Was in downtown Chicago this morning, leaving the hotel I flagged a taxi for a ride to the airport. Scorcher today, on the way to the airport it was already about 90 degrees outside.
Cruising down the highway about 60mph it starts making a screechy belt noise. By the time we hit the bottom of the off-ramp the temp gauge is pegged fully hot, check engine and coolant light are on. Wasn't really paying attention until that point, but then realized the belt noise was probably the water pump crying for mercy due to the car having no coolant. And then the driver points to the coolant light and says the alternator is bad. Smile and nod.
At this point I start getting a pit in my stomach. We have about 5 miles and 10 stoplights till the airport, it's scorching hot outside, we're in the middle of the hood, and I have a plane to catch. So he keeps going, the nice gentleman that our driver was, and I'm just WAITING for the car to throw a belt, seize up from being massively overheated, whatever. But he got us to the terminal, with the stink of scorched belt and anti-freeze filling our nostrils the whole way. So I threw the guy a decent tip and he was on his way. Crazy.
Cruising down the highway about 60mph it starts making a screechy belt noise. By the time we hit the bottom of the off-ramp the temp gauge is pegged fully hot, check engine and coolant light are on. Wasn't really paying attention until that point, but then realized the belt noise was probably the water pump crying for mercy due to the car having no coolant. And then the driver points to the coolant light and says the alternator is bad. Smile and nod.
At this point I start getting a pit in my stomach. We have about 5 miles and 10 stoplights till the airport, it's scorching hot outside, we're in the middle of the hood, and I have a plane to catch. So he keeps going, the nice gentleman that our driver was, and I'm just WAITING for the car to throw a belt, seize up from being massively overheated, whatever. But he got us to the terminal, with the stink of scorched belt and anti-freeze filling our nostrils the whole way. So I threw the guy a decent tip and he was on his way. Crazy.