Rejoice Car Geeks

Top Gear is here!

Starting tonight at 10PM on the Discovery Channel, Top Gear will be on.

Appreciate the Smaller Things in Life

This morning, I learned to appreciate the smaller things in life, like having a working a/c. My a/c broke yesterday and let me say, no a/c in Miami in the middle of summer is hot. And not hot in a good way but hot as in hot like hell!

New Car Buying Guide

This weekend I helped my friend's mom buy her new 05 Nissan Murano. I negotiated a decent deal... $350 under invoice + tax, tag and tittle. Buying a new car can be scary so I thought I would share my some of my tactics that I've learned with you.

- Most view car sales people as the scum of the earth. While sometimes true, most of them are just doing their job - make the most money from you as possible. Your goal, as the buyer, is to get the best deal possible.

- Do your research. Information is key here. The lack of information or misinformation will get you ripped off. The dealer does not rip people off, ignorance rips people off. Before even walking into the showroom, go to the manufacturer's website of the car(s) you are interested in and configure one to your liking. The price listed is MSRP. Then go google the invoice price of the car and its options and packages. Google owner forums to read real world opinions/problems about the car. Learn as much as there is to learn. Become an expert. Get a feel for how much others are paying. If you're not a car person, ask a friend who is to accompany you.

- Invoice cost is not true invoice. Dealers often get their cars from the manufacturers lower than invoice so negotiate $500 to $1,000 below invoice price and up. Then how do they still make money? Well, dealers make money in one of four ways. One, profit from the sale. Two, manufacturers often offer their dealers rebates and incentives, so they get cash back. Three, interest rates. Banks often give cash back to the dealers. Finally, from trade-ins. Low ball buyers on their trade-in and resell high for a huge profit.

- Everything is negotiable. Price, options, dealer fee, destination charge, even the interest rate.

- Play their game. Tell them that you got another quote from another dealer for $250 over invoice and you want them to beat it, even though it might not be true. Lie. Make up a story about how your friend's Uncle brought his car from this dealer for $500 under invoice and you want the same deal.

- Be quick. For every comment they make, reply. If they ask, how am I supposed to make money off this deal? Reply, from all the business that I refer you.

- Be strong and firm. Figure out your ceiling and don't go beyond that. If they sense a weakness, they will pounce on you.

- Be prepared to walk. If you don't like the deal, walk. If they want your business and they will, they will chase you down in the parking lot and give in to your demands.

- Say no to extras. Don't let them sell you extra options that you don't need or want. If they tell you they only have this model with xyz packages, tell them to locate exactly the car and options that you at another dealer and perform a dealer trade or order the car you want not what they want to sell you.

- Get financing before. Go to your credit union or bank and get financing before going to the dealer. Credit unions offer lower interest rates usually. My S2000 is financed through a local credit union.

- Price out insurance before too. Big mistake for many buyers, as most look at the insurance after they have already taken their new car home. If you finance and lease any new car, the bank will require full coverage insurance so price it out. Make sure you will be able to afford the monthly payments on the car, insurance, gas and eventual maintenance.

- Never tell them about your trade-in until its time to talk about it. Negotiate the price on the new car first. If they ask, tell them no you are not trading in a car. If you say yes, they will give you a good deal on the car but low ball you on the trade in. After the price is settled, then tell them oh I decided to trade in my car just now, then negotiate that. I would suggest to not trading in the old car, but sell it in the private market or sell it to CarMax. You will get more money for it.

- Some cars you can't negotiate on. Car in high demand, like the Mini Cooper, limited production cars, like the Honda S2000, or newly released cars, like the 05 Mustang, are usually not negotiable. Some dealers even mark up from MSRP. So if you want a good deal, you will have to wait a couple of model years to pass or buy it for MSRP now.

- Test drive the car, then negotiate. When test driving, drive it like you stole it. Take it all the way to redline, slam the brakes, make some sharp, sudden turns. Test it in city traffic and the expressway. A test drive is more than doing a lap around the dealership and kicking the tires. Make sure this is the car for you.

- Shut them down at every opportunity they can make money off you. Negotiate the price of the car and packages. Negotiate the trade-in. Negotiate the dealer fee and destination charge. Negotiate the interest rate.

While these tips are useful for buying a new car, most can be used in an used car buying process as well. Instead of invoice cost, find out the trade-in and market value from the Kelly Blue Book. If dealing with an used car dealer, negotiate from the trade-in value and up. If dealing with a private seller, find the market value of the car under the worse conditions, and use that as a starting point. Never buy an used car from CarMax. I made that mistake once. Also run a CarFax report, although it is not 100% accurate. Finally I recommend taking the car to your personal mechanic for a full inspection. Check that all the VIN stickers match up. Check for mismatching paint, body panel separation, stress cracks or out of place weld marks, suggesting previous body repairs from an accident. Ask for full service and maintenance records.

Movie Review: Batman Begins

The last attempt in bringing the Dark Knight to the big screen flopped terribly. Joel Schumacher's homoerotic nippled batsuit version of Batman was a pathetic detour from the franchise's dark comic book beginnings. Now eight years later, Batman is back with a new beginning, a fresh start.

Under new direction from Chris Nolan and a new Batman/Bruce Wayne played by Christian Bale, Batman Begins stays true to its origins. The movie is dark, the darkest of all the Batman movies. Bob Kane would have been proud. The plot itself is excellent, touching upon the deaths of Wayne's parents, his time spent traveling the world in search and studying evil, how Bruce Wayne became Batman and even how the Batsuit and Batmobile came about. The acting is great, Christian Bale plays a very convincing and realistic Bruce Wayne/Batman. Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as a young Detective-to-later-become Commissioner Gordan and Morgan Freeman round out a strong cast. My only compaint is the action sequences. It was too fast paced and blurry, however I can see that this was Nolan's intention. Batman strikes down his opponents with transparent speed. Most of his opponents are defeated before they realize what's going on. Fear what you cannot see. In an interesting techique, Nolan chooses to flash the title "Batman Begins" at the very end. It serves as a great lead in to a sequel.

I enjoyed Batman Begins more than Star Wars Episode III. I give it 9/10.

Sidenote - Being an automobile enthusiast, I first caught a glimpse of the new Batmobile last year. At first I thought, damn it looks hideous, more like the bastard child of a Hummer and Tank than the Batmobile. Now after seeing it in action, I'm thinking where do I sign up for one of those bad boys?

31 Reasons to Celebrate Today

1. I have Maria.

2. We are getting married in exactly 5 months, 5 days, 3 hours, 19 minutes and 11 seconds.

3. I am in good health.

4. My Dad is at peace.

5. I have a great future mother-in-law and family.

6. I have friends.

7. Among them I have a few good, true friends.

8. I am fortunate enough to have a great job.

9. I like what I do for a living.

10. I am a Belen graduate.

11. For little hotdog Kahlua.

12. For fat Meme.

13. I still look like I'm in my mid-20's.

14. The clothes and shoes I am wearing.

15. The hair on my head.

16. I have two good cars.

17. I have a nice home.

18. I have a lot of toys to play with.

19. I get to autox my S2000.

20. I woke up today.

21. It is raining.

22. The ducks were swimming in my lake.

23. Jesus Christ died for us.

24. The inventor of the straw.

25. Its lunchtime and I'm hungry.

26. The pig on my desk.

27. Intelligence.

28. Knowledge.

29. Passion.

30. Another year on this earth.

31. Finally because I am 31 today.

Shameful Day for Formula 1

Shame on Tony George and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for providing an newly paved, untested and unsafe course. I know Tony hates open wheel racing but damn.

Shame on Michelin for not being able to provide a safe tire to race on and coming unprepared with the improper equipment. However, Michelin does deserve credit where it is due. They were courageous enough to admit that they are the problem and offered solutions. FIA, Max Mosley and their friends in red refused to deal resulting in F1 fans paying/watching an two hour Ferrari practice session. Many are slamming Michelin today, in the aftermath, however they did the only thing they could. Michelin sided with safety and caution as they should.

Shame on Max Mosley, FIA and Bernie Ecclestone for not allowing the building of a chicane in Turn 13 or Michelin to use an alternative tire. Rules are meant to be broken or bent, yesterday was as good of a time as any to invoke the bending of a rule but no, every attempt at a solution was rejected. F1 is about its fans too, not arrogance or the political bullshit. 9 out of 10 teams even agreed to race under a no-points condition if the Turn 13 chicane was erected but no. And of course the lone team to hold out was Ferrari which brings me to my next point.

Shame on Ferrari for siding against the other teams on this issue and agreeing to race. Jean Todt, who saw no advantage to agreeing with any of the solutions put forth, is a selfish bastard. Theres more to F1 than Ferrari. Now Ferrari has claimed 18 points towards the championship, 18 unfair points. If Schumacher wins the Driver's Championship this season, it will be a travesty of grotesque proportions.

Shame on Jordan for going against their previous word and racing. Shame on Minardi for joining them. In an effort to reclaim a small portion of the respect that the FIA lost, they should void the US Grand Prix results.

Shame on those fans in attendance for throwing water and beer bottles at the remaining race drivers. Endangering the lives of the drivers is just plain ignorant.

Shame on Tiago Monteiro and Jordan for celebrating their third place podium finish under such dark circumstances. Monterio, who was grinning like an idiot in celebration of his own mediocrity, is clueless.

I was looking forward to seeing this race all week, was pissed that I missed most of it and rushed home to see it. Then I asked myself, "Why are only Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi running? Did everyone else crash out?" Then I learned the sad, shameful truth... This is one of the darkest days in F1 history and has effectively killed open wheel racing in the US. I will be shocked if F1 decides to ever come back to the US again. This is an embarrassing farce whose biggest losers are us, F1's fans.

Here is one fan's "gesture" that represents many of our feelings this morning...

Amuse S2000 GT1

When Power House Amuse gets involved in something, it does it with perfection in mind. Their exhaust systems are simply perfect, from the material used to the welds itself. Amuse became one of the top S2000 tuners with their Street Version S2000, which I have modeled my own S2000 after. Amuse made the headlines again with their Amuse S2000 Touge Monster. Now in 2005, Amuse has given itself a goal, to be the world's fastest time attack S2000. Its weapon of choice comes in the form of a stunning race machine clothed in carbon and titanium born in state of the art engineering - Amuse S2000 GT1.

Amuse coupled the amazing F20C engine with an HKS GT3240 Turbo and JUN internals, raising the overall engine capacity to 2259cc while decreasing the compensation ratio to 8.8:1. Power output will be somewhere around 550PS and to put the power on the ground, a BNR34 GTR rear end replaces the stock S2000 rear end.

Some specifications...

2259cc F20C Engine
8.8:1 Compression
87x95 Bore and Stroke
87mm Pistons
JUN H23A Connecting Rods
JUN H22A Crankshaft
HKS GT3037S Turbine
HKS GTII Wastegate
Amuse Original GT1 Exhaust Manifold, Front Pipe and Exhaust
HKS F-Con V Pro
Amuse HiTech Rom
V Mount Intercooler and Radiator
HKS Sequential GT-R Transmission
BNR34 GT-R Differential and Drive Shafts
ATS Carbon Clutch and LSD
Volk Racing CE28N 18x10+15 Wheels
265/35-18 Tires
GT1 Widebody Kit designed by Gran Turismo 4 Producers

The widebody kit is available to purchase for Amuse clients. The downside is that Amuse forces you to ship them your S2000 all the way to Japan to build the GT1 exhaust system on the car. The turbo kit/engine itself is in the final phases of production.

I cannot wait to see this car at Tsukuba later this year.

From Powerhouse Amuse...





From Option Magazine in Japan...







From Dino's "J-Style" Blog...










From uk-spoof.com...












This machine represents an enormous victory for the S2000 platform. Kudos to Amuse for pushing the edge even further.

Top 10 Anti-Cheapie Financial Tips

Here are my secrets to financial success and happiness that goes against every rule of the cheap lifestyle...

1. Instead of saving more of your current earnings, earn more to save more.

2. Saving a few pennies here and there isn't going to help you in the bigger picture. Investing in real estate (pre-construction condos are hot), stock market (if you brought into GOOG initially, you're set) and 401K can result in huge financial gains; many times more than saving a few bucks by buying used clothes.

3. Busting out the calculator at the dinner table to figure out your share of the group bill down to the penny isn't financially smart. Its rude.

4. Save? Whats that?

5. If you have the money, spend it.

6. Having millions in the bank won't do you any good when you're dead.

7. Having good credit is the key to everything.

8. Carry some credit card debt but pay it off completely or at least a large portion of it monthly. This is a great way to increase your FICO score.

9. Pay more than the required payment on my auto loans, mortage, student loans, etc. You will pay them off sooner and this is another great way to increase your FICO score.

10. You only live once, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Wacko Jacko goes free!

The jury in the Michael Jackson has just came down with their verdict... NOT GUILTY ON ALL CHARGES.

I'm disappointed with the verdict but it was expected. The prosecution's case was very weak, the victim and the victim's family lacked credibility and a few of their witnesses did not testify as expected. However I do believe Wacko Jacko is guilty of molesting the boy and previously molesting other boys. This case is an example that money can buy freedom. MJ paid millions to previous accusers for their silence.

I guess theres going to be a big party at Neverland tonight featuring little boys and gay porn to celebrate.

Weather Forcasters

The weather forcasters all predicted that this past weekend would rain and rain. We cancelled a pool party we were planning to have at a friend's house based on the forecasts. Well Saturday came and no rain, just cloudy. Sunday came, and again no rain, it was party cloudy. Great job weather people!

Its a Jetta Cobra

Damn Thugs

Damn thugs slashed the driver side rear tire to my daily driver yesterday. Maybe I'll never understand this but why do people have to disrespect other people's shit? Thankfully it wasn't my S2000, or I would have been pissed!

Been Busy

I've been very busy this week with setting up my new home theater system, researching different receivers and speaker systems (I think I'm going with a harmon/kardon receiver and Polk Audio 5.1 speakers), work and dealing with the rain. Tropical Storm Arlene doesn't have Miami within its cone of death, oops I meant uncertainty, but we're still getting all the rain. Welcome to South Florida summer raining weather season...

Our Home Theater System is born.

SONY KDF-42WE655 42" Grand WEGA LCD Rear Projection HDTV
SONY SU-GW11 A/V Stand
DirecTV H10 HDTV Satellite Receiver
Samsung DVD-HD850 Hi-Def Conversion DVD Player
Microsoft Xbox
SONY PlayStation 2
SONY PlayStation 2 (JDM Version)
Monster Component Video/Audio and HDMI Cables
SONY RM-AV2500 Universal Remote Commander

I was a bit disappointed Saturday afternoon turning it on for the first time after Best Buy delivered it. The picture was way off, seemed very pixelized, no where near the picture we saw at Best Buy. After some research on avsforum.com, I adjusted the settings and it looks much, much better. On SD, the image isn't as good as I would like it to be, so I'll still be trying to adjust that a little bit much. On HD, its amazing. The picture is almost, life-like, the sound is crisp and clear.

I tried out Gran Turismo 4 on my PStwo and WOW! Running it at 1080i resolution is insane.

Another piece of hardware that is a must get for any HD setup is a HD DVD Player. Theres a few choices out there from SONY, Samsung, Toshiba and LG. Being the SONY freak that I am, naturally I looked at SONY first. However their DVP-NS975V was getting a lot of bad reviews on cnet.com so I passed for the Samsung instead. Before I was viewing my DVDs on my PStwo at its native 480i resolution. Now I'm running it on my Samsung player at 1080i via the HDMI port and what a difference! The video and audio are simply stunning!

All and all, this setup is worth every penny. Next up... SONY Dream System to complete my home theater setup.

Red Eleanor

Rainbow on Ground

Went to buy my SONY 34" HDTV

So Maria and I went to Best Buy last night to buy the SONY 34" HDTV that I posted about a few days earlier. We walked out with a SONY 42" Rear Projection LCD HDTV, the matching SONY stand and an extended warranty instead.



I'm still wondering how this happened! We got an unbelievable deal that we couldn't say no to. Its being delivered tomorrow. I can't wait to start playing GT4 in all its 1080i glory!

The Lost (thank God) Art of Frugality

The frugal lifestyle, or being a cheap ass, is the advice that many self help books and websites, such as weathlyblogger.com give. They claim that you too can die a millionaire if you live a frugal lifestyle, meaning eat cheap, dress cheap, buy used everything, never go out, never travel, even buy a wrecked car thats been totalled, never spend an extra penny on anything other than basic neccessities. What good will a million dollars do in the afterlife?

Cheap ass people really annoy me. I find it very rude when cheap asses bust out a calculator on the dinner table to calculate EXACTLY, down to the cent, how much their share of the bill is. I don't know how some people can live such a mediocre, cheap existence.

For me, being weathly isn't about being financially rich. Weathly is being about being happy, and although having money is certainly part of being happy, it isn't everything.

You only have a single chance at life. I whether die a happy old man who has a nice house, ten cars, travelled the world and with a penny in the bank then a bitter old man with a million dollars. What a wasted life that would be.

BS in TV Science

Buying a new TV is complicated these days. You have CRT, Flat Screen, Flat Panel, Plasma, LCD, LCoS, DLP, Rear Projection, Front Projection, 16:9 widescreen, 4:3, SDTV, EDTV, HDTV... the choices seem endless. Then you have to decide if you whether buy in a offline, brick and mortar retail store like a Best Buy or Circuit City or you go to pricegrabber.com for full retail price and buy it from the cheapest online store and take a risk at shitty service or at worse, getting scammed. You almost need a science degree to buy a TV these days.

I'm in the market for a new TV. The little 27" SONY we moved out from the bedroom to the living room isn't cutting it anymore. I want something state of the art, big and bad and HD is a must.

So I started my search with plasmas. Thin, cool looking but expensive. Since I'm a PS2/GT4 freak, potential burn-in is a worry. Last thing I want is for Maria to be watching Emeril's cooking show with a picture of a White S2000 imprinted in his forehand. So I then looked at LCD, but the picture quality was questionable on the models that I saw. Then I looked at Samsung's Pedestal DLP TV. Beautiful design, good picture quality. Maria liked it too. Expensive but still within our reach. As I researched this TV more, I was led to avsforum.com where I read some positive and negative reviews. But one complaint caught my attention... video/audio sync problems. It seems that Samsung up-converts any 480i or 480p signal to its native 720p and in doing so causes a lag between audio and video. For a $3,500 TV, this is unacceptable. I briefly looked at JVC's LCoS TV but I'm not too sure about JVC. So I turned back to the good old reliable and bulky CRT. SONY has an incredible 16:9 widescreen HD CRT TV and Best Buy has it on sale for only $1,500 (25% off MSRP).

We're going Friday night to take a look at it and hopefully purchase it. Looks like at the end of the day, CRT wins.