Cross-Country (well, half) Christmas in the Q

[Audial <Audial@aol.com>]

Just briefly, because I could go on forever...

It's now just about to turn 1:00 AM CST 12/30 and I've just returned from what
I judge to be the best autmotive sojourn of my life, courtesy of my '86
5KCSTQ.

I set out from Chicago at 10:30 pm. on 12/23 aiming for New Jersey, perhaps
the most heavily policed state in the country, and drove an entirely
mechanically uneventful 1700 miles (back and forth) in a combined total of
about nineteen hours, including rest stops.  Once I left the Chicago
metropolitan area behind, I was amazed to find that everyone was zooming along
unmolested at a steady 85 mph through the vast flatlands of Indiana and Ohio.
Then things _really_ got moving in Pennsylvania, shooting past towns with
names like "Limestoneville", through the mountains' falling rock zones, as
people leaning on old Toyota pickups and Olds Toronados collectively decided
to ignore the 65mph speed limit.  Well, maybe they were egged on a little by
the endless trucker caravans that were pushing gravity, kerosene, and sanity
to the outer limits.  America Knows Trucking!  I'm proud to report that the Q
had no trouble staying in front of everything, loafing along at 0.6 BAR at
95mph with occasional dips into the whoosh to dispatch just about anything in
its path with approximately zero drama and very light and subtle control
movements, even over the sometimes broken and badly-maintained Pennsy. roads.
The Dunlop D40M2s are nice tires, BTW.

[almost] Everybody hit the brakes at the Delaware Water Gap.  In 800 miles, I
had seen only one police car, but then suddenly at the New Jersey border the
law-enforcement climate changed _drastically_.  A word to the wise - DO NOT
try to speed through New Jersey.  Pick your teeth, play with the radio, think
up anagrams for supercallifragilistic, and please try to forget that the
accelerator pedal exists.  I watched three hapless victims get hauled in
within ten miles of the Pennsylvania border by pristine white Caprices with
beautiful blue Christmas lights.

On the return leg I hit snow in Indiana and was mostly unbothered by it.  I
slowed down a little.

Sorry I can't go on more right now, but I'm tired and have a lot of archived
posts to read.  

Oh, and I got about 25mpg despite the speed.  I could have done better had I
been more even with the throttle, without losing any time.

WHAT A FANTASTIC MACHINE

Vorsprung Durch Technik,
Best Wishes,
Alex
'86 5KCSTQ, a very fast and comfortable car that made my Christmas wishes come
true.