Test Driving: Air Show Style

In addition to tooling around on my golf cart, part of my group's tasks during the air show is to corral all the crews rental cars.  Usually, we do this after the show, when all the crowds have left and just look for solitary cars in the lots and click at them with various fobs until we hit on a winner.

This pleases me as one with idiotic parking issues. Also as one with the hopefully more common this is a big ass vehicle I've never driven before, please don't let me run over the people wandering hither and yon throughout the grounds issue.

Friday night, there were a couple of planes coming in late and we decided to just bring their cars out to them on the ramp.  Thankfully I got to follow S and K else I would have likely driven straight into a plane as their aren't any floodlights so the ramp was pitch black by 11pm.  The cars were new Chargers and I have to say, pretty darn spiffy.

[Tangent: I am not a fan of this whole key less just keep it in your pocket technology.  If I ever have a car with this I am going to lose my keys every day.  Dislike! Dislike muchly! I was so paranoid about losing them or locking them in the car while it was running that I drove holding the key in my hand.  Not quite what the auto makers had in mind, I'm guessing.]

So off we go through the grass (off-roading!), through the gates, and out onto the ramp towards the flashing lights of the newly landed planes.  As it was a rental car (with one whole mile on it), the seat was all the way back but as my colleagues were taking off, I didn't have a chance to adjust the seat.  And I wasn't sure if it was possible to do while the car was in motion so my 5'3 self is driving through the night, perched on the very edge of the seat with one toe hanging onto the gas pedal.  Make it out to the pilots, get out of the car (leaving the door open, key firmly in hand) and handle the transfer paperwork by light of cellphone.

Air show after dark!

I thought that would be all my driving related excitement but oh no.  For ease of corralling, when crews came in on Sunday we tried to snag them to see where the cars were parked and bring them in as they came back.  So now, in addition to navigating the cars through the grounds, am also trying to get them out of the maze of parked cars just to get to the dirt road that leads to the gates.  I managed to go 12+ years in TX without ever driving a truck and on Sunday, I found myself face to face with a huge pickup.  But I triumphed! Nothing was hit! I didn't lose the key!

And there was a certain thrill to driving around the air field.

Some of the many I drove.  And now I've saved myself additional car shopping time. The new Chargers and Altimas - quite nice indeed.  Was surprisingly meh on the Civic.  You are welcome fellow car shoppers.

Comments

[Nikki]

My neighbor got a new Altima. I've been eyeing it thinking "prettty!!! Blazer replacement?" (As if I actually have money for a new car.) Also? Although I technically have an SUV I REFUSE to drive my dad's cantankerous truck, never drove the 94 F-15 mom had and never drove the ex's truck either. Even when we lived together. Now I"m trying to remember if I ever drove a truck EVER. Not sure

So go you!!!

[Lucas Rosenzweig]

I can relate to being nervous when driving a pick-up. LOL! I find the big ones kinda intimidating, but they're surprisingly smoother to drive compared to the smaller-sized trucks.