Car Guy Speaks

I've never owned a new car. Well, I guess the leftover 95 Nissan truck I bought in 96 might count. But come on, Nissans look 2 years old the day you buy them, so I'm claiming never on this issue. There are two reasons I've never bought new: first, they are expensive. Second… I forget the second. Boy, you really do pay a lot for new cars. I have often dreamt of the glory associated with a car that is perfect and has no flaws hidden by sellers. But buying new really blows the budget. I seek out used cars in really good shape with some success but, invariably, I later find the hidden flaws and they become even more depressing. My solution: win a new supercar in a raffle and fix all that. The latest issue of Porsche Panorama arrived in the mail this week. On page 15, the answer: PCA's 2010 Member-Only Raffle. The winner will be provided with a $104K Carrera GTS coupe and $25K cash to cover most of the expenses associated with winning it. The GTS is one step above the Car...

Yesterday was my 40 th Birthday. It is a time of reflection on what's really important in life. So I'm going to review my cars and motorcycles from the very beginning. The beginning, being when my license was issued of course. For the record:  No Sunbird EVER looked as cool as the one in this add.  Mine was light blue, steel wheels, an automatic and didn't have any spoiler.   Also, the sunlight had dissintegrated the plastic interior bits to dust.  Oh, and a Ritalin induced spontaneous painting project turned the front end gloss white. For my 16 th Birthday I inherited mom's light blue Pontiac Sunbird. Don't laugh, it had the 6 cylinder. The pizza deliver profession enabled me to spend quality time with that car. At around 17 or 18 my grandfather got in an argument with the Nissan dealer about the value of his trade, so I received a 1986 Nissan Pickup. Some stripes, Alpine, CB radio and a tonneau cover and I was off and running.  Actually,...