I almost got killed today.  I had to run a few small errands and since it was nice, I decided to take the motorcycle.  I was coming back on King’s Creek Road — a winding two-lane road — so that I could take a cross road and stay away from the current detour on the main road through the county.  I was coming around a blind turn, when all of a sudden a red cavalier came out of nowhere at a very high rate of speed…. in my lane.  He was using half of **my** lane.  I had no time to react and I don’t know how we missed each other. His rear fender just missed my left side by about an inch.  He slid to a near stop with squealing tires and then took off at a high rate of speed.  He didn’t even stop or come back to see if I was laying dead in a ditch.  I finally got stopped and was so shaken that I could barely breath.  In all of my years of driving, with all the close calls I’ve had,  I have never had this much reaction.  My chest actually hurt afterward and I was shaking uncontrollably. 

Then, my sense of justice and anger kicked in. I was still sitting stopped in the road, so I turned around and went after him.  He was running at such a high speed, it took me a few minutes to catch him at my own high rate of speed.  When I finally caught up to him, he suddenly started driving normally and when we got to a stoplight, I pulled into a parking lot and called the police. I wanted to drag him out of the car and hold him for the police.The only problem is that I couldn’t stay with him **and** make the call because of the noise and needing to drive.  After the call, I tried to find him again so I could call the police back when he stopped, but I have a suspicion he went to hide because I couldn’t find him anywhere.

I thought I was done and leaving this earth in a lot of pain.  It took me a long time to stop shaking and hurting. Stupid, wreckless cagers!

Revamp For Car Sticker Mileage Figures

That’s why Consumer Reports does its own mileage test on every car it reviews.

Champion and Koeppen took a spin in a Honda minivan that the EPA says gets 20 miles per gallon in the city and 28 on the highway. As measured by a device the magazine attaches to engines, it got 28 on the highway, but only 12.3 in city driving conditions.

Champion calls that a “huge” disappointment: “You’re gonna be putting almost twice as much gasoline in the car as you thought you would.”

He adds that the EPA’s city numbers were off in almost every vehicle Consumer Reports tested last year. The EPA rated the Ford Focus sedan at 26; Consumer Reports got 17. The Toyota Camry? EPA got 24. Consumer Reports, 16. The Chevy Trailblazer EXT: 15 as opposed to 9.

But, points out Koeppen, some of the most startling differences were found in hybrids.

For instance, the popular Toyota Prius, which the EPA estimates gets 60 miles per gallon in city driving, only got 35 when the magazine put it to the test.

I don’t know.  I like to think I’m a Lamborghini; being so rare and valuable as I am — as if anybody was aware of it.

I’m a Chevrolet Corvette!

You’re a classic – powerful, athletic, and competitive. You’re all about winning the race and getting the job done. While you have a practical everyday side, you get wild when anyone pushes your pedal. You hate to lose, but you hardly ever do.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.