The first month of daily Longchamp experience

So now I’ve driven the Longchamp on a daily basis for a month, and here’s a small summary for those interested. I guess we all in a way dream about driving our exciting car daily, but practicalities get in the way. Like reliability, like where to park it safely, like noise and lack of comfort. Biggest problem where I live is the weather. And unfortunately, since I said goodbuy to my Jeep Grand Cherokee on Jan 31st, it’s been below zero almost all the time. No snow though, so clean roads except for the occasional salt. Tech tip: How do you know if your car is smothered in salt, so it needs immediate washing? Easy, wet your finger, touch the paint, taste your finger. If it’s salty, start washing.

On Feb 1st I went to my garage to go to work. I expected all to be OK, because everything worked some weeks ago. I had just changed the rubber for the rear opening windows, hoping I had stopped that leak. And it started, and off I went. Took some time to get reacquinted with the heating controls, but funnily enough, since then they’ve been on full heat all the time. I only adjust the heat by using low or high fan.

The car drove well, to work and back. I also found a good place to park. Normally in the company Jeep, I’d just park closest to the door, but I found another area with more space between the cars, to avoid dings. Funnily that area seems to be used by enthusiast cars, which in this country means Beetle conv, Cadillac CTS etc, big Audis, those that care about their cars. Felt better to park there.

On a rainy day, the windows started fogging (but no leaking). The heather could clear that up, but that meant less heat for my feet, which is marginal already in sub zero temperatures. So when I got home and the heated garage had cleaned the windows, I fixed that. Tech tip: Use very very little dish wash liquid on a clean window, you’ll have no mist for 6 months.

Things that need fixing started to pop up. A rattle in the left door at exact 1600 rpm. The brake pedal started to squeak. The key got hard to turn from cold, when the car had been sitting outside all day. Air vent fell out. Small things, but with that, and the fact I was playing with the ignition timing, static and vacuum (yes, I live by my homepage, I can’t stand a not perfectly tuned engine), it felt like there was something to fix every day I got home. Tech tip: www.tuningmadeeasy.com.

The worst was the alternator occasionally stopped charging. Thankfully it happened on the way home, and revving it helped. So out fixing it, thank god my garage is heated. Turned out the thick wire was loose, fixed that. And the day after, it charged more than ever before. Other things included brightening warning lights, mending headlamp washers, fixing door jamb switch. And of course washing it whenever possible. So a lot of fixing to do, but it never failed to get me there. And one thing that never worked properly before now works perfectly: the clock. Think about it, a perfectly working original Veglia clock, when I retire I'll ebay it and live off the money I get...

So how is it to drive? Perfect. Great handling, enough power, comfortable interior. And that sound, f...... fantastic. No other car in Denmark sounds like that on a freezing morning.

Best experiences?
1. In general people look at it approvingly. I haven’t had that ”what’s the mileage?” or ”what a polluter” crowd yet. One guy guessed Lamborghini at the gas station. When I said DeTomaso, he said, ”oh that guy didn’t get a good break”. I didn’t ask. Fueling the car happens quite often. And while I always enjoy the look on the guy’s face waiting behind me, when I go to the other tank, the mileage is a bit low. 5.5 km/l, you can do the math.
2. Another good experience was when I drove to a work related party in the other end of the country (it’s a small country). When about to leave to drive home at night, our 50+ years old HR woman asked if I could give her a lift. Couldn’t really get out of it, so I said yes. When she saw the car, she said vauw!. And when I started it, she said vauw again. I drove her to outside her house. The next Monday when we met at work, she told me she hadn’t (in the -5 degrees celcius) hurried into the house, she had stood outside listening to the Longchamp disappearing in the distance...
3. Last but not least, when I set off a car alarm at the airport, just idling by.

So in general, can this be recommended? Maybe.
Against: You have to be prepared fix something at least weekly. And it does wear the car, so if it’s in showroom condition, maybe don’t do it. My Longchamp does not look like it left the showroom floor (did DeTomaso have a showroom?) yesterday, it looks like it left the showroom 3 years ago. That’s how I like it.
For: This feeling I sometimes got in the Jeep, coming to work, not remembering the trip at all, that never happens. Every drive demands concentration and is an experience in it self. ”Getting there is more than half the fun”. Damn right!