Adding Understanding

Dave Winer muses today on the possibility of cars with WiFi. I'm not sure I'm wanting to wait for the auto makers to figure this one out. His post expresses a thought I've had for a while. Our cars need to be able to connect to our houses and to other Wifi networks we might see along the road. Now with some tools like USB cable modems the possibility of being connected in more places is even possible (though doing much music syncing on EDGE would be slow).

Several folks have already done modifications to put Mac minis in cars. We already know that these little computers can drive the car on their own so why not expect a complete data system. At the end of the day I'm thinking I'd rather have an after-market system that easily plugs into the car over a system that comes with the car. The Prius has a great GPS but since it doesn't interface with the systems I use it is less useful than it could be. While an interface would make it more useful, it would still be yet another system and type of system to figure out how to integrate.

"Solar panel for cars" came across my news reader earlier today. What a great idea I thought. Then I looked at the article on the Wired site. Not such a hot idea. The solar panel is in a disc that attaches on the roof. The whole thing is reminiscent of the mobile two-way satellite arrangements for motor homes. While the solar panel may indeed "provide power for gadgets" slowing down a couple of MPH will save a lot more than the added cost of the aerodynamic drag this monster is sure to generate.

Of course the week after we purchase a new car there has to be news on what's coming next. True to form Wired has the article today about the impressive next generation of electric vehicles. Then again our car will be paid off a lot sooner than one costing $80,000. The pop-culture buffs amongst us will appreciate that in driving a Prius you're driving the same car as Alexandra Paul, Alicia Silverstone, Billy Crystal, Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, David Duchovny, Ellen DeGeneres, Gwyneth Paltrow, Harrison Ford, Jack Black, Jack Nicholson, Kevin Bacon, Kirk Douglas, Kurt Russell, Leonardo DiCaprio, Patricia Arquette, Rob Reiner, Robin Williams, Salma Hayek, Susan Sarandon, Steven Spielberg, Tim Robbins, Ted Danson, Tom Hanks, Woody Harrelson and Will Ferrell.

Not long ago having a damaged 17-inch wheel on the Passat I started looking for replacements. Of course the wheels I bought some years ago at a discount were discounted back then for being on close-out. Heading over to the universal parts store (E-bay) I located a set of factory rims taken from a 2001.5 Passat. The Passat B5 got a mid-year make-over. Across the net and in parts stores the first question asked is whether you have an early or late 2001. Having an early 2001 I held my breath a bit to see if the wheels would fit. I knew they had the same 5-112mm pattern but was the offset terribly different?

Some checking confirmed that both the early and late 2001 Passats use the same offset. Somewhere in the +35mm range. So far so good. A quick trip to Discount Tire to have them balanced and mounted and then next problem arises. Volkswagen uses a rather unusual wheel stud. The shoulder on a VW wheel stud is rounded vs the cone-shape of the after-market rims currently on the car. I came back last evening joking that when I called the parts store today they'd have 19 but not the 20 of them I needed. The VW dealer an hour away has 30 in-stock. Checks of Auto Zone and Checker Auto Parts came up empty. However, NAPA Auto Parts had them. And of course of the three local stores one had - you guessed it - 19 in stock. Fortunately the third store had eight in the store. As soon as the truck arrives from the other store it should be a complete set.

The exercise wasn't a complete waste, however, as in addition to the necessary wheel studs I found a K&N air filter in stock at one of the parts stores.