We collectively decided to avoid a transmission repair after discovering the cost of a new (not remanufactured) trans would be $4,200. On a vehicle valued at $4,500, it’s tough to justify the expense. Well, it’s cheaper than a new car… but there’s an underlying issue. The early Escape was very much a “parts bin” car. Basic platform from the Mazda 626, Duratec V6 from the Taurus, and the CD4E automatic from the… Contour.

Doing some basic math, a transmission designed to drag around a 2,800-lb. car will not do well when presented with 3,500 pounds and more horsepower from a larger motor. Failure is common among early Escapes if not meticulously cared for. My parents, as much as they do care for their vehicles, were not the most diligent at having the transmission fluid flushed, which ultimately led to the demise of all forward gears.

One of my dealership friends offered to take the Escape to a wholesaler, since Mom and Dad had already decided on a new car (2011 Outback) and needed it gone. We had three sets of keys for the Escape, and I confess now – I kept one set. Coincidentally, it’s the set I used when the Escape was “mine” for three years.

Why keep a set of keys to a car that I’ll likely never see again? Memories,and lots of them.

I was in the fifth grade when I got off the bus after school and saw it sitting in the driveway, Mom and Dad beaming as they finally found a replacement for her ‘87 Sentra E (that’s the base-base-base model) that had needed replacing for years. It was a tan color, which Ford dubbed “Light Parchment Gold Metallic,” or, “We couldn’t think of a good name either.” I grew to despise the non-color… but the other choice back in late 2000 was “Chrome Yellow” – a shade slightly brighter than that of my fifth-grade cheese wagon. Mom apparently chose the lesser of the two evils, since she really didn’t want any of the other colors offered.

Anyway, back to memories. Let’s see. I learned to drive in the Escape. I got my license on the last day of my driver’s ed week, and drove solo to dinner that night. After dinner, I picked up my then-girlfriend and drove to Hershey’s for ice cream. With the sunroof open. By myself. It was fantastic.

The “skin tone metallic” SUV saw so much hoonery in my hands. Twelve friends crammed inside for a late-night Wendy’s run? Sure thing. Pull my buddy’s bogged-down Wrangler out of a mud pit? Thanks, champ. One (just one, I swear) quick Neutral-drop to see if I could chirp tires? Sorry about that, buddy. A road trip to check out the JMU campus, another trip to visit friends my senior year (and an 87 mph speeding ticket, oops), and countless other trips to Harrisonburg with all of my worldly possessions in tow? Yep.

My “performance driving” started in the Escape, too – as in, I got all of the stupid teenage-guy stuff out of the way before I bought a real sports car. I learned how beastly it was in the snow. I learned what “snap oversteer” meant, long before I knew what oversteer was, ending up in a neighbor’s snow-covered front yard after sliding between their mailbox and a Ford Econoline in their driveway. A change of underwear later, all was well there.

I read online about the 108-mph electronic fuel cutoff. One night, I verified that our particular Escape had that cutoff properly installed. After some bwap-bwap-bwap – that’s the ECU cutting fuel at 108, slowing to 107 and giving fuel again, hitting 108, you get the picture – I slowed back down and never reached triple digits in that car again.

After all of the shenanigans – and more that I probably can’t remember now – I just couldn’t bear to give up the keys that enabled it all. And if I see a tan Escape XLT around town soon, with a certain black ’shorty’ antenna and some telltale paint scratches on the roof, I may have to double-click the ‘Lock’ button on the remote and see if it’s “the one” that provided so many great times.

I admit – I was hoping to drive a 6-speed GTS, the “sport” trim. Unfortunately, those are none too popular in little ol’ Harrisonburg, so I drove an SE with Suzuki’s continuously variable transmission (CVT). The CVT doesn’t have traditional gear ratios; rather, it changes ratios “on the fly” to optimize power and/or fuel economy. Many new cars are equipped with CVTs compared to a traditional automatic transmission… and I still hate all of them.

See, the Kizashi is a really, really nice little car. It’s comfortable, looks great (even the “almost-base” SE trim has nice alloy wheels), and handles well. The 180-hp 4-cylinder sure seemed like it had enough power, but much of it got ‘lost in transmission.’

Drive around town, and the CVT will rev to 2,500 rpm and… stay there. Floor it, and the CVT will rev to 6,000 rpm and… stay there. It’s just awful, and it’s not Suzuki’s fault. Countless other companies use them now, and I’ve hated every one that I’ve driven or been in. They make the car feel lethargic, when really, it’s perfectly adequate on power. They only aid in motor drone. Much like everything Toyota produces, they remove every bit of soul from the driving experience.

Okay, enough about my hatred for CVTs. Back to the Kizashi. It’s a looker. Picture the previous-generation VW Jetta, add some stylish ‘droop’ in spots, and you’ve got the Kizashi. I like it. It really looks good in darker colors. The one I drove was a pearl white, which didn’t accentuate the lines of the car quite right for my taste.

The interior is very nice, with tight panel gaps and comfortable cloth seats. The beige cloth on the test car will likely get dirty quickly; I’d prefer the black cloth interior offered with other paint colors. Doors to storage pockets open and close with soft touches. Nothing is loose, rattly or clunky here. Even the low-end SE features steering wheel audio controls, with cruise control occupying the opposite spoke.

It’s larger inside than you’d think; I was comfortable sitting “behind myself” with the driver’s seat set for my 6′ 2″ frame. That’s a rarity with new sedans – the swoopy roofline on many makes it impossible to fit in the back seat. Not so on the Kizashi.

The kicker for this car is the price… the SE starts at $22,300 and the GTS is just $1k more. That’s a lot of car for the money, if you’re buying brand new. Suzuki has certainly come far, and I really came away from the Kizashi surprisingly impressed. Were I in the market for a brand new compact sedan, the Kizashi would be on my short list.

With college life being as it is, I can’t promise any frequency of writing. Hopefully what I do write will be interesting, though. Please feel free to comment on the posts!

For future reference, all car-related posts can be found here.

Should interns get the keys to the social media machine? Weigh in here: http://scottwesterman.com/?p=1288

The public reply by Scott Westerman makes perfect sense, and I have to agree with the points he makes. To make things more simple, I figured I’d outline my take on my own blog, versus a comment on Scott’s.

I’ve had a fantastic “real-world” internship experience at AOL this summer. Do I want to stay there after I graduate? Well, I don’t know yet.  Either way, although I’m young and new to the corporate world, I’ve been trusted with some monstrous projects. I’ve been included in huge meetings. I’ve videoconferenced and emailed directly with AOL’s CEO, Tim Armstrong, and heads of two divisions, Media and Mobile.

One of said projects is, effectively, turning around the Twitter account and social media branding for my division, AOL Jobs. We’ve done some cool stuff so far, and my message to coworkers has been “personalization!” People like talking to people, not robots.

Our Twitter account was exclusively being handled by “Twitterfeed,” a website that links to your account and automatically posts tweets based on your blog’s RSS feed. Since AOL Jobs’ articles do comprise a RSS feed, it all worked.

Someone set this up at least a year ago, and they don’t work in the division anymore. We are trying to remove this “functionality” because it’s had devastating effects on our efforts. You see, Twitter is selective about search results, and trending topics, and so on. I’ve had to research their rules for “how to trend and show up in search” because we were not.

Long story short, if your account is exclusively automated, you will be banned from trending and search unless you submit a trouble ticket and ask nicely to be included again. And then you have to post things that are not automated to redeem yourself. That’s where I come in. It’s a work in progress, but we’re getting there.

So, Scott, why AREN’T you using an intern? Us young folks love this social media stuff – our iPhones, Droids and Crackberries are the first thing we see in the morning and the last thing we see at night. Really. You want a fresh perspective, get someone my age in with your company and have them handle Tweeting.

We know how to make things trend, how to effectively search, and how to say a whole lot of good things in just 140 characters. We do things now and don’t like to wait. We embody the concept of Twitter – at least, those of us who embrace it do. I admit, many of my friends still don’t “get it” – but those who do are using it effectively.

Sure, the intern crowd is young, but those of us who know our stuff are valuable and a great commodity to companies such as AOL and Ford Motor Company. I was hired specifically because AOL Jobs wanted a fresh perspective on what they’re doing this summer.

I really love what FMC is doing on Facebook, Twitter and so on. You guys are doing it well and you’re doing it right. It’s obvious that you, Scott, and those on your team really have a vision for what you want to accomplish, and believe in said vision as well as the company and its’ products.

I’m not sure how I feel about Detroit… but I have strong opinions on Twitter and yes, Ford, too.

So, Scott, what do you think of what I’m saying? You asked for perspective, so there’s mine. I hope it helps you and your interns out.

And by the way – I’m graduating in May and if you can’t tell, think your team is really knocking it out of the park. It would be great to chat with you sometime and see if I could add anything to the FoMoCo social media efforts and strategies post-graduation.

I’ve neglected to keep my own website up-to-date this summer. Work really plays a part – when I get home, I don’t want to sit down in front of my computer after spending eight hours at a computer. Either way, I have a free weekend, so I’m posting this and doing some work tomorrow, too.

I want to upgrade to WordPress 3.0, and change up my layout/theme. The current theme was custom-designed by yours truly. It was a massive undertaking and great learning experience. I don’t have the time to re-code a new theme, so I may let some other people take over. I found a great design from WooThemes, and with some tweaks, it may be what I am looking for.

Some updates on my life since beginning the internship with AOL:

New iToys
I purchased the new iPhone 4 on launch day – went to Fair Oaks and hung out with some other “defruited” friends in line. Had a great time and it’s been entertaining following the hoopla surrounding the antenna and things. Supposedly I’ll get a free Bumper case from Apple now, though whether or not I use it is yet to be seen.

I also acquired an iPad. No, I didn’t buy it. Rather, I won it on Twitter. I entered a Twitter contest to show someone on my team at work how they operated. The next Monday, I had a call from the nice people at Speck Products telling me that I had won their “iPad for Dad” giveaway! How cool is that… I never win anything, so it was pretty awesome. Thanks again, Speck, for the 16 GB iPad, two cases, $50 to iTunes, and free swanky T-shirt! So far, I haven’t devoted much time to finding cool, outside-the-box apps for it. My goal is to have it prepped for the fall semester at JMU, hopefully to use as a note-taking device in class.

Car Parts
With a “big boy job” such as my AOL internship comes a “big boy paycheck” every two weeks. It’s been a huge help/relief to have steady money coming in – and that is definitely a plus for graduating and getting a good job. I like expensive things, and I like paying for them myself.

So, with these paychecks, I’ve put a little bit of money into the Miata to keep everything up to spec. I had been making a list of the small things I wanted, that were not critical, to replace in due time. I finally ordered and installed a majority of the parts. New shift boots, dipstick, washer fluid system and PCV system, to name a few.

Next up is a set of V-Maxx coilovers from Flyin’ Miata. I need to call and clarify a few things on Monday before I order them. It should be a great replacement and upgrade from the tired stock suspension pieces.

This AOL Internship
Okay, okay, enough about cars and iPads, what about the sweetest part of my summer, my internship? Well, it’s been a blast so far. I’ve met some really great people and my team is small but focused. AOL as a whole is focusing all of their efforts this summer into completely turning the company around. They helped bring the Internet to the masses back in the day, sort of lost their focus with Time Warner in the early 2000’s, and now they’re focusing on content.

This is a monumental time to be interning with the AOL team. I feel very fortunate to have earned the internship, and am trying hard to meet people through those I already know while I am with AOL. The interns had a video conference with Tim Armstrong, the CEO, and he encouraged us to email him with suggestions for the Mobile team. I emailed him at 4:00 that afternoon (for the record, it was a Friday) and he replied back within the hour. What a guy. He also forwarded my suggestions on to two other executives, Brad Garlinghouse (director of mobile) and David Eun (director of media). They both thanked me directly as well. David Eun happened to be in the Dulles office this past Thursday, and I got to meet him in person – again, a great opportunity.

I’m not sure what will happen after I head back to JMU on August 20, but I’ve really had a great time so far.

Other Happenings
I’m trying to get in touch with David Harris at Mazda, and Scott Monty at Ford. They are the two heads of social media management for their respective companies. I admire what both companies have done in the social realm as of late, and it’d be so great to be able to get a phone call or email with either (or both) of them and find out how to join their team after I graduate. We’ll see what happens regarding getting in contact. Hmm.

OK, this is long enough… hopefully a new design will happen in the next few days!

It’s time to pack up and clean up at Pheasant Run for the rest of the summer. Get rid of old food in the fridge and freezer, vacuum, do some laundry, and disconnect the internet among other things.

Working with newly-admitted SMAD students has been a lot of fun – kind of similar to my time at Apple teaching One to One members, but focusing exclusively on media creation applications. And just as with One to One, everyone learns at a different pace. Some see things more logically, whereas others are likely to get flustered or confused easily. Regardless, they all seem to be finishing up their projects and doing well.

I’m looking forward to heading home on Sunday evening and starting with AOL bright and early on Monday. I spent some time figuring out my finances today. Between my two summer jobs, I will be able to (finally) pay off what little remains on the Miata, do some nice upgrades, and have a good bit of savings to bank as well.

My feelers are also out for a BMW 5-series of the E34 variety – so 1989 to 1995. My long-term goal is, and has been, to purchase a second car and make the Miata more track-oriented. If I have a comfortable daily driver, then it won’t matter if the suspension rides really rough. So… if I come across a decent condition E34 with a manual transmission (a must) that is not black (two black cars would be torture to keep clean) and is a good price, I may snag it this summer.

Well, time to close out of the lab and hit up BDubs for 55¢ wing night. It’s been real, SMADdies. On to BDubs, autocross, and AOL!

I’m currently down in Harrisonburg, where I’ve been working two jobs for SMAD throughout Maymester. Maymester – for those not versed in all-things JMU – is a four-week class session where students may take one or two classes. The workload is much more intense, but it’s a great way to stay in town a bit longer, and earn class credit while you’re here.

My Maymester experience has been a bit different. I’m not taking classes. Rather, I’m working as a student assistant for the SMAD 201 and 202 introductory courses. So, I’m in the labs helping the 201/202 students outside of class hours. They have a great deal of software and concepts to master in four short weeks, so I’m doing my best to be available and answer questions. Adobe Creative Suite is not the easiest thing to pick up so quickly.

I’m also working on converting old sound effects to digital files. This is a project for one professor, who sourced the effects from Hollywood Studios in California. They date back to the 1970s and are on reel-to-reel tape. It’s tedious, and some of the sounds are just un-usable by now, but it’s also been an interesting experience in the realm of conversions. Later this summer, I’m planning on converting some of my dad’s old Betamax tapes (yes, those) to digital files, along with our family’s VHS tapes.

Speaking of heading to mom and dad’s… that’s what I’m doing after Maymester ends. I’ve been hired as an intern for AOL Jobs, which is a division of AOL, who is conveniently based out of Dulles, VA. AOL Jobs is a separate little entity, that helps users not only find a job, but improve their resumé and advance their career with helpful articles and resources. My duties will include web design and editing, copy editing, learning about search engine optimization (SEO) and perhaps some copy writing as well.

AOL seems to have a fantastic internship program and I am excited to get started! There are four other interns at the Dulles office, so I won’t be flying solo all summer. We are all working in different divisions, but I have a feeling we’ll also be collaborating quite a bit as well.

The internship starts on June 14th and lasts through the summer. When I’m not working at AOL – it’s full time and paid, which is awesome! – I’ll be spending the majority of my weekends either working track weekends or racing in autocrosses. There’s also, of course, a list of little projects that I’d like to tackle on the Miata as I have time. Nothing ground-breaking, but it’s all of the fixes and improvements that I’ve put off during the school year. Now that I have some time and tools, it’s a great opportunity to check some boxes.

So, there’s my update. I’m heading to Greenwich, CT with the Davids this weekend for the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance. They have gone multiple times and had a blast, so I’m looking forward to seeing some incredible history in the automobile world in a short two day span.

Dear Mr. Thiewes:

First, let me say that your letter is elegant and compelling. I hope you are receiving an A in the class.

Second, I hope my response is coherent, because I’ve spend eight hours on the road today. However, I felt you deserved a response this evening.

Third, I write this knowing you may share it with your class. That is fine, and I’ll let you decide how much to share, for some of what I will say I have not said in the Breeze forum in the interest of privacy for those who emailed me.

You may have noticed in the Breeze forum following the publication of my letter (the title was the Breeze’s), if you’ve followed it, that none of Springfest’s organizers have posted, no surprise, nor, to my knowledge, have any of the many students who take pride in JMU’s high party-school ranking in Playboy. Most of the posts and the private emails I’ve received from students have been pretty much like yours, though none so well reasoned. These are students who to participate in activities similar to yours; who are “right-thing doers.” Most of them, not you however, tended to view Springfest as a somewhat isolated incident, and they focused on distancing themselves from it. Springfest was, I believe, an extreme example of what happens every weekend to a lesser extent, a burst boil that leaves the infection behind (I know, terrible metaphor). JMU has a terrible alcohol problem, worse than most people think, and most people think it is very bad. I know this because, through family circumstance, I know several of the people who for years have delivered food to the student housing area. Every year they long for graduation and for most of the students to leave, even though during the summer months they make significantly less money. The stories they tell of student activities are appalling, so I take issue with your terms “vast majority” and “innumerable,” and that they’d rather make less money than enter the, as they call it, “debauchery zone,” gives their stories a great deal of credence.

Most of the students who emailed me or posted to the forum, including you, wanted me to acknowledge their contributions, for which indeed they should be proud. Most of their messages and yours also, subtly in many cases, rebuked me for treating them unfairly. I did. But (there’s always a “but”) was it fair that because of Springfest the terrified little girl of a faculty member living near student housing had to have the police take her home, because her grandmother couldn’t safely get to her house? This was a little girl who saw, according to her mother, more lewdness in that short trip up her street than her mother has seen in her life, and who wanted to attend JMU until April 10th. Was it fair to the student who last week was told during an internship interview that “We can’t take any JMU students at this time”? Still, I was unfair to you and others, and two unfairs don’t make a right or something like that. So I’ll get to that in a minute.

As I said, the hard-partiers-proud-of-the-party-school-reputation students, which I think are the majority of JMU students, though not a vast majority, didn’t comment on my letter, but not because they are hanging their heads in shame. Rather, they simply do not care, and they are waiting for the riot-generated spotlight to pass. We can’t expect from them any help in changing things. So I unfairly put the burden on students like you, that’s life, but if students like you don’t change things, don’t work to diminish JMU’s party-school reputation and by extension the amount of alcohol consumption, who will? The students not like you?

Some students who’ve contacted me have said the responsibility for changing things lies with the faculty and the administration. Maybe, but as I posted at one point, the faculty and the administration can only act punitively by either making sure students have a great deal less time on their hands and/or by moving closer to zero tolerance for alcohol related offenses, on and off campus.

However, in pondering what I’ve just said, you might want to ask yourself some questions. I see that you’re a junior, so in which year did you last have a MWF class, not MW, MWF? Do you have classes on MWF, on MWF at 8am, on MWF and TTH at 8am? Do you have late afternoon classes that meet on Fridays? Do you ever have assignments that require a whole weekend to complete more than three times in a semester? Have you since you’ve been here ever had to spend a great deal of time completing an assignment over Spring Break? If you answered “Yes” to my questions, would a significant number of your peers outside your major answer “Yes” as well? Do you spend at least two hours a week per credit hour of enrollment studying? Do your peers? I suspect you have a high GPA. Do some of your peers who work far less hard than you work and whose work is of a lower quality than yours have a similar or higher GPA?

I guess I never really apologized for treating you unfairly, but then you don’t need that, do you? You seem to know yourself.

Kenneth

Dr. Wright makes several blanket claims that frankly, are disappointing. While I understand his perspective, his bold statements come across as somewhat immature. As one classmate said, it’s as though he’s a parent that pulled the “ungrateful card” on their child. Following round-two of some intensely intelligent discussion in one of my classes, I felt compelled to email Dr. Wright with my perspective on his perspective. Enjoy.

Dr. Wright,

In discussing the Monday edition of The Breeze in class this afternoon, your guest editorial regarding Springfest was brought to the foreground. I feel compelled to write, not to ask for forgiveness or approval of what took place on April 10. Rather, I am writing because the tone and implication of some of what you wrote saddens me.

Your claim that “JMU is not your university; it does not belong to you” is one that was discussed in great detail today. The tone of that paragraph, as well as those that follow, is worrisome. The implication is that the student body is made up of guests, transient, ungrateful beings who do nothing more than attend classes, pay tuition, and earn degrees before progressing into the “real world.”

While I agree that James Madison University is no more mine than it is yours, it is also very much my university. A vast majority of students at this University are leaders, both on campus and in the greater Harrisonburg community. I am a leader of a club on campus, and in my short three years, have managed to not only change and expand my life, but the lives of others.

In “doing the right thing,” I have contributed to the happiness, spirit, and well-being of James Madison University and the city of Harrisonburg. While I have taken – the education, knowledge, and oft-thankless work of countless faculty and staff – I have also given back. Thus, I am proud to say that JMU is my university. I am not a guest in the city of Harrisonburg – rather, I am a proud resident and student of the community.

My time at JMU thus far has been nothing short of incredible. I have earned a world-class education, met amazing professors and lifelong friends, been active in numerous clubs and organizations, and yes, attended the occasional party. As a “right-thing-doer” in the JMU community, I have promoted the University to potential students and their parents, to businesses, to colleagues. James Madison University has a great reputation for academics, both in the caliber of the graduates and the professors who support and educate said grads

Your implication that college must be a strict four years of nothing but education worries me. College is about priorities, and I agree that education must come first. You are correct in claiming that we (students, parents, and lenders) are not technically paying for anything but the education.

However, the “college experience” that results from each student’s four years (give or take) in Harrisonburg is not strictly educational. It is a four-year period of growth, change, balance, and opportunity. The “real world” is not solely focused on work – rather, the focus is the drive to find balance between work and pleasure.

I believe I have found that balance, and that the majority of the James Madison student body has as well. I am not writing to explicitly invalidate your opinion. I am writing to ask that you consider and recognize the innumerable students who appreciate the value of their JMU experience and are grateful for their time in this city and at this University.

Respectfully,

Jake Thiewes
JMU Class of 2011

Well we weren’t drunk, but this weekend was full of driving and great music. Joey, Chad and I packed up and left Harrisonburg on Saturday morning. Chad and I dropped the top on the Miata and relentlessly began the pursuit of Joey’s M3. The intended route was to take I-81 south to Buena Vista, then hop on the Blue Ridge Parkway from there. Well, the Parkway was closed due to icing. So, we took Route 11 and got on the Parkway further south. Drove into Roanoke and met Adam Flint for lunch, then it was off to some great local roads for another four hours of 6,000 rpm in second gear.

Our final stop was Joey’s house in Bedford, where we met his parents and two (very affectionate) dogs. Dinner was good and the dogs took quite the liking to me and Chad. Attention, they liked it. We woke up this morning and spent a few hours chatting, drinking coffee and admiring the view. Chad and I left around 1:30, JMU-bound.

We decided to take Route 11 all the way up to Harrisonburg. The interstate is boring, and we had all day, so why not? As we left Joey in Buchanan, I commented to Chad how great a burger and milkshake would be, from some random diner. He vehemently agreed – and after 15 miles or so, we spotted the “Pink Cadillac Diner” on the side of the road, in Natural Bridge, VA. The bacon cheddar burger and chocolate shake were fantastic.

Chad drove the rest of the way back to Harrisonburg. I was pretty beat from Saturday’s stints behind the wheel, and he enjoyed the adult-sized go-kart from a new perspective. Of course, we had great music playing throughout the weekend, and took every opportunity to crank it and sing along. It was a great, great weekend, and I enjoyed getting to know Chad more too. Hopefully he feels like he’s made some friends in MM now, and isn’t just part of the car club.

I think this is how college is supposed to be. Hopefully the rest of my spring break goes just as well – I need to figure out my summer plans. Digico is an amazing opportunity, but it’s unpaid. My staying in Harrisonburg for the summer depends on finding some sort of income. Here’s hoping.

But whatever road you choose, I’m right behind you, win or lose. Forever young.