[thumper_svx]

I've told this story here somewhere before, but I can't remember how long ago or I'd go searching. (By the way, the CIRC shutting off is normal... and intended).

I once owned a 1990 Ford Probe. Not a good car, not even a very pretty car... but at the time it was what I could afford to own, was reasonably fast and got good gas mileage (it was a four banger). I was commuting 80 miles a day at the time, so I needed something that had legs on the highway.

Anyway, I was driving home one night. For the first few miles out of work I had been behind a very smoky truck and had turned on the RECIRC in my car (manual climate control, very basic). Anyway, I drove some of the way home, maybe 10 miles or so and I started feeling ill. At first I thought little of it, but as I kept going I felt worse and worse... my head was pounding, I felt hot and sick... so I knew I was coming up to a Loves gas station... so I stopped.

I got out and wandered around the gas station for a little while, drinking bottled water. I got to feeling better, and after a few minutes I felt good enough to drive home.

Lo and behold, I drove for about 5 minutes, maybe less and I started feeling sick again. Same symptoms as before. I took another drink of my water, but I was feeling nauseous and dizzy again. As I put my water back in my cup holder and started reviewing my options of stopping on the way home and maybe stopping for the night or getting someone to come get me, I noticed that my climate control was still on RECIRC. I flipped it back to "Outside air" again and decided just to drive for a few more minutes.

What do you know? Within a few minutes the headache was dissipating, and I started feeling MUCH better.

Although a car is not completely sealed, it's truly amazing how quickly the air in that small a space can become unbreathable. I don't remember if the Probe actually had a system to cancel circulate after a certain period of time... it seems clear to me in hindsight that it either didn't or that was broken on my car. I was actually suffocating in my car on the way home, and if I hadn't noticed the car on RECIRC I have no idea how long I would've kept driving before I had a chance of passing out. It never occurred to me that would happen before, but ever since I've always been determined to use the CIRC function sparingly.

As an aside, the day I bought the Probe was also the first time I ever saw an SVX; a blue 1995 LSi, brand new. I bought my Probe as a used car at the Subaru dealer in Oklahoma City, and had told myself that one day I'd own an SVX while I was waiting to finalize the paperwork. Little did I realize I'd own 3 of 'em!