Over the past week I’ve been selling a bunch of items here and there to try and make a little loot. Once such item is my old BMW M5. You see it was getting up there in age, performance was still everything it ever was, but since I just started my business MR. ANGRY INC. and needed the capital it had to go. I checked all the other prices on used M5’s on the net and then low-balled all of them by 3 grand. By doing this I sold in the car in about 40 minutes. A gentleman called, we struck a deal and POOF!! M5 is sold. 

Now this is where is gets interesting you see after I posted it sold I began multiple emails from other M5 owners telling me how I was doing “them” a disservice by selling my car under the normal value and that by doing this I was actually dropping the values of their cars… WTF? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

These are emails from people I don’t know and yet they feel the need to tell me how the sale of my car affects them - simply amazing. I sell my car, take the hit and the rest of the jackass peanut gallery out there decides I’m to blame for decline in prices of an 8 year old German muscle car. 

Ladies and Gentleman… you frickin’ kill me. Now go out and there, do something productive and stop wasting my time your BS comments - Schmucks… 

Ok, so I am in the process of selling a bunch of a car parts on Ebay and I have tell you I am sick and tired of the BS questions people are asking. Now keep in mind that these questions are not really referring to the item that is being sold, they are questions that ask me to give them pity because they can’t afford to purchase what I am selling. 

Question: I am a poor college student and really want the items you have for sale but don’t have the “buy it now” price, would you consider coming down.

Answer: Sorry, but no. When you go into the grocery store to buy milk and realize you can’t afford it do you ask the clerk for a discount? No, of course you don’t… this is the same type of deal, the price is the price, so simply stated, if you can’t afford it, you can’t afford it. Sorry man. (I received no response)

Question: I am an unemployed mother of 6 who really wants to purchase item “xxx” for my sons birthday but I don’t have your asking price, would you consider taking half?

Answer: No, I would not consider taking half, in fact why don’t you consider doubling your offer and then we can make a deal - I’ll be happy, you’ll be happy and most of all your Son will be happy with his new gift. (Once again, no response)

Question: The item you are selling is in very nice condition but I feel your price is a bit high, would you come down if I made you a reasonable offer.

Answer: Thanks for the question, but to be honest I feel my price is what I want for the item I’m selling, if you would like to make me a reasonable offer then may I suggest the price that is listed. Do this and we’ll have a deal. (Again, no response)

Here’s the deal people and please listen carefully to what I am saying: “IF YOU CAN’T AFFORD IT, YOU CAN’T AFFORD IT!!” Don’t ask for discounts or make excuses for why you don’t have the money to buy something, just accept the fact and work around it. Get a different job, sell some items of your own, stop trying to repopulate the earth single handedly and mostly importantly stop asking stupid questions. Some people believe “It doesn’t hurt to ask”, well you know what, sometimes it does, so please in the future rethink what you are asking and stop wasting people’s time, its just aggravating.

This weekend when I was out and about I saw something in the wild that is seldom seen. A beautiful 1974 Dodge Charger. The car had been repainted, bumpers re-chromed and the original interior was in remarkably good shape. As I looked this car over and admired it, I started wondering if it could be an everyday driver. The more I though about it, the more I thought - Why the hell not? Not only did the old Charger look great but it was very well equipped with all the modern conveniences you could want. A/C, cruise control, power windows, front disc brakes and a relatively fuel efficient 318 with a two-barrel on top. There was nothing around like it and the more I looked at all the other cars the more I realized that this may not be such a bad experiment to try in the future.

I mean aside from the fact that it was 34 years old there really aren’t any drawbacks. Granted you don’t have ABS or traction control, but hell, neither does a Viper and that old 318 will probably pull 15-18 mpg with the right gears in the back plus they are generally stone reliable. Hmm… if anyone out there drives classic for a daily ride I’d be very curious to hear about your experiences so please do me a favor and chime in and let us all know what it is like to roll old school on a daily basis.

Now over the years Chris Bangle, BMWs head designer has been raked over the coals for making some pretty funky looking automobiles. However now, he may actually be on to something not only by thinking outside the box but by thinking outside the box that the original box was delivered in. Say goodbye rigid fenders, hard plastics and fiberglass because this could truly be the way of the future.



The concept is amazing, remove all the hard lines and replace with a soft exo-skin the actually flexes with the movement of vehicle. The actual skin will be able to do things that a rigid structure would not be capable of such a flexing and morphing into different shapes. How cool would it be to change the shape of your car by hitting a button and having the entire internal skeleton move to create different fender lines, bulges and or aerodynamic bits. This is something that we’ll all have to keep an eye on.



Make sure you watch the video because it is quite impressive.



http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/AllBMWs/ConceptVehicles/GINA/Default.aspx

Every now and again something pops up on the automotive radar screen that should have been torpedoed at its inception. This 1973 Lincoln you are looking at is such a creation. Apparently someone had a fascination with both Stevie Wonder, SuperFly and blindness because whomever decided to construct this thing obviously couldn’t see worth a damn. It has a similar front end to that of the Green Hornet’s Black Beauty, a paint scheme that would make any body man crawl into a closet with a pistol and an interior that is well… hell, I don’t even know where to begin on that one. I mean seriously, a keyboard, mixer, microphone and like the same CD player my Dad had in his living room in 1988… its downright scary. Man, SuperFly wouldn’t even roll this heavy…

I got to thinking about my previous blog where I wrote about how all my cars broke down at one time, and I began to wonder who, aside from myself, drives a POS. I would assume the list is quite long since I see a bunch of them rolling around on the streets these days, although that may just be because I live in Queens. As I mentioned in my previous blog, my daily driver and POS (actually it just cost me $1,200 to fix) is a 1997 Mercury Villager, AKA the “Danger Van,” with 117k miles on the clock.

I am now into this thing for a grand total of $3,700, including the purchase price, and it’s been worth every penny. You see, the best part about driving a POS on day to day basis is that I simply don’t care what happens to it. Door dings, rock chips, broken parking light–all inconsequential. Am I rollin’ heavy in this thing? Um, no. In fact, I am probably driving the only vehicle in existence that guarantees I won’t get any play with the ladies. But that is not what a POS is all about it. I mean, look at the basics. I’ve got vehicle which I don’t worry about, it runs awesome (at least now it does), it has power everything, a tape deck (where’s my Poison cassette?) and the A/C blows ice cold. To top it off, I can put a hell of a lot of stuff in the back. To me, it’s the perfect daily driver.

So now I want to throw it out there to all you people who drive a POS. Post them up and let them stand proud alongside the Danger Van!

Ever have one of those weeks where just about everything went wrong? Well, last week was my week for everything in my garage to turn to crap. Let’s start with Monday. It was a great day here in NYC and I decided to take my 2001 BMW M5 out for a little jaunt. Keep in mind that this car is no spring chicken. I say this because once you say BMW and M5 in the same sentence people get certain ideas in their heads, like you probably go to country clubs and buy expensive t- shirts and stuff. My old M5 has 91k miles on the clock and over the past six months has been beating me senseless with repairs. The newest issue seems to be a fun knocking noise coming from the driver’s side front end. I’ve heard everything from thrust arm bushings (no idea what those are), to the steering rack, to the struts. Either way I know it’s going to be expensive, because, well, M5 and cheap never follow each other. I brought the car into the mechanic only to find the sound had stopped. Typical, right? So, I picked the car up, drove thirty miles and the sound came back. Simply astounding…

Next up, my trusty old 1997 Mercury Villager, AKA, the “Danger VAN.” This old girl is the work horse of the fleet with 117k miles. Now I know some of you out there will snicker at the fact that I drive a minivan as a daily driver, but ya’ll can go scratch because I LOVE this thing. I don’t worry about parking anywhere, I can haul parts in it and it only cost $2,500. Until now, that is. On Thursday I was driving through the Midtown tunnel into NYC, air conditioner blasting, radio on, when I looked down and saw the temp needle BURIED in the red. OH SH*T! Being in NYC and broken down is one thing, being stuck in the Midtown tunnel one hour before rush hour is something completely different. I limped the van out of the tunnel and right into a parking garage. It was pissing anti-freeze and smoking like an SOB. Crap, there goes car #2.

Fast forward to Saturday. I was heading to the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) in Hyde Park, NY in the Charger with some friends, when I went to get off an exit ramp and the power steering started whining like a stuck pig. I pulled off and checked the reservoir only to find it completely empty. Ah…the joys of old car ownership. Luckily I had a quart of power steering fluid with me and put it in only to watch it start to drip right out. Wonderful. Now keep in mind that the Charger is my ROCK. Yes, it’s old but this car has NEVER left me stranded. Now here I was 75 miles from home with a leaking power steering pump. Ugh… It did get me home, though.

So now I sit here typing this with my three cars all needing work. Four if you count the Daytona, but that’s a whole ‘nuther story. The Charger I can fix myself, so no worries there. The BMW, well, I have no idea how fix that strudel wagon. And the Danger Van, I may be lucky enough to get away with a thermostat, new belts and fan–unless of course the head gasket blew, then it just gets donated to charity. Either way, though, this was a rough week, and I know the bill is going to suck when all is said and done.

I don’t know, maybe I should sell everything and buy one good vehicle. Problem, there is nothing out that can do everything. So like I said earlier. UGH.