The AtoBers

I realized a while back that car enthusiasts are a bit different from regular car owners, or as they will be called from here out AtoBers.  This difference has sort of been sort of emphasized for me over the last couple months since for the first time I'm in a office with no fellow car enthusiasts, it is a bit odd to say the least.  AtoBers aren't concerned 0-60 times or power to weight ratios, they focus on making it from point A (home) to point B (the office, store, or etc).  AtoBers aren't likely to drop it down a gear or two just to hear a turbo spool or feel the acceleration, their focus is on reliability and mileage.  AtoBers don't care that Toyota no longer offers a Supra, MR2, or Celica; they are good just as long as Toyota keeps the Avalons, Camrys, and Corollas rolling off of the assembly lines.  AtoBers aren't interested in Saving the Manuals and they don't care that Inside Line was rolled into Edmunds.com.  There are no Cars & Coffee meets to attend early Saturday morning, no apexes to enjoy on an empty on or off ramp, or even just spending hours at a little place on the interwebs called The Car Lounge.

Although there is not what I would call a shortage of entertaining cars right now, it is a bit depressing to read that most teens/kids aren't even interested in driving now days.  I still remember drooling over the E36 M3 in my dad's Car and Driver magazine or my excitement when Subaru finally announced that the WRX would be available stateside.  I have two little ones now and I would be lying if I said that I didn't want my kids to feel the same way I do about cars.  My little guy can already identify several car models and I plan on teaching both of my children how to drive stick when the time comes.  With the decline of the manual transmission, rise of hybrid/electric cars, and self driving cars on the horizon it appears to me that I may be the last of a dying breed.  Honestly, I'm kind of saddened by it all. However, I'm going to go those meets, shows, races, cruises, and anything else I can do to make sure enthusiasts like me don't go quietly into the night.

NAIAS 2013: Motor City

With the 2013 NAIAS Detroit show coming to a close in about a week I figured I'd comment on the cars shown that I think were the highlights of the show.  Fortunately there wasn't too much unobtanium on display, well onto my impressions:

C7 Corvette

The next generation Corvette in my opinion was easily the most anticipated announcement of the Detroit show and GM didn't disappoint.  Both the Stingray and Z51 receive an aluminum chassis, a new direct injected 6.2L V8, and 7-speed Tremec manual.  The Z51 trim gets an improved suspension, bigger brakes, LSD, dry sump, and closer gear ratios.  Thankfully both cars benefit from a greatly improved interior.  I like the Z51, but with only 450hp I'm waiting to see what a ZR1 replacement will bring to the table.

2014 IS

The 2014 IS is another highly anticipated model that showed up at the Detroit show.  Toyota's offering for the ever important entry level sports sedan segment had to make a splash.  It's a little longer now and with the exception of a new hybrid variant the powertrain options remain for the most part unchanged, though the IS350 now gets the 8-speed from the previous gen IS-F.  Though the F-Sport models bring improved performance, it's difficult in my opinion to get past the very suspect looking front end.  The interior is also improved and in my opinion very impressive for the class.  If it were possible to get the normal front end on the IS350 F-Sport I think that would be an interesting alternative to the class leading BMW 335i.

2014 Q50

Despite the new name courtesy of a wonky new model naming scheme, the Q50 is the latest version of Nissan's 3-Series fighting Infiniti G Series sedans.  Like the 2014 IS it is new inside and out, no suspension revisions were mentioned and the VQ37 carries over from the previous generation.  However, a new hybrid model was announced.  I am unsure if there is a market for entry level sports sedans, but it seems the hybrid model does bring about 26 more horses to the table.  Although I think that Nissan did a much better job than Lexus in the design department and also believe it should remain more dynamic than the IS; I am disappointed that there isn't a new iteration of the venerable VQ series V6 making an appearance in the Q50.  I still think that the Q50 should be another viable 335i alternative.

2014 320i

It appears that BMW is finally providing a trim level below the 328i again.  Though the 335i and M3 are usually the models I would be interested in as an enthusiast, there is just something right about a RWD sedan with a direct injected small turbocharged four.  Being a Bimmer, I fully suspect that the 180hp and 200lb-ft of torque stated by BMW are pretty underrated.  I have no doubts that a cheaper 3-Series will be very popular with the crowd only looking for the propeller badge on the hood, but I am hoping that it takes off with other enthusiasts as well.  While the A4/S4 is still my pick for the class, the 320i expands it and that could be a good thing.

2014 E63 AMG

I'm not sure there is much to say about this one, pretty much every Benz wearing those three little letters is awesome.   However, I suppose that I should note that the entire E-Class has been revised for the 2014 model year, for those not interested in German super sedans.  Back to the E63 AMG though, base level power is now up to 550hp and if that's not enough the S-Model ups the fun to 570hp and both are now driven by all 4 wheels.  With even more power for the hand built twin turbocharged 5.5L V8 and AWD the 2014 E63 AMG is my super sedan selection, well until Audi brings the RS6 back to the states.  Lastly, if you require rapid family transport like I do, all 550-570hp that is available in the E63 AMG sedan can be had in Wagon form, definitely the way to go.

2014 RS7

The Audi A7 wasn't the original 4-door coupe, but it's a very interesting take on the concept.  Quattro, sub 4-second 0-60, and a twin turbocharged V8 plus Audi's industry leading fit and finish means that the RS7 definitely  matches up very well against its rival from Mercedes-Benz (CLS63 AMG).  Now if Audi would only offer take a page from Mercedes playbook and offer the RS6 and RS6 Avant in the U.S.

NSX Concept

Other than SH-AWD and a V6 mounted midship there isn't much known about the return of Honda's legendary all aluminum sports car.  The concept is a stunner, but I'm expecting great things from the production model should Honda really see this though.  On a side note, I hope the NSX arrives in time to give the Acura brand the shot in the arm it really needs.

Beans don't burn on the grill

Well this one is a little late since I intended to get it posted Wednesday evening.  Moving on though, I finally tried red beans and rice this week.  For various reasons I have generally avoided this dish and other foods with beans as a major player for many years.  However, after giving a friend's spin on the dish a try I can only come to the conclusion that I've been wrong for quite a while.  I'm honestly trying to figure why I never tried this warm and comforting dish earlier.  It's mildly spicy, quite flavorful, and I have difficulty believing that anything with andouille could possibly be bad.  Red beans and rice is definitely something I'm going to need to learn how to make, especially during these winter months.

The Remix

I wanted to post something longer and car related, but I think that can wait until the 2013 Detroit Auto Show formally starts tomorrow.  So I'm going to to talk about dessert. I mentioned in my previous post that we still had some balsamic strawberries left, well after a quick trip to the store we had some more Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean to go with them as well.  After using the incredibly useful blender attachment for our KitchenAid hand mixer, with a little almond milk and vanilla extract deliciousness ensued.  There's still some work to be done to get that ideal milkshake texture down, but flavor wise it's a winner.

Yup, all gone!

An Edible Fractal

Full disclosure, I'm much better at baking than regular cooking (it's even in the name of my blog).  However, every so often I get a dinner idea and give it go.  Last week or so I ran across a peculiar looking (and naturally occurring fractal) vegetable called romanesco broccoli.  After doing some reading it seemed like something we should give a try, so I gave it some thought and came up with a dinner plan (one hopefully Tina would really enjoy since she generally likes me giving dinner duty a go).  The results of my efforts are below, grilled rosemary lamb chops, romanesco broccoli, and some Alexia rosemary and garlic oven potatoes.

Grilled lamb and Alexia products are something we've paired up many time before so the focus was on the romanesco.  We used a very simple prep for since it's supposed to be like cauliflower or broccoli.  I found it to be interesting, more like cauliflower, not a bad thing, but with a slightly minty taste.  I would certainly recommend giving it a go.


 
I also had a dessert idea, something very simple but very enjoyable as well.  Balsamic strawberries with vanilla bean ice cream did the trick.  The best part is that we have some strawberries left, so this dessert or a variation on it (balsamic strawberry milkshake anyone?) will definitely show up again soon.

2012 Gaming and Me

I suppose this is a bit late, sort of like my current gaming habits.  Between family life, work, and our move I didn't have too much time for one of my favorite hobbies.  There were plenty of solid games released last year, but I spent a good chunk of time trying to recapture my college level mojo (which ain't happening) in Capcom's 2D fighter offerings, defending my brains and house in Plants vs Zombies, and working through some older series (Assassin's Creed and Mass Effect I'm looking at you).  However, I did manage to sneak in two of 2012's releases; Mass Effect 3 and Dust: An Elysian Tail.  Both titles are very story driven, but gameplay wise couldn't be anymore different.

 Dust is hand drawn Metroidvania bliss, it's incredibly difficult to believe the game is for the most part the work of a single individual.  The gameplay reminds me of Treasure's Saturn classic Guardian Heroes, a very good thing.  There combos to learn, new skills to unlock, items to upgrade, and side quests complete.  I finished Dust at 95% completion, it took me approximately 20+ hours and it was a joy for every single one.  If you have a 360 and enjoyed classics like Castlevania, Metroid, or 09's Shadow Complex; I highly suggest checking Dust: An Elysian Tail out.

Mass Effect 3 is the conclusion of BioWare's sci-fi RPG epic.  Though the complexity of the games have been streamlined from the original title the story is very much intact.  Building an alliance from across the galaxy to take back a Reaper controlled Earth and seeing how decisions you made in the first two games is very rewarding.  There are also plenty of moving moments and difficult decisions to be made as well.  The gameplay is largely similar to ME2, but w/o any vehicle based missions.  After putting in well over 100+ hours into all three games I have to say that even though there are some loose ends and questions left unanswered, I found the conclusion of Shepard's story largely rewarding.  BioWare says the next title in the Mass Effect series is already underway and should arrive between 2014 and 2015.  I'm certainly looking forward to it, but until it arrives I'll complete another full tour of all three ME games.  I believe the series is just that good.

Honorable mentions, also known as games I purchased in 2012 but didn't play:  Mark of the Ninja, The Last Story, and Xenoblade Chronicles.  I wish that I found the time for these three, but I'll definitely get through them this year.  Hopefully I'll be able to follow them up with Dishonored and Assassin's Creed III, two titles that slipped through my rotation last year.

Benches, Bedding, and Beyond

Yesterday at my urging (though Tina has wanted to do this for about a week) we made a family run to our local Bed, Bath, & Beyond.  I had forgotten how much I really enjoy that store and now that we're making our new house a home it's even better.  Between the window panels we went looking for and the wall art, plates, benches, bedding, and other assorted items that captured our attention we both had a great time picturing what would work for us in the house.  What's odd is that I also made a trip to Best Buy with every intention to pick up a PSN Plus card to renew my subscription, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  I guess it's funny how things change, I'm excited about decorating our home but spending $50 on something I likely won't use (my Live subscription is a totally different matter though lol)...well not so much.

River City Musings

For the longest time I was trying to get out of Richmond, something we finally got done in the Summer of 2012.  I guess sometimes you don't really appreciate things until you aren't regularly around them.  Though I have no intentions of moving my family back to the 804 as we're really enjoying NoVA, I have been feeling unusually Richmondy lately.  The solution?  I decided to grab somethings from the RVA News Store (pics below).  A little something for my cube at work, a VCU colored RVA sticker; and something a little cooler that any Richmonder could appreciate for my game room, a Richmond Hood Map.  Honestly, I never thought I'd miss RVA but these small things let me bring a little bit of the 804 to my new digs.



VCU RVA Sticker

RVA Hood Map

It all starts with the first post.

This blog is something that I've considered starting for a while now and after some peer pressure something I've finally done.  I think that the title ' Bake | Game | Drive' says it all.  Baking, gaming, and cars are the main topics I'll be posting about since that's what I'm into but I'd be lying if said nothing else (tech, music, politics, or miscellaneous ramblings/observations) could sneak it's way into a post.  Well enough of that I guess, here goes!