DRIVER'S SIDE DIATRIBE
By Al Vinikour     

Pardon the pun but I am a "huge’" fan of vehicle navigation systems. They’ve been around awhile and just keep getting better and better. One thing stays consistent, however, and that’s the female voice who gives you directions. I’m sure it has to be a computer-generated voice or else some poor woman is working 24/7/365 and taking enough bennies, yellow jackets and greenies to gladden a Teamster convention.

DRIVER'S SIDE DIATRIBE
By Al Vinikour    

How many times have you driven through a construction zone and wondered what the area was blocked off for since nobody is working within ten miles of where you’ve been, while sitting in a traffic jam for the last half-hour?

DRIVER'S SIDE DIATRIBE
By Al Vinikour    

This week you folks are getting a double-header. I have two, but equally-related gripes that need addressing and I’m just the man to do it. Let’s begin, shall we?

Until last week I hadn’t really driven vast distances in any of our western states. However, I was given the opportunity to join in a driving event put on by Volvo Cars North America to experience what they called “The XC Lifestyle.”

DRIVER'S SIDE DIATRIBE
By Al Vinikour    

I think it’s safe to say most people like their cars. It’s probably just as safe to assume most selected them personally. Completing the “hat trick” it’s probably just as realistic to assume purchasing a vehicle is not only a huge financial commitment but the purchaser is probably — at best — hurting for money.

DRIVER'S SIDE DIATRIBE
By Al Vinikour            

DRIVER'S SIDE DIATRIBE
By Al Vinikour       

Growing up in Indiana there were two things that were common — swapping baseball cards and sitting alongside the highway identifying car types as they sped by. (Actually there were three if you added cow-tipping to the mix.)

DRIVER'S SIDE DIATRIBE
By Al Vinikour         

With no exaggeration I’ve probably made the drive between Chicago and Detroit a minimum of 500 times. There aren’t many things about that trek that surprise me. However, this past week may have broken the mold.

We accompanied my beloved twin-grandsons and their parents from Detroit to Chicago to spend a week of sightseeing. I lived in Chicago for 22 years before moving to this third-world atoll so I know my way around the Windy City pretty well.

DRIVER'S SIDE DIATRIBE
By Al Vinikour   

Whenever the subject of new cars and new car accessories comes up the first and probably most important topic, at least to some, is the vehicle’s audio system. It seems unless you have a decibel level that will cause your ear drums to explode and blood to gush out of them then you might as well be listening to a talk radio station for all the good it is.

DRIVER'S SIDE DIATRIBE
By Al Vinikour     

The other day I saw a news item on one of the internet sites that listed car names that are the same as geographic locations. I didn’t read it but I thought it would be a great idea to steal and write a column of my own. So I’m going to divert from my usual hatred-filled diatribes and see how many of these past and present vehicles I can remember.