VW R32: Just in from Germany

Many moons ago I received an unexpected gift mailed to original VW 2004 Golf R32 owners. Never has receiving a wood product been so satisfying. Well, that’s not strictly true — receiving my degrees was satisfying, too. :o)

Check below the fold for more information.

Roughly a year and a half after purchasing my R, I unexpectedly received an R32 poster in the mail. This poster was 1 of 5000 mailed to each original owner of a 2004 R32 — printed individually on the poster’s lower left. Despite how much I might wish otherwise, the poster number has nothing to do with my R’s production sequence.

The poster says “Just in from Germany”, and in the lower right, “The 240 hp, 6-speed, all-wheel drive limited edition R32. Drivers Wanted.”

NB. I took the shot at an angle to avoid glare and reflections. Lest you think VWoA is simply rolling in cash (who knows, maybe they are), I had the poster mounted and framed myself.

Love. It's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru.

I was approached a couple of weeks ago to include one of my pictures in a full page ad for Subaru of America. It's part of a collage of other pictures they found on Flickr.

It was published today and will be republished again on Wednesday, April 30.

Mine is the b/w picture with the tracks in the snow. Here's the original picture:
Surprise, snow! on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Here's the ad:


"Love driving roads so bad you get them all to yourself. Love using every part of the odometer. Love being proud of the plant your car was built in. Love that the baby in the backseat may end up driving it to college. Love having people in crosswalks know you'll stop. Love knowing it would give it's life to save yours. Love thinking, at least once everyday, that you may have gotten more car than you paid for. Love. It's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru."

I actually almost forgot to buy the paper today. I had to dash out just before the stores closed to try and find one. It took 3 unsuccessful attempts at different newspaper stands and stores before I found out that Save-On-Foods carries the USA Today.

Honda Odyssey: Service B Brake Repair, 31946 km

This is a follow-up to this post I made a couple days ago about the grinding brakes on my Honda Odyssey.

The service reminder on the dash board indicated that I needed a Service B, so I made an appointment at my dealership. This was actually a very pleasurable experience because I was able to do everything through email and they were able to answer some questions I had about the brakes....




I mentioned the grinding brakes and the service advisor explained that the "B" Service included servicing the brakes. He quoted me prices to replace the pads/rotors if that didn't fix the problem. I mentioned my declining confidence in the OEM brake pads and he said that Honda had reformulated the pads. We could talk about after-market replacements if needed when they actually diagnosed the problem.

The problem turned out to be warped rotors (again) and lucky for me, repairs were carried under warranty (again).

During the service they also fixed a rattle on the driver-side second row seat that had been bothering me ever since we got back from our road trip. It was annoying because it only rattled when no one was sitting in it.

The thing I forgot to ask about was the DST fix, but that can wait.

Items included in the "B" Service:



Work performed:

Anzac Day, April 25

"The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" by Eric Bogle is a very touching song about Australian and New Zealand soldiers who fought in the Battle of Galipoli during World War I. Every year on April 25, ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day is commemorated to remember those soldiers.

In honor of that, and since it is already the early hours of April 25 in Australia, I am reposting this slide show that was created for our own Remembrance Day ceremony last November.

April Snowfall?!

There's something not right. Yesterday, the entire province was covered by an arctic outflow--the last time that happened in the month of April was over 50 years ago. That evening, Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for Metro Vancouver. This is what I woke up to in our backyard this morning:




Vancouver International Airport recorded a new record for snowfall for on this date.

Honda Odyssey: 31500 km, Grinding Brakes Again

Follow-up of 2006 Honda Odyssey Brake Repair Under Warranty

Thankfully, we made through our cross-continent road trip last summer without any brake issues and there were no times I needed to use the brakes in an emergency situation.

However, now at 31500 km, the grinding problem has returned. The brakes grind under moderate to heavy braking and also when the brakes have been heated from repeated stops. It does NOT inspire confidence. I do not believe that my 2006 Honda Odyssey will be able to perform an emergency stop....

Since Honda only seemed to put a band-aid fix on my brakes last time, I'm going to look for an aftermarket solution to improve the brake performance on my 2006 Honda Odyssey.

Wish me luck!

UPDATE: Grinding Brakes repaired under warranty

Subaru Impreza WRX STI - Red Hazard Button and Accessport Firmware Update

Red Button
Originally uploaded by istargazer.

One of the other things I installed yesterday was the JDM red hazard button. This was not a standard item on the 2006 STI in North America and is purely cosmetic, but I feel good about it :0)


Click to...


The other thing I did was update the Accessport to the latest firmware (it now includes live Fuel Consumption data) and reflash the new maps back in.

Subaru Impreza WRX STI -- 20332 km: Summer tires and front lip installed

Wet Chalk
Originally uploaded by istargazer.

Somehow the planets must have aligned yesterday because:
#1 - The weather was nice and warm on a Saturday.
#2 - I had no commitments, appointments, or errands to do.
#3 - I was motivated to get off my butt.

Click below to....


In this picture you can see that I swapped out the winter tires (did it for the Honda Odyssey (23456 km), too) and installed the new front lip. I broke the old one the day after I took the Cold STI picture.

Buckle Up -- New STI Commercial

I love this!