We have a new set of wheels. Well, maybe not new so much as different. Black Beauty, as our regular ride is referred to, had an up-close-and-personal encounter with a little Mazda truck about a month ago when Wayne was sitting in a turn lane waiting for the light to turn green. In the rear view mirror he could see the truck wasn't going to stop on the rain-slick road but he couldn't do anything more than hold down the brake so the impact didn't push him into the car in front of him. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the rear bumper did it's job but not without enough damage to require that it be replaced.
So B.B. is in the shop and we're cruising around in a loaner. Hubby, a confirmed General Motors man, is doing his best to overlook the fact that it's a Ford. He'll survive; hopefully he won't have to drive it more than two days. And it's not going to win any beauty prizes either. A lovely shade of battleship gray, it is...a mini PT109 on wheels. But it gets us where we need to go with air conditioning and that's more than we can say for Old Blue, Wayne's cache-mobile.
And tonight Biloxi was where we wanted to go...off for a little dinner and catch-up with the oldest offspring. It's an easy trip, just two hours down I-10...less if you go with the flow of traffic which, as with most interstates, is not at the posted speed limits.
We, however, drove exactly what those little black-and-white signs said on every single road we were on. That's because this car is equipped some magic system that knows what those limits are on every road you travel and starts beeping if you exceed it. By even 1mph. Heck, even the state troopers give you a a little slack, generally giving you 3-4mph before stopping you but not this car. Creep beyond the posted limit even just a smidge and not only does the beeping start, but a message flashes on the speedometer telling you to watch your speed and drive carefully.
It was almost like being a teen again behind the wheel with the driver's ed teacher who'd constantly remind you to slow down only instead of a man's voice it was something akin to a doorbell dingdonging. I chuckled each time it went off, telling Wayne he wasn't going to be able to fool this car. Whether the limit was 45mph on the highway in front of our subdivision or 70 on the interstate, it knew and it was holding him to it. In fairness, it also beeped when the speed fell below 45 on the interstate too...but that was a good thing since we were in a torrential rain storm at the time. Apparently the system knows speed limits but not weather.
We think it was something installed by the car rental company as opposed to a feature by the manufacturer. It would be a great add-on for parents with teenage drivers; not quite as effective as Dad's voice but at least a reminder of sort. Me...I'll be glad to have our regular car back. I like it's bells and whistles, none of which are connected to speed limits.
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