Well, my Riviera--now christened Dolores--made her maiden long-distance this past weekend, joining a Lambda Car Club caravan from Detroit to Cincinnati. Along the way, I learned a few things...
- Despite the lack of reclining seats, I was reasonably comfortable over the four-hour drive. In addition, although I had hoped to get the vacuum-operated cruise control fixed in time, it turns out that wasn't too much of a liability. And, yes, driving a large-diameter, skinny-rimmed steering wheel can take some getting used to.
- Not only is the air conditioning efficient, it's scary-efficient--to the point where frost formed on the vents. In fact, it seemed as if the airflow slowed down after about twenty minutes; I'm told it's possible the compressor froze up and wound up restricting airflow. Fortunately, turning the a/c off for about three minutes was enough to unfreeze things.
- Fuel economy? 14 miles per gallon with three people + luggage aboard.
- I confirmed the passenger-side outside rear-view mirror, while stylish, is totally useless. If it were mounted about three inches further rearward, I think it might be visible (although then, of course, the symmetry with the driver's side mirror would be out of sync).
- Piloting a 4,000-pound car with drum brakes down a hill in a thunderstorm is very, very scary.
- It would have been nice, on the ride home, if Mother Nature had decided to let up on the rain for at least an hour or so; while the windshield wipers are reasonably effective, there is no 'intermittent' feature.
So--mission accomplished. And it's nice to be home...
PS: Check out some cool photos here...
Recent Comments