DC Trip - Part 2

DC Trip Part 2:)

The closest I can get to White House

Apple Store in Tyson's Galleria

Welcome to Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum!

Immediately greeted by "hanging" P-40 Warhawk

One of the very main reasons why I come to DC....Lockheed SR-71. No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated globally in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71, the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft



MiG-21 F13 Fishbed

Grumman A-6E Intruder

Lockheed X35B

Sikorsky UH-34D Seahorse

Bell UH-1H Iroquois "Huey" Smokey III


Northrop N-M1

Boeing 707

At Overvation Deck overseeing Dulles Airport

Concorde

Recently completed Dulles's terminal train service

Dulles Airport is much more modern now

DC Trip - Part 1

Just want to take a break from blogging about cars for a bit. My last trip to DC was in 93 and it's been awhile. And this time around, I truly had an awesome time especially in Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum besides Dulles Airport. It's just like Disneyland for Aviators :)

So enjoy the part 1 :)

A bit of exercise work for the Fiesta

Transit in Amsterdam Airport

Spotted A380 in Dulles Airport

Residence Inn Marriott next to my principal's office

No fancy restaurants but the environment of this place is just inviting

Shopping time at Leesburg Factory Outlet

I swipped my credit card as far as it can takes lol

Washington Monument at night

Walking at night feels awkwardly safe in US

I kinda like this picture, don't know why :)

Gathering Parts for 90k kms Refreshment Buffet

Anticipating that I'll be in DC for a week, I intend to make full use of it by getting some stuffs for upcoming 90k kms refreshment buffet for Pocong. So few days before my arrival, a quick chat with the guys at Ohio easily landed these at hotel for a meagre USD10 courier cost via FedEx:

- ECS PU Rear Axle Bushing Kit USD79.95
- EBC Red Stuff Rear Pads USD65.16
- Wahler 80 deg Thermostat USD19.49

On top of that, I've had already purchased VW genuine front and rear wiper blades (RM100) and Lemforder front top mounts (RM110). Another 6k kms to go, gathering parts still continues :)

Received this package on Wednesday

ECS PU Rear Axle Bushing Kit

ECS Red Stuff for the rear to compliment the earlier unused gathered front pads

Wiper refills and Lemforder top mounts. Bought the top mounts because it's cheap, RM55 per piece. Proton's kinda price :)

Wahler 80deg Thermostat

Dodge Caliber

I was in DC on a business trip for a week recently. With an exception of say New York, anywhere else, you need a car to move around. A quick ring to Enterprise Rent-A-Cara company did get me this, Dodge Caliber 2.0(A). Starting rent rate is quite cheap honestly speaking at USD40 but the moment I added up basic insurance, gps and sales tax, the rate per day is USD82. Oh well…

The Caliber to me is a typical American kinda design with bold looks, tall and high ground clearance. Treat it as scaled down and baby Dodge Charger with a meager 2.0 litre engine mated with CVT gearbox. Pretty cool considering at that time Dodge Charger is not available for rent. The engine, if I can recalled correctly derived from joint venture between Chrysler, Mitsubishi, and Hyundai; is relatively brisk for entry level 2.0 NA. Still I got left behind 10 tiangs on traffic light drag with an old school Passat 1.8T. That’s about the only pluses I can say about the car.

The steering feel is non-existence through the turns like an SUV than a hatchback and body control is poor. Straight “As” flop. That’s probably the reason why I won’t bother in illustrating any further like other cars I’ve reviewed.

It’s far too crude and coarse inside out to be genuine rival to Focus, Golf or even Corolla. But for aunties who own small SUVs and not clearly educated on driving quality, this Caliber might make a weird kind of sense.