Test Drive

The car made it to Q's this evening!!

Q's is a great barbecue restaurant in Carson City, Nevada. The food is delicious! I was last there about 2 months ago, in the beginning of January. It's been a long two months. On the drive from Reno to Carson City back then, the car started choking, misfiring, bucking. Once in Carson, the car behaved normally. Shopped at the Craft Market for quilt fabrics and had lunch at Q's. On the way home, there was a terrible ice storm. The usual 45 minute drive took close to 3 hours.

I tried to drive to Truckee, California over the 3-day Presidents' Day Weekend. The car did the same choking, misfiring, and bucking up the mountain on I-80. I made it to Truckee only by pulling off the road, turning off the car, and restarting it again. I had to do that several times. And once I got into Truckee, the car ran just fine.

Let's try getting home from Truckee. Almost in Reno -- you guessed it -- choking, misfiring, and bucking again. And this time the electrical system just totally shut down at the top of an exit ramp. Steering even that small 1996 Plymouth Neon was REALLY hard with no electrical power. But I got it off the road, turned off the engine, restarted it, and got home just fine.

The Reno Chrysler dealership had to order some parts, but they had my car ready within 2 weeks. Of course, I was able to drive it around town while waiting for the parts to come in. I just couldn't drive for more than 20 miles at sustained highway speeds.

So today was the test. Could the car make it to Q's in Carson City without all that nonsense behavior? YES! And the pulled pork sandwich was delicious.