Paul Walker, RIP

Well by now most of the free world has heard that Paul Walker, from the Fast & Furious movies has died in a car accident, along with the person that was driving the Porsche he was in. Reports are coming in that they may have been street racing. Circumstances aside, it's sad to see any person so full of life, get snuffed out. 

People have started drawing similarities to James Dean already. I'd rather question how? a Porsche, with all it's safety features and computer assisted suspension and steering, can get into such an accident. Look at Carol Shelby, who raced open cockpit cars, with roll cages that make a swing set look heavy duty. Racing with a nitro glycerine pill under his tongue, open faced helmets, no kevlar, no carbon fiber, no traction control. And he died at 89.

I guess we'll never know all the details, it's not like a airplane accident where there are multiple black boxes and transcripts. I'm sure there are alot of accidents out there that mimic this, only no famous people died. 

The point is, there are limits, limits to what the road can handle, limits to what a car can do to be safe, it comes down to the driver. Steve Mcqueen once said A lot of people go through life doing things badly. Racing’s important to men who do it well. When you’re racing, it... it’s life. Anything that happens before or after... is just waiting. I'll agree but sometimes anticipation is worth more, because it lasts longer, and remember McQueen died of cancer, not behind the wheel. 

Carrol Shelby once said Yesterday's History. Tomorrow's a Mystery. So live for today. I'd probably add, and make sure you can live for another day.

No commentary on these events, it's just sad, The live fast, die young has been done by better legends that will ever come along. I think finding the balance of excitement, and being safe might have to be the new maxim. MG's motto has always been "Safety Fast". Have fun, be sensible. Hopefully there's a young street racer out there, that'll mimic Michael J Fox in Back to the Future 3 when he has his drag race with Flea.

A NEW RECORD, & A NEW RIDE!!

Yes a new world record, two posts in one year, exciting, isn't it?

Anyway.

In my previous post I listed the cars that were contenders in my search for a new ride. So here's the big reveal:

A 2014 Mini Coupe


I became interested in the mini's when they came out about 10 years ago, alas, I had just paid off my Honda, and didn't want to start up another car payment, especially since the civic only had 40K on the clock.

I took one for a test drive back then, and was impressed. BMW is behind them mechanically, so it's built well, and everyone that I know that has one loves it. The test drive was fun and fast, not Mustang Shelby fast, but quick, tight, and spirited. 

So after hemming and hawing, I decided a Mini might be the way to go. I remember specing out my mini on line, all the bits you can add on, union jack details, roof decals, wheels, ect..And I remembered the starting price was ok, not great, but not bad. After adding all the extras..it was a bit much. So I remained with the honda.

I got on line, and again specified out a Mini hardtop (The style that was in the Marky Mark version of "The Italian Job") It could handle my guitar gear hauling needs, and still be fun. This time the price was a bit better, and I didn't have to add all sorts of bits to it, partially because I'm 10 years older (and hopefully wiser), and the fact alot of the items came standard.

The bummer was after visiting MINI of Peabody, I was informed that whatever Mini hardtops that they had would be the last until spring of 2014. A newer version was coming out, slightly larger, with a new 3 cylinder engine and a turbo. Bummer that I didn't think the Honda would last much longer.

So my Dad was with me and he popped the trunk on a Mini Coupe and asked "can you fit your gear in this?" It was a pretty big boot overall for a two seater. Bigger than a Miata, or Audi TT, and the like.

So I put that into consideration, and after a trip to MINI of Peabody, and a slight bit of wheeler dealing I ended up with my mini. The sales guy, Ryan Turner, was easy to deal with. 

I did my research, on the local dealers and every time I saw a negative review,thought, you know, do people think that they should get 10K for a 7 year old VW golf with 80K on the clock? and the answer is yes, they THINK what they have is worth more, but forget, the price for anything is driven by the whatever the buyer thinks it's worth, sad but a true fact. 

I wanted $2K for my civic, and yes that was a little unrealistic, but I was happy with what I got, and I know that they want to sell a car to make as much profit, and I want to spend as little as possible, so you have to find that happy medium, and yes you don't have to take the deal, but as they say "it is what it is".  Watching shows like "Pawn Stars", Wheeler Dealers" and the like showed me a bit on dealing with sales and the like, realistic, and otherwise. I can say I got a good deal, and have no horror stories to report. If I ever need a new MINI, I'll be calling Ryan. Big bonus was the fact that when I picked up my MINI, he asked if I had a front plate for it, I said no, as I have an older pan style plate. He was relieved, because he told the prep department NOT to drill holes for mounting a front plate. When I got my Honda they drilled out the bumper, and I had an ugly plate on the front for 13 years A small thing, but made me VERY happy. Also they don't have any decals or markings for the dealer on the back of the car. It's the little things, and it's nice to have the car look like a factory brochure.

So what did I get, well the only think I really wanted was heated seats, Kelly has them on the beetle, and I liked that idea. The Audio system was pretty standard, but has bluetooth, and I can put my music on a USB drive, and plug that in, and control it from my steering wheel, no having to plug in a mp3 player, and grab it to scroll around. 

The only gripes are with some design issues, and those fall on MINI, not a dealer:

1: I like the idea of a matching roof to body color. I like my Grey & Black color scheme, but I think it would look better in one color (in every shade they offer) in the past you could only get the hardtop mini with a white or black roof, now they offer this scheme, perhaps in the future on the coupe. 

2: the large speedometer, in the new ones it's been deleted for a multi function display. I recently found out that on the new 2014+ mini's they'll have one, minor gripes.

Ok, yes it's not a Cooper S. Im being realistic, I like to drive, but I don't need that much power in such a little car. besides the money I save, is $ I can put into other project cars, as well as my MGB.

Anyway, that's what I ended up with, and I'm happy. They say mi MG will get jealous, but I took the MG out a week after I bought my MINI. and while it's a shift going from a 6 speed manual to a 4 speed, after 5 minutes, and the MG warmed up, it felt like home..but if i'm not gonna drive my 1974 MGB, this is a very good second choice..

Overdue yet again..

Yes It’s been too long, stuff happens, Lots of stuff.

So in the summer of 2012, I started a new job about 10 minutes from my home. I was happy to burn my MBTA pass, and rejoiced in the fact I could not only drive to work, but I could drive my MGB to work. It was pretty glorious, although the trip was so short, it wasn’t until 75% of the trip the MGB warmed up! During this time I also came to the realization that my daily driver, a 2001 Honda Civic, was nearing the end of it’s journey. I can't complain about the Honda, she's served me well. I learned to drive stick on it. It's done many gigs with my bands, as well as pulling doughnuts in the snow in fanueil hall. It's just at almost 13 years old, she was getting tired, and to the point that very soon I’d need a replacement.

I've matured, as a driver and as a person. I know what I want in a car, and what I really need in one, according to my lifestyle and budget. So far I've done some research and came up with a little list of vehicles on my radar:

1. Fiat 500. yes Italian car, made by an american company, in mexico. the concept alone is wreaking havoc on my mind.  But, it's cute, neat, stylish, compact and it's still sporty. Im not thinking about the Abarth, but the mid-line 500 sport. and to all of those who say, just buy the abarth. I say, just give me the extra $$, because apparently spending money isn't an issue for you. for $23K there are other cars out there. Bigger cars. Sexier cars. more powerful cars. LIke..

2. Dodge Challenger. Now I know what you saying "now you're talking!". Wait for it though. I want the V6. Sorry, but at 300+ HP, and 27 MPG that's still pushing my practicality zone. My friend, Rob, has one, and it looks great, almost like the v8 model. The newer V6 looks even closer to the V8, even down to the retro fuel door. It's sexy, and big. Look at Joe Rogan's Sick fish hemi that he had done in 2004. It's the car he had Foose design, and Rad Rides by Troy build. But this version is a fraction of the cost of Rogan’s ride, and without the issues he had, (apparently the unibody's shock tower sheared itself from the chassis while pulling into the driveway) Anyway it's Chris Brown's problem, I mean car, now.

3. Ford Mustang. Again a V6. Classic looks, modern design and technology. The only downside is the color selections are kind of weak, and to really give it the styling cues I want, I need to re do the grille to something more muscular like: change the wheels. I do enough wrenching on cars already, and buying a new car, and making modifications to just make it appealing aesthetically is kind of a bummer, and can get expensive. thankfully the Dodge doesn't need any mods I can think of.

4. Chevy Camaro. It's probably the most aggressive looking one, in my mind. It looks like it wants to rape the road ahead of it. No wonder it was used as a model for the transformers movie. No mods needed, again I'm looking at a v6. I’m thinking in Silver or even better in Bumblbee Yellow.

5. The Hyundai Genesis Coupe. it's got some good lines. Some. It's like if someone described an Aston Martin to a police sketch artist. It's close, but not quite. However, it is available as a base model at $25k, with a 2.0L 4 cylinder turbo charged at 274HP and 31 MPG. Oh yeah and it's rear wheel drive. The interior looks very sporty too. The only mods I could think of would be a set of wheels that don't have the "H" logo on it.

Wanna see what I ended up with? Tune in next time, which I promise will happen before 2014 ends!