor akustisch an rückmeldungen so gibt während des fahrens. und dann ist es mir plötzlich aufgefallen: ein seltsames, ersticktes, gedämpft klingendes wattiges tackern. unruhe bemächtigte sich meiner. zwar stand mir nicht der schweiß auf der stirne, doch ins denken kam dieselbige dann schon ganz mächtig... gleich nachgelesen im forum, ob da andere corvettenbesitzer ähnliche phänomene beobachtet haben. „rasseln“ hieß da ein thread, zu dem verschiedene leute berichteten. hm... könnte das, was ich da vernahm, ein rasseln sein? am nächsten tag habe ich also nochmals genau hingehört – das geräusch war noch da. grummel...!

V8-neuling, der ich bin, habe ich natürlich keine ahnung, wie so ein motor sich im normalzustand anhört. doch die sorge trieb mich seitdem um: ist das geräusch normal, oder ist es das nicht? V8-motoren glänzen durch ihre laufruhe, habe ich mir sagen lassen. das rhythmische, wenn auch dezent-wattige tackern, das mit geschwindigkeit und drehzahl zunimmt, weckte jedoch unangenehme assoziationen an mein erstes auto, einen kadett C baujahr 78. bei meinem kadett hätte ich damals gesagt, das klingt so, als ob der motor nur auf drei pötten liefe (damals war es dann auch so). und bei meiner corvette?

doch es kam noch schlimmer. nach dem abstellen in der garage bin ich rund ums auto geschlichen, habe jede stelle intensiv inspiziert, und sehr zu meinem verdruß einen kleinen kratzer in der beifahrertür gefunden. ein kratzer! auf meiner corvette! unerhört! welcher blöde a.... hat sich da gegen die karosserie gelehnt und mit dem zipper seiner blöden jacke spuren hinterlassen? daß ich fast täglich neue fingerabdrücke auf dem lack finde, daran versuche ich mich gerade zu gewöhnen. an kratzer kann und will ich mich jedoch nicht gewöhnen!

entnervt habe ich meinen kumpel rainer angerufen. rainer, mein BMW-ratgeber in allen technikfragen, hochgradig erkältet, also hustend und mit dick belegter stimme, sagte nur den einen satz: „das baby zahnt.“ und ich war logischerweise immer noch nervös... doch rainer hatte recht – wie beim ersten kind reagiert man wahrscheinlich ein wenig über, da man sich mit der materie nicht auskennt und die sorge um das „liebe kleine“ die wildesten blüten treibt (und ich bin da weder in bezug auf kinder noch auf corvetten irgendwie bewandert!). in meinem falle war das geräusch übrigens normal, wie ich inzwischen von meiner werkstatt erfahren habe - es kommt nämlich von den hydraulikstößeln*. zumindest habe ich also noch gute ohren... ;-)


*gemeint sind die vom motoröl gespeisten ausgleichselemente, die das spiel zwischen nockengrundkreis und ventilschaft auf null ausgleichen (quelle: vieweg handbuch kraftfahrzeugtechnik, 2. auflage von 2001, vieweg-verlag)

...isn't he a beauty -

...my automobile alter ego?

• 6 liter V8 engine with 404 horsepower and a bore of 4.0 inches and a compression ratio of 10.9 : 1
  
  
• 6-gear manual transmission (in the rear end ("trunk heating") with the engine in the front end)
  
  
• 18'' front wheels and 19'' rear wheels with p245/40zr-18 and p285/35zr-19 tires (goodyear eagle f1 emt)
  
  
• 1,461 kg
  
  
• 1 - 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds
  
  
• colour: "victory red" (i.e. one of 3,285 coupé models and 5,617 victory red vehicles (altogether) that left bowling green in 2005)
  
  
• keyless access and start
  
  
• head-up display
  

martes foina...

(nachtrag)

...das ist die zoologische bezeichnung für den gemeinen steinmarder. "gemein" deswegen, weil das blöde vieh in der nacht vom 21. auf den 22.3. ein kabel angefressen hat. soviel zur sicheren unterbringung in der garage...! besagtes kabel dient übrigens der elektronischen überwachung der servolenkung und ist nur von der fahrzeugunterseite zugänglich. mit dem reinen flicken und wiederbefestigen ist es in diesem falle jedoch nicht getan - da muss das gesamte element ausgetauscht werden, hat man mir erklärt, und dieses teil musste erst bestellt werden.

am 22.3. hatte ich mir freigenommen, um mein baby endlich abzuholen, und war frühzeitig beim händler eingetroffen. händeringend und mit hochrotem kopf erklärte der mir dann den marderbiss. tja, was nun? eigentlich wollte ich meine c6 ja an diesem tag mitnehmen! das gute stück stand derweil in der werkstatt, um abzuklären, ob außerdem noch etwas dran ist, was nicht der fall zu sein schien, und um das mitgebrachte kennzeichen anzubringen. also stand dem mitnehmen nichts mehr im wege. zwar muss ich jetzt mit der fehlermeldung leben, die bei jedem starten aufflackert, aber ansonsten war alles o.k.

ihr erinnert euch vielleicht - der 22. war der schneechaos-tag, der tag, vor dem der wetterbericht immer gewarnt hatte. die autobahn hinunter ins bayrische war jedoch schon auf der hinfahrt nur nass gewesen, keine spur von glätte oder eis, denn dafür war es doch noch zu warm. also bin ich im mein gutes stück gestiegen und gaaanz vorsichtig nach hause gefahren. mulmig war mir trotzdem - schließlich ist das handling bei nässe, mit niegelnagelneue reifen und so viel kraft auf der hinterachse, nicht ganz ungefährlich. aber da ja sowieso die einfahrtphase begonnen hatte, war das langsam-fahren auch gut so.

zuhause angekommen, habe ich meine c6 gleich in die garage gestellt - bloß weg von diesem sauwetter mit seiner nässe und dem dreck. uff, erleichterung...!
blieb nur noch das problem des marderbisses. der händler hat sich schließlich mit seinen kollegen bei mir vor ort in verbindung gesetzt und den austausch organisiert. jetzt muss ich nur noch warten, bis das ersatzteil eintrifft.

bieterschlacht

(nachtrag)

nachdem ich gestern den ganzen tag in der waagerechten verbracht habe, bin ich heute morgen früher aus dem bett gefallen als sonst. und da mein hals besserung zeigt, weil sich nach vollem medikamentenbeschuss die bakterien scheinbar in richtung "ohr" verzogen haben, fühle ich mich auch einen tick besser. also...

also, nachdem ich mich zum kauf durchgerungen hatte, kam eines tages tatsächlich die nachricht, eine rote corvette c6 wäre noch aus diesem kontingent zu haben. dummerweise hatte sie keine dunkle innenausstattung, wie ich das eigentlich gewollt hatte, doch man kann nicht alles haben - das glück, den sonnenschein. jetzt galt es, zuzuschlagen, jetzt oder nie!
lange rede, kurzer sinn - dieses fahrzeug war jedoch reserviert, wenngleich auch ohne kaufabsicht. der händler, auf den ich mich inzwischen eingeschossen hatte (weil er mich so nahm, wie ich bin, auf meine argumente und wünsche einging und mich nicht mit hochnäsiger herablassung behandelte wie jener andere, der räumlich gesehen weitaus näher an meinem wohnort lag), versuchte nun, es "loszueisen". das war an einem donnerstag.

meine güte, wie habe ich gezittert! das ganze wochenende lang, nachdem ich erst am freitag, dann am samstag, dann am montag bescheid bekommen sollte, ob es geklappt hatte oder nicht. den fetten happen so dicht vor der nase, bestand immer noch die möglichkeit, daß jemand anderes ihn mir wegschnappt.
am darauffolgenden dienstag war es dann soweit - diese c6 wurde für mich reserviert! mein triumphgeheul war markerschütternd.

time out

(echtzeit)

ich bin krank. nachdem alle im büro der reihe nach grippe, rotz und rüsselpest hatten, scheint es mich endlich auch erwischt zu haben...

mein linkes ohr schmerzt, die ohrspeicheldrüse ist dick geschwollen und schmerzt ebenfalls, mein hals ist ein reibeisen, meine gedanken sind in watte gepackt und unfokussiert, mein kreislauf im keller, und ich fühle mich, als wäre eine dampfwalze über mich hinweggerollt. mit anderen worten: ich leide!!!
eigentlich wollte ich das wochenende ein wenig zum fahren nutzen, doch das kann ich mir wohl von der backe putzen. als ich nach hause kam, bin ich erst mal für eine stunde weggeknackt - mit kontaktlinsen an, das war nicht so gut. offensichtlich aber nötig! also, füße stillhalten angesagt. am montag muss ich wieder ran...

butter bei die fische

(nachtrag)

hatte ich erwähnt, dass ich im bezug auf autos leicht gestört bin? man möge mir das verzeihen. jeder, der schon mal eine c6 gesehen hat - die elegante form der linienführung, die kurvenreiche silhouette, die trotz aller anlehnung an die organik die keilform perfekt repräsentiert, das prägnante heck - läuft ebenfalls gefahr, vom c6-virus angesteckt zu werden. eine folge davon ist das bereits erwähnte sabbern, sowie grübeln über vorhandene monetäre resourcen in kombination mit einem nachhaltigen kaufdrang.

wenn man sich lange genug mit verschiedenen optionen auseinandersetzt, ist irgendwann eine entscheidung fällig. die meinige war unvernünftig und fiel „pro corvette“ aus...
beflügelt von der tatsache, daß corvetten auf der amerikanischen website des herstellers zwar alles andere als billig, jedoch aufgrund des günstigen wechselkurses durchaus noch bezahlbar sind, machte ich mich also nun daran, verschiedene händler zu kontaktieren, und erlebte sofort mein blaues wunder: der preisunterschied zwischen den usa und europa ist gewaltig! jetzt, da ich mich mühsam durchgerungen hatte, geld auszugeben, wurde die investition gleich zu beginn auf so schnöde art und weise in frage gestellt... ich kam abermals ins grübeln, hatte ich mir doch vorgestellt, daß bei der flauen konjunktur die händler auch auf solche fahrzeuge saftige rabatte geben. jetzt wußte ich, daß sie es nicht tun.

dann tat sich unverhofft ein lichtstrahl am horizont auf. ein händler erwähnte ein kontingent fahrzeuge, daß seit einem jahr in rotterdam herumsteht und nicht abverkauft wurde. diese corvetten wurden nun zu weitaus geringeren preisen an den mann gebracht, als wie es normal der fall gewesen wäre. war da vielleicht noch eine rote dabei? blöderweise hatte ich mich auf rot eingeschossen und war zu diesem zeitpunkt nicht dazu zu bewegen, eine gelbe zu kaufen, so sehr der händler sie mir anpries (es war der vorführwagen, den er loswerden wollte).

mixed emotions...

(nachtrag)

eigentlich brauche ich kein zweites auto, mein eines reicht völlig aus. es ist zwar alt (8 jahre), aber gut in schuss, und es gefällt mir immer noch.
deshalb ist es eigentlich unsinn, für ein zweites auto geld auszugeben. andererseits... seit langer zeit juckt es mich gewaltig in den fingern, um genauer zu sein, im fuss. ich will nämlich eine corvette.
es gibt tage, da wache ich morgens auf und bin innerlich am sabbern, wenn ich an corvetten denke, und würde mein bischen geld sofort, ohne zu zögern, mit fliegenden fahnen und vollen händen, dem nächsten händler in den rachen stopfen. und dann gibt es diese tage, an denen ich mich für völlig bescheuert halte...