Automotive Geekery.. Engage!

[kv0925]

All right, please feel free to ignore this, it's more for myself than anything. But. I can hardly express how much I am loving the new car. It's not even that it's THAT nice of a car, even though it kind of is. :) It's more that it's MY car, I picked it out, I'm paying for it, and I'm proud of it. I'm not generally one to be overly attached to tangible goods, but I'll say it: I love this car. I think her name is Julia, that's what jumped into my head and I kinda dig it.

So anyway, I've been doing research on things I want to buy for Julia, to make her more mine and add a few features that I kinda wish she had--not necessities, but nice perks. And here's what I've come up with so far!



Not a photo of Julia or even the same model, obviously, but I wanted to give the general idea. This is a cheap fix and the one thing I already ordered: replacement interior lights. They're LEDs instead of the standard incandescents, so they're brighter, use less power, and should have a pleasant bluish tint instead of yellow. I think it'll be pretty cool.


The next step from a lighting perspective would be this. Again, this isn't the right model in the photo, but it's essentially the same ambient lighting kit. I think it's pretty sweet! And it changes colors! At first I was thinking I'd just get some generic LED light strips to provide the under-dash glow, but the real deal kit from Ford adds some other cool stuff, like the glowing cupholders. And as silly as it is, I want the glowing cupholders, okay? Not really a priority, though, since I don't do much night driving anyway.


More important to me is this, a new rearview mirror that incorporates a compass and temperature display. The car has a display for the usual stuff, but it doesn't have those two things, and I like having that somewhere. The mirror is also auto-dimming, which isn't that important to me but might be nice to have. If I really feel like splurging, maybe I'll get one of the mirrors that also has a video screen in it, and add a backup camera too. Would be very cool, but those do get expensive.


Then there's this, a little gizmo that connects to the stock stereo (which is pretty good) and adds a USB input and Bluetooth hands-free phone integration, which are the two things it's missing. That would be pretty sweet, though it's not really a priority since I'm enjoying the satellite radio for now, I can play mp3 cds even if I can't yet use USB sticks, and I really don't talk on the phone that much to begin with.

Other than that stuff (and isn't that enough?!), I just want to add a few personal touches to the exterior. A front license plate (maybe something Disney Worldish), a frame for the rear license plate, and maybe a sticker or two to add some personality. I'll have to look around and see what speaks to me. :)

I dunno, it's just kinda nice to have a vehicle I can be proud of and really make my own! If I can wrangle the money for all this, anyway.. one thing at a time, probably.

Comments

[girlguitarist.livejournal.com]

I forgot how awesome that lighting was. I only test drove it in the day so I didn't get the full effect, but it was still really cool!

My car computer has a built in compass and I never actually look at it... I suppose because I have a decent sense of direction, but maybe it will come in handy one day! I have the auto dimming mirror too... at first I was annoyed I couldn't control it, but it works REALLY well and lights in it never annoy me at night.

Does that mean Florida doesn't need front plates? We are the same. I dread ever moving to a province or state that needs them. I don't want to drill into the front of my precious car!

I think these are all good choices :)

[cp.livejournal.com]

It really does look cool, the ambient lighting. For $40 or so I could just get some LED light bars to get the under-dash glow, but the real kit from Ford looks so awesome even though it's up around $200. I really am all about the glowing cupholders. :)

Yeah, I'm more interested in the temperature display than the compass, but our minivan has both and the compass does come in kinda handy sometimes, so what the heck.

And no front plates required here! Some states do, but not FL. We don't even require auto inspections anymore, so SUCK IT BIG GUBMINT! :) The car does already have a front plate holder, though, so I'll have to find something fun for that. The minivan has one of these:

.

I'm a little tempted to get another one like that. :)

[girlguitarist.livejournal.com]

That is an EXCELLENT plate :D

[cp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more this is the default I want to get. :)

[midnightmadness.livejournal.com]

My current car actually has one of those mirrors and I'm lukewarm at best to it. Some caveats.

There is no flip down/up, since it's autodimming. My wife has to readjust it every time she uses my car and I have to adjust it back, unlike her car with a regular mirror it's just a simple flip of the switch to adjust for our height differences. Chances are this won't affect you, but I hate having to do that every time she uses my car and since you and your wife have similar height differences to me and mine, just something to note.

The autodimmming is only so smart / fast. It usually takes several seconds for it to dim down at night when a car turns behind me and suddenly I have bright headlights in my eyes long enough to irritate the piss out of me if not cause my eyes to outright iris closed for bright light... at night. :-/ Occasionally too, with other situations like overcast days, the sun setting behind me, going though tunnels, a truck with its lights on in the middle of the day, etc. that will confuse it and case the mirror to darken when I don't want/need it dark, and be full 100% reflective when there are times I want it darkened. There's no manual override for any of this, at least not on mine.

My temp/compass actually stopped working last year. Not worth it in the least to have to change out the mirror for me to replace/fix it, esp since I have temp in my dash and GPS on my phone.

Short end of it, I I ever do replace it, I'm getting a standard mirror again. More minuses than plusses for me. YMMV

[cp.livejournal.com]

Hmm, good advice and I thank you, sir. My first choice was to get a mirror with the temp/compass and no autodimming, but I didn't see any that had the display without the autodimming--maybe if I poke around I could find one, or at least one where there's manual override for the dimmer. The wife won't be driving the car enough (I don't think, anyway) that the ergonomics are a big deal, but I also don't want to make it any more a PITA for her or me. How long did the compass/temp display last, btw? That's worth considering too, since I do have a GPS device that can render the compass unnecessary, and for a lot less cash I could just get a little inside/outside thermometer gadget instead. So maybe I'll hold off on the mirror and go for the USB/Bluetooth gizmo first, and of course the sexy lights. :)

[midnightmadness.livejournal.com]

I bought the car in 2006, and it's a 2005 model, so I got a good 6-7 years out of it. Still not exactly sure it's "broken". Might have just blown a fuse. It just doesn't work.

If you are choosing between optional "expansions", go for the USB/BT. I have my BT earpiece I use all the time, so I can't really speak to the usefulness of effectiveness of that, but I use the USB on my stereo ALL the time. I have a 16GB Micro filled with music that is about 99% of my listening time. And it's far superior to even an iPod jacked in because it's straight digital. Best thing ever.

[cp.livejournal.com]

I think you're right. The money for the mirror doesn't really justify the functionality and potential hassle. So I ordered a little inside/outside thermometer instead, and when I'm lost I have GPS. :) So I think I'll get the USB/BT thing soon, and maybe the ambient lighting kit can be my birthday present. And my Dalek decal for the back is on the way! :)

[fairwells.livejournal.com]

Congrats on Julia. I think most people are excited when they buy a new car. I think the new additions to the car look great :)

[cp.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much! I've owned a pretty good number of cars in my life, but this is one of the few (and certainly the nicest) that feels like MY car, if that makes any sense. All the others were handed down, or purchased out of necessity, and generally not quite what I'd have bought if left to my own devices. I like our minivan because it's pretty nice too, but it's not MINE like Julia is. :)

Hmm, now I'm tempted to make a post about all the cars I've owned, could be kinda fun. :)

[fairwells.livejournal.com]

I've only loved one of my cars. It was a black Toyota Celica GT. I loved that car. I invested so much into it. It was my car, but then my brother was going away to college and I decided to give it to him so that he could come home whenever he wanted to. It was hard parting with her, but I didn't need a car as much at the time. I hope in the future to be able to purchase another car to love and spoil, but I'm probably just going to trade in my current car which is boring but safe...a Honda Civic. And it's green. hehe