RichC | December 10, 2025
A couple of automotive “oldies” crossed my interests this week. One of them was of course on my automotive social media feed, but another pulled from an old magazine in my workshop. First, the Earl Scheib sign and left me remembering the annoying voice and advertising from the 1970s and 80s: “Hi, I’m Earl Scheib, […]
RichC | November 28, 2025
Since I’m still “admiring Brenda’s 2019 Tesla Model 3,” but I’ve also been intrigued by some of the impressive navigation and realtime data. The other day on a trip to our local Costco, the Sentry Mode security recorded all the carts and people who were around the car while parked. I now know why so […]
RichC | November 7, 2025
I know, it is Friday and that generally means an interesting (at least to me) Tech Friday story. Does a photo of Brenda’s “tech-y” Tesla Model 3 with the trees changing count? I didn’t think so … In reality, I’m slightly behind in my week and totally missed posting a #TBT photo my buddy Jeff […]
RichC | November 1, 2025
After recently selling our 2010 Acura RDX and replacing it with a “previously loved” 2019 Tesla Model 3, it feels good to be buying a used vehicle rather than needing to shop for a NEW car (definite sticker shock). Certainly, it would be nice to have a squeak-less new SUV to replace our 2010 BMW […]
RichC | October 30, 2025
Every once in a while, a link pops up in my blog from years ago (20 years in this case) and it amazes me just how fast the years go by (another link)? The photos here are back when I was regularly commuting back and forth from Cincinnati to Cuyahoga Falls and to Warren, Ohio. […]
RichC | October 29, 2025
It was a busy autumn weekend for the next generation in our family. Taylor and Megan were taking advantage of the nice fall weather to go to the Renaissance Festival while the Oostras planted tulip bulbs (how fitting) and tackled the huge “Back to the Future” corn maze in NW Ohio. It looks like the […]
RichC | October 28, 2025
Last weekend was all about some needed maintenance on my 2010 BMW X5 35d. The ‘nag’ has been on for the last 500 miles or so and that the sensor on the rear brakes is making contact with the rotor. This usually means at least the right rear brake pads are worn pretty thin. What didn’t […]
RichC | October 24, 2025
After a few days of owning/driving a “previously loved” 2019 Tesla Model 3, I’m learning a little more about it each day … and as the 2003 McDonald’s jingle goes, “I’m lovin’ it.” 😊 So far the Tesla has surpassed my expectation as for driving pleasure. It is solid on the road, very fast when acceleration […]
RichC | October 21, 2025
More to come, but a new to us 2019 Tesla Model 3 now replaces Brenda’s 2010 Acura RDX. We are as excited about having a Tesla, as is the seller for us “finally” owning a Tesla (aka: Drew).
RichC | September 27, 2025
Besides the frustration over getting our aging 2002 Honda Odyssey ready for a trip to Atlanta … and then hopefully to Florida … we’ve been moving forward on the selling of the 2010 Acura RDX and eventually taking possession of a 2019 Tesla Model 3. What makes the Acura exchange nearly perfect is that the […]
RichC | September 26, 2025
We’ve been talking about new cars or NEW USED cars lately while Brenda’s 2010 Acura RDX sat with a FOR SALE sign out by the rear fence. It was a great car for her and she loved the sporty performance and smaller size (like her RAV4). Currently she is driving the 2010 BMW X5 35d […]
RichC | September 24, 2025
Hopefully you didn’t read yesterday’s stressful day of dealing with the ongoing “repairs” for our 2002 Honda Odyssey? I now know why some people prefer to take their used cars into the dealership and trade them away for a new car. BUT .. another few hundred dollars later and I think the tire/strut/alignment problems are […]
RichC | September 23, 2025
Don’t get me wrong, I love having an older Honda Odyssey as our Florida car. We leave it outside in the condo parking lot most of the time and the hot sun, tree sap and “sitting” do take their toll on cars (photo below from a couple years ago). So last year we decided to […]
RichC | September 14, 2025
Posting the update: SOLD this past weekend 9/20/2025 to a local family with a new driver … who is a local high school band drummer and needed a first car that could haul his drums! Well the road behind our house is open again and before we start getting too busy this fall, it seemed […]
RichC | September 13, 2025
You would think that I would be acutely on top of things when it comes to finance, and things such as buying and selling used cars and electric vehicles (Ok, not so much EVs). That is not the case as I found out this week when communicating with my son-in-law who is in the process […]
RichC | September 4, 2025
For today’s Throwback Thursday #TBT post, I’m adding a couple saved photos for a filler since I used a couple of these on social media thread (credits unknown). ☹️ The two “beautiful” photos appeal to me and work well this shortened holiday week AND keeps the Volkswagen category alive. I do miss the original VW […]
RichC | August 6, 2025
My favorite vehicle: 1994 Toyota 4Runner and first solo-drive: VW Karmann Ghia A couple of automotive triggering discussions regarding “working on cars” came about over the weekend that triggered my thinking, “I should be working on cars in the garage again.” Maybe was the pleasant low-humidity weather or just seeing the Wyze cam videos of […]
RichC | July 28, 2025
Some collectors go for muscle cars. Others chase rare diecasts or obscure dealership brochures. But @Car_Guy_Tom? He had a more refined ambition: cornering the global market on Cordoba keychains. It all began on a lazy Sunday morning at a suburban Chicago area garage sale. Nestled between a box of spark plugs and a velvet Elvis […]
RichC | July 19, 2025
The Ohio automotive registration was delayed as long as I dared this month just in case I could convince Brenda this might be a good year to sell her 2010 Acura RDX. Unfortunately she was not convinced before the license plate renewal date inched closer. So another $56.59 has been spent and we’ll go another […]
RichC | June 25, 2025
As a Father’s Day present, I received a very nice coffee table book about Gas Stations. Since I worked at a Sidney, Ohio I-75 gas station as a “pump jockey” when I turned 16 years old, it brought back some great memories of wearing the Shell uniform. I’ve commented a couple times before and still […]
RichC | June 7, 2025
This week the long overdue task of polishing, brightening and coating the plastic headlights on three of our cars was on my to-do list. Our 2002 Honda Odyssey was likely the worst, but the others were not much better. Years ago I tried the toothpaste and rubbing compounds on several other cars, but without a […]
RichC | May 15, 2025
Although I recall posting a “winter slumber” video of my 1982 Mercedes Benz 300D Turbodiesel a decade ago, it has been a while — don’t look at the dust! So … after noticing the battery had lost some of its charge while “sleeping,” I decided to put the solar charger to work my W123 after […]
RichC | March 8, 2025
This is strictly a future hopeful and something I’ve read Tesla engineers are working on (Graphite Aluminum-Ion Batteries), but I can’t help but get excited about another new battery technology … yes again (see my 2005 post and unfortunately fallout and A123 bankruptcy in 2012). If it is truly going to be in the next […]
RichC | February 18, 2025
NASCAR has always been something that I’ve taken an interest in watching. When I was a boy, I’d watch it with my brother and dad. When I was a dad, I’d watch it with my son Taylor and we collected cars and trading cars — he was a Jeff Gordon fan. These days I still […]
RichC | January 4, 2025
After four years of inflation impacting everything Americans need and want, the optimism for improvement might not come all that easily to the next administration. Wages are struggling to keep up with prices, and although the Fed has started an easing cycle with rate cuts, everyday citizens don’t see that when it comes to necessities […]
RichC | January 1, 2025
Television has made a lot of people famous, but only a handful of cars have tagged along with a show’s protagonist to lasting fame. One such example is the pairing that rose to a lasting stardom is the 1977 Pontiac Firebird Formula and James Garner as the stars of The Rockford Files. While Garner passed […]
RichC | December 8, 2024
Our 2002 Honda Odyssey van sits outside in Florida for a longer period than usual and a few times the battery didn’t start the car. At first I replaced the battery thinking it was just old. Then I started to disconnect the battery when leaving it covered in our condo parking lot … but it […]
RichC | December 4, 2024
The updated 2024 Tesla Model 3 Long Range only has a few subtle styling differences since the EV still looks like it did when it was introduced eight years ago, but has an improved range and is even quicker. Looks are deceiving. There isn’t any single earth-shaking upgrade, but this latest version has smartly placed […]
RichC | November 25, 2024
Not that my daughter appreciated that her 2018 VW Tiguan left her stranded on the “highway” … but sometimes automotive breakdowns are a part of “life.” So it seemed somewhat appropriate to feature the catchy Tom Cochrane‘s “Life is A Highway” as today’s Music Monday song. Sorry about the water pump failure Katelyn! Tom Cochrane originally […]
RichC | November 8, 2024
Apple is finally rolling out the much ballyhooed Apple Intelligence on Apple devices … including my new iPhone 16 Pro Max. Their have been a few laughs from me when it comes to the AI “summary” feature generating a questionable summary (an automotive enthusiast John Rowe’s X.com comments – he does NOT recommend Sunbeam). On […]
RichC | October 24, 2024
It has been a long time since I remembered when stopping quick required a second foot on the brake pedal, but this photo from a 1964 (Camaro I think) reminded me of that wider pedal (think the 1973 Caddy had the two-foot pedal too?) Back when yours truly was learning to drive, our family 4-door […]
RichC | October 11, 2024
So far I can endorse a couple of inexpensive “non-charging” Magsafe “magnetic” car mounts for our two iPhones (iPhone 14 and iPhone 16 Pro Max). Both were purchased together on Amazon with a minor discount for 2 items together … and for the low-price, I expected to be disappointed. Nope, I was not. The magnets […]
RichC | August 31, 2024
The folder labelled “MyCubby” on my Microsoft OneDrive is a place I collect images, links, photos, etc that might be worth looking at again … or perhaps used on the blog. Each month I try to start fresh with a relatively empty space … so to prepare for September 2024, I’ll archive a couple items […]
RichC | August 17, 2024
Back in October of 2015, I was helping Taylor look for a “used” new car (he bought a BMW 528i) … and for me, the “wanting a diesel again bug” bit again, so I bought a 2010 BMW X5 35d that needed a little TLC (ie. a good deal). So started a long process in […]
RichC | August 8, 2024
After noticing a ThrowBack Thursday #TBT post in the “Year(s) Ago On This Date” blog column and recently stumbling across a old automotive photo that I didn’t remember of me with the 1973 Cadillac Coupe Deville … the one that was hit by a train, well pushed off the tracks by a slow moving train. […]
RichC | August 1, 2024
As is often the case, I’m often thinking about something that will work for ThrowBack Thursdays #TBT. Here are a couple of photos from 15 or so years ago, one of the “Mickey Mouse Clip” hanging with a couple old license plates that was used in the stock A4 Volkswagen TDI diesel fuel filter. I […]
RichC | July 18, 2024
There have been several times that I wish I had photos of the cars I’ve owned and now realize that very few actually exist or have been lost. I commented to my car friends about rebuilding the 289 cubic inch V-8 engine, derusting and repainting the 4-door family car that I learned to drive on […]
RichC | July 12, 2024
Although the Late 2012 Intel-based iMac is “aging better than President Biden,” my desktop iMac is struggling and is no longer being used as my primary computer. Still … it does work as a larger twin 27” screens desktop computer along side my MacBook Air M2 these days. Recently I cross my fingers when updating […]
RichC | June 12, 2024
Great from Eastwood‘s “Mark’s Garage” in using a 4-fluke end mill in a cordless drill to remove “weld through” primer’s and coatings when making plug welds. Also appreciated the budget minded 3/16″ drill bit advice from a follower: “You don’t need to buy an end mill. Grind a drill bit flat on the end and […]
RichC | June 11, 2024
The map below might not be up-to-date map (2021), but it looks like most states have there share of stressful traffic. Personally speaking … after driving to and from SW Ohio to NW Ohio for the better part of 20 years, I can attest that winter driving (snow and ice) and constant road construction on […]
RichC | June 6, 2024
My Grandpa Bluhm made this workbench and gave it to me for Christmas back in 1966. His influence early-on likely influenced my interest in tinkering and woodworking (car restoration and rebuilding was probably mostly influenced by DadC). This past weekend I cleaned it up a bit and added a homemade light strip with a roll of […]
RichC | June 4, 2024
With the weather still moderate, I’ve been driving my 1982 Mercedes Benz 300D Turbodiesel a bit more. It really needs to be cleaned up and waxed, but I’ve been sidetracked with power washing the pool decking and cleaning up the porch furniture for summer (a lot of tending to the fast growing lawn too). Still […]
RichC | May 28, 2024
My son-in-law Drew sent a photo (below) of the Oostra family after spotting a Tesla Cyber Truck in Toledo, Ohio over the weekend … and knowing his consistant interest, I won’t be surprise to see one in their garage someday! He has been “ogling” them since Elon Musk first announced the new truck in 2019 […]
RichC | May 16, 2024
I don’t recall how the subject came up, but Brenda and I were talking about our first and then second house in NE Ohio … the one I have some of my fondest memories in — the kids were about our grandchildren’s age. It was located on “Ground Hog Hill” in Hudson Township when we […]
RichC | April 21, 2024
The social group that I waste too much time in reading and replying to each week on X.com (a bunch of car enthusiasts and a few automotive journalists) posted a photo of a 1984 Chevrolet Celebrity Eurosport last week. It was exactly like the second company car I had when working for Portage Newspaper Supply Company […]
RichC | April 4, 2024
Katelyn’s 100K text message (above left) from her 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan reminded me of the one she sent 17 years ago (above right) … back when she was driving her 2001 Volkswagen Jetta TDI. Where have all the years and miles gone (hence #TBT)? I’m so glad we have the technology to sporadically send messages […]
RichC | March 13, 2024
My daughter Katelyn’s driving habits are reminiscent of both her mom and dad — long commutes and a lot of driving. With those longer than normal commutes comes higher than normal miles on cars … and attention to maintenance. Being a smart owner of her 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan, she sees to it that her VW […]
RichC | March 2, 2024
Hm … Tesla is the cost for Chinese to buy its popular Model Y in China, while raising them in the U.S. — an interesting business move??? Tesla raised the price of its Model Y rear-wheel drive and long-range vehicles in the U.S. by $1,000 to $43,990 and $48,990, respectively … while Chinese consumers buying […]
RichC | February 25, 2024
Just a filler photo of a Lucid Air from Massachusetts that I was admiring while driving in Delray Beach, Florida last week.
RichC | February 13, 2024
As a long time Volkswagen guy … I enjoyed the “An American Love Story” commercial (YouTube) in Super Bowl LVIII. Of course there were a lot of creative advertisements, but the VW one tugged at my heart-strings. Those who know me, know that I’ve had a memorable history with VW vehicles, from my high […]
RichC | February 6, 2024
While looking for an excuse to modify and add this automotive humor meme to a post … Below the break there’s an animagraff that details a front wheel drive manual transmission and clutch assembly on YouTube. It’s well done and rather mesmerizing.
RichC | February 1, 2024
Contemplating classic cars after seeing a good looking late 1960’s Pontiac Firebird 400 while filling up at Costco. I posted a comment on X.com and it gave me a ThrowBack Thursday #TBT excuse to repost a couple old black and while of photos of my first junkyard rebuildable … my 1974 Capri (it was pea […]
RichC | January 22, 2024
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RichC | January 13, 2024
The advertising from Tesla is working on me as the range and charging infrastructure continues to improve. Having driven and watched my son-in-law use his Tesla Model3 (mostly for daily commuting) since 2019 with impressive success, a Model3 might make a great second car … IF the price were lower or incentives better (perhaps a […]
RichC | January 6, 2024
Last week we took our 2010 Acura RDX to our local repair garage, hoping for a minor rather than major issue. So far, so good. The initial thought that it might be a solenoid controling the turbo wastegate turned out to be “not” the issue … and digging deeper required several more hours of labor. […]
RichC | January 4, 2024
The LOW QUALITY, inexpensive replacement parts being sold these days is starting to irritate me; it is becoming a pet peeve. I have not notice this as much when purchasing OEM replacement part from the tractor dealerships or even for cars when it comes to big branded automotive part stores. Long gone are the days […]
RichC | December 28, 2023
After taking Brenda’s 2010 Acura RDX to a local service garage in September, it ran fine for a few months. Beginning in December though, it started to stumble and eventually triggered lights on the dash that included emissions and an AWD code. So we have taken it back this week to see if there is […]
RichC | December 7, 2023
About a month ago, I stumbled across a photo that I think was used as a header for the CinciTDI website at some point after Katelyn and I sold our VW Jetta TDIs, but I had to smile noticing the Volkswagen in the header photo was once Taylor’s GTI. Very good memories for sure (and […]
RichC | November 30, 2023
An automotive filler for this afternoon: Pretty impressive. #automotive #Cybertruck $TSLA https://t.co/0agJNMn2Or — Rich Corbett (@RichC) November 30, 2023
RichC | November 2, 2023
An older video popped up on on of the cloud archive sites for one reason or another last month (don’t recall), and after quickly glancing at it, decided it was worth including for a Throwback Thursday #TBT. The short clip was Brenda driving to work in her 1998 Toyota Rav4 and was from 2011. It […]