apple juice

Well, some of you may have been wondering what the big news was. We’re not having a baby. But we did get a new car. It’s the culmination of about 3 years of research, followed by a frantic week of the old explorer dying (more or less) and me searching the 7-state area for a TDI.

For those that aren’t familiar, the TDI is VW’s Diesel engine in North America. It’s 1.9L and makes 90hp at 3750RPM, but it makes 155ft-lbs of torque at 1900 RPM. So it’s a little beast down low.

The other awesome thing about it is the mileage. Fuel Mileage. (Can’t say gas mileage anymore, cause it runs on diesel) I reset the gauge when I picked up the car today (so I’m not sure if it was totally full or not), but on our trip home today, 169 miles, we got 39.2mpg.

I can’t say enough about the car, I’m very excited. There are tons of cool features. (like the daytime running lights that turn on when you release the parking brake). But also, lots of practical things, compared to the explorer. For example, Sonja and I can have a normal conversation at 75 miles per hour. The sunroof doesn’t whistle when you hit a crosswind, etc.

Anyways, like a geek, I have a spreadsheet to keep track of the mileage. Also like a geek I’m going to go get the owner’s manual and read through that.

I’d also like to say, I purchased the car from Eich Motor Co. in St. Cloud, and they were awesome. I worked with Kirk Winkler, and he did an excellent job of keeping me up to date, giving me a fair price, answering all my questions, etc.He even gave me his cell phone #, which he answered while he was home sick with the flu. Awesome.

Well, if anyone is looking for a 92 Explorer, 5 speed, give me an email. I’ll hook you up. Runs good, clean.