Kia Rio5 Review – Kelley Blue Book
Devastating depreciation can be your friend.
Again, placed here only so I don’t lose it. No Euros, No Koreans, carefully selected Americans.
- 2004-2007 Chevrolet Malibu MAXX [sic]
- 2003 and up Chrysler PT Cruiser, with manual transmission
- 2005-2007 Dodge Magnum, 2.7l only
- 2003-2007 Ford Focus, with manual transmission
- 2000-2007 Ford Taurus, Duratec only
- 2006 and up Kia Rio5*
- 2002-2003 Mazda Protoge5
- 2004 and up Mazda Mazda6
- 2000-2005 Mercury Sable, Duratec only
- 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback
- 2003 and up Pontiac Vibe
- 2000-2004 Saturn L200 and L300
- 2000-01 Saturn SW
- 2001-2007 Subaru Impeza
- 1998 and up Subaru Legacy
- 2005 and up Suzuki Forenza
From January 2008 to March 2009 KCPW-AM in Salt Lake City was a 24-hour outlet for BBC programming. Mostly the World Service with some Radio 4 content in the midday and afternoon drive. Although officially run through the auspices of SLC’s Public Radio organization, it was programmed entirely from London.
This experiment is regarded as a noble failure. KCPW was one of the few MW Public Radio stations ever licensed. Today under new calls, 1010 in SLC has changed owners and is predictably religious. The FCC was anxious about foreigners fully programming a radio station on their territory.
According to the grapevine:
Since sometime in 2008, owners of underutilized radio stations in the US have received offers from China Radio International. The substance of these offers is unclear, but a consortium of Chinese media companies and the state broadcaster are working together to find space on the radio dials in the United States.
The only radio station, so far, to accept this arrangement is on the air now. IDing as “CRI, Beyond Beijing, KGBC 1540, Galveston-Houston” with a Galveston, Texas city of license. Until the late 90’s KGBC was a proper old-school, full-service AM serving Galveston and environs. This independent station has flirted with closure for some time; the overall nature of the new arrangement is not clear. What is clear, however, KGBC has applied to change their COL as an presumed first step to formally broadcast into Houston, as the ID suggests. Some of my misgivings about Houston (soccer mom, strong social contrasts, &c.) may be unfounded as the city has, today, a 24-hour WRN outlet, via HD, with other “public” stations leasing time to international broadcasters. KGBC is licensed today as a commercial station, even if they have only one client.
I find myself wondering if all these new-to-us international programs have something to do with the collapse of the Christian-Center movement and the availability of all that time they used to clear on the under-92 part of the FM dial.
Incidentally, the night time pattern of KGBC predominantly covers the Gulf. Whether this is somehow useful or subject to change is not at all clear.
CRI is the only non-US-based broadcaster with a 24-hour broadcasting presence in the US today. As I type, I am listening to their stream which is a program of contemporary, hip-hop-prominent Western hits with host for whom English is clearly not his first language. Not at all oddly, they are doing top-of-the-hour news from a distinctly Chinese perspective and promoting non-music programming. That is, the Chinese are attempting a proper old-school, full-service AM, which Americans won’t so much as try. As close as we get to that is syndicated talk, rarely sweetened with local hosts.
It’s like we’re being Radio Sawa’d.
I wish to state plainly that I now resent being forced to participate in automotive culture.
Before, I just thought eliminating all other practical options was just sort of silly and annoying. As I delve into the blatant ugliness of buying an automobile in this environment … read more…
If I put this list anywhere else it will be lost. Prone to updating. Later models on this list will be out of my modest price range, but I’m logging the generations by model year for future reference. read more…
I, after a prolonged period, nicknamed my 1994 Ford Ranger XLT 2WD with off-road, Twin-I-beam™ suspension Otis. You see, I work overnights and tend to that schedule even when I am not working. It appears that I prefer a quieter and slightly more sinister world. I like to go out at 3:30 in the morning and get things done. That’s when I say to my longtime companion, “Let’s me and you go for a ride, Otis.”
I drove this truck off the lot of Bill Collins Ford [r.i.p. ] with not quite thirteen miles on it. All but a few hundred of the ensuing 165K miles are my responsibility. As is the clearcoat peeling off in sheets, and the brakes which have lasted 123K miles. I am a rather gentle driver, much to the frustration of my infrequent passengers.
This year my truck will require a major fuel-injection system servicing, brakes finally, a clutch job, tires … and none of that will address the corroding chassis, “paint” issues, and the infamous Ranger lean. That is, the truck, like all of its cousins, leans ever so slightly to the left. No one knows why. Perhaps because it was built by the UAW.
Please enjoy Jamie Miller’s Futureman, featuring the inimitable Bill Terry and his music with a special appearance by a less solitary version of your humble narrator. Oh, and the best footage in any media of the vehicle in question.
The bed cap is a full-custom job. It was far cheaper to drive out to the manufacturer and special order it, than to buy one in town. I also got the cap of my desiring which no dealer would carry or order. It’s color, well, was the color of the bottom part of the tape stripe. A massive 2.3l/140 cubic-inch plant driven through five forward gears. Zero-to-sixty time was about thirteen seconds when new. It’s somewhat less today. Driving the rural and suburban highways of Texas in an old 4-cylinder Ranger means knowing where your power band is.
I have a lot of time and emotion wrapped up in that machine. It is the machine I piloted to a new life. It is the machine I piloted while looking at home in the rear-view mirror for the last time. At one time or another all of the women I was foolish enough to love rode in that vehicle. One late night I was meandering on foot through Downtown Louisville, probably on a depression-inspired jaunt. As I walked past the Milner Hotel, I remember thinking that someday I will come back to Louisville and do so driving my own car. This is the car. Part of me always wanted to drive that very “Louisville-built, Ford tough” truck out of Texas for the last time. The same part is screaming that I may well be trapped when that is no longer a possibility.
My Ford Ranger has proved the most trouble-free vehicle I shall ever hope to own and operate. The first time my next conveyance so much as ticks in the parking lot, I will curse myself for not parting with the $7000, which I don’t have and am not likely to find, to fix Otis properly.
As I search for a replacement, prepare for many boring automotive-related posts.
Anybody know where I can find a mid-size or compact station wagon, Texas security system, a.k.a. manual transmission strongly preferred, for under $4200? No Koreans, European brands, or Chevrolets. Vol-Tech has a 745 that makes my heart pitter pat. Wait, no, nothing from Yurp.
Donations accepted.
Even the internet knows …
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Stan took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test!“”Seeking an escape from the things that are bringi…”
Click here to read the rest of the results. |
- This week I’ve spotted in the wild a Car2go Smart Fortwo, new civilian Smarts in the neighborhood, a Chevrolet Sprint Turbo, a Ford Maverick, a statistically prominent number of Mexican-plated Chevrolet-Opels and Renaults, a Toyota Prius at a Starbucks “drive-thru”, and noted that Austin now has Moto Guzzi and Ferrari dealers.
- The Sprint store in the neighborhood has closed. It may have been closed for a while. A vinyl sign is above that storefront reading “Donuts Coming Soon”. From the age and condition of the sign, donuts may not be coming at all.
- Sign me up for a smart phone when you get to 4G, and I don’t want it from Sprint.
- The Office Depot across the street has moved into the southernmost third of its building. The façade and Office Depot signage are gone. You can see the fifties-era Safeway underneath. The brick pillars in the front of the building, or under the glass-and-steel entry, were merely plastered over at some point and are now exposed. No word on what may fill the vacant space.
- Its 51 degrees. You don’t have to wear two sweaters and hats with a muffler. It will be under thirty and windy late tonight, but you don’t have to bundle up just yet. Especially if you’re sitting in your Prius.
News comes of different types of motor vehicles which may soon find their way onto the American road. read more…
