I went out for a long but fast drive in the old Peugeot yesterday morning. It's time for the car, a 206 which will be 16 years old in December, to be taken in for its biannual contrôle technique, or vehicle inspection test. It now has about 120,000 miles on it, but it has a diesel engine that should last for many more years and kilometers. In December 2012 the car failed the required emissions test, so I had to take it in for a second inspection after pouring an additive to the fuel tank and driving it around hard and fast for a week or so, following my trusted mechanic's advice. On the second try it passed the test.
The view from our kitchen window yesterday morning
Yesterday morning, conditions weren't ideal for a drive in the country, but I felt like I had to go out anyway. The car has a five-speed manual transmission, so driving it hard means running it fast in low gears so that the engine revs at 3,000 to 4,000 RPMs for a while. We normally just tootle around town with the Peugeot these days, and that does cause carbon to build up in the engine, I guess. It needs to be driven like a teenager might drive it — fast and furious.
My 40-mile loop around eastern Touraine
So out I went at about 9:00 a.m. I turned on the fog lights and tried to drive on roads where there wouldn't be many other cars. That took me into central Mareuil, through woods and fields on narrow lanes over to the pretty village of Céré-la-Ronde, and up a wider, hilly road to Montrichard (where I did some shopping). Then I continued on to Pontlevoy, down to Thésée, and finally to the market in Saint-Aignan. That's about 35 miles of zooming and careening. At times, the visibility was severely limited by patches of thick fog. I wanted to take more photos but it was just too foggy.
Arriving at Saint-Aignan on a gray morning, with the château looming
I carefully obeyed the speed limits so that I wouldn't get a ticket. Two years ago in December, the car passed inspection, including the pollution part, with flying colors. I think that was because I put the engine-cleaning additive in the fuel tank and then Walt and I drove it over to Burgundy (Chablis, Noyers, Montbard) for a three-day excursion. That seemed to work. I'm hoping a few more spins around the local countryside will do the trick this year. The inspection is scheduled for December 7, and the contrôle technique is a very rigorous set of tests here in France. The old Peugeot 206 is running great right now, I'm glad to say.
Next time you go to Pontlevoy call in at the Fromagerie Moreau (on the Montrichard edge of town). Our friend Jean-Luc will be delighted to see you and his boutique has a nice selection of local products. I buy cheese from him of course (try his 60 day old Selles sur Cher or a gooey pavé), but also honey and juice that he stocks from other producers.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to stop there the next time. I saw the signs yesterday morning. We usually get our goat cheese from La Lionnière, the ferme-auberge. It's so good that it discourages us from going anywhere else. Some good honey would be a good thing, since I seem to be cooking with honey a lot these days (today it's a lamb and pumpkin tajine with honey, onions, and raisins).
DeleteFingers crossed!
ReplyDeleteI hope I don't again have to have what they call une contre-visite — a second inspection to show them that the work to fix the car has been done. It doesn't cost much, but the repairs often do. I have a good mechanic in Dominique, who is super-honest and easy to work with.
DeleteA year ago three friends and I spent a week at a lovely Airbnb in Faverolles-sur-Cher and visited as many chateau as we could before going to Paris for the last week. Such a beautiful area, you're very lucky.
ReplyDeleteIt is a beautiful area, even in winter. Thanks for the comment.
DeleteBonne chance! I'm glad I live in a state without inspections, but our air suffers because of it and health probably.
ReplyDeleteI know the inspections are a good thing, and I hope the Peugeot can pass on the first try. Someday we'll have to give that car up, I guess, but I don't want to.
DeleteOh,oh, I try to do the same as you from time to time "pour décrasser le moteur" according to my son's advice �� But not before the "contrôle technique" because I don't have any problems so far... Is it wrong to do so when driving up the hill leading to Bonsecours ??? But I never reach more than 2.000/3.000 "tours"/RPMs... Foggy weather too today... Bises
ReplyDeleteBises, Marie. I don't think you could harm your car's engine by putting the product into the fuel tank before driving around town, including driving up the hill to Bonsecours. It can't hurt to rev the engine to as much as 4000 RPMs once in a while.
ReplyDeleteI like driving like a teenager, fast and furious. I have no excuse though, I just like going fast :)
ReplyDeleteWe had BMWs for years and that was great fun, now I drive a Subaru and it is like having a fast little sports car that can hold more people/dogs etc . I have to watch out for the Florida Highway Patrol though :)
The Peugeot is a little like a sports car, with a 2 liter engine in a very small vehicle. Our Citroën C4 is bigger and less powerful, therefore more staid.
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