it's like having a smokin' hot wife...

Everybody checks you out!

One of my favorite experiences was when my wife and I went down on sunset recently. We pulled up to this nice restaurant, there was a Mercedes S500 in front of me...I think a Viper behind me. All the Valet guys were checkin' the WUX out....nodding. three of them came up to me, "nice rig man"....

You just gotta love it when your rig gets more looks than those costing 4 times as much.

By the way....I got the smokin hot wife too....

The Power of ROOOM

My wife and I spent he weekend in Santa Ynez wine tasting. Wow, was it chilly in the mornings, but after 1 or so, the top came off and we were cruisin' thru the countryside in top down style. Everywhere, and I mean with out fail, we stopped, people wer commenting on the WUX. It's just a head turner, conversation starter, fill in the blank, the car gets noticed.

Putting the top up each evening was kind of a bummer. Anyone figured out how to get the thing on or off without getting filthy dirty? I haven't.

Well after two full days of wine tasting you can imagine how much wine we had in the wayback....we had to put the suitcases in the back seat. So on the way back, the wife wanted to stop at some stores...whoops,

Before I knew it we had purchased a bookcase and a coffe table. Well, the WUX swallowed it all. It just continues to impress.

Oh, I almost forgot...I finally got dirty. My wife's a late sleeper, I am most definately NOT. so Sunday Morning I got up early and decided to go for coffee. The Ranger said Rafugio Road was closed from the pass down to Santa Ynez, but he couldn't say for sure. I decided to go on a scouting mission. The road wasn't that difficult...never got the WUX into 4wd, but it was rocky and bouncy and fun.

What can I saw...government employees

no offense.

I planned my first off road trip in the WUX this past weekend. I did my research, found a route fairly close to where we live, just behind Ojai, CA. I called the Ranger Station because I read you needed a pass to get onto the route. The guy at the ranger station said I could just show up at the visitor center and get a pass. SWEET! So I put the kids in the back for a nice Saturday afternoon of wheelin.

Keep in mind, "the family", consists of three females who've never been out of southern california, and think roughing it is staying at the Holiday Inn instead of The Hyatt. I came from Idaho, roughing it is having to use leaves because you forgot your "mountain money". The wife said she'd try it. The teenage daughter was forced to come "tough love", we call it. The 5 year old has no say. So I'm all excited about finally getting the WUX dirty, everyone else in the car is...let's just say...apprehensive.

We get to the said Visitor Center. The guy at the desk, who had to be as old as the hills surrounding the station proceeds to tell me, "you're not wheelin' today". Apparently, he needs a fax, from the Ranger Station with my Vehicle License, my Name...yada...."Nothing I can do? No amount of money will get me and my family in the hills?", I ask. "A million dollars won't get you on that trail", was the response.....

CRAP!

So I get back to the WUX and relay the bad news....Cheers erupted.....

Now, I'm really determined to change some hearts and minds.....I'll try again soon.

Got the top on just fine

Had to put the top back up last weekend. It's just too cold in the morning now....June Gloom is starting here in the middle of May.

But it was pretty easy.....Logical....had to think about it a little bit...

• how the top was put together
• how the fasteners worked together to form a tight fit...
• what needed to be lined up when before doing what.

I'll do a pictorial next time.

I Have Two Gripes

OK...so far so good. But I have two gripes;

1. Limited Storage Space:

I guess I'm just used to other cars...but I need more places to put stuff that's reachable from the driver's seat. There seems to be a LOT of places they could have put a bin or a cubbie or something.

2. WHAT'S UP WITH THE LOW FUEL LIGHT?!?!?!

yeah, it tells you that you're low on fuel with the little light, like most cars. But it also has this Miles Till Empty counter which estimates how far you can go on the current tank....RIGHT UP UNTIL YOU REALLY NEED IT!.....when you're low on fuel it says "Lo Fuel" ... thank you very much you STUPID CAR!!!!!!!!

OK rant is over.

now THIS is commuting!

This was me all last week...

Driving in traffic...

SMILIN' MY A$$ OFF!

TOP DOWN BABY!!!

It's ON! ... or off...depending on how you look at it

It got really warm here in SoCal starting on Saturday...so the top came down...finally....completely down.

I was taking the kids to a party, the flip top was open...I decided to see if I could add a little more fun to the drive, so I stopped o nthe side of the road and took the windows out...that was fun...but not fun enough. So, before I went into the party, I spent 20 minutes figuring out how to get the top all the way down so we could have sunny "all-z-way-a-round" (remember Hot Dog?).

Any who....a couple mistakes here or there, but it wasn't too tough. What took the longest was figuring out folding pattern. Then I realized the plastic clips basically define where to fold the top, and it was lick-ty after that.

So, now....it ON! the commute is much more enjoyable. It's fun watching the rubber necking. This vehicle is truly one of a kind.

I'll tell you one thing. You can really feel the air masses when the top is off. I commute 40 miles from Thousand Oaks into Century City and I probably go thru 4 or 5 different climate changes in 40 minutes. At my house this morning at 6am it was 69. I crossed over the hill into Westlake and there was a clear demarkation, the temp dropped to 54. once over the Calabasas grade into "the valley" the temp jumped back up to 65, and thru the Sepulveda pass the temp dropped again.

Well, that's the story this week. It's gonna get colder later this week. I'll hold out as long as I can with the top down. Friday it's gonna be near 50 in the morning....that's pretty cold.

Neither.....Cambria Road Trip!

It was our anniversary this past weekend. I couldn't decide whether to take the WUX into the mountains or play on the beach....we ended up doing neither.

By the time we drove up the Cambria, got our massages, it was time for dinner. The next morning, we ate, walked around town, then drove home...

We had to get home at a decent hour.

Great Place in Cambria: we stayed at the Cambria Pines Lodge. We got a two room suite, which was very nice...I think all the suites are on the bluff, with balconies that overlook the town of Cambria. The Lodge was great. Apparently, it's the only place in town with any night life at all.

I found a road we could have taken on the way home...just past El Capitan Beach at Refugio State Beech. The drive is a basically fire roads all the way to highway 154 between Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez....I'll get it next time we go wine tasting.

How did the WUX do?
The wife remarked on several occasions, "This ride really isn't that bad". And she's right...Only a few fleeting moments did I think in any negative way..."yeah...it's a jeep" most of the time, we were just driving, as if we were in any other car....

....accept our TOP WAS DOWN.... woo hoo!!!!

We had several people give us looooong looks as we drove by.

Gas Mileage? on the way up the coast, the wind was against us. I think that had alot to do with our 16.5 mpg. On the way home, wind at our backs....almost 20....

Well...I should go...I'll drop in a picture of the WUX in front of the winery in a day or so.

Beach or Mountains

it's our anniversary this weekend. We're planning a trip up the coast....should I stop in Pismo and make it a beach weekend? or continue up to Big Sur and do more of a foresty kind of a trip....

Decisions....

Decisions....

Lookin for Bouncy

The commute this morning was actually more fun. I think I'm working into the stiff/bouncy ride. The freeways in SoCal are notoriously bad, and the 405 Supulveda pass is atrocious. this is the place were, drinking hot coffee is not advised.

One problem area has arose. I commute during dawn patrol, when the sun comes up, it's right in the face. the visors on the WU are tiny. I you forget your sunglasses...you are one unhappy bouncing commuter.

However, Olympic Blvd was pretty fun. it's got 3 lanes. I purposefully chose the far right lane. it was fun bouncing around as I passed the side streets...

That's what this rig is all about...finding fun

I snapped a pick of the rig in the parking garage. Thank goodness I can park in a covered garage....I was a little concerned about parking a soft top all day.

Fun Drive Home

Well, my first drive drive home in the WUX was pretty fun. The sun was out, it was warm, so I flipped back the top.

It makes the commute sooooooo much more bare-able.

First Commute

I drive 35 miles each way, from Thousand Oaks to Century City....the classic "101 to the 405". My old car, the Ford Freestyle was a sponge on the road. In fact, that was one of my biggest pet peaves about the car, it was just soft and uninteresting.

Well, the WUX is the exact opposite. It's not race car precise, like with the WRX wagon, but you feel everything on the road. In fact, there a few spots on my commute where coffee drinking is not an option unless I want to risk a clean shirt.

I always told people when I had the Sidekick, "it's not bumpy...it's fun". Well, I was in my 20's when I said that.

Now that I'm almost 40....well....we'll just have to see

Picked up the rig yesterday

Well I picked up the new Wrangler Unlimited X last night. It's a really cool rig. On the drive home from the dealership I pasted a guy in a brand new Lexus LS450, I caught him checkin it out.

I'll get some pix up later.