A Driving History 13: The Audi 80

She was a good car.  I bought her sight unseen or test driven in Cairns for $6990, total cost for sundry fees about $7200.

Powered by a delightful 2.8 V6 with power everything, I was very surprised at the interior space in the car, especially head room.  Only the stereo sucked.

I drove her for about 6 months, all up.  And like the VS Commodore wagon (see part 12) it was in my life just long enough to see me move from Charters Towers to where I live now.  A move that, given everything The Wife and I have gone through since the move, was probably a mistake.

One thing I did do with it was transport about 5 cats 500km.  You know what cats are like in the car, I was worried that I'd have to put up with them howling and carrying on for the entire 6 hours. That didn't happen.  They were agitated for the first half hour or so.  But after that, they must have got bored, because they all went to sleep, waking only to see why I was stopping the car- for food, fuel or bathroom.  Of course, they were very happy to be out of the car and the cage when we arrived at the new home.

It was a pleasure to drive on the road, however.  The front wheel drive gave it enough traction, and it had a bit of kick to it, despite the weight of the car.

Then, one day in May, I was on my way to work.  I use a side road from the main highway because the road is in better nick than the highway itself, but coming to the main highway, there was a yield sign.  As I approached I saw a car, bit of a ways back, coming up to the intersection.

Knowing how fast I go when I use the highway, I made the decision to stop and wait for it.  Sadly, the Rav4 behind me decided not to stop and promptly plowed into the back of my car.

While waiting for the cops and the tow truck to come, she did at least have the good grace to apologize.  Insurance details were exchanged and so the brief life the Audi had with me came to an end.

It was shipped to a local bodyshop where the insurance gurus decided that it was a write off.

They gave me $7500 for it.  I actually made $300.

A few months later, I saw a guy uptown.  He also owned an Audi 80.  Apparently his son crashed the front of it, and knowing mine was rear ended, (one of the joys- and I use that term loosely- of small town living) he wanted to know what happened to my car as the front end was fine. Because the insurance company bought the wreck, I told him he'd have to start tracing it from the body shop.

I don't think he ever did find out what happened to it.  I haven't seen his silver Audi uptown for a long time.

Not much of a story, but then I didn't have the car that long.

Coming soon:  A Driving History 14: the 89 Honda Prelude- and that will bring us up to date.

Cost of Living

I have been wondering about this for quite some time.  So I decided today to do a little checking.

Turns out the average annual inflation rate in Australia is round about 3%.  This means that since 2004, the price of everything has gone up by 26%.  More or less.  This is the official figure.  The start date I am using coincides with my arrival in this country.

Lets look at some practical truths.

Gasoline:  Was $1.10/L now $1.55  increase:  41%
Cat Food  Was $0.89/ tin  now $1.53  increase: 71%
Pepsi Max:  Was $8.99/ 24 cans  now: $14.99  increase: 66%
Bread  Was $1.10/loaf  Now: $1.49  increase: 34.5%
Cheese: was $8.99/kg block  Now $11.99  increase:  33%

I don't want to even talk about meat.  This country is crawling with cows, exporting tens of thousands overseas yet a t-bone costs about $24/kg.

Were I to discuss power costs, some of the older people out there may well have a heart attack.

Recently, I had to fill my car up.  I stopped putting fuel in the tank when the pump read $100.  I hadn't finished filling it.  Fifteen years ago I worried about how much change I would get from a fifty.  

My council rates, in 3 years have increased from $489 to about $600 per 6 months.  A shocking and undefendable increase in excess of 20%.

I know in the last three years, the wages where I work have gone up about 5%.

Thats all.  5%

No wonder there's more month left at the end of the money.

I can't see the official figure as being accurate.  I would actually suggest that the effective inflation rate over that time period was closer to 7% than 3. 

Cut back, I'm told and forced to do, regardless.  But now, If I cut back any more I'd need a guillotine.  A sentiment the crowd of creditors must certainly share.

I'm beginning to think I know what its like to be Greece.

Welcome

A big welcome to my new followers- who have magically appeared on my followers list over the last week.  I hope you enjoy everything you read.

A big thank you, too, to my current followers for putting up with my sporadic posts over the last few weeks.

I will have more posts, more often, then what has been posted lately.  I have been run off my feet, and side tracked by a host of time demanding issues.  Hospital visits, hospital stays surgeries, dumb shit at work, car issues, the list is virtually endless.

However, the situation is stabilizing now, so we should be good to go.

Thank you for your patience.

My Baby Came Home Today

She's back.  My Baby's Back!

She went away for 2 weeks,  Shacked up with some stranger, who apparently spent the whole time inside her.  I'm surprised the stranger would even have her, given she's been around the block a few times- I oughta know- but then, that's what the stranger does.

To make matters worse, the thing is going to cost me $700!

I am, of course, talking about my beloved car.  It has taken 2 weeks of questions, diagnoses and experimentation to figure out exactly why the fuel pump wasn't getting consistent power.

My mechanic- a clever, smart assed bastard who I absolutely admire and respect- spent the time cleaning up the fuel tank, checking the pump, and most importantly, repairing the power relay.

Given the age of the old girl- 23 years- and the mileage 376,000 km (235,000 miles), things like this are going to start to go wrong.  I know I'm coming to a crossroads with it.  Do I actually start repairing it?  Do I actually start getting the cosmetic work done?  Or do I replace it?

At least as much as I loved the Diplomat- a car lives on in the memories of all who rode in her- I love this car.  It's a  blast to drive.  She's not fast (0 to 100 kph in about 9 secs), but the thing can corner, tight, and all without having to engage in a drift.

I don't particularly want to replace it.  The car is too much fun.

But at the moment, I can't afford to repair it, either.

But, its home.  And have I missed it.

Welcome home.

The Wealth of Provinces

I am originally from the Province of Alberta, in Canada.  And while I live in Australia now, I still keep an eye on what happening there.

There was a recent election campaign that saw the upstart Wildrose party pit themselves against the entrenched PC party.

While the Boobie bus incident made me laugh- and still does- the election did have one very important calling card.  Resource royalties.

Alberta is the land of Oil.  Especially tar sands oil.  More expensive to take out of the ground, but one of the largest land bound reserves on the planet.  Top three I think.

I believe that the royalty- and feel free to correct if I am mistaken- the current royalty the province demands is about 17.5%.  Oil companies, naturally, are whinging about paying that much.  The Wildrose party, apparently wanted to REDUCE this royalty to promote investment, saying that companies might not do business in the province because it was expensive.

Expensive?  Got news for them.  So's oil.

The oil is in the province.  If the corporations want it, they'll do business, and at $90+ per barrel, they will still be fighting for the rights to set up shop.

A dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow.  The future wealth of the province depends upon the management of those dollars.  The fact is, those rates should be increased.  Failure to increase them means you are throwing the future of your children away.  Oil is a finite resource.  What are you gonna do when its gone?

Thankfully. the Wildrose party lost.  But the current government needs to do something about it.  The Wealth that belongs to the people of Alberta is bleeding out.  This should be stopped.