| craniotes |
After diligently polishing off the rest of a decent bottle of pinot noir Sunday night (I didn't want to bring it back to the city, and it would've been vinegar by the next time I was in CT), it was decided that I should ride in the back with the baby while my wife drove us back into the city. Well, after almost two months of ownership, I've never had the pleasure of sitting back there while underway, so in a strange sort of way, I was actually looking forward to it.
To prepare, I put The Empire Strikes Back in the DVD, set the ride to "Comfort", reclined the backrest, and made a nice cup of decaf to place in the center armrest cupholder. Once underway I turned the temp down a bit in the back and put on the seat heater (the baby sweats like a fat guy when he's sleeping, so we try to keep him a bit cooler when we're travelling), which made for a supremely comfortable place in which to enjoy my favorite movie ever.
It should be noted here that other than a few times spent farting around with the RES in the garage and driveway, I've never used the system, so in addition to watching the movie, I was also listening to CDs (including a DVD-R I recorded with a ton of mp3s) and XM, while my wife had on her "easy listening" station, which she insists the baby prefers (if that's the case, then my son has terrible taste in music). The detachable remote was intuitive and easy to use, so exploiting all of these features was a breeze, in spite of the fact that I skipped this part of the manual. Oh, and the sound through the wireless headphones was spectacular, regardless of the source.
Verdict: Sitting in the back is almost as nice as sitting up front. Sort of. Okay, fine -- the best spot is still the driver's seat by a long shot, but the back seat in the X is a great place to wile away the miles nonethless. The only iffy part is the center position, which puts you up so high you feel like you're going to get launched through the windshield each time the X brakes short.
Regards,
Adam |
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| gmc74 |
quote:
Originally posted by craniotes
the baby sweats like a fat guy
Hey, me too... oh wait, I am a fat guy... |
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| craniotes |
quote:
Originally posted by gmc74
Hey, me too... oh wait, I am a fat guy...
No offense meant! :(
Regards,
Adam
PS - At 6'1" and 200lbs (which is most decidedly NOT all muscle), I could stand to lose a few myself... |
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| tophinator |
| Yea the center back seat raises you up a bit and its a little hard to get comfortable without the headrest. |
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| eujinc |
| Thanks for the observation. That's a view that I will not be able to experience without some influence of alcohol (Here's the key, hon. Now where's that DVD of Animal House). :p |
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| gmc74 |
quote:
Originally posted by craniotes
No offense meant! :(
Regards,
Adam
PS - At 6'1" and 200lbs (which is most decidedly NOT all muscle), I could stand to lose a few myself...
none taken...
I could afford to lose more than a few... speaking of sweating, I hear you guys had a lot of heat and humidity in NY/CT over the weekend.
Better you than me. 82, sunny and dry here! |
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| gmc74 |
quote:
Originally posted by eujinc
Thanks for the observation. That's a view that I will not be able to experience without some influence of alcohol (Here's the key, hon. Now where's that DVD of Animal House). :p
LOL
no kidding, I have had my X 3 months, and the wife hasn't driven it once. |
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| LionSpeed |
Speaking about granting permission, my wife never get to drive my X for the past 8 months. I intend to keep it that way as long as I'm alive. LOL.
BTW, beside certain restrictions, she can not come TWO feet radius within the distance of my X without my presense. Call it whatever you want. I wear the pants.
:) |
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| craniotes |
Trust me, I didn't hand over the keys willingly... In fact, in the 1000 miles traveled during our recent trip to Montreal, she logged exactly zero hours behind the wheel, in spite of offering to drive several times.
That said, it should be noted that I trust her implicitly, it's just that I get such a kick out of driving the X (whereas she could care less), and I only get drive it on weekends (it stays parked in the garage when we're in the city) so I don't want to give up the opportunity for wheel time when it arises. Truth be told, she's probably easier on cars than I am, seeing as how she never goes faster than 60mph, never floors it, and is as assiduous as I am -- if not moreso -- at dodging potholes in the city.
Regards,
Adam |
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| craniotes |
quote:
Originally posted by gmc74
...speaking of sweating, I hear you guys had a lot of heat and humidity in NY/CT over the weekend.
Better you than me. 82, sunny and dry here!
Yup, it was seriously nasty in the Northeast this past weekend. I'm not sure what the high was in Westport, but it had to be close to 85 degrees with 80% humidity. Freakin' bizarre for the first week in October. We took our son to the beach playground on Sunday, and it was packed with sunbathers and swimmers. Heck, if we'd thought of it, we would've brought our swimsuits as well.
And then there's what happened at the Chicago marathon... Global warming, here we come!
Regards,
Adam
PS - I counted four 2nd generation Xs in the parking lot (all Tech/Ents), and like a million 1st gens... |
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| Nabbs |
Adam -- where do you live in the city? I'm on the UWS, keep both my cars in the garage -- hope you don't street park yours! However, the plastic bumpers on the MDX must be a welcome relief when leaving this thing on the street!
I hope this thing can take the potholes! I beat the snot out of all my dailydrivers (I finally had the oil changed with like 1% oil life remaining on the RDX)!
This is a usable truck, don't be scared to get it dirty, scratched, dinged up, or to let your wives drive yours :)
-N |
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| craniotes |
quote:
Originally posted by Nabbs
Adam -- where do you live in the city? I'm on the UWS, keep both my cars in the garage -- hope you don't street park yours! However, the plastic bumpers on the MDX must be a welcome relief when leaving this thing on the street!
I hope this thing can take the potholes! I beat the snot out of all my dailydrivers (I finally had the oil changed with like 1% oil life remaining on the RDX)!
This is a usable truck, don't be scared to get it dirty, scratched, dinged up, or to let your wives drive yours :)
-N
I live down by the South Street Seaport, though I used to live on 64th and Broadway (I don't miss the UWS as much as I thought I would, but man I do miss having Central Park across the street...). As for street parking, hell to the no! I've got a reserved spot in my building for the X (the Accord has a floating spot, and my geriatric Benz stays in CT). As far as potholes are concerned, mine is holding up so far, but to be honest, the most city driving this car sees is to the West Side Highway on Friday night, and from the West Side Highway on Sunday night.
Regards,
Adam |
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| Nabbs |
quote:
Originally posted by craniotes
I live down by the South Street Seaport, though I used to live on 64th and Broadway (I don't miss the UWS as much as I thought I would, but man I do miss having Central Park across the street...). As for street parking, hell to the no! I've got a reserved spot in my building for the X (the Accord has a floating spot, and my geriatric Benz stays in CT). As far as potholes are concerned, mine is holding up so far, but to be honest, the most city driving this car sees is to the West Side Highway on Friday night, and from the West Side Highway on Sunday night.
Regards,
Adam
You know street parking is not all that bad, the only major problem is that one has less motivation to use the car if you get a "good spot." You know the kind of spot, on the corner so nobody can park in front of you, and right across from your doorman so he can keep an eye on it 24/7.
Good to see that I won't be the only schmuck with a full-size truck in manhattan (although my parking garage is full of them).
-N |
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| gmc74 |
quote:
Originally posted by craniotes
I live down by the South Street Seaport, though I used to live on 64th and Broadway (I don't miss the UWS as much as I thought I would, but man I do miss having Central Park across the street...). As for street parking, hell to the no! I've got a reserved spot in my building for the X (the Accord has a floating spot, and my geriatric Benz stays in CT). As far as potholes are concerned, mine is holding up so far, but to be honest, the most city driving this car sees is to the West Side Highway on Friday night, and from the West Side Highway on Sunday night.
Regards,
Adam
Living in CT for about 24 years before moving west, I traveled to NY a lot (to drink and have fun) but only drove in the city twice. When I go back for business, I cab it everywhere! I hate driving in that place, it is the exact opposite of Phoenix.
In Phoenix, you see a gap in the traffic, you can hit it, no one else bothers. In NYC, you have to make your own gaps. In a rental car, no problem... in my car, f' that.
I have a buddy that lives on Spring and Bowery, I love hanging out there, walking over to little italy, but you couldn't pay me enough to live in the city. |
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| gmc74 |
quote:
Originally posted by Nabbs
Good to see that I won't be the only schmuck with a full-size truck in manhattan (although my parking garage is full of them).
-N
Not really a truck though, don't get me wrong, it gets the job done, but I wouldn't really call it a full size truck. A bloated car is probably more like it (size wise). |
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| dj-mdx2 |
quote:
Originally posted by craniotes
I live down by the South Street Seaport, though I used to live on 64th and Broadway (I don't miss the UWS as much as I thought I would, but man I do miss having Central Park across the street...).
Regards,
Adam
Gosh that brings back memories of Pier 17 and the water taxi. We try to visit NYC as often as we can. I've never driven there since our old apartment was literally at the end of the R in Brooklyn, so there was no need. I don't think I'd want to drive my hulking wide 07 there anyway. I was comparing it to my brother's 07 GL and the X won the battle of the bulge but not the length. :) |
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| csmeance |
quote:
Originally posted by tophinator
Yea the center back seat raises you up a bit and its a little hard to get comfortable without the headrest.
there is a headrest, push up on the top part from underneath. |
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| gmc74 |
quote:
Originally posted by dj-mdx2
Gosh that brings back memories of Pier 17 and the water taxi. We try to visit NYC as often as we can. I've never driven there since our old apartment was literally at the end of the R in Brooklyn, so there was no need. I don't think I'd want to drive my hulking wide 07 there anyway. I was comparing it to my brother's 07 GL and the X won the battle of the bulge but not the length. :)
How the heck did you go from NYC to Alabama? I have spent a few weeks in Birmingham, and there is pretty much nothing going on down there. Seems like a pretty big change |
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| gmc74 |
quote:
Originally posted by dj-mdx2
Gosh that brings back memories of Pier 17 and the water taxi. We try to visit NYC as often as we can. I've never driven there since our old apartment was literally at the end of the R in Brooklyn, so there was no need. I don't think I'd want to drive my hulking wide 07 there anyway. I was comparing it to my brother's 07 GL and the X won the battle of the bulge but not the length. :)
How the heck did you go from NYC to Alabama? I have spent a few weeks in Birmingham, and there is pretty much nothing going on down there. Seems like a pretty big change |
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| dj-mdx2 |
quote:
Originally posted by gmc74
How the heck did you go from NYC to Alabama? I have spent a few weeks in Birmingham, and there is pretty much nothing going on down there. Seems like a pretty big change
Long story involving economics, immigration and family ties. We're now closer to our relatives (my brother and his family live 30 min away and 2 sisters are 5 and 7 DVD's trip away, respectively).
No regrets though. I agree about the "not much to do" part but sometimes that's good when you're raising a family.
I'm still in urban withdrawal, having grown up a city rat. But people really don't know what they're missing here in the south when you're headlong in the rat race. The natives don't mind though - although they're very friendly for the most part, I've noticed some of them have a little contempt for your typical Yank. |
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| gmc74 |
quote:
Originally posted by dj-mdx2
The natives don't mind though - although they're very friendly for the most part, I've noticed some of them have a little contempt for your typical Yank.
I have noticed that as well. I was at a meeting there and one of the ladies said (during a sales meeting with 10 people there) "Why would we want to buy something from a Yankee?", with a straight face... I was a little shocked and then replied "Well ma'am, I am from the south, not a yankee." Which is a total lie, I guess they didn't need to know that I was really from CT. She bit, and we moved on. That was one of the stranger things I have seen.
There is definitely more of a good ole boys network down there. People will buy inferior products, from a local guy, for more money, because they know him. In business, that is just odd, not to mention bad business... |
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