In about ten days I’ll be jumping in the vehicle with my girlfriend and driving across North America, yet again. We moved out to Ontario last year from the British Columbia-area to spend a year in Hamilton, and were forced to do the drive in four days due to commitments that were waiting for us. Thankfully we are going to do the drive back in about nine days, which should be a lot more enjoyable. This is actually my fourth time moving across the country, and I’ve done this song and dance enough times that I thought I would give some advice on the subject. First, moving across the country ...

Not that long ago I lost my only accessible set of keys to my Mazda 3 Sport. I have a spare set somewhere, but thought at the time that they were probably buried in the back of my storage locker in Chilliwack. Going out to Chilliwack to get them may have been an option if, you know, the key to the storage locker wasn’t also on the same keychain that was lost. Ultimately I had to tow my car to Mazda and get them to give me two new keys, both of which were entered into the onboard computer to allow them to actually start the car. Since that time I’ve reclaimed the set of keys that were lost ...

I’m down at Driven Audio down in Abbotsford right now getting some new speakers, an amplifier and a subwoofer put into my Mazda 3 sport. I’ve been meaning to upgrade the audio system for years, but have never gotten around to it. Considering I’m heading off on a bit of a road trip next weekend, I thought now would be a good time. Driven Audio Mostly Disassembled Mazda 3 Sport 10:45am – speakers in the doors are being removed Mazda 3 Sport Audio Makeover 1pm – Installing tweeters and 5x7s in the doors, along with the crossover Speaker and Crossover Installation 2:30pm – I wasn’t going ...

I’m just heading out the door to take my car in to get looked at. There’s nothing wrong mechanically with it, but Mazda called me out of the blue last week and asked me to swing by so they can look at my stereo. Apparently they might have put in the wrong one when I had it replaced about a month ago (which is strange, because it works and fits fine). I suspect there’s some recall they aren’t telling me about. But anyways, they are going to replace the CD player I imagine, and they also offered to detail my car for me in exchange for the hassle. It’s supposed to be a nice sunny day out ...

About six weeks ago, the CD player in my 2006 Mazda 3 Sport crapped out. Given that it’s a new car, and that I purchased the stupid extended warranty (thanks to my lack of a backbone and the high pressure sales guy they put on me), I went in and asked them to replace it for free, which they did. Ordering the new CD player took around four weeks, but eventually I ended up with a new CD player that seemed to work fine. Last week I got a call from Mazda asking me to come by so they can take a look at the unit they put in. I told them I wasn’t having any problems with it, but they said they just ...

I actually hit the sack before midnight last night, which is pretty much an unprecedented event in my life. The main reason was because I had to get up early and take my car into the shop to get some TLC. While on my road trip a few weeks ago, a few things suddenly stopped working, including the door lock switch on the driver’s side door, the CD player (it currently does a better job grinding CDs then it does playing them), and a small problem with my gear shifter. In addition, my car is about one year past the date I should have had a one year tune-up. In terms of the last item, it’s a weird ...

A few years ago my mom convinced me that I should finally ditch my 1993 Toyota Tercel (which seemed to be running on only 3 cylinders) and upgrade to something nicer. After spending a few days test driving cars, I finally went out and bought a 2006 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback. For the most part, it’s been a really great car. The mileage isn’t super amazing (it’s not that bad either, but definitely no Prius), but it’s fun to drive and it looks pretty sexy (for a hatchback). The only downside is that last year Mazda admitted to a problematic design flaw in the locking mechanism, one that allowed ...