KCG fan car

The Kitty City Gazette, where Sharyn, the owner, prints all the good "mews," is offering KCG bumper stickers. I put one on my car's window. Her site is so cute and funny--check it out. You can even submit photos of your cats to be written into a future "news" story. I think this sticker goes well with my other window stickers!

Look at that shine

During the weekend, I "clay barred" the Grand Am. A clay bar is similar in texture to a kneaded eraser. First, you wash and dry the car. Then, you spray on a special lubricant, then run the clay bar over the paint's surface. The bar traps dirt that's imbedded into your paint (which, over time, erode the paint, eventually causing rust). As the bar gets dirty, you knead it until it's clean, then continue spraying and rubbing.

I could not believe the amount of dirt on the roof! I went over the surface three times and it's still not perfect.

After clay barring, you need to wax the car. Wow, I've never seen any of my cars so shiny and smooth. Though it was time consuming, the results were worth it.

New decals for the Grand Am

I ordered some window decals for the Grand Am. Here's one I put on the small rear window.

This one I had custom made from this eBay store. I can recommend them; his service was speedy and he threw in a couple of freebies.

Comparing Grand Am sizes

Jim swears my "new" car is larger than my old one. I notice that, while the nose is a bit shorter, the back end is larger (and so is the trunk). According to the vehicle specs, there's a small amount of size difference, but not much:

2002 specs

Length: 186.3"

Width: 70.4"

Height: 55.1"

Gas tank size: 14 gallons

1995 specs

Length: 186.9"

Width: 68.7"

Height: 53.2"

Gas tank size: 15 gallons

Does posting this information make me a car geek. . . wait, don't answer that. . .

It's gone

My old car is now on the road, heading for a car auction somewhere. I donated it to charity, and they picked it up yesterday. This is the last photo I took of it before it was hauled away.

Hello, Grand Am

Here it is! My new-to-me car! Here I am at the dealer, just before signing the paperwork.

A couple of photos taken at my parent's house. I looked up the color on the GM 2002 color chart, and it's listed as "Silverleaf." IRL, it looks like a grayish copper.

Cost of car ownership

I keep a record of all my car's expenses. Since my current vehicle is at the end of its life, I crunched some numbers to see how much driving a car costs (minus insurance).

In a span of seven years:
22 oil changes totalling $449.84
$3683.50 in repairs
$4102.75 on gas

I put on 41, 119 miles in seven years, which averaged out to 6,302 miles per year. In total, including the cost of the vehicle, it cost me .26/mile to drive.

Goodbye, Grand Am

On Thursday, I took my car in for an oil change and overall check over. To my shock, my mechanic called to tell me the engine was toast--the head gasket was going. Because of my car's age and the cost to fix it, I am getting a different car. I bought this car from my friend, Amy in March 2002. Here's a photo of me and her, on the day I got the car.

After I drive it home, I took a photo of it in the parking lot.

A couple of photos of it parking in the "usual" parking lot at work. Sadly, it's not going to last long. Smoke has started to come out of the exhaust pipe when I drive. I'll miss not driving it. It was a fun little car.

I will be getting another car in a few days--another Grand Am. Stay tuned for photos of it.