For some reason this week I have War's "Low Rider" running through my head.

"Take a little trip,

Take a little trip,

Take a little trip with me."

So let's take a little trip with me on the way to work here at The Star in Camarillo from my home east of Ventura County along northbound Highway 101 and let's see what we come across.

The first thing I notice is a billboard in Agoura Hills for The Steve Lapin Auto Family as it welcomes Calabasas Mitsubishi into the fold.

Calabasas Mitsubishi is operating out of the same building as Volvo of Calabasas, which Lapin purchased in 2006.

If you haven't seen it, the billboard features Steve Lapin with logos for Volvo, Mitsubishi and Infiniti, since the family also operates Infiniti of Thousand Oaks.

Calabasas Mitsubishi opened in late October and is the only Mitsubishi dealership from Ventura to Glendale since the Thousand Oaks and Van Nuys dealerships in the last two years.

"We felt it was a good opportunity to take advantage of a good product," said Mike Abell, general manager of both Calabasas Mitsubishi and Volvo of Calabasas. "We wanted to have a place where you could buy a Mitsubishi and Mitsubishi owners could have a place to have their vehicles serviced."

The dealership, at 24400 Calabasas Road just off Highway 101 at Parkway Calabasas, has plenty of room for the vehicles and features a two-story indoor showroom so folks can shop indoors when the weather is bad.

Abell took over as GM of the Volvo dealership and has turned it into the No. 2 Volvo dealership in the western United States.

"We're going to have a little bit of remodeling to keep the dealerships separated," he said, but expects to have a grand opening for the facility in the spring, just after the release of the Mitsubishi Evolution 10 in late winter.

Beyond the Lapin billboard, on the right, is a freeway sign for "Beaches, next exit." Actually, as most folks who live in the area are aware, there are no beaches at the Kanan Road exit, but Kanan does go the beach.

I feel sorry for the poor driver from somewhere else who thinks he can exit at Kanan and be dipping his toes in the Pacific Ocean within minutes.

Around this point in the drive, you will notice that the construction on the center divider has been completed and the emergency lane on the left is rather large. It almost looks like it could be set up for a high-occupancy vehicle lane, otherwise known as a carpool lane. However, according to the California Department of Transportation (also known as Caltrans), there are no plans to make it an HOV lane. Besides, I've never seen traffic get that bad through that area to necessitate such a lane.

As I keep driving I notice the freeway sign just past Westlake Boulevard no longer tells me it will take me 15 minutes to Lewis Road.

These freeway signs — made famous by Steve Martin having a conversation with one in "L.A. Story" — known to Caltrans as Changeable Message Signs, usually post estimated travel times to assist drivers. These signs also are used for public services announcements around busy holidays — reminding drivers to buckle up, not to drink and drive and asking motorists to report possible drunk drivers — and to broadcast information about Amber Alerts.

The estimated travel times are determined from sensors in the road called loop detectors and the information is sent to Caltrans to be used on its Real-Time Traffic Information page on its Web site. That information is then sent to the CMS, which are updated every 30 seconds.

To see what is posted on any CMS in District 7 visit the Caltrans Web site at www.dot.ca.gov/dist07.

Just beyond the nonworking CMS is another famous sign which millions of drivers have looked at over the years: the time and temperature sign at the Thousand Oaks Auto Mall.

But just as the weather started changing in November, the sign went blank on one side and the temperature was stuck on the other side. I was beginning to think I would never know what time it was at the Auto Mall until it started working again last week.

"The sign company (which maintains the sign) couldn't find a control unit for it," said Susan Murata, executive vice president for the Silver Star Automotive Group, and point person for the sign.

She noted the components are 15 years old and not easy to find anymore, but the sign could be changing soon.

Murata said the Auto Mall is in early negotiations with the city of Thousand Oaks to improving parking at the Auto Mall, which includes widening Auto Mall Drive (the frontage road along Highway 101) and replacing the current sign. "So this (sign) will have to last until we get that plan going," said Murata.

Next month, join me as we take the trip home.

(John T. Garcia is the editor of StarWheels and Special Sections Manager for The Star. He can be reached by phone at 437-0365 or by e-mail at JohnGar@VenturaCountyStar.com.)