Page 1 - my current vehicle: 1996 Daihatsu Applause

Page 2 - my old ride: 1988 Honda CM200T TwinStar

Page 3 - pictures I've taken of cars

Page 4 - Lamborghini LM link/POLL RESULTS

Page 5 - Rambling about my dream cars.

Page 6 - La DÜrkopp & other tales of Querétaro

Page 7 - 2006 Models: Cars I Like

Page 8 - 2006 Models: Cars I Disike

Page 9 - The V-6 Page

Page 10 - Abandoned Dodge Coronet 440 - THE SORROW AND THE PROMISE

UPDATE: I have bought and installed rear speakers and a CD player for the Red Ibo. I used the same wiring the car came with. I bought a JVC KD-S5050 stereo/CD player to replace the JVC KS-F150 stereo/casette player that had served me well since I bought the car. The real benefit to this, I found out upon installing the unit, is that both units use the same wiring and plugs, so I didn't have to rewire anything! The one thing that worries me is the screw I took out while dismantling the console that I didn't put back in when I put the console back together...

BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER:

Please feel free to leave your opinions in my guestbook, as I feel free to leave mine in yours. To those of you who are annoyed by what I leave in your guestbook, please be assured that it is my honest opinion or reaction to your car or your site. I am not trying to bash your vehicle to make mine look better. I have no illusions about my car. It is an appliance that transports me, my family, my friends and my equipment where we need or want to go. I am thankful for it because it is there and it is mostly reliable, but I realize that it has no artistic value at all and no entertainment value beyond acting as personal transportation.

Sincerely,
Sam Blob

This site was initially made for my previous ride, the Honda CM200T TwinStar now shown on Page 2. I got sick & tired of calling it a Del Sol, however; especially since I don't like Del Sols, but it was the closest thing to a bike on the list, so...

(I obscured the licence plates 'coz I'm paranoid...)

I bought my first car, the Applause, on 27 December 2002, about a month after selling my bike. The car was basically a godsend. God wanted me to have this car. It has had three careful owners before me. I bought it from someone who was preparing to emigrate to the U.S. I hope things have worked out for him and that he has an even better car than this.

It's not my dream car, but it does what I need a car to do, and it does it well and reliably.

Engine: Transverse 1.6 L four cylinder
Transmission: 5-speed manual transaxle, front wheel drive
Body style: 5-seat hatchback sedan (not a particularly strong or space-efficient design, but it's got the job done so far...)
Modifications: None, really. Didn't bother to put the hubcaps back on when I bought the new tyres the day after buying the car. I was thinking about getting a K&N filter, but since I'm not going to get any other intake or exhaust mods, and I don't drive that hard, what would the point be?

EDIT: I have made a modification! The car now has something it really needed: LOUDER HORNS! I don't think they're FIAMMs, but they're (finally) loud enough!

WHY I'M GRATEFUL FOR THIS CAR

Yes, folks, I know this car is not impressive. And it isn't really my dream car. But I don't live in my dreams. I bought the car because I could afford it, it had no obvious mechanical or electrical flaws (still doesn't, thankfully), can do what I need a car to do, looked well cared for, and had a manual transmission. I would have preferred a station wagon, but good used cars in the price range I can afford are hard to come by here in Jamaica.

I use the car to commute to work and also to visit customers' sites with my employer's equipment to do on-site work. The equipment can usually all fit in the trunk but, because it's a bit heavy, I put some of it in the passenger footwells for better weight distribution.

I also use the car to just go for a drive once in a while. Five seats mean I can take friends along if we want.

I have not yet come across an instance in the car where I needed more power. It probably goes faster than I can manage. Lack of power is not a problem in passing, the real problem is the availability of a clear lane to use in passing.

With care, it probably will have quite a few good years ahead of it. It may be possible that I'll have enough money for a three-litre straight-six BMW or Lexus by the time it wears out, but it sure isn't probable. Anyway, 'til then I have a nice, reliable car, for which I am thankful.

BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU GOT
- Written & recorded by William de Vaughn:

"Well, you may not drive a great big Cadillac,
Gangster whitewalls, TV antenna in the back.
You may not have a car at all,
But remember, brothers & sisters, you can still stand tall.
Just be thankful for what you got."

THE END OF RED IBO: 2008-03-24

I had what would normally have been a minor accident on Easter Monday (the date shown in the title), which is a public holiday here in Jamaica. Some old dim gent backed his SUV into my left front fender. Fender, headlight, and front cap seems to be easily recoverable, but the insurance company wrote off my insurance.

Now, I could have had the car fixed anyway and re-insured it, but parts for Applauses are hard to find, so I thought I'd try to sell it to a breaker's yard. Instead, I sold it yesterday (2008-04-26) to someone who plans to fix it and drive it (or maybe fix it and sell it).

While the car was sitting around, I changed the stereo back to the original tape deck, so I still have my CD-playing stereo for installation in my next vehicle, whenever I may buy it.