Buried in this Washington Post article is the fact that FlexCar is moving its headquarters from Seattle to DC. Steve Case, probably the best-known DC entrepreneur, is a major owner, so I’m assuming he cracked the whip. Lee Iacocca is another investor, but I refused to think of Lido with anything relating to whips or leather… really… ok, maybe Rich Corinthian Leather if he reunited with Ricardo.

DC is one of very few cities where both FlexCar and ZipCar operate. Car-sharing services have proved to be controversial in DC, as they have designated street parking reserved. It will be curious if relocating here further entrenches FlexCar in DC, and if the head-to-head competition here starts trending away from ZipCar and towards FlexCar.

At the risk of alienating the automotive bloggerati, I’ll admit I’m a huge supporter of car-sharing services. (Hey if Lido can buy into the concept, why not me?) If I didn’t have to drive 20 miles to work everyday, I would use one of these services for the odd times I need a practical car, and replace the daily driver with a fun, impractical, frivolous car… maybe a Lotus Elise.

Yes, I know the point is to get rid of the car, not replace it. I’m pretty sure, though, if I completely extricate automobiles from my life, the therapy bills would end up buying someone else a new car anyhow.

It’s official. I’m a fag.

The past couple weeks, I’ve admired the new MX-5 Miata at the grocery, driving down the GW Parkway, and other assorted places, thinking “I could drive it.” I know Miatas are stereotypical “gay” cars, but I honestly like it a lot. The hood and rear end are styled a bit more aggressively then the last generation, and overall the car looks less girlie while still looking like a Miata. As a general rule, though, I don’t enjoy driving soft-top convertibles with the top up… The roadsters feel confining and the 2+2’s feel like I’m driving a cave. (no rear or 3/4 quarter visibility.) Therefore, a traditional soft convertible would never work for my daily driver. (Project, yes. Daily, no.)

Now, Mazda has announced that the MX-5 Miata will be available as a hardtop convertible. Holy crap… Pontiac’s gotta be pissed.

This will have to take the wind out of the Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky sails (or sales?). I doubt that GM will try to retro fit a hardtop, considering the current soft-top is more difficult open and close that the Miata’s soft-top to begin with, not to mention all the trouble the Pontiac G6’s hardtop was to get to market with any reliability. Maybe GM can keep running on the momentum/planned scarcity they have now. As for me, the availability of a retractable hardtop has swung me from Sky to MX-5 Miata.

Weekend before last, I attended Capital Pride for the first time in almost ten years. And then, it was only the festival… I skipped the parade for a barbeque on Kent Island.

Granted it had been a while, but I never remember that the Straight 8s had such a prominent place at the festival. (For those who don’t know, the Straight 8s are the gay car club in DC.) Believe it or not, even though I’m such a notorious car queen in DC, I have never joined the Straight 8s. Yes, I, who celebrated my 2nd anniversary with Scott at the Chicago Auto Show, has not felt worthy to join. After all, I have one parking spot that is not covered, so had to compromised and buy a daily driver with the soul of a fun weekend car.

Seeing the ‘31 Pontiac and the pink Dodge Coronet, and chatting with some of the members, I’m thinking of joining. The project car bug has once again bitten me, and getting to know folks whom I can bounce this stuff off of would be great. I might even consider sharing in the project with someone else, though that could get messy.

I’ve actually been playing around with this idea a number of times, most recently after the Carpundit got his 2002. I’ve got it narrowed down to a late 60’s Mercedes SL or an early 70’s Porsche 911. I’ve checked out prices of cars in decent condition, and I think I can swing it. The biggest problem now, is where to store my li’l baby. My parking is not covered, and there is no way I’m storing anything that dreamy outside. A garage space would be optimal, preferably with water and/or electricity available.

If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

I was reading this article on MSNBC today about being in love with cars. I and so many other folks I know are absolutely car crazy, but Mary Beth Ellis (the author) is not really in love with cars in general… she’s just in love with her car. She’s a car-namer. In my experience, car-namers usually know very little about any other car besides their own, and then their knowledge is usually limited to the color. (”‘Rhonda’ is Desert Sand Mica!”) And it doesn’t matter how much of a hunk o’ junk it may be.

Anyhow, one sentence in this article mentioned folks naming their children after cars. My sister should be giving birth any day now, so I started to think how I could help her name this one. This will be her fifth child, so she long ago used the names she picked out when she was 13 years old. The right car-inspired name, while an homage to my obsession, should not be so obvious that all would know that the li’l nipper was named after someone’s favorite (or least favorite) ride. To add to the challenge, my sister’s married name is King, so there are other concerns to worry about. Name your son Joseph, and he becomes JoKing. Don and Martin Luther are both out too. My brother-in-law has threatened to name a kid Burger.

The current trend to name cars with alphanumerics also makes it slim pickings. Let’s face it, FX35 King just doesn’t have a ring to it. Not much does, to tell you the truth:

So, if you run into a little girl named Elise King or a little boy named Zephyr King, you’ll know who their doting uncle is.

Forbes Auto has named the BMW 3 Series coupe as one of the top ten city cars.

I wholeheartedly agree, but I may be a little biased (see image above). My 325Ci has great acceleration, and definitely strokes my overdeveloped ego. Yet, I never have trouble finding a parking spot on the street, though I usually park in the alley behind my house, and I’ve averaged almost 25 MPG since I bought the car, despite driving like a crazed idiot in traffic. (yes… I am “that guy in the BMW”)

I found one thing curious, though. Forbes singled out the coupe, ignoring the new E90 sedan and E91 wagon. From everything I’ve read, the new 3 Series is an improvment on the old. Maybe Jalopnik is right, and some of the choices Forbes made are innane.