Spa 2 go - Back In Action - 7 of 7

Since moving to my new house, the S2G has been off active duty. However at the request of some visiting friends, the S2G was reinstated into active duty for the Labor Day weekend. The spa was in rough shape though fully functional; here is a list of some issues.-The top tube developed a leak at a fold.

-The new sensors has some corrosion on it (maybe I should not have given away my extra sensor).

-The lower fitting finally blew out, and is leaking

-air biscuit cover does not hold air

-cover is shredded so bad, it is barely even effective at holding the biscuit in place.

Even with all these issues the S2G still heats a tub full of hot water and brings smiles to many a faces. At one time we were able to get six friendly bodies in the tub. A new personal S2G record.

The key to S2G that is often over looked is the chemical levels. I once had someone tell me that she did not like using chemical in her hot tub. Instead she changed out the water once a week or so. Though she didn't add any chemicals, the fact the she and her family went in the tub daily changes the chemical composition of the water for the worse. In a year or so, the internal working of the spa pump had completed corroded due to the acidic water.

I too am guilty of not having perfectly balanced water chemistry. Though I try, the S2G has had organic growth occur on several occasions. The following is what I do to attempt to maintain proper water chemical levels. I have to admitted that I am no pro, and spa professionals reading this might gaff at my ignorance.

Since I was starting with a fresh batch of tap water, the first thing I needed to do was to add some shock. "Shock" is usually a mixture of chemical which attempt to establish a chemical base. Remember that because of the PVC composition of the inflatable tub, non chlorine based chemicals are a must. I use a bromine based shock. Instead of adding it directly to the water. I use a small container where I dissolve the solids into first. I imagine that this helps mix the chemicals and prevents the solid bromine granules from chemically burning the tub material as it sits. A note of spa chemicals; when possible buy solid granule type chemicals as oppose to liquid type. You get more for your money, as liquid based chemicals are simply a dissolved or diluted version; this is per a professional spa man. Next I filled my floating bromine feeder with tablets. You do not need to have a floating feeder, but I find it to be quite necessary in maintaining adequate bromine levels. Without one you would need to add bromine after every soak in order to maintain the desired levels. The bromine is key in keeping the spa sanitary and preventing organic matter from growing. Without it you will have a tub full of nasty bacterias from which infections might be spread or be caught from.

Update: I was adding some chems to my tub this morning and forgot a very important thing. It has to deal with dissolving chemicals in a little container. Always add power to water not water to powder. Though not too important with bromine and PH up, it is a good general rule to obey. If the dry chemical is to have a violent reaction with water it is safer to add small amounts of reactants (dry) to the water, then the other way around.

Testing the water is the next step. There are two types of water test kits. The dye drop kit and the test strips. Having used both, I find that the test strips are much easier to use. Each test strip has the ability to test several water chemistry attributes: bromine levels, PH, and water hardness are the ones I look out for. Simply swrill the test strip in the tub, and compare the resulting colors to the chart to read the levels. I can usually tell with just my nose what the bromine level is, however PH and water hardness are not discerned with a simple sniff.

From what I learned in high school chemistry, PH of 7 is neutral. A fresh tub of spa water should read close to that. However body sweat is very acidic and after a few soaks the PH will most likely be a lot lower than 7 (less than 7 is acidic, more than 7 is basic). Thus when buying PH solutions it is almost never necessary to buy PH down, always get PH up. Acidic water is the main contributor to corrosion of pump parts and sensors.

The final element of spa water chemistry is water hardness. I only recently began monitoring and adjusting my water hardness levels. Though hard water in not good, water that is too "soft" can leach electrons off the metal components further degrading sensors and spa components. This chemical I was only able to find in liquid form.

For the list of shortcoming I posted early, here are my resolutions.

-The leaking top tube was patched with a sealant. This is my new favorite sealing product. Bonds to most things. Dries quickly. Resist oil and gas. And remains flexible when dries. I did not empty the tube completely when I applied the sealant, thus a air channel was formed within the sealing agent. Therefor the repair only helped slow down the leak, and not completely stop it.

-The cracked and leaking lower fitting was very bad, for it happened the night before the guest were to arrive. I was kicking myself for not repairing the lower fitting when I did the upper one. The water had taken 2 days to heat, and to proper repair the fitting would require the draining of the tub. Even if I used the caps to seal the power pack intake and exhaust holes, I would have had to removed the power pack which means disconnecting the air jet intake, which water would have flowed out from . My new favorite sealant was of no help and was not able to patch the large leaking crack. Instead, at the suggestion of my wife, I wrapped many length of duck tape around and fitting. And guess what it worked. The leak was reduced to a small drip and after a week has completely stopped.

-The leaking air filled cover and the torn cover is more of an annoyance than anything else. I still use both, and flip a section of ridge foam insulation over it to keep the wind from blowing the air biscuit away and to help with keeping the water warm.

-Upon closer inspection, the corrosion on the sensor is from the spring coil part at the top of the sensor. I think the spring coil is there to support the sensor wires. This part must not be made of the same stainless steel as the fitting, for they do not see any rust. The cause is most likely due to water left in the S2G power pack when the unit was stored. This is noted and water will be drained out of the power pack at when the unit is taken down and stored next.

Soon the S2G will be replaced with a more permanent hot tub. At that time all or parts of my S2G will be up for sale. Please contact me for any presale request.

Hope this series of Spa 2 Go articles have been helpful to you all. Please leave comments or your own S2G repair tips, "how to's", and stories.

Soak ON!

Headlight Polishing

Back in the day, the headlight of your car was a sealed unit. A glass enclosure the size of a box of tissue, which contained the reflector, and the bulb, made up your headlight unit. Often times this sealed unit contained two bulbs, one for the low and one for the high beam. My 1996 Nissan Pickup truck still had sealed units. When your headlights burned out, you needed to replace the entire unit. However most modern cars stopped using this type of headlight set up. Instead most auto manufactures opt for a replacement bulb type of set up. My 1990 300zx was this type, so it is not just based on year. Why did this switch occur? Let's list the pros and con's of both type of headlights.

Sealed Beam Pro: Robust pre manufactured unit. Damaged headlight easily replaced.

Sealed Beam Con: Wasteful, perfectly good lenses, and reflector replaced when only the bulb is burnt out. Sometime lamp replacement requires the re aiming of the head light.

Bulb type Pro: Easier to replace burnt headlight. Though the bulb is not always cheaper than the a sealed headlight unit. More integrated headlight design. Auto designers have more freedom to design a headlight that fits the car. This has almost completely eliminated the pop up head light. Ability to use different types of bulbs.

Bulb type Con: Damaged headlight cost alot to fix. Headlight lenses often discolors with age.

This last issue is the topic of our post. When replaceable bulb type headlights first came out the lenses were made of glass. However that trend was short lived and almost all cars use plastic these days. Over the years (sometimes not even many years) the headlights become hazy or begin to turn yellow. This really effects the amount of light thrown out onto the road by your head lights.

(This is the headlight before polishing. It is not too bad however the difference was noticeable in light output.)

The solution: polish your headlight lenses. Almost all plastics can be polished. That includes eye glass lenses, and headlight lenses. Polishing is usually accomplished, by a buffer using a series of decreasing grit polishing agents. A fine wet sand followed by a fabric or foam polisher with a liquid polishing agent. The foam polisher to the right is what I used. However if you do a search on-line there are many different ways to accomplish this task.

I bought a prepackaged headlight polishing kit from HF tools.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=65938

North Peak - Summer Ice Climbing

"Your going ice climbing!? In August (8th)!!??" The was the response I heard when I told people I was planning to climb an ice route up North Peak. It is not commonly known, but there are over 1700 permanent bodies of ice/snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range, 118 of which can be considered true glaciers. This number is for the Sierra Nevada's alone, and do no include the robust California Glaciers of Shasta and the Cascades. (map is borrowed and route shown is not the one described in this trip report)

Sometime in college I became enthralled with climbing big frozen mountains. With a background in rock climbing and backpacking, add to it a few books and movies on Everest, put an ice axe in your hand, and stand on top of a big cold mountain in winter at sunset, and you have an instant lifelong passion. However climbing mountains in the winter is a suffer fest, which is at best enjoyed in small doses.

Glaciers are most spectacular when experienced in the summer. Only then can you appreciate them. Their fight for survival against the heat, a reminder of ice ages of the past, and old man winter's year long grasp. In the winter, when all is covered with snow and ice, a glacier is just another girl at a beauty pageant. In the summer however, when surround by rock, it stands out and commands your full attention, like the one girl you share your bed with.

With the glaciers of the world retreating, I wanted to experience more of my local glaciers before they become extinct. A recent trip to Glacier National Park in Montana, left me with a sunken feeling, as the massive glaciers I witnessed 15 years ago have almost all disappeared. In a few years the park should most likely have to change its name to Dirt and Rock National Park.

North Peak is easily the most popular California summer alpine ice climbing route. However I have never done it. I did not even know about it till I started doing research for a route this summer. Its short approach, and average grade, make it a very popular introductory route for the local guide companies.

North Peak is located just north/east of the Yosemite National Park boundary. It shares a ridge with its famous big brother, Mount Conness. The trailhead starts at Saddlebag lake. Saddlebag lake road begins on Tioga Pass (SR 120) just east of the Yosemite Park entrance. The road is partially paved, and can be accessed by most car. The Hoover Wilderness, which the peak lies within, has no visitor quota. One can easily pick up a wilderness permit the day of. We picked up on at the Bishop Ranger Station, however a Ranger mans the Kiosk at Saddlebag lake Friday through Sunday, and permits can be obtained from him. He say his waking hours are typically 6am to 9pm.

From the over night parking lot we found a trail on the east side of the lake. A water taxi can be used to cross the lake $8 round trip. Starting the hike at about 7 PM we hiked into the night. The temperature was cool in the 50 and dropped to low 40s high 30s in the middle of the night. At the southern end of Steal head lake we made a left onto a spur trail then overland towards Cascade Lake where we made camp for the night. We made hot food and repaired Roger's boot that had blown up on the trail. See:http://mrpulldown.blogspot.com/2009/08/epic-boot-failure-trezeta-double.html

Our small food sack was place on top of a short V1 boulder with no tampering. However the tea bag I left under a rock was chewed through.

The next morning we set off for the peak. We gained the North Peak Glacier via the last vegetated ramp on the left. The morning temps was in the low 60s. The night before we arrived saw temps down in the low 20s. However one or two nights of freezing was not enough to form solid ice out the neve that had resulted from a month of warm nights. Once on the glacier one gets a good view of the three snow/ice filled chutes. The left couloir looked steep and narrow. Too unstable with the soft snow to even consider. We cramponed up at the base of the glacier and walked to the burshrund for the right couloir. The shrund was small and did not span across the entire base of the right couloir. At the shrund we roped up and I took the first lead.

Ice screws were not particularly effective in the soft ice, though the longest of the screws bit firmly upon their last few threads of engagement. Without snow protection, I climbed close to the left wall, and protected the climb with primarily passive rock gear. My original plan to simultaneous climb were abandoned. The lack of solid ice protection coupled with a mountaineering boot which sole and crampon were held on by zip ties and toe clip straps, did not inspire the confidence needed for such rope travel. Instead we did the climb in about 4 pitches.

Once at the saddle of the ice we removed our crampons and moved onto rock. A few hundred vertical feet of "California" fourth class lead us to the summit. Do not over estimate this portion of the climb, for I encountered a stiff section of exposed rock, with a high pucker factor. Roping up for this portion could be considered, however it is extremely lose, and the chance of your rope knocking free a rock is almost guaranteed. Careful route finding could have yielded a more forgiving path.

At the summit we meet a Yosemite firefighter and his scientist friend. Our stay was short, as we started the decent. A walk off the back side could have been accomplished, however we chose to leave our ice gear at the saddle, and thus needed to down climb the fourth class section. Beware the lose rock. From the saddle I glasaded down the wet south face snow field. We then slowly made our way around the western shoulder of north peak, till we found a suitable place to descend back to Cascade Lake.

A miss communication resulted in light food rations for the night. One packet of ramen, and four packets of oatmeal were all we had for dinner and breakfast between the two of us. I have brought my fishing pole and had seen strikes on the water surface of the smaller of the Cascade Lakes. However the fish were after flies and had no interest in my lure. Without floating agent and a bobber, my poor flies sunk. However pity was taken upon me and I soon reeled in a small trout which I fried up as an appetizer to our main course: one pack of ramen.

Though I ended the trip with an empty stomach, my glacial desire was completely filled!

Cowboy Coffee - a tough cup o jo

During my high school years I developed a love/addiction for two things that today is still present in my life: coffee and backpacking. These two things easy go together and compliment each other well. Enjoying a fine cup of coffee out in the mountains is very pleasant, however making coffee without a coffee maker isn't always so easy.

Over the year I have used various methods to brew coffee. There are many drip filters as well as fancy espresso makers, I have even used an old sock, but after years of testing and countless numbers of devices, I ended up with using no special "coffee maker" at all. Instead I simply bring coffee grounds and my cook pot.

Like one would expect from a cowboy of yesteryear's, there is nothing fancy about his coffee. Hot water and coffee is all it takes to make mug full of our favorite morning beverage. By coffee I do not mean freeze dried instant coffee either. That is an option in making a cup, however it takes extra for thought to purchase instant coffee when I readily have coffee beans at home.

Making cowboy coffee begins at home. Ideally you already purchase your coffee by the whole bean and have a small grinder. I know fresh grinding your bean every morning doesn't sound very cowboy like, but then again I never said I was. Grind your coffee finer than you would usually for a drip maker. Large coffee bean chunks tend to float, while finer grounds will settle. You do not need to grind your beans as fine as you would, as when making Turkish coffee; though Turkish and Cowboy coffee is very close to being the same thing. If you already buy your coffee beans already ground, no sweat just use that.

At camp bring a pot of water to a boil and dump in your grounds at the first sign of bubbles. Once the coffee starts rolling remove from heat. It's not rocket science, however prolonged boiling of the coffee will lead to bitterness. I usually boil just long enough to get all the ground wet. Set the pot on the ground. Ideally tipped slightly down towards the pour spout or side. The key to Cowboy coffee is to allow the grounds to settle. I have heard that a dab of cold water, egg shells and even egg yoke will help the settling. I don't do any of that stuff. A minute or two is all it takes to settle out the grounds. When pouring be very careful as to not stir up the ground. Do not pour the last 1/10 of the coffee pot. Once in your mug allow time for a little settling, but the temperature of the fluid usually takes care of that. And the same thing do not drink the last little bit of coffee from your mug.

When planning to make CC, I usually bring at least two cooking pots. A coffee pot and a cooking pot since I usually will have several cups in the morning. You will also inevitably end up with a few grounds of coffee in your mouth which you need to spit out. Some find this aspect of CC unacceptable. However for its convenience, you need to give up some thing, and a few grounds in the mouth is worth it in my opinion. Anyways it is called Cowboy coffee, not Sissyboy coffee.

Update: This morning the power was out and I wanted a cup of coffee. Being Saturday, I usually make coffee at home. I had two options, one boil water and run it through the filter of the coffee maker, or two: Cowboy it up!! Thinking of this post I opted for the later. I discovered that I left a few thing out in my initial post.

After the coffee settles for a little bit, you might notice floating clumps of coffee grounds on the surface. You might blow on them and it might sink. However it is best to scoop these grounds out before pouring. Being so close to a mug full of morning delight, I often rush and pour the floating mass straight into my cup. I mean come on, I read on some blog that the grounds were all suppose to settle out right. Wrong. This floating mass is made up of grounds that are light and large or for some reason do not sink. Taking the time and doing it right, I did not have a single coffee ground that I had to spit out. Ahhh Perfect!

Super Topo - Rock Climbing Guide

This morning I was pleasantly surprised with an e-mail from Chris McNamara. Well it wasn't from him directly but from his company SuperTopo. SuperTopo is a company that makes climbing guide, the self proclaimed worlds best climbing guide. What is unique about these guides are they are available completely electronically. Meaning you purchase the book/guide on-line and you receive a PDF file of the book. This novel approach (to selling books not climbs) allows you to print only the pages you need for the climb you are doing. Included is a printed copy of the book that they will ship to you so it can be neatly displayed on your book shelf, in pristine condition, and only used as a reference while recounting harrowing epics, at your next dinner party. This feature was not available when I first started using their service.

http://www.supertopo.com/

This mornings e-mail was a notification that a new edition of a guide I purchased several years ago, was now available. No he did not ask if I wanted to buy it , nor did he offer me a discount rate for the new book. Instead there was a link, a user name, and a password, so that I could download the new copy FREE!!! He calls it the "always fresh" program. I call "I will always buy Supertopo guides"!

A climbing topo is in fact not a topo at all. Instead it is a hand drawn map of the wall which you are to climb. A legend tell what each symbol on the map means.

When I was in College we first started using ST's. In fact I think that my roommates used some of the first "beta test" version of the guides. More than just a route map, the books contain detailed approach directions, maps of the area, photos of the mountain/rock/wall, as well a local camping and travel information.

Still not sure ST is the guide for you. Well go on their website. Chances are they have a free topo for the next climb you want to do, and thus are able to test out the guide before you have to make a commitment to buy. Funny how for climbers the moves might be committing, but nothing else in life is.

Thanks again Chris for providing beta on so many of the fun climbs I have done, and look forward to many more!

Epic boot Failure - Trezeta double mountaineering boots

There use to be a tire commercial on TV (Michelin tires I think), where they say that there is less than an inch of material between you and the pavement. Then followed by their famous slogan, "Cause so much is riding on your tires." Well the same or more can be said for your shoes. The soles of your shoes are your connection between the earth and you.

As someone who spends alot of time on this feet in the wilderness, I have developed a certain fondness for boots. The fondness actually grew out of a necessity, for having the proper footwear for the proper conditions, can make the difference between a good trip and a bad one. This last weekend on a mountaineering trip, the importance of your footwear became very obvious as my climbing partner had an epic boot failure, which almost caused an unsuccessful summit bid.

Many years ago a pair of Trezeta Double Mountaineering boots was purchased (8 or 9 years ago). They were a double boot, meaning they had a separate inner boot, and a outer shell. This was a true mountaineering boot which would have given the equivalent performance as a plastic boot. Because the owner does not mountaineer much, these boots only saw action once every few years, when they are call to duty. And this last weekend they were.

Hiking the approach to our climb I hear a complaint about the boot making a funny clicking noise. A few minutes later I was turned around by a loud, "ohhh SHIT". What I found was a rather comical site. The sole of his boot had ripped off entirely. Our laughter soon turned to serious humming, as we tried to figure out a solution to this situation. The sole of boot was going to be very important on this trip. Not only does the crampon we were going to be using attach solely to the sole, but the 5th and 4th class route climbing was also going to require a good bit of rock to human connectivity. We both searched our packs for some lose straps we could use to bind the boot together. Using a bike toe clip strap, and a friction buckled strap, the sole was secured to the body of the boot. A cinch around the instep, and a strap around the heel and ankle was enough to secure the boot till we got to camp.

In my many year of boot owning/using/and observing, I have never seen a failure such as this one. Sure I have seen a sole begin to peal off, but never just fall off. It appears that the sole was purchased by Trezeta from Vibram. Then they used some molten rubber injection method to sandwich the plastic mid sole and a full shank steel bar. This rubber is then bonded to the leather/Kevlar upper boot, which extending high enough to act as rand protection. It was this bonding rubber that completely failed, and simply fell apart.

Who's fault is it? I would ultimately put the blame on Trezeta. However other factors should be considered and evaluated. The age. Do boots have a self life? Is 10 years approaching the life limit of a pair of boots? I would think not, having many a boots that are much older and still kicking. The boots were bought at Sierra Trading Post, a discount retailer of older or blemished gear. This should not have any effect on the quality of the product either. As a manufacture of goods, one should not allow a product they know will fail when put in use, to leave their factory door. It is one thing to have a scratch or an off color, another to have the sole fall off. Therefor STP did not know that they were selling defective items. Exposure to degrading elements. Maybe the boot sat in a vat of sulfuric acid? This in fact could be a possibility. Though not acid, maybe some other household agent. Maybe the boots were exposed to extreme heat from the trunk of a car on a hot day, or a campfire. However possible, one would think the ill effect would transpire upon both right and left with equal vengeance. The owner also never remembers subjecting the victim to any harsh treatments which would be considered out of the ordinary.

Once at camp I dug through my "first aid" kit to see what kind of repair items I might come up with. It was examine time and my fix it skills were being tested. The heel and the center portion of the boot was fairly secure with the straps rigged earlier. The toe was of primary concern. Duck tape was a last option. I could only imagine wrapping lengths of tape around the sole and the body of the boot. I knew I did not have enough tape to wrap as many times as I would have liked, and I did not want to decrease the traction by covering the rubber sole with tape. My first attempt was thermo Glue. I carry a small packet of glue used to repair Therma Rest Inflatable sleeping pads. Boil the packet for about three minutes to soften the glue then apply. This attempt did not work out for various reasons. A collection of zip ties however yielded a solution. Three holes were pierced in the outer sole, which the zip ties were threaded through, and fashioned into loops. The three loops where then connected to form a basket to keep the toe in place. In conjunction with the two straps, this seems to keep the boot together. When crampons where installed, an additional strap was used around the instep to further insure the crampon would not fall off. In the five pitches of ice/snow climbing, the crampons required to be readjusted only once.

At the end of a day of mixed climbing and two days of hiking the repair job held and still had many miles and verticle feet left in them. However I belive that these boots will never see another outting. The last picture shows the boot at the end of the trip. Much of the bonding rubber had fallen off, yet the other boot remained in good shape. I have contacted Trezeta to see what they had to say about this failure. So far I have not heard anything from them and will update this post if I do. Products fail, that is a given fact. But these failures can be reduced with proper feild testing and consumer feedback. It will be interseting to see if Trezeta cares enough about their customers to respond to my inquiry. Aside from product quailty and performance, customer service is what often seperates a good company from a bad.

Oh yeh, I guess I passed my test.

2010 Ford Mustang - 45 years in the making

Since its introduction in 1964 at the New York's World Fair, America has been in love with the Pony Car. After 5 generations of Mustangs, it is the second oldest model still in production for the Ford Motor Company. Only the F-series pick-up truck has been around longer. I recently had the pleasure to test driving the 2010 Mustang V6 premium package for a ten day road trip. The car won me over, and further impressed upon me virtues of the Ford Motor company.

Unfair to the test subject, I had a negative impression of Ford as a company and Mustang as a car even before I had a chance to lay eyes on it. Growing up in the 80's and 90's, the Ford name was not the inspirational motor company it is today. The many negative acronyms for the company, were often too true to be even funny: Found On Road Dead, Fix Or Repair Daily, Fucked Over Rebuilt Dodge... The first Mustang I experienced was my uncles early 80's base model Stang that did little to impress. It was only after I got into cars as a teenager that I realized the jalopy my uncle once drove was in fact a Mustang. Later on in college, a friend bought a late 60's /early 70's first generation Stang. This car was rebuilt from the ground up, with refreshed suspension and four wheel disk brakes. After a few months he finally offer to let me drive it. Though in a straight line it was fairly quick, the handling was so horrid that I feared I would not be able to keep the car on the road or stop when needed. Though the previous owner was to blame for the poor handling, the event had cemented in my mind the impression that the Ford Mustang: looked good, drove bad.

All that was about to change when I first saw the test subject. All polished up, the midnight blue Mustang gave me that "hey baby" kind of look. I immediately felt guilty. With my loyal Z back home, I was about to make an adulterous ten day trip to my very own Argentina. What first grabbed my attention was the retro styling. A throwback to the original 1960's fast back. The unmistakable Mustang body lines, both timeless and modern. The slant back grill, the narrow rear quarter window which meets the top of the rear fender. A quick walk around, revealed an attractive hood bulge in front and a small deck lid spoiler in the back, both nice accents yet unobtrusive.

Opening up the door, I was welcomed by an impressive interior, and that feeling of guilt once again, as word "nice" sneaked past my lips. This would be one of the most beautiful interiors I have had the pleasure of driving in. Perforated black leather seats, metallic silver trimmed dash, the cockpit was very driver oriented. Ford spent some time and money updating the interior, which in previous models was described as "cheap". Though some of the materials used could have been of higher grade, namely leather instead of rubber (though I prefer the later), the finish of the interior was top notch. The instruments cluster consisted of two equally sized circular analog gauges, with a quad of half moon gauges center between them. The center console housed the gear selector, a flip covered cup holder area, and a rear facing storage bin. When in used, the cup holders took the place of the center arm rest, and interfered with the manipulation of the gear selector. OK on an auto transmission car, but would have been very annoying on a manual. The rear facing storage bin was not large, but adequate and contained a 12 power source as well as the aux stereo inputs.

The most noticeable feature was the center control area. It was shared by the Shaker stereo system, the HVAC, and Microsoft Sync controllers. The stereo provided good sound for a stock system, though I am no audiophile. The Aux input, MP3 format CD player, and satellite radio are great additions, though these days it seems like pretty standard equipment. This all inclusive control center would make it nearly impossible to add an aftermarket stereo. Thus it is reccommend that you choose the upgraded stereo, cause you will be stuck with it. One unique feature of the stereo was an USB input slot. I assumed that one could plug in a thumb drive with your favorite tunes on it and the stereo would play it. I however did not test out this feature for I did not have such a device with me. The USB slot could also provide power to certain devices via a USB cable, and avoid the need for a "car" charger. The feature I enjoyed the most was the blue tooth phone link. The caller's voice on the opposite end came in clear, and they never once asked if I was driving a tank, a comment often heard when using a blue tooth earpiece.

The model I test drove, did not come equipped with the 8 inch navigation display. The two inch display was very busy, and crammed with many bits of information. It took a extra long glance to withdraw the needed data from it. A standard Ford trip computer was displayed on the lower section of one of the large circular gauges, and the controls located to the left of the steering wheel. Thumbing through the screen I discovered the ability to change the mood lighting. The gauge back light and interior trim lights could be set from an ambient purple to rocket ship red and everything thing inbetween, yielding a seemingly endless combination. This feature was cool for about 10 minutes, but a total waste of time and effort on Ford's part. In fact I turn off the trim lights, which I found annoying at night and selected a white back lite for the gauges; yes boring me.

The eight way power controlled seats, an almost standard feature in today's modern cars, provided good driver positioning. The push button lumbar support was unique and much appreciated on a long drive. However more effort could have been spent on the seat construction. I am in favor of the isolated seat cushion type construction, which uses separate side bolster pieces, and allow the seat cushion the ability to conform to your rump. The Mustang's seat cover was stretched across the entire seat creating a taught hammock like perch. Some slight annoyances in the interior included the chrome trim around the air vents, which would often catch the light and cause an irritating glare. My co-pilot complained of the small windshield and hood bulge allowing a very small frontal field of view.

After my run through and inspection of the vehicle, I finally inserted the key and fired the iron block 4.0 liter V6 to life. Though it belched out a throaty gurgle from the three inch exhaust, and power was sufficient for most driving situation, the power plant is a bit lacking for what you would think would be in a legendary Mustang. At a max hp of 210 hp, the motor is nothing more than something they simply yanked out of a Ford Ranger and stuck under the hood. It is painful to see that the GT version of this car getting all the love of the Mustang design team, while the V6 model gets feed scrapes like a neglected step child. The five speed automatic transmission shifted smoothly, until you mashed the gas pedal. It would then transform from a gentle lap dog to an unruly beast as the tranny clunked hard into a lower gear, often downshifting one gear then harshly another as it hunted for the optimal gear. Shifts between reverse and neutral, and drive to neutral were loud and noticeable, when these typically are smooth transitions.

The greatest criticism I have of the car however lie within the the suspension system. The general make up consist of a solid rear axle and McPherson strut front end. Talk about out of date. The solid rear axle is limited by two trailing arms, a third link over the pumpkin, a panhard rod, and sway bar. Shocks and coil springs are mounted on the axle independently of each other. The front strut system is attached via a single pivot lower control arm, with a built in compression link, not even a true dual pivot A-arm. The right and left front wheels are tied together with a relatively stout sway bar. The ride of the car was pleasant and not overly stiff, and handled highway curves with confidence. When pushed however, the car pitched and rolled like a ship at sea. I did not get the opportunity to test the limits of the suspension, since I was traveling on open roads with the family. But the occasional solo errand found high speed curves satisfying, the suspension though soft for my sports car taste, compressed predictable and did not overly pitch the front corner, granted you eased into the corner. At lower speed corners the vehicle under steered like one would expect from a production car. Even though the suspension is very basic, it gets the job done, and is more sporty than most sedans. But one aspect of the handling was not acceptable. When taking on highway speed curves and a bump, such as a expansion joint on a bridge, was encountered, the car would skip to the outside of teh curve what felt like an inch or two. I suspect the rebound damping could be tuned so that this would not happen. This feature was especially exciting when traffic was heavy and the lanes were narrow.

On the open road the V6 powered Pony, strutted its stuff as a grand touring car. Interior noise levels were keep to a minimum. Power was sufficient for average passing, and it rolled into triple digit speeds with ease. Handling at these speeds were excellent, allowing sleeping passengers to continue doing so, while they unknowingly rocketed across the barren desert. With a two adults, a dog, trunk full to gear, averaging 80 mph with the AC blasting and the outside temperature above 100 degrees F, the car was able to yield a 25.5 mpg average. Close to the EPA estimated 26 mpg highway. This number however seems to be in need of improvement. If I was to sacrifice power with the V6, at least allow for greater MPGs.

My overall impression of the Mustang was positive. Would I go out and buy one: most likely not. The GT version of the car might in fact be one, but I would never classify the V6 as a sports car. Under that badge it would have faultier greatly. I was most impressed with the cars stunning good looks, and ability to turn heads. The car handled better then most sedans of its price range, and though diminutive in power output, pair with proper gears and a five speed transmission, it got the job done. 2100 hundred test miles later, I was reluctant to give up my humble steed. That in itself says good things about the newest of the Mustangs.