Riding In The Versa

I've been driving the Nissan Versa rental for a week now and actually it has grown on me.
I am not driving it like Rhys Millen going up Pike's Peak, but I've put almost 200 miles on it.....lots of stop and go city driving, night freeway driving, wet driving and up and down on some majorly steep hills in SF. It performs quite confidently thanks to decent low end torque. The engine is sounding less harsh...maybe because it is breaking in now. It has a slightly whinier pitch, but I wouldn't call it unpleasant. The shifting in city driving is smoother and more predictable than the Elantra. Go to 3000 on the odometer and it goes to the next gear immediately. On the Elantra there was a weird lag in one of the gears when it was new. Where I see it slightly weaker than the Elantra is accelerating from 35mph to freeway speed. It definitely takes longer. Also the Versa's gaps between gears on the shifter is very short. I find myself shifting from neutral all the way to 2nd gear sometimes.



Having a chance to drive another new car I kind of marvel at how the designers implement the different features in cars.

1. The Versa automatically locks the doors when the car reaches a certain speed and automatically unlocks when you turn off the engine. The Elantra does not.
2. If you manually lock the door and close the door, the Elantra actually will arm the alarm silently. The Versa will only arm the alarm when use the keyfob and horn will beep.
3. The Versa has a tone if you leave the lights on after removing the key. The Elantra turns off the lights for you when you take the key out. You cannot even turn on the headlights without the being engine on.

I will have this car for perhap a week more. I won't be getting the Elantra until next month.

Do I miss my Hyundai? Not really. Maybe a tiny bit. Though this week while driving the Versa, I've been seeing more and more Elantras on the road. I have seen one almost everyday this week. So it seems they are gaining ground finally in Northern California.

First Accident, Part 2

Odometer: 17608
MPG: 30.1

So far the accident handling has gone smoothly.
Though I got a few suggestions for autobody shops from friends and relatives, I decided to rely on Yelp. I selected a shop near me with stellar reviews called Gava's. They seemed pretty straightforward and unshifty, so first impressions were good. Got me an estimate in about 15 minutes. Found additional damage the metal floorboard where the spare rests.

I called the guy that hit me with the autobody shop's estimate (over $4000) and he on the spot decided he can't pay out of pocket.
By the time I called AAA, they had already found out the guy filed a claim with his insurance.

AAA was pretty quick in getting Hertz to call me. The only thing I needed to do was call State Farm to let them know I intended to seek some medical treatment/diagnosis.

I saw a chiropractor yesterday. They said basically what State Farm said, that they wouldn't pay me or AAA until all medical treatments were concluded.

Hertz gave me a brand new Nissan Versa sedan (under 80 miles on the odometer). It is a cheap little car, but it drives fine. Engine has pep though harsh sounding. I expected it to feel roomier based on the first commercials, but most of the space is headroom. Worse thing about it is that the new car smell is almost overwhelming.

Sweet Dream

This probably wouldn't happen in real life, but Elantra owners can dream, right?
2009 Elantra commercial from Canada. Cute. Too bad Hyundai doesn't make these fun commercials for the USA. The actress is Elisabeth Abbott.

First Accident

Odometer: 17,524
MPG: 32 (higher b/c i took a long trip down to Santa Cruz over the weekend)

Last Tuesday in rush hour stop and go traffic I got into my first accident in the Hyundai.
Traffic was going from a decent pace to a full stop. The guy in front of me stopped. I stopped. The guy behind me also stopped but I had to help him a little with my bumper. He turned a little to try to avoid me, but only succeeded in hitting my car more squarely behind the driver's side. It was a pretty hard hit. I heard breaking plastic or lamps.
We both had to move from the passing lane all the way to the right shoulder We both came out to survey the damage. It was kind of getting dark, so visibility was limited. His bumper had a pinch in it. It looked pretty bad. My initial thoughts were that he was in a previous accident, but I did not ask. His car was a 2000 Civic according to his insurance card.
The main damage I saw was a heavily scratched and slightly deformed bumper on my car.
He remarked about the Elantra....whoa, these things hold up pretty well. I didn't really answer him.
I took some pix the next day to FB, but only took some quick pix of the bumper.
Only today after getting back from a weekend trip, did I looked really close to the whole rear half of the car. It wasn't just the plastic bumper...
1. The force of the hit on mainly the left side of the car generated enough force to buckle the metal panel in front of the wheel well. The panel is push so it is contacting the door panel.
The rear door now closes with a weird sound because it isn't engaging with the locking mechanism.
2. The trunk opens and closes normally, but the left side is higher than the other.
3. There is a crack on the underside of the bumper.





Injury? I didn't feel any pain right after the accident. I continued on my drive to my night class.
It wasn't until I went to bed and was trying to lay down that I felt pain in the muscle on the left front of my neck. And when on my back, I felt a pain between the spine and right shoulder blade. I could only sleep on my back or left side. Sleeping on my right side would require using that muscle in my neck that was strained. The first morning my shoulders were achy and I could feel a similar pain on the right side front of my neck, but not as bad. A friend said the first morning is often when most pain after car accidents manifest themselves. Hot showers are a must to try to ease the tension.

Wasn't until Sunday night that the ache subsided enough that I could bear sleeping on the right side, though it is there. Still considering going to a chiropracter to get checked out.
Need to get an estimate to relay the cost to the guy who hit me.

Super Bowl Commercials

Odometer: 17, xxx
MPG: 25.7

Nothing new going on with the car. I've been logging more freeway mileage in the last couple of weeks, but haven't seen the MPG's jump higher yet.

Just found out Hyundai will be showing 7 different commercials on the Super Bowl broadcast, including one featuring Brett Favre playing himself 10 years in the future. Companies consider it a big deal just to have one on. Hyundai is freaking ambitious! I don't plan to watch the game, but the videos are already on YouTube. Here's a link to the extended version of the Favre ad where he espouses blueberries as helping him make it 29 years in the NFL!