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Garmin Nuvi for the Holidays

I commonly see Garmin advertisements in the USA Today paper that is left at my hotel door step every morning and to my pleasant suprise today they have a new ad featuring a Classic Mini!  Looks like an 60’s version and a cutie, yeah the girl is cute too.  

I have  owned various versions of the Nuvi over the years. My first was the Nuvi 350 which got me through the cross-country MINI Takes the States, the Nuvi 660 widescreen that I ultimately gave to Jayne because it was just too wide for me to carry around and really wanted a version that offered both US and European maps and now the fully loaded Nuvi 370 that features  maps for U.S. and Europe, MP3 player, audio book player, FM traffic receiver, Bluetooth® wireless, speaks street names and came in rather handy two weeks ago when I was zipping around Holland and Belgium.    The FM traffic reciever is a must for anyone living in congested cities as it easily helps reroute you and avoid the traffic and warns you of upcoming traffic well before.  The Bluetooth is a nice feature but seldom used.

The handheld GPS market has been booming over the last couple of years and I see more and more cars equiped with these on their windscreens.  Considering the cost of in-car navigations units reaching excess of $2k Garmin now has some 20 different Nuvi models that can fits everyone’s budget and feature sets, recently coming out with more economical 200 series Nuvis.

Ian Cull who has been a TomTom owner for years just recently upgraded to a new TomTom and we await his review.  Looking over the new TomTom 720/920 models they have some new innovative features like Map Share that enables you to add to, update and personalize your maps instantly. It also lets you share with others.  The bluetooth features seems a bit more advanced and robust then the Garmin and I think the route navigation offers more information then the Garmin.  If I was getting a new GPS I would probably opt for the TomTom 920.  We may need to swap units for a week to do a full review

Regardless of which brand you purchase the key thing is to get one that has the features you need and keep it updated with the yearly map and periodic software updates to ensure that the units are always performing optimally.

GP1717 is a Bubble Girl!

Yes its official, GP1717 will not have to suffer through the winter and joins the rankings of the gods! 

GP1717 just got fully detailed by Detailing Dynamics, came home and went right into her own bubble, resting her paws on tire cradles where she’ll hibernate next to the 850i until the spring.   

GP1415 came out of her bubble long enough to give GP1717 some tips and insight on hibernating. 

 Good night and sweet dreams lil GP1717. 

A day in Belgium

After spending yesterday zipping around Holland checking out my new Classic, today I headed south to Antwerp to spend the day with my friend Craig, his wife Elke and their gorgous five month old daughter Pippa.  Yes, she’s pie…. a cutie pie.

While driving down to Antwerp from Amsterdam I noticed a Classic Mini zipping up behind me and passing me.  I followed him for a bit and during the drive down I noticed two other Classics and several MINIs.

When I got into Antwerp I took a quick detour to see the Antwerp MINI Store and during my drive back to Amsterdam I stopped off at a couple of MINI dealers to make sure the MINI’s were ready for bed.

Craig and Elkie gave me a tour of Antwerp first visiting the market where we picked up fresh pasta and goodies for dinner and then off to the new mall, a former dance hall which had burned down and was fully rebuilt to a grand appearance full of stores and restaurant.

As with any big city people watching is always fun. No this wasn’t billie joel but hear he is looking at a piano bike just like this one and this fellow who probably just finished a Belgium waffle.

Centraal Station is undergoing a face lift and underneath a rather impressive bike park

No day in belgium would be complete without having a Belgium waffle which was to die for, getting belgium chocolate and going for a bike ride.

It was a great day with great friends in a great city!  I could so easily get used to living in Europe.

BMW 118td First Impressions

I prearranged a rental for the weekend with Europcar and was pleasantly suprised to be given a BMW 1 Series 118td.  

This was my first drive behind the 1 series and overall I enjoyed it but what I was most impressed with was the engine.  The turbo diesel engine is quit, economical and drives so nice and smooth that if this was available in the states I would buy one in a heart beat.   The 118td moves well for a 143hp but think the 120td with 177hp would make for a great daily driver.

Surprisingly the rental car had the Auto Stop/Start system that turns off the engine upon coming to a complete stop and disengaging the gear.   I thought I had stalled the car but soon realized the feature.  At first it was a bit annoying whilst I sat in traffic but over the two days it is rather practical when coming to a stop light and sitting idle for a period of time.  What I found amazing was how quickly the car started.  Upon beginning to engage the clutch the car starts before I could even engage the gear.   I hope the new MINI’s system works as well.

This 1 Series was barebones with fabric interior and 16″ wheels with hub caps but hey this is better then 98% of the rentals I get in the states.  It did have the nav system (though no DVD provided).  The seats weren’t all that comfortable as I was not able to find an optimal position and really did not care for the color and find that the 3 door hatch looks better in the lighter colors like this white one which was on display at Schipol and offered by Sixt rental. 

I think the new 1 series coupe will do well in the states and although it doesn’t provide the character and charm of a MINI I might consider one and finally take advantage of the European Delivery program and spend a month zipping around Europe.  One day perhaps but not running out to get on any waiting lists.

Baby makes two! Classics that is!

I headed back to Holland to visit my newest addition to the family.   A 2000 Tahiti Blue Rover Cooper Sport Final Edition with 1576 miles and flawless.   The Tahiti Blue joins the other T blue cars - Thunder Blue GP and Tobago Blue 850CSi.

Although this one is not one of the final 500 it is still exclusive in that it is part of the 2500 Final Edition Cooper Sports produced and this one was never released to the public!  It had been in the possession of BMW UK and registered/titled as such and used as a Press/Events Car.    It appears that BMW UK had maintained about a dozen Classic Mini’s that were used as Press/Events cars with some having MINI United 2005 Press stickers on them. 

This one is one of three cars that were badged with the 40th Anniversary Monte Carlo insignia by BMW and used in the 2004 celebration events along with a green one and red one.   Her sister the green one which is one number lower in vin and plate sequence was also available and I was tempted but with six other cars in the stable I’m having space constraints and running out of bubbles.

Riverhouse MINI is about 120 km east of Schipol and during the drive out I spotted several MINI’s and once I got out of the city it was a rather enjoyable ride through the gorgeous dutch countryside.

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