Bounce house

 Not to humblebrag, but my household has more cars than garage space.  Yes, the house's two car garage is spacious enough to accommodate our two vehicles and a small wooden sailboat I built myself a few years ago.  But this leaves one vehicle that must be parked outside in the elements.  When severe weather is forecast, I sometimes use my Hail Protector to shield the vehicle from damaging hail or flying debris in a storm.  It is, in essence, similar to a children's inflatable bounce house.  In other words, a fabric shell that is inflated by a constantly running electric fan.  This is designed to provide enough of a cushion to protect a vehicle from large chunks of ice falling from the sky.  It takes me about 15 minutes to install the thing, so advanced warning of severe weather is essential.  I have it set up at this moment, in advance of expected severe weather, including large hail, later this afternoon.  I've had this gizmo for a couple years, and deployed it a handful of times, as a precaution.  Haven't yet had any actual hail to be protected from.  Hope that streak continues today...  Stay tuned.

Mileposts

 A minor milestone of sorts this morning as I drove in to work:  I turned 50,000 miles on my 2020 Chevrolet Malibu Premier.  Sure, as automobile landmarks go, this isn't very remarkable.  For instance, the local television weatherman in Birmingham just reached 400,000 miles on his vehicle.  But I've enjoyed this vehicle, which was pressed into service at the height of the Covid pandemic and has taken over daily driver duties from my mid-life crisis vehicle, a 2012 Nissan 370Z.  The Malibu is nothing exciting, but a quiet, comfortable, reliable vehicle.  I've enjoyed it for the past four years and more.  It's really a shame Chevy has stopped making them.  I have no doubt my Malibu will never reach 400K, but I certainly hope to drive it a few more years.

End of the road

 I read this morning that Chevrolet will soon cease production of its last gasoline powered sedan, the Malibu.  As a Malibu owner myself, I am saddened, though not surprised.  Such an end for the venerable nameplate has been discussed for years, and recently, trim levels and options of Malibus that were being built have been reduced.  It seems that market forces- SUVs are more fashionable these days, and automakers continue their move towards electric vehicles - have finally forced the decision.  But it's been a good run of about 60 years.  Malibu began as a trim level of the Chevy Chevelle in 1964, and soon began a model name in itself.  Since then, the vehicle has gone through nine major design generations, with the current design being released in 2016, with a minor 2019 design refresh.

I bought my Malibu in 2020, in the midst of Covid lockdown, which presented a few logistical challenges.  My 2020 Premier came with all options, a 2.0L turbo 4 cylinder engine that provides plenty of power and decent fuel economy.  And the infotainment center has been a pleasure.  When it works.  It's fairly complex and has given occasional computer-glitch headaches.  But on the whole, I have enjoyed the comfort and performance of the car which has become my daily driver after replacing my 2012 Nissan 370Z midlife-crisis-mobile.  (Which I still drive on the weekends.)  

My wife and I have a private code, or verbal shorthand for this situation:  mint Vienetta.  This refers to a favorite dessert of my father-in-law's, which was suddenly discontinued.  And so, in ending production of a favored product, Chevy has produced another mint Vienetta.