BWAAAAHHHAAAAAAHAAAAAAA!!!!!!! I was a cold driver that day! I kid you not... I was going in a straight line at about 35 to 40 MPH when that happened (with Lorry as my witness (he's the bafoon in the passengers seat laughing)). I had already slowed down as I was concerned there might be black ice but the roads were fairly clear (or so I thought that's the thing with black ice though). Chains weren't required at that time. I think a little bit of throttle lift is what sent me spinning, and yes... that was the decisive moment when I knew I was getting a WRX. At least throttle lift would slow down all four wheels equally. I don't know if it would have prevented the spin or not. After we got out it seemed like a good idea to put on the chains.... putting chains on the Lexus is a ROYAL pain in the @ss.

I do miss the stereo system, quiet ride and refinement but I have no regrets... I'm not looking back!!!

 

Yes, it could have been expensive and painful but fortunately it wasn't. I almost managed to regain control of the car but the tail stepped out again. Growing up on the east coast I know that snowbanks provide nice landings so I figured that was a very good option to bring us to a safe stop. In hindsite I probably could have regained control of the car had I de-clutched in time but that ocassion was probably the first time I ever drove a car with a manual transmission in icy conditions (I grew up on automatics ... my migration to a manual transmission is Lorry's fault) so my lack of experience was partially to blame.

FWIW the CHP who pulled over to "help" nearly caused an accident after he finished dispatching AAA as he pulled out in front of traffic without looking (had he pulled out 3 seconds later he would have been broadsided by another car) and nearly lost control of his own car in almost the same patch of black ice that caught me.

And Lorry, do you really think I'm hot??? (where's the devil when you need it?)

Cheers, Joe

 

What's even more amusing... when I had the Lexus Lorry would always take shots at me for having a porky car. When AAA came to help drag me out of the snow bank he said "when I start the winch, you give it gas". Well he started the winch and the car didn't budge and inch. He came back to ask me if the engine was on (it was, and I was giving it gas... it's just a porky car ).

Cheers, Joe

 

Somehow I knew that picture would come back to haunt me. I should have deleted it while I had the chance. Fortunately it turned out to be a good time though. Ahhh.... I must go through my photo archives and pull some early morning photos of Lorry. I have an actual photo of Lorry eating a bagel, although he'll vigorously deny the fact that he's ever consumed one it is the truth (Lorry has a highly unusual aversion to bagels... I've never seen a bagel elicite such a strong emotional response from a person)! Fortunately for you those pics are all archived and compressed. I'm too lazy to go digging for them.

Cheers, Joe