Visiting the Buffalo Auto Show and a rescue from CAA Niagara

Some collected thoughts on the weekend that was, which proved to be a bit of an adventure for your humble scribe.  I had planned to write about something else over the weekend, but after a rather interesting day on Sunday, I thought some words of thanks would be in order on a Monday evening.

Last month, my far better half suggested I join her brother and nephew on their annual trek to the Buffalo Auto Show, held in early February at the downtown Convention Centre.  Just the boys out looking at their big toys, as it were.  Okay, I thought, it has been about 20 years since I last visited an auto show of any description, so off I went yesterday morning, in full knowledge we might just get a winter storm blow in during the latter part of the day.

The drive down to Fort Erie where we were all to meet was reasonably uneventful, save for the recurring problem of the "Check Engine Light" coming on again on our 12-year-old vehicle.  Now, I am not like Penny on the Big Bang Theory (in a lot of ways, some of which are quite obvious, by the way) insofar as I don't like seeing the check engine light come on - ever.  It has been a bit of a recurring problem the past few months so I knew what to do about it when I got home:  make yet another appointment at my trusty garage, Central Service in St. Catharines.

Once everyone was assembled in our entourage, we headed to the Peace Bridge in a much newer vehicle than mine, and in no time we were hunting down a parking spot in downtown Buffalo.  Even by 11 on a Sunday morning, parking was at a premium, but we grabbed a spot in a lot about a block away from the Convention Centre and off we went to look at some shiny new iron.

Now, most guys want to look at the fastest, sleekest, most expensive and exotic models on display, and I must admit that is pretty much what we did when we got there.  Looking at the BMW, Maserati and Porsche exotica, you have to marvel at vehicles costing more than we paid for our house here in St. Catharines.

But for me, ever practical to a fault, I started scouting out the vehicles I have on my short list to replace our trusty Honda Civic Hybrid when the time comes in a few years.  There will be others added to the list before we make a final decision, I am sure, but right now I am down to three:  another Honda Civic Hybrid; upgrade to a Honda Accord Hybrid; or make a break with tradition and move over to the Subaru Legacy with AWD.  All of these are impressive in their own ways, and each has their own saving graces.  But I am rather disappointed Subaru does not sell their ultra-low-emission PZEV edition in Canada.  It was on display in Buffalo, but we can't get it here.  C'mon, Subaru, some of us want that thing here, too!

The afternoon visit concluded with a pilgrimage to the Chevrolet and Ford pavilions to look at the swoopy new Corvette and the latest Mustang.  But gee, there is a nice practical sedan over there...I will never change.

After the show we repaired to a local hangout north of Allentown for pizza and wings (well, pizza for me; no wings, thanks) and then hit the road for the return trip over the Peace Bridge.  In spite of a wrong turn that put us on the I-90 towards Niagara Falls, we made it back pretty quickly, and I was duly dropped off at my trusty car, coated in ice from the storm that had been passing through while we visited Buffalo.

It took awhile to chip away the ice and clear the snow, but I was on the road back home in short order, not thrilled with the prospect of driving through the snow all the way back from Fort Erie to St. Catharines, especially in a vehicle with the ubiquitous "Check Engine Light" glaring at me.

It didn't take long before I realized I had another problem to deal with.  Plodding along Gilmour Road, as I approached the Fleet Industries plant, I decided to pull over and investigate a rather ominous feeling and sound coming from the car.  For the third time since November, we had another flat tire to contend with!

It was at this point I was thankful for two things:  my iPhone was with me for the ride, and I am a longstanding member of CAA Niagara.  When I called, I was told the wait would be about 45 minutes or so, which is pretty much what I expected.  But I had no sooner hung up and called my far better half to let her know what was going on, and I had a call from the CAA.  It was the driver, already on his way to rescue me!  It had not even been five minutes since I placed the first call.  He arrived and said I just happened to call at the right moment, as he was in-between calls and just happened to be up the street.

So, up onto the flatbed went my beast, and off we drove on the snow-covered QEW back to St. Catharines.  Depositing my car at the garage, he was gone in a flash, and I walked home from there.  I neglected to get the driver's name, but he lives in the Fort Erie area and he was just great.  We talked about so many things on the return trip, and he really exemplified the type of professional service I have come to expect whenever I call CAA Niagara for help.

So to whomever you are, thanks for being so efficient yesterday getting me back home again.  Your service was greatly appreciated and worthy of a shout-out in this space this week.

If you have not taken out a membership with CAA, I suggest you think seriously about doing so.  They have always been there for me over the many years I have lived in Niagara, and many years before that in Toronto.  It is money well spent even if you get a tow very occasionally as I do.

As for the Buffalo Auto Show, it was fun and worth the visit.  In fact, I plan to write more about Buffalo in a future column; the city is on the upswing in a big way and truly they are "Talkin' Proud" with good reason.

So, that was my Sunday...how was yours?

Enjoy the week!

February 9th, 2015.