Around the Track with Alex Tagliani

Aug 18 2013

It’s a 2013 Honda Civic HFP.

(Honda Factory Performance: tuned out of the box, limited edition) Honda.ca

Non-car nerds: Alex Tagliani is one of Canada’s most beloved racers.

He blew up in 90s, and has been killing it since. He races for Honda in the IndyCar series.

He wouldn’t remember, but we met last year. I arrived at Honda HQ to pick up a Fit, and accidentally walked into a meet & greet.

Also from that day.

Nice. (so nice, might give this photo its own post).

Filmed two days before the Indy, at the second annual ‘Honda Manual School’. Here’s a couple more videos from that day.

Nice and Shredded

Aug 18 2013

Seen at Honda’s Manual Driving School.

Didn’t Feel Like it This Weekend

Jul 21 2013

So I didn’t.

Shut my phone off, and drank beer in the country all weekend.

Isn’t that #NoFilter

Can you tell I don’t feel like being on camera?

Drove through some crazy weather Friday to get there, including a rainbow.

Esoterically, a rainbow is considered to represent enlightenment. Imagine if I was.

It was nice to disconnect, and it’s nice to be back online. It’s also nice to re-affirm you never really miss much when you disconnect, but the benefits are so worth it.

What I’m driving – on Friday I picked up a car I’d been dreaming to have for 14 months.

2013 Honda Accord HFP. It will be documented in its own post.

I’m quite comfortable with it.

It’s on my “Top 5 Favourite Cars” list.

The rest of the list is detailed on my half-finished, “About Cars” page.

I have to finish that about page this week, along with ones for “Blogging about Food”; “Smarten Up, Internet”; “Things I Found Going about Life”; “Now this is more for me than you”; “This is my Hack”; think that’s it.

Then I have to re-direct my URL collection, to which I added to Thursday night:

AnAppropriateAmountOfAggression.com comeON that’s a movie title.

Drove east many kilometres in the afternoon sun, having forgotten to apply sunscreen to my neck because lately I am a super-spaz, and now I am literally a red neck.

Came home late today, laundry and #SundayCleaning, then a walk deep into downtown to reacquaint to the city’s pace; 2 hours and probably 8km.

These flowers are in season.

Same flowers from my intro.

Haven’t re-embedded this in a while, from summer 2007, ‘The Canadian Explorer’ intro:

Filmed almost to-the-week from now.

That’s part of where it comes from, when I don’t document or publish for a few days… I’m like meh, 6 years of archives.

Where this post came from.

Stella while I blog. Remember that time I hosted that Stella party? Seems like a lifetime, but 2 years next month.

Drained; heavy week. Unfortunately didn’t make it to the Le Mons race at Mosport today.

This week’s column is about hacking your car; some meetings this week, a decision to make about that job offer; I have a hankering to go to a casino; and do some no-destination-just-driving in my HFP (which is on my “Top 3 favourite things to do” since I’m 16). If you hear some superfluous revving this week, wave hi.

TTYT

xo Keri

First Comes Smooth, then Comes Speed

Jul 17 2013

That’s the rule of learning to drive well, fast – first comes smooth, then comes speed.

I’m good at neither. I’ll get it done, but it won’t be elegant. But I have great enthusiasm, and the appropriate amount of aggression. Just need more seat time.

Here’s what it should look like:

Note how smooth; I’m filming this freehand.

Driving is president of FEL Automotive, Chris Bye.

It’s a 2013 Honda Civic HFP

(Honda Factory Performance: tuned out of the box, limited edition) – Honda.ca

It was Honda’s second annual ‘Manual School‘.

I brought Niki along. She’d never shifted gears before, but left feeling confident enough to buy her first car in manual YES mission accomplished.

With her is Daniel, whom you’ve met before hi hi.

(here’s the first annual ‘Manual School’ – there’s 3 videos)

The First Ever Honda Manual Driving School

May 25 2012

I prefer standard. I learned on it.

Most of my cars have been manual, but remember when my car died last fall? It’s been press and rental cars ever since, all automatic, so I hadn’t shifted anything since the fall.

Still killed it.

That’s a Honda Civic HFP, tuned out of the factory, one of about 200 in Canada.

Excellent hazard button set up. Top 3 I’ve seen.

It should be immediately accessible, no barriers. I have a thing about them.

The worst hazard buttons are on TOP of the steering column, are you kidding me. Put my hand through the wheel during an emergency situation. Have you ever got your arm caught while turning, it’s terrifying.