| Holden Report - March 2001 | ||
Holden Fact No.38: Holdens attract more parking fines than any other make of vehicle. Sometime after Carl had had his operation and just before Steve was admitted, Sam took the Holden to the car-hospital. There were strange metallic rumblings emanating from beneath the hood particuarly at start-up which was worrisome to say the least before a road-trip to Tauranga. The verdict from Uptown Motors was a 'tired' engine, which required some TLC, an oil lube, and careful application of the accelerator when starting the engine. One wonders how long she can keep purring!! They also fixed the handbrake light, which had re-ignited its habit of coming on intermittently - making the driver unsure as to whether the handbrake was on or not!! Sam made the journey to his friends wedding in Tauranga with a couple of notable incidents. The first was a 2 hour drive to Levin. Those in the lower part of the North Island will realise how painfully long that is. Never again will a trip be undertaken at 5pm on a Friday evening - WRETCHED!! The second and by far the most alarming incident of the trip was on the Desert Road. Some time ago 'they' (whoever they are) constructed "slow vehicle lanes" on the Desert Road. A good thing, you would think. Not when the "slow" lane disappears over a 20 ft space and instead of allowing you a shoulder lane to remerge, it turns into loose gravel. Remerging is generally a safe exercise unless you have impatient dickheads who decide to endanger everybodys life by overtaking at the last moment. Add to this potentially-fatal cocktail the fact it was night time, it can only be assumed that Sam's masterly rally driving skills kept himself and the Holden on the road!! Somewhere in between Tauranga and Auckland, the handbrake wire snapped. It has been suggested that Sam's heavy-handedness with the said appendage is the reason for its demise, but this is completely false. The poor old handbrake has the not-so-insignificant weight of a not-so-plastic station-wagon, plus passengers and gear, to uphold on a daily basis. The fact that it does this without breaking more often is a testament to cutting-edge 1970s technology! Holden Fact No.39: Sam is the only band member to have snapped the handbrake repeatedly in 3 years! Apart from not parking on hills and parking in gear (due to handbrake failure) the only other incident of note occured in No-Tree Hill, Auckland. Some time ago when the new doors were fitted for a warrant (see recent Holden reports) CRC was used on a 'sticky' lock (driver door). This had the unfortunate consequence of making the lock fall back down shortly after being lifted to the 'unlocked' position. Thus a self-locking door and potential for a lock-out was created. Which is exactly what happened. Sam left the keys in the ignition so he could run inside and fill his "Pump". Upon returning to the car, he found the door had swung shut in the breeze and the self-locking door had done just that. If it weren't for the fact that Simon was on hand (whose dubious past in possibly West Auckland must be questioned) the journey may have been delayed for a lot longer than it was. Thank ye gods for wire coat hangers!! Attention would-be drivers of the Holden! When braking it is important to note that the car veers (often violently) to the right, which is less than ideal for avoiding head-on traffic. User-discretion is advised. Happy driving campers!!
Holden Report | (previous editions)
- January 2001 | - December 2k - November 2k - October 2k - September 2k (No issue - Holden parked up.) - August 2k - May 2k (Special Edition - while overseas.) - April 2k - March 2k - February 2k - January 2k - December '99 - November '99 - July '99 (Special Edition - while overseas.) - March '99 - February '99 - January '99 (No issue - Holden parked up.) - December '98 - November '98 - October '98 | |