zeitgeist57

Jamacian me jealous...I'll be back down to Naples at the end of the month! We picked up a 23' Hurricane 237 - 200HP Yamaha. It's our first boat, but very convenient as it's on a slip with a lift in our condo complex; drop it in the water and 12minutes to the Gulf. Looking to start fishing sometime in the future! For now, it's fun enough for my young family hitting sandbars and some of the beaches you can't walk or drive to easily. SW Florida is 100x more fun with a boat, that's for sure...

:yuno:Y U NO HAVE 16MM COMBINATION WRENCH? That's a lot of socket love for notta lotta dough...

http://www.columbuscarsandcoffee.net 8am - 12pm - Cup O' Joe, Lennox Town Center Beautiful day! Look forward to seeing you there!

http://smiliesftw.com/x/naww.png

Picture this 2-door (same color combo): http://www.nzmoparregistry.com/assets/mckees1978newport.jpg ...with this 4-door body style: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/1978_Chrysler_Newport_4-door_hardtop_r.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/1978_Chrysler_Newport_4-door_hardtop_s.jpg

For anyone at Cars and Coffee last week, this thing was cooooooool. Owner and his wife were super nice as well! Copied below from a flyer the owner gave me. 1978 Chrysler Newport 4-door hardtop (Clay: no B-pillar, pillarless doors! Love it!) 84,000 miles, Color: Jasmine Yellow, tan/beige leather(vinyl?) interior, vinyl roof. (Clay: Get "BANANAS for a license plate and be done with it ) 360 V8 - 2bbl 3-speed automatic - Owner claims 20mpg on the highway? This is an exceptional, like new, pristine original. It is the last of the "C" model big body automotive productions. It has been garage-kept and regularly maintained. The result is a flawless body without scratch, dent or rust and heavily rust-proofed underneath. All glass is original and in perfect condition. Equipment and details: factory air and cruise control tilt and telescoping steering wheel new tires, wheel alignment, balance, new brakes new shocks (air in rear) new heavy duty battery new electronics new windshield wiper motor all new fluids custom full cover complete shop manuals (2) Asking price: $7,900 Contact: Neil Barton 614-889-9933 ***Please note I (Clay) am not involved in this car's sale! Please contact the seller!***

Tough to hear when kids have to go through these things. Also hope all turns out OK.

TT-RS: PERFORMANCE: 1st gear is a "clutchsaver", designed to get you rolling from a dead start and lining up atomic particles for the wormhole trip that's about to ensue. HANDLING: Once they turn off the "cheater" electromagnets on the 23 and 270 cloverleafs, I'll actually be able to give a review. Until then, the inability to leave the surface of the road no matter how fast you're going is unfair. INTERIOR: So fresh and so clean clean... CONCLUSION: AMAZING HORSE IS AMAZING

A few weeks ago, I'm driving in the good ol' (but getting VERY long-in-the-tooth) Passat, coming down I-71 from a day of business meetings in Cleveland. It was a gorgeous day, and I was making good time. A call comes in from Alex (El Karacho) at Bob Boyd Fiat: "Hey, Clay...the new Abarth is in! Want to take it for a spin?" Proving again that life is 90% timing, I happily agreed to go east on 270 instead of west to meet Alex and a surprisingly stout-looking black-on-black 500 Abarth. The drive was very enjoyable... STYLING: The plebian Fiat 500's you see around town are cute, but the Abarth puts the myriad styling tweaks it holds to incredibly good use: the body kit, suspension, wheels and tires, exhaust, etc... combine to create one of the better-looking cars I've seen on the road this year and believe me when I say PICS DON'T DO IT JUSTICE. Overall, it's very well executed. I genuinely appreciated the "Scorpion shield" everywhere...you can't find a "500" badge on this car (nor would you want to be reminded of it's winky roots!) This is a convincingly mean-looking Euro-rocket! INTERIOR: The leather-trimmed seats are very comfy, but the seating position is very upright. Indeed, the 500 is designed for a more sit-up position, but that's not a bad thing when the rest of the interior still falls readily in hand. Kit and technology are great: bluetooth, BOSE, Info center, auto climate control...The back seat is tiny, and I actually like the fact that the front seats have red leather inserts to match the red accent stripes outside. The back seat stays trimmed in black leather, so your eyes stay focused on the front: no need to remind people you have room for 2 legless children in the back! PERFORMANCE: The "Sport" button on the dash just needs to stay on, all the time. The exhaust sound is killer! I've heard boy-racer SRT-4's with less burble and turbo whine. It's impressive for a factory system. Those of you that know Alex and/or me...we're not small guys. That said, the acceleration and turbo pull is immediate and very pleasing. Around surface streets, there is a little lag depending on the gear you're in, but the 5-speed manual shines on the highway. At first I wanted a 6th gear, but you realize that fuel economy is likely not suffering for a 1.4L working slightly higher in the rev band on the highway, and passing even in 5th gear is still impressive. The ride is understandably sporty-stiff, but not harsh. The cornering is flat and steering is well-weighted with decent feedback...no doubt the lower-profile rubber transmitting more of the road to the stock-500 steering. No bitching here...the whole performance package works. With only one person (a-la commuter car), I'm sure the ride/performance/economy will be better. OVERALL: Seeing it in person for the first time was impressive. Driving it made me like it a little more, and I will say that looking at pictures of it make me miss it even more. I told Alex that I can see the Abarth 10+ years from now at Cars and Coffee, with a pedigree much like the old Dodge Omni GLH and Shelby/Chrysler FWD cars: well-done performance cars modified from the factory that only get cooler with age. Alas, the fact is that I have a hard time myself justifying a 2-door $26k souped-up Euro hatchback. However, I just saw THIS ARTICLE: http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/fiat-500-arboth-sells-customers-waiting-list-2013-version-article-1.1090953 ...and am now realizing that I probably wasn't the only one intrigued by this little monster. :thumbup:

FWIW, older Mercedes hold up really well. I've seen 150k+mile S-classes where the interiors (even the drivers seat) look better than a 75kmi Hyundai. SO...not out of the realm of possibility to have a clean (rebuilt?) MB with 195k that looks like 85k miles...

BRING BACK ZIMA!1!1!!

Definitely get a minivan. Acres of space inside, low maintenance, uber comfortable, drives like a car, cheap to insure...there is no downside as long as you're comfortable in your manliness.

I heard more noise coming from the fuel pump than the engine!

FORD FLEX Otherwise, just get a minivan. You won't regret it later. Odyssey Sienna Sedona/Entourage Caravan I looked at the Suzuki GV XL7 (a re-engineered Equinox, BTW) and a Cadillac SRX...so thankful to have my Odyssey now instead...

The best way to get a visual of this morning's cruise is embedded in the Top Gear drag race below. Just envision that Cleetus is represented by the G-Wiz. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj9MAApLdDs Great turnout today! I'm always impressed by the new faces and great showings...

Which came first... The CR Party Rock Crew, or... LMFAO's version?

GIB YA 500 I'm a collector of rare piles of fail. I like it! :thumbup:

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQF0nWauJs1wdJAn-fXDF0I49dpsyzFNOMPAy1bO80fyL8PrZJxsg This thread is... HAL-ARIOUS

...or get a letter from your optometrist saying your photosensative. 5% tint all day long. Unfortunately found out the letter worked when I got pulled over for speeding in the airport back in April. Had my windows down after pulling over, cop asked about the tint, and I replied that I have a letter in the glovebox from my optometrist. Cop raised his hand to stop me and said he didn't need to see it.

I take it this is sold? ...not that I was trying to get ahold of the guy, or anything...

If you look anything like the douche in your avatar, you gonna get raeped. Unsafe Mexico is unsafe. Safe Mexico resort is safe. HAI GUYZ...TINKING ABOUT VAYCAY TO SOCAL. COMPTON OR HILLTOP HEARD IT'S NOT SAFE AT NIGHT WTFBBQ? PURPLE HERP DERPLE That being said, I was in the Riviera Maya back in '04. Lot of fun, but I enjoyed myself 10x more in St. John/St. Thomas FWIW.

Thank you for the respect, Joe! :thumbup: For everyone else, here are my main rules for life today: 1) You get out of it what you put into it - don't wait for someone else to make plans for you. 2) Always go with your gut - you need to do whats right for you...DON'T FAKE IT. 3) Face time is never wasted time - for you, Facebook addicts! Relationships involve eye contact and a handshake/hug. Really good relationships survive a few months without constant maintenance, and get picked up right where you left off with someone. EXTRA: Nothing good happens after midnight - partying, hanging out at HD, etc...

Any word on the dood's condition? I was joking with a softball buddy last night over beers...it used to be you could tell a kid in school "If your hand is bigger than your face you have cancer", then proceed to hit the gullible idiot in the face with his own hand and both of you would laugh about it. Diseases aren't so funny as you get older!

Totally blew up in the Quick Reply box with my opinions, and realized I went waaaaay overboard. Suffice to say, I AGREE WITH YOU I'm doing my best to take care of my family, my business, and a few friends. The rest of the world can go figure it out on their own. If you come into my world, you're going to operate by my standards, or at least be seriously influenced by them!

Wow! I'm 34 and not so skinny! Best to that guy! A good friend and coworker just found out last week she's got breast cancer...also 34!