#SharkNoseDiary: Road Trip!

Mileage: Approx. 100 miles.
Fuel Economy: 14 mpg (it's improved by a staggering 1 mpg!)
Expense: 1 tank of gas = $60

It's road trip season, so I figured that I might as well take the old girl out for a cruise. And what a cruise we had.

[Previously on #SharkNoseDiary: I bought a 1987 BMW 635CSi for $2100 and figured, eh, might as well take the car up and down a mountain pass for a full day to see if anything falls out of the car.]

On a weekend, I met up with a couple of my friends and headed up to Pemberton, a small town about 2 hours away from Vancouver, BC. The appropriately-named Sea-to-Sky Highway is something to behold -- from the ocean view of Vancouver to the snow-capped mountains through the ski resort in Whistler, the road is probably one of the best driving roads in the Pacific Northwest.

Now, if only my 12V power outlet was working... Alas, all the footage collected was from my friend, Eric, who has a F750 unit in his Hyundai Veloster Turbo.

Now, keep in mind that I was driving a 30-year-old BMW. Sure, the drive itself wasn't too far away, but the roads have plenty of gradient and corners -- two things that don't usually bode well with cheap European classics. The BMW took it like a champ, however. The car was even somewhat composed in the corners (well... as composed as a 30-year-old car can be), and the engine seemed to pull even stronger as the trip went on too. A couple of Italian tuneups probably helped.

Sure, my stereo wasn't working, but who cares? The weather was great, the road had a perfect blend of straights and corners, and cruising with your friends is always fun -- especially when you are driving a car that is guaranteed to attract eyeballs and waves from other drivers on the road.

Even my friends were quite impressed at how well my old BMW was doing -- surely, their brand new turbocharged hot hatches would surely leave my old and heavy German tank in the dust. On the contrary, the engine provided plenty of torque and power on the way up, and I even gave some much newer BMWs a run for their money... Until they followed me into a corner, where the BMW leaned over like the Tower of Pisa while they overtook me on the fast lane.

All in all, it was a great day. Driving the 6 series up and down a mountain pass was just the icing on the cake.