soapbox

Sounds easy enough … But then again, maybe not ….

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Have you seen this clip of a Bugatti Veyron racing a Eurofighter Typhoon Jet? Probably neither vehicle would accommodate a baby seat, and the base price on the Veyron is a bit higher than the R8, (US$1,440,800), but I think it would be a fun drive in the event of very large lottery winnings.

I think by far my favorite part of the Super Bowl. Except for maybe when the Patriots lost … that was pretty good too. Heh heh

Last Wednesday I bought snow tires.  My 2WD Toyota Highlander slides around in bad weather like a hotdog in a bun.  So last Monday I alternately called City Tires and Interstate Tires until one of the lines wasn’t busy.  Mr. City Tires asked what size tires I needed.  “I drive a Toyota Highlander.” ”Let’s see… that’s a 225-70.  I just have Firestone Winterforce in that size.”  “Would you recommend those?”  “Thas all I got in that size.  I’m all outta th’ others.”

So I decided to go for it.  $109 a tire including installation, and another $10 each for studs.  I figured I was probably getting gypped, but I didn’t really know what to do about that.  On Wedensday I waited an extra half hour “the stud gun broke.  it’s been a helluva day”  and finally was ready to check out.  “What’d I say, $129?”  “No, you said $119.  $109+$10 for studs.”  “Oh, yeah, right, probably forgot to write it down.” Umm…

 This morning in a moment of weakness I pulled out the invoice.  There’s a $12 recycling fee (what did they recycle?  They put my summer tires in my trunk) and a $15.50/tire studding service.  Umm… I thought it was $10/tire.

 So, my question is, how do I interact with members of the automotive services community without getting taken advantage of?   

Wheat Field vs. Coke Fiend Driver + Police Chase = Low Crop Yield.

Wow. Just wow.

Kinda reminds me of the “Spiders on Drugs” experiments from back in the day. (Oddly enough, that links to the webpage of one of the IT guys at my undergrad school.)

And that concludes this edition of strange, yet educational, entertainment!

You may be new to driving a stick, but at least now you can successfully rob a 7-11? These guys, not so much.

“The kid was just sitting in the car trying to start it but he had no idea what to do. He looked dumbfounded. The only thing he had going was the radio,” said Williamson who witnessed the scene.

I also like the last explanatory paragraph from Rueters: Unlike many parts of the world, the majority of cars in the United States are automatic and many drivers are unused to driving “stick shift” vehicles, in which a clutch pedal must be depressed to change gear. Man makes us sound like a bunch of dweebs, huh?

With the waiting period now more than two-years (worse than the queue for a Harley), Nathaniel, here’s some advice from Ferarri dealer Michael Mastrangelo:

“It’s very hard to come into a dealership right now and put in a new order if you are not already a customer… When I get a young person, what I say is, let’s start with a used car.”