With slightly over 80K miles on the odometer, it was definitely the time to replace the fluid in the automatic transmission. Since a quick drain and fill only changes half of all fluids, a more involved procedure is recommended: the transmission flush.

Let's get it started:

I say let's break the tradition and move it a couple weeks to a month out only because of the weather issue. Foliage should be more abundant but there may be more traffic, but then it was pretty packed this time. Don't get me wrong I'm still down for the last weekend in March.

Also let's save save save and get a big A$$ Cabin or as many smaller ones as we need to be close to each other; $15 to $20 a month if possible.

Stenger hit on some very good points in the 2011 start talking thread for keeping it as is. Pasting his quotes below, which are pretty much spot on:

"Last weekend of March for financial reasons, as well as less visitors opposed to summer. And keep it in Gatlinburg. It seems to work on lots of aspects. It doesn't interfere with big shows. It doesn't cost a lot. Tax Returns can help fund the trip. Spring break typically falls in those last two weeks of the month. Making it easier for college students to make the trip."

I get this question asked all the time: How did You bend it? Many interesting things are possible to be created out of aluminum rod that can be bent at much sharper angles than tubing, since rod does not collapse. Of course it requires significant effort, especially when working with larger diameter stock. But the tools are simple: thick wall steel pipe does the job.

I knew it was only a matter of time before my alarm install mishap came back to haunt me. But to be fair, it has been 5 months and a cross-country journey later before a problem has come up. As my new mantra goes, 'it could always be worse.' This was relatively simple to deal with.

Especially when I have an awesome big brother that insists on looking over anything that concerns my car.

In this write up I am showing another option on fixing the broken end studs of the rear hatch handle. After hearing some feedback from people who installed the repair brace covered in this thread: http://www.clubxb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41979 , I thought of an alternative to the epoxy and grommet repair shown in the DIY http://www.clubxb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37142

Having seen few really bad cases of the factory hatch release failure due to the combination of environmental conditions (usually it is the temperature, ozone and exhaust fumes that with time become lethal to the rubber cover), I decided to come up with the solution based on a generic momentary switch.

As far as road trips go, this was definitely an interesting experience I will never forget.

As far as crossing the country along the most unimaginative or scenic route possible goes, please shoot me if I ever decide that it might be a great idea to do again.

I honestly shouldn't complain, there weren't any major (or minor) problems for the entire trip. Months in advance were spent being absolutely terrified of what lay ahead, and I was imagining every single possible worst case scenario that my overactive brain could come up with happening to my xB.

I documented my aftermarket steering wheel installation using the MOMO hub. Out of many different hubs available that was my choice due to its ability to retain the use of the spiral cable assembly. That part is important for keeping the Vehicle Stability System (VSC) and turn signal self cancelling functions. Another aftermarket hub that is suitable for that is made by Sparco.

The Door Lock Control relay is very sensitive to the electrical overload and can fail if extra care is not taken when modifying the dome light with the aftermarket LED's or adding load to the dome light circuit. Here is one example of the damage that can be caused by that:

We all have heard about the fuel line magnets, turbonators, throttle body spacers, hydrogen generators and miracle additives designed to make our cars more fuel efficient. They all come with claims of success and explanations of how and why they do what they do. Sometimes they even come with the test data. So here is another one: