>So — as usual it’s been a busy couple of days. I worked Saturday, caught up on sleep, video games, and homework on Sunday, and went to go get my new car (Mazdaspeed Protege) today.

It was a race against time. I didn’t get out of class until 12, then couldn’t get ahold of anyone (and of course, didn’t plan ahead) to go with me (can’t drive 2 cars at once, after all) until about 1:30 — didn’t leave until 2:00, didn’t get out of the bank in Ware until 3:00, and had to be in Shrewsbury by 4:00 in order to get the plates and inspection into the RMV during business hours.

We made it… hurried as much as we could to get there, while maintaining a safe speed through the snow — then it took about 2-3 hours of waiting until it was ready. By that time it was dark, snowing, and getting colder.

The ride home was fun, had to take it easy because of the snow, but I could just feel the power. 😉 By the time I got home there was about 2 inches of snow on the road and that power was working against me. The tires would just spin now matter how slow I took it, all the low-end torque showing its dark side.

I made it without incident, but I wasn’t going out anywhere else. I had picked up a car cover on my way, parked it in the garage and covered it up as soon as I got home.

It’s staying there until spring, when I’m able to drive it. Granted, it has Potenza tires on it now, certainly not made for snow — but I’m still not sure how much promise there is for this as a winter car. I won’t have to make that decision for another year – however.