Last Call- How To Make Your Commute More Enjoyable
Census data says that, on average, Americans spend 100 hours a year commuting back and forth to work. If I was this guy, I’d ask: “Is that all?”
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oh what a great day to be stuck with a hoondai…
I've never really understood the point of having a crappy beater as a commuter car. Might as well drive something nice if you are going to be stuck in it 1-4 hours a day.
Also that 100hrs. week seems off. Assuming 50 work weeks/year that is about 2 hrs/week., less than 30 min./day, less than 15 min. each way. Who in the world lives that close to work?!? I live about as close to work as anyone in my office and it still takes me 20 mins. each way, and I consider that VERY close.
because people have several thousand dollars of student loans and a pos jetta that is falling apart yet still needs to get to work. so they go and buy whatever cheapo thing they can find just because its in front of them?
Believe me I understand not being able to afford a nice car. My comment was directed more towards folks that have a nice car in the garage but choose to buy a pos to drive to work.
I bring that average down a bit. For almost 5 years my commute was just one mile, and the only way for it to take more than 5 minutes by car was if there was a train coming through town to pick up grain at the elevator and/or drop off coil steel for Bobcat.
Me too. I'm 4.7 miles from the office, and while I live in Northern VA I have a 15 minute commute on bad days. Kind of convenient. I drive my MS3 because I can. When my commute was 41 miles one way and an hour and a half one way on a good day, I drive a honda and got 28 mpg.
I highly approve of your MS3 choice.
Ahhhh thank you. I get sh*t for driving a front wheel drive "toy" but whatev, it's fun and last time I checked kicks the WRX in the pants (which I've been able to prove a *few times* so… hehehe
I say screw the whole "front wheel drive cars are for the feeble" mentality. I know a lot of FWD cars which can kick the rear end of a lot of the snobby snoots. Don't get me wrong, I like my RWD fun cars but when you're in snow, slithering around and want to actually make progress, I will take FWD.
p.s: I get out dragged (at every possible occasion, just to rub it in) by my GF who drives a MS3. I drive a SVT Focus. Too bad I taught her how to drive a stick and recommended a car.
Northern VA probably increase the average time of commuting for the entire country by a few hours. Thankfully I'm down in SW VA during the non-summer months! No traffic, but that means no good internet or cable like NoVA has(i.e. fios).
Isn't that the truth. I used to live in Leesburg and work in Old Town Alexandra. That was my hour and a half, in HOV, on a good day comment above.
I remember one day we had an ice storm out our way but Alexandria was fine. It took me 3.5 hours to get to the Main toll on 267 and my boss, even after me calling her 3 hours in to my commute, still expected me in the office. Anyway, it was that scenario that had me looking for, and getting a new job, the next week. Not to mention being gone from my house from 6am – 7pm M-F. It made me realize I was living to work, not working to live.
After a year and a half of that commute, I fully understand the cause and concept of road rage.
My brother-in-law used to be a Leesburg cop. It got to a point that he was wary of pulling over motorists for anything but the most egregious of offenses, lest he be on the receiving end of The Worst Road Rage Ever. A handful of "I've been sitting the same place for 60 minutes and now that I'm actually moving, YOU'RE going to pull ME over for 67 in a 55aaaaAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH NOOOOOO???!?!??!?" incidents was enough for a lifetime. Now that he's been in the Secret Service for several years, he swears that guarding the President is far safer than dealing with NoVA drivers.
I spend about 83 hours per year commuting — I can get to work in under ten minutes if I hit all the lights green (all three of them, none if I take the side roads, but that route is a bit longer).
Of course, it's only almost 6 miles, and in a small town. Not all of us, thankfully, have to deal with gridlock.
On the other hand, my commute is nearly a straight line (three turns, total), so it would not be any more enjoyable in a Cobra than in my xB. At least the dullness allows me to get 37mpg in town without much effort. If I don't go anywhere, a tank of gas lasts me a month.
I think the thought is buy something cheap that you can put tons of miles on with minimal care to get to work for the least amount of money. I get that, but I don't want to hate driving for 30 minutes to work any more than I already do. Right now the Jeep drives to work two days a week and I carpool the rest, which is easier on the checkbook, but BORING. When funds avail themselves (and if this Lemons team doesn't make it) I can see myself in something small, nimble, and easier on the pocketbook than a Jeep with 30 inch off road tires. Having said that the Jeep without a top can be a blast to drive to and from work, take the doors off and it becomes even more elemental. Honda accord or Toyota Camry for the commute? F no. Mini, 287 Cobra, or Escort GT, yes please.
You're probably the only person I know who actually does car pool. I am not joking either. But then again I live in MI where the concept is actually non existent.
To be honest, I don't mind car pooling as long as I am the driver. If not, I will probably kill the other person with all the back seat driving.
Yeah, outside of my little carpool, I don't know anyone else who does either. Most of the time it's not too bad, but on occasion I do want to murder my co-driver. When the top is off the Jeep, I can't hear him and mostly forget about him. In his Forester, I feel a bit butch.
I think I need the Cobra to liven up the commute. I'll drive every day I promise.
Or they'll kill you.
Boring commute? Only when I can't open the primaries 100%. Fun comes when the Secondaries kick in!
<img src= "http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs127.snc1/5453_123042293578_669203578_2470958_2116792_n.jpg" >
That statement is several metric tons of win. I have a great mental image of you doing a smoking burnout all the way to work, then power-sliding into your "Hoon of the Month" parking slot.
<img src= http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs12…
Fuck, how do you put in images?
Wow, that would be a fun commute…that is a really nice BMW…
That really reminds me why I want a Factory Five Roadster…
Yeah, my commute is 37 miles each way, and I tend to hit traffic each way, so it takes an hour. 10 hours/week commuting = 100 hours in 2.5 months.
Huh. I commuted to school for half a semester, it too was 37 miles each way but that came out to an hour and a half in each direction. And then one day it snowed and it became two and a half hours. And then I gave in and got a place on campus to save my sanity.
Nine minute commute if traffic is light.. Jealous??? (And I work downtown in the 16th largest city of the US!)
I compromised on my commuter car, though. It used to be my '66 Pontiac but that got exhausting. I now have a modern version of an old boat – a well worn Lexus LS400. Everyone makes fun of them as being for people that "hate cars," but it's really like Toyota applied modern engineering to the old 60's boat formula. Lots of power, lots of room, lots of comfort, rear wheel drive.
I do want something more fun soon, but having bought a house (and not sold the old one yet) and run a Lemons team means it'll be a bit. If we could get the old house sold I would start on the quest immediately. As it is, maybe in the spring.
Nothing wrong with the LS400 – it's more or less a Japanese W126, right?
"Nine minute commute if traffic is light.. Jealous??? (And I work downtown in the 16th largest city of the US!) "
I was all about the LS400, until I saw the Find-the-LS400's-starter penalty in a historical LeMons.
But it sure is tempting when you see them on craigslist for under $3G.
Oh, yeah… and lucky me, the 1995 had a flaw with the starter and it's a common failure point. So yes, mine went out. It took me two weekends. To replace the starter. I've done starters in an hour or so previously, but these are an entirely different level of repair. Fortunately I was able to address a couple other issues while I was in there, like a leaking EGR tube. Also it was at about 150,000 miles so it's not exactly going to fail every year or anything.
Also note, the Cadillac Northstar v8 has the same location, so it's not unique in it's complexity. Any time you have a quad-cam v8 you end up with some seriously complex stuff.
I forgot to mention: having not only disc brakes, but 12.5" disc brakes, when I was used to drums on all four corners, was quite a revelation. It stops! Fast!
If I could find a carpool buddy, an old LS400 would be higher on my list of future rides. I'm hoping that Mrs. Howser lets me get a motorcycle so I can use the carpool lane every morning. If that doesn't work, the LS seems to be a pretty nice place to be if one has to sit in traffic. What kind of mileage do you get?
In town, I get about 19mpg. I've peaked with freeway-only at about 25mpg. Mine is a 1995 which is actually a little lighter and more powerful than the '89-'94 models. (When was the last time a car got lighter after a redesign? Oh yeah, the 370z.)
My commute is 7 miles through 30 (seriously) traffic lights. As much as the Cobra is awesome, my commute would not be so fun in that car.
My commute isn't one at all. I can walk to work in five minutes, the truck doesn't even get warmed up when I drive it to work. Living in a small town has it's advantages.
My commute to school is a little less than an hour each way (if I take flagrant liberties with the speed limits and don't get too many lights, I can get it down to 45). I at least get to drive against the flow of traffic, which makes things a little less aggravating. To make it more enjoyable though, I'd have to bypass the small town I have to drive through to get to the highway (it'll be done, but not until after I'm finished school), and get the onramp I take redesigned (it's an S-curve I have to take at upwards of 70km/h to be able to merge safely, but usually get stuck behind someone doing less than 60).
"(it's an S-curve I have to take at upwards of 70km/h"
You don't live in our sister state of Canada do you?
Indeed I do. Luckily, I'm not constantly dodging moose (meese?), beavers, and hockey players on my commute. I do pass by several Tim Hortons' though.
Do you know or are related to Red Green? Everybody up there worth knowing should be. Or, the Trailer Park Boys. You guys all know each other up there, right?
I have actually met Red Green – the tickets to watch the studio taping of the Red Green show were free, so I went twice. I haven't met the Trailer Park Boys though.
Actually there are quite a few Tim Hortons in SE-MI as well. There are about 2 just on my way to work. My Wed morning ritual start there every week.
42 miles, each way. In Los Angeles.
Elapsed time: 35-40 minutes, each way.
Reverse commute + WRX + completely unenforced speed limits means I'm having a slow day if I'm doing under 80 in the fast lane.
How do I make my commute better? I only have a 3 mile drive, on rural roads. At best, I am never behind another car and only have a few coming the other direction considering the time of day I commute. Mornings at 6:30 and nights at 6:15.
To make it better, I take different routes. If I am ahead of schedule in the morning I'll go off roading to the farm, enjoy the wild life and sun rise. On different days depending on the weather I'll drive something different. It all depends on kids, afternoon schedule, appointment and other crap. I also drive slower. Ya, slower. Take a nice pace into town, look around, enjoy the drive. Once in town I'll take a different route to see what I see. More gossip and fodder for our small town. Stop for coffee at the local hole and listen to the opinion makers of the town gossip about whatever is happening in town. Then to work.
People just need to get out of their rut. Do something different with your commute and it will turn into a drive. Routines need to be broken or you'll turn into a Zombie.
I used to have a 45 mile commute from north of Baltimore to Gaithersburg, MD (near D.C.). At best it took 75 minutes but a two-hour drive was not uncommon. I would take as many side roads as possible and half of my drive was through really scenic farm lands with rolling hills and fun corners. The drive was okay but I hated the time I wasted in the car each day.
Now, I live 7 miles from work and the drive takes about 15 minutes. I bike it two or three days a week.