Requiem for a machine bolt: Integra owners take note…

Normally, I love the meticulous craftsmanship and intricate engineering the Japanese bring to the craft of building an automobile.

However, when engineers design a window retaining system whereby the slider is held in solely by a machine bolt with a perfectly smooth head, you would expect adhesive to be applied during assembly, so that the bolt will stay threaded to the slider.

Sadly, this is not the case.
So to my Integra driving brethren, let my tale of woe serve as a warning.

Inspect the pin that holds the top corner of your side windows against the sash.

Left alone to its own devices, the god damned thing will fall off at speed, leaving you with no choice but to cough up $40 for a new slider assembly.

Holy foregone conclusion, Batman!

Apologies for not posting recently; life gets in the way every so often.

At any rate, as I was making my usual rounds through the blogosphere, I ran across a post at MotorAuthority  that blew me away with it’s stunning obviousness.

In a nutshell, the National Center for Public Policy Research  recently released a study where consumers were asked if they would support an increase in gasoline taxes to support initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

$3.51 and rising.

With little to no sign of retreating anytime soon, the average price of unleaded gasoline soared to a new state record this afternoon, according to the Daily Fuel Gauge report published by AAA.

With political instability in Venezuela affecting exports and with OPEC expressing no interest in boosting output, there’s little hope that today’s record will hold for long. Compared to a year ago, the price per gallon has increased by 58 cents per gallon.

To put things in a national perspective, check out this map provided by GasBuddy.