Not-So-Extended Test Drive, 2015 Kia Optima GDI

We didn't spend much time in this car. We only drove around 27 or 28 miles in it and had to put in about 1.2 to 1.5 gallons of gas. It was weird. Drove from Philadelphia airport to home, gas needle didn't move. I filled it up until the pump clicked. Should have been full. Drove it back to Philadelphia airport to drop it off. And the needle decided to drop. So added more gas and then returned the car. So we'll say overall gas mileage for this trip was disappointing.
Why such a short car rental you might ask? We arrived on our flight back from Israel at ~5 or 6 AM on a Sunday morning. Public transportation back home was going to be a few hours and a cab ride was likely to be around $45 plus tip or you could get a private limo for $65 plus tip or... you could just rent a car and return it the same day for less than $40 and an additional 30-ish minutes of your jet lagged, half asleep time. Which is exactly what my wife and I did. That being said, I was perhaps not as attentive to car deals as I might be.

Extended Test Drive, 2012-2014 Hyundai i-Gen i20

My wife and I took a trip to Israel and we didn't exactly plan every day out. So, to allow a bit more freedom we arranged for a rental car. It didn't cost that much and unlike the USA you can rent a manual transmission! We both love our manual transmissions, so this was a very good thing.
Having done some Wikipedia research this car had at a max 138 hp and 123 lb-ft at the flywheel. This is by no means a fast car. In fact, considering the modern horsepower wars where tons of cars in the USA are breaking 150 bhp, 200 bhp, and many even clock in north of 300 bhp, this is a very slow car by comparison.
Here's the thing though, almost all the cars in Israel are city cars of the low horsepower variety. My Subaru BRZ, a Ford Mustang or Chevrolet Camaro of the four cylinder variety would be in the upper echelons of fast cars in Israel, even more so if you had a V8. But, one, Israel has fuel prices that are similar or in excess of much of Europe and two they have an enormous tax on cars, really close to 100%. My BRZ is a roughly a $60,000 car there. So most people buy cheap cars that can do everything for them. And this means a lot of compacts and subcompacts with small engines, often with 5 doors. Enough on that.
This car is all about momentum driving. Once you've gained any speed do your absolute best to keep it (except on that really twisty road down from the Golan Heights because it does not have the handling dynamics to take it at real speed).

Delaware Auto Show 2015

Well, I suppose I should have had high expectations for the Delaware Auto Show. It was very small. For the most part there were very few manufacturer representatives or much display work. A few manufacturers had displays and people talk to, but for the most part not many.
On the bright side most cars were open to sit in that were present. This included a Porsche Panamera Hybrid, which I think are normally closed at auto shows on public days, but I'm not certain.

Extended Test Drive, 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage

First we will start with Avis...
My wife and I flew into MIA for a brief visit (less than 30 hour round trip). We rented from Avis. The person at the desk was helpful, it wasn't terribly busy unlike Alamo, and it was a pretty swift and painless process.

The problem is, I pre-booked the car with them and booked a "Standard" car which is listed on their website as a "Subaru Legacy or similar". (Things it is supposed to do is comfortably fit one large bag, two small bags, and five people, which a Subaru Legacy does in spades.) Instead we were given a Mitsubishi Mirage ES, which according to Mitsubishi is classified as a "subcompact". I'm a bit miffed. This caused some problems with car / passenger division at times, that and it would have been nice to actually have a trunk to put bags in, instead of the back seat in the FL sun.

Cagalli Yula (Subaru BRZ) Windshield Replacement

As told previously the windshield on my 2014 Subaru BRZ was cracked.
I got it replaced by Clear Vision Auto Glass who came out and did the repair.

Some before pictures of the windshield and crack:

Cagalli Yula (Subaru BRZ) Cracked Windshield and on Being Too Low

On our way to Lock Haven, PA for Megatransect the windshield got hit by something. We were on I-476 heading north. Apparently whatever hit was near the A pillar.
And with a thwack a crack appeared.

Cagalli Yula (Subaru BRZ) Full Detail

Today I had my car go in for a full detail at The Studio which is part of the RDS Auto Group who are Porsche, Maserati, and McLaren dealers in the Philadelphia area. They also do Xpel Ultimate clear bras.

But today I just brought in the car for a full detail and to have some of the paint / clear coat swirl cleaned up by a good compound and buff / wax.

Memorial Day Camping with a Subaru BRZ

Holly and I went camping with our running group this weekend.
We took a Full foam mattress with us. Tent, food, alcohol, clothes, and so on. It really was impressive the amount of stuff we fit in that car.

Cagalli Yula (Subaru BRZ), Paint Chip Repair

I recently got some chipped paint, from rocks hitting the car and other road / highway debris, so as to prevent future rusting.
I had Cavallo Auto Body do the work.

Extended Test Drive, 2015 Chevrolet Cruze

So Holly has reviewed the 2014 Chevrolet Cruze here and is not really much of a fan, she's had it as a rental many times, this time was the first time I'd driven one.

This is going to be part test drive / car review and part road trip related travel journal.