> So which engine do you have now, Ken? Don’t tell me you have an oil burner
> :-)
Gasser. Turbo 3L. The six cylinder engine. The peak HP and Torque is
the same as the old V8, but the difference is that the V8 did it from
grunt to scream whereas this turbo-6 only impresses in a much narrower
power band.
> I’ve only just heard of heated steering wheels, but I can imagine that they
> are a boon in the sort of winters that you get (and we can only dream of now).
This one has heated front and rear seats, every imaginable seat
adjustment, heated steering wheel and the humungous sunroof. Of
course, the NAV system and every other imaginable doodad. But the
heated steering wheel is an absolute requirement for me now. It's a
quality of life issue. Gloves just don't insulate your hands enough
from a cold-soaked steering wheel.
In all honesty, I like winter here much more than winter in Iowa. In
Iowa, the cold is always accompanied by wind. Also, the temperatures
here are so variable. I can get a 15 (F) degree swing in temperatures
in my 14 mile drive two/from work. Our new house will be in the
coldest spot in town, though. While we're moving only a couple blocks
away, we'll be 150 feet lower in altitude and down by the river where
we get ice fog. But the garage is fully insulated, heated, drained and
has hot and cold running water. There were a few days where there was
a significant fog bank below our house. The drive down the hill would
see a big drop in temperature on the in-dash thermometer. The condo
we're moving into had a good solid 1-2 inches of frost on it last
winter. Everything was white with frost.
That all said... It's right now that makes living in Alaska all worth
while. On our hike Saturday night (we didn't get back to the car until
around 11 PM and the sunset hadn't occurred yet) proved why we put up
with winter here. The beauty is overwhelming. I'm not a very emotional
person, and I'm near tears half the time.
However, I did actually use the heated steering wheel and seats three
times in the past week.
One bad thing about Alaska is rock hits on the windshield. There is no
escaping windshield damage. Yesterday, we got another hit from a
passing pickup truck on the Glenn Highway. Clean pavement, not a stone
in sight and this truck passing us in the left lane flips a rock out
of the tire tread and WHACK! right into our windshield. As soon as I
got home, I dabbed more glass glue on it. This is fifth major hit in
10 months and the only reason the windshield is still intact is
because of quick application of the windshield repair kit. It's a
little ugly but effective. If you are quick enough, you can keep the
cracks down below an inch or two.
AG Schnozz
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