Real Life Drivers Test

            Yesterday, I was asked if I would like to drive to Syracuse to pick up a car and bring it back to Handy Toyota.  I said without hesitation, “sure I would be glad to.”  After 12 hours of driving through pouring rain, two different cars, I finally made it back to the dealership in one piece (and the car as well).

            The day started with me driving a Toyota Rav4 to Romano Toyota.  The route would take me across the top of the state on Route 11, and then interstate 81 down to Syracuse.  I figured I would get a good opportunity to talk about these two Toyota’s like how they would be driven by a typical driver rather than magazines such as Car and Driver taking it out onto the track and measuring the center of gravity, ¼ mile distance and all the “stuff” that doesn’t particularly matter to the everyday driver.

            The Rav4 I drove to Syracuse was a green XLE model.  The steering and braking was much quicker

than what I was used to since I had been driving a 10 year old car for the past year.  One feature I thought was pretty cool was when driving, a green light will show up on the dash that say, “eco” to show if you are driving economically or not.  That light was on during the entire trip so I was driving economically and making the most of the gas mileage.  Since it was raining, I made good use of the windshield wipers, which worked perfectly as I would expect of a new car.

            One thing I noticed about the Rav4 was after three of four hours of driving; my back wasn’t getting stiff like it has on other long car rides.  I think a lot of that had to do with the seat and the way it was designed. The seat resembled a bit of a racing style being so you were nestled right in the middle.  It was very comfortable too.

            The Toyota Highlander that I was taking back from Romano Toyota drove very much like the Rav4. This one had leather seats and an eight-way adjustable seat, so it was a little more luxurious than the Rav4.  The Highlander didn’t have the “eco” light that the Rav4 did, but other than those little differences, and the Highlander being a little bit bigger, there was essentially no difference in driving either car.  I would be happy owning either one of them.

            After almost 12 hours of driving, I finally made it back to Handy Toyota, and drove myself back home to eat dinner and get ready for another work day.  This was a good tune-up for another 12 hour drive I’ll be embarking on this Sunday.  The drive will put my grandfather and I in the southeast corner of Pennsylvania for one of the biggest model airplane contests in the country.

Matthew Colan

Handy Toyota

St. Albans, VT

Real Life Simpsons Theme Park

            Ever dreamed of eating a whatchamacarass sandwich and washing it down with a Krusty-partially-gelatinized-non-dairy-gum-based-beverage?  Well now you can thanks to Universal Studios opening up the

Simpsons theme park, you will have your chance to eat that same meal. All of the Springfield establishments from the Krusty Burger, Moe’s Tavern, the Frying Dutchman, and Android’s Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop will be present in “mini-Springfield.”  Universal says that many Simpsons characters will be able to interact with guests of Springfield.

            The animated TV series began in 1989 and was an instant hit.  Since then, the series has won 27 Emmy awards, and has shattered TV records for being the longest running scripted television show on the planet.  In 2007, the Simpsons movie was released into theaters.  The premier was held in none other than Springfield, Vermont.  Currently in it’s astounding 25^th season, Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie are just as popular today as they were when the series’ first began.

            The Springfield expansion began construction in November of 2012.  Construction continued through the beginning of 2013 and officially opened up for Simpsons fan on June 1^st. It’s now the perfect time of year to take a vacation down to Florida and checking out Fast Food Blvd for a Krusty Burger.

Matthew Colan

Handy Toyota

St. Albans, VT

Spy photos of the Gen IV Prius

            Recently spotted in the streets of Los Angeles was a covered up model of the next generation model Toyota Prius.  Judging by the shape of the car, it looks to be almost exactly the same as the current generation Prius. Under all the covering might be different styled headlights, grille, and tires.  Other than that, there doesn’t seem to be much of a departure of the “standard” Prius shape.  There’s no need to change the shape of the car since it has been synonymous with what a Prius is.  And despite its facing growing competition from the rest of the auto industry, the Prius is still very much the car that everyone compares other hybrids to.  The Prius may become what a Coke or a Kleenex is to soda and tissues, it is that popular a car.  The interior of the Prius looks like it will be not much of a departure from the current one, although the pictures indicate that it is an incomplete interior.

            Toyota seems to be going with the old adage, if it’s not broken don’t fix it with the Prius.  Tell us what you would like to see in the next generation Prius.

Matthew Colan

Handy Toyota

St. Albans, Vermont

Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals

            It all boils down to this, Game 7.  In a year where they won 27 straight games, the Miami Heat dominated throughout the regular season.  However, they have been struggling against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, leading to a decisive, winner take all trip to the NBA finals game seven.

            Why have the Heat not taken care of the Pacers like they have against the other teams they faced in

the finals?  The series has gone back and forth with each team winning every other game.  Lebron James gave the Heat the win in game one with a game-winning layup in OT.  Game two went to Indiana.  The Heat went on to crush the Pacers in games three and five, but the Pacers took care of the Heat in games four and six.

            What does the Heat need in order to advance to the NBA finals? They need support from the other two of the Big 3, Dewayne Wade and Chris Bosh. D Wade has been struggling through the playoffs with a knee injury and his performance has hindered because of it. In game six, Chris Bosh only had FIVE points, four rebound and zero assists.  That kind of performance won’t put them into the NBA finals. Also Lebron needs to stop acting like a child when he gets a call he doesn't like.  In game six, he was called on a foul when going up for a shot.  He didn't like it and ran across the court in a tirade.  That got him a technical foul.

            Game seven cannot be the Lebron show.  He can’t carry an entire team further into the playoffs.  The rest of the team needs to step it up, play with heart and passion in order to beat the Pacers.  The Birdman, Chris Anderson will be back from his one game suspension, so he’ll bring some energy up off the bench. The Heat need to be the same team than won them 27 straight, not the one man show of Lebron James carrying them all the way through the playoffs.

            It will be tough for the Indiana Pacers because they’re playing in south beach so the Heat will have home court advantage.  If Indiana can hold off the Heat once more, like they have shown they can do, they’ll earn themselves a trip to the NBA finals.  It will definitely be a great game to watch for any NBA fan out there.

Matthew Colan

Handy Toyota