stimulus for me

hey mr. president! over here, over here! you know, all that money that you are throwing around? how about some my way? i promise not to be quite as bad as the banks and blow some of it on high flying hi-jinxs, but i'll do my best. maybe i'll do my part and pay some of my bills, try to stay solvent, hmm, maybe not, i'll get more money that way. you want to have 36% ownership in me? why not? hell, when i work, you already get close to 25%, so what's a few extra points between business partners. do i have a business plan? no....should i? doesn't seem any of corporate america does either, so does it really matter? do i plan on paying it back? come on mr. president, this is the new america, the one you wanted to change so badly; hell, with all the new socialist programs in place, flush with cash from the endless supply your mint keeps printing, why should i worry? if it all goes as badly as it is planned, hell, i'll be out of money sooner than when you give it to me.
thinking back, george w's measly $600 per taxpayer was chump change; you give the meaning of "entitlement" a new twist; just ask, you'll recieve, and in a really big way.i was always under the impression that the democrats just give away money, as long as it's not theirs, and boy, you didn't fail to surprise anyone...less than 100 days in office and already given away the cow, the milk and the farm. damn, is there anything left yet? see, why should i worry about paying you back, hell, i stand a better chance of making it, compared to some of the other so-called shaky business deals you've already made. talk about buying votes, you hit that one slam dunk.
oh, and good call, sending hil to china, begging them to buy more of our debt...at this rate, our great grandchildren will be paying off the interest, let alone the principal. you know, i kinda like that idea, we borrow from china, and plow it into iraq, and pay off north korea to play nice. makes sense, buying your enemies, with your own blood, sold to yet more of your enemies.
some how, mr. president, i think on your way out, forget we had this conversation and hey, thanks for the billion; the checks in the mail....

wishful thinking?

i was reading another blog site, dedicated to cars as well, and a story about toyota in europe was having storage space issues with so many unsold cars and trucks, they had to pretty much just lease space on a container ship.
what burned me, was the 'tude of some of the posters to that site, spilling off comments like too much over production, building for the sake of building, bad management, etc.
what most of these armchair "ceo's" fail to realize, as does most of the people macro-managementing this country and the world as a whole, that people who have money and those with out, are just not spending money. we want jobs, the chance to create wealth, our own futures, not unemployment lines and foreclosed homes and shattered lives. we, the people in this country need the bail outs, not the idiots who mismanaged the whole damn thing in the first place. when history is written about this decade, the morgage industry crisis that brought about our depression, will finally be accepted for what it was; not the wants of the poor; but the gross negligence of those on top; corporate greed is what killed the golden goose.
so when the smug little posters who feel it's the little guy's fault, i hope they'll finally figure it out when their bmw's, mercedes and lexus won't make them any new friends at the unemployement lines.

OUTSOURCED

i just had a bill collector try to call me; this being unemployeed kinda kills the bill paying thing, i know, but hey. funny thing was the phone call came from costa rica...what do they plan on doing, boarding a plane and roughing me up, once they spend say $1200 round trip ticket, for less than $500.00 debt? talk about outsourcing..what next, bollywood will send some pretty boys with slide rulers to work me over? sheez!
on that note, speaking of out sourcing, when will the friendly and totally lost in another world folks at the not so mighty UAW plan on doing, as the plants and job losses keep mounting and the plants in mexico keep on sprouting up? seems mighty suspious when you lose your job here in detroit, but they keep cranking out the same $30k car from south of the border. seems when the entire middle class disappears, maybe then, when what ever is left of the auto industry, can finally figure out that sub $15k cars ARE what americans want and need. bad enough the house value dropped to next to nothing that cars, which are the second highest priced items we finance, are going to be difficult to try to get a loan for when we are all making less than $25k a year. my lovely wife just bought our home, a lovely $200k house for $70k on a $25k salary..so figure the 30 year note, it makes sense; try getting a 10-15 year note on a $40k car...ha!
another note; quietly, GM has made Buick a huge name plate in china; so what you say. well, they sell over 7 different models of Buicks there, comepared to our 4; doean't take much of a fool to see what is getting ready to happen here; yep, you got it, the same Buicks will be made in China and shipped back here.
now UAW; what can and will you do now? when the very jobs you vowed to protect are now gone, and the only thing is left is your golf club and fancy summer lodge for your premier members, not the rank and file, ask your self, could we have failed and boy, what where we thinking....by the way, the country code for costa rica is "506"..so when you see the caller i.d. number come up...tell them bob says hi.

LOTTERY TIME

i was reading, today's mega million lottery was up to $100 million, usd, and knowing this is a rather decent sum, after taxes, i could buy a small eastern european country and become president for life and have a harem of women and all the cool cars i ever wanted to drive...alas, back to reality.
even in these troubling times, in which many car lines may disappear, i looked inside my mind, and after i got past the bad porn, i thought of what would i buy, of currently made cars and trucks if i won the lottery and of course had a place to park them. i am not listing any old favorites or classics, no, that would be too easy and i am not making the guys at the auction houses any richer. so, in no particular order, for that matter, here is my list of my car porn and why;

1) dodge challenger srt-8; bright orange...nuff said
2) dodge charger srt-8; coppertone orange and evil as shit
3) jeep grand cherokee srt-8; black...nuff said
4) chevy hhr turbo; bright red done in the delivery panel wagen style
5) chevy camaro 6.0 with a/t; fly yellow with black stripes
6) cadillac cts-v; black with black rims
7)caddy cts-v coupe; white with white rims
8)caddy cts wagon; red, for momma
9) caddy sts-v; black for business type work
10)fiat 500 abarth; white.....cool as shit
11) smart car; yellow just for fun
12) nissan titan; dark grey, with 4x4 for the sorry winter months and full size truck needs
12) bmw 5 series; black..nuff said
14)infiniti m45; maroon red and tan leather
15)ford flex; awd and in blue with a white top
16)gmc 3500 dualie; 2wd and 6.6 diesel...sometimes you just gotta dualie
17)nissan gt-r; gotta have at least one sports car
18)nissan 370z; blue with 6 speed; okay, two sports cars
19)pontiac g8; aussie goodness with a heart of evil; black of course

you'll notice, no hybrid's here..i want pure gas monsters; i don't want or need a 'fridge to drive, i want a soul. no weird hyper exotic's either; i want to be able to drive my cars and not really worry about dents or fools messing them up; no vette or viper either...not really my cup of tea; the gtr does it for me, thank you.

so, that does it for me; if i win tonight, i might be a bit busy for the next few days, at least dreaming of my winnings...haha

SERVICE PRO'S

in another magazine i used to write for, until they changed their path, they had a writer, which they still have, who owns a service center and writes about the daily comings and goings of the service industry and how it relates to the parts business.
this writer, mitch, often tries to come across that service is the whole world wrapped up in gold; he can do no wrong,and his tech's never ever make mistakes or order wrong parts and the world is rose coloured according to him; every time i get my copy of the parts magazine, i get more and more frustrated that we, the parts professionals, have to deal with this, the persons who shit never stinks and have his words, taken as a "given" in the industry and we should bow down and wash the feet of all who, like him, work on cars for a living.
argh, i must relate...granted, you are a seasoned pro, a owner, who has seen his share of ups and downs in this crazy business we are in; but i digress, how is the words, of some one who isn't on our side of the counter, the person who creates the frustration when they say all the parts are the same, call at 5pm on friday and know damn well, no one has this part and it's up to me to bail him out of one of his own screw up's? come on mitch; there are two sides to every story, and the ones you pose, are text book perfect and only show your side; oh yeah, we make mistakes, but as the parts industry as a whole has determined, while trying to cater to your pompus ass, that over 75% of all so-called defects or failed parts, are not really failed. if there are a failure, it is in your own industry as in mechanic mis-diagnosis, not parts related. i will you give you credit in trying your best to keep up with all the trends of the automotive industry, and keep everyone on the cutting edge; but alas, even in the dealer's world, mechanics, fail to diagnose problems as well, even with the manufactor's technology in place.
so mitch, is it my fault? is it my part industries fault either, you may have had a bad day, one of my sales people stopped by and wanted to chat? does everyone who walks in your door want to make a sale? each and every person who walks in your door, offers a chance to make you money, whether they are selling or buying; so, must you disrespect all parts people as just mere annoyances to be tolerated until you can write about them and blast them for trying to be human like you? my time is worth money too; i feel bothered when sales people come in, offering me things i have no need or time for; if they are related to my business, i make the time to talk with them, familiar or not; they pose a chance to learn, teach and make connections i may never make again.
if i didn't want to learn about brain cancer, i would not become or study to be a doctor; you , mitch, cannot or do not know or experience all things related in my industry; i personally take your comments as insults to me and my fellow parts people; i am very pleased and quite happy i don't offer services to you and your garage; i have my own "mitch's" in my world to deal with, but do keep in mind; i don't offer advice on brain surgery, nor should you give advice how to run my parts business.

junkyard blues

in my other post, on car domain.com, i have been writing about the death and demise of the junkyards as we know them today. i realize it is hard for many to understand, even more so, when all you car about is your own need(s), what is happening and why. with the geo-political nature of the world today, faltering economies and the "greening" of many countries, the time is ripe, if not all ready happened, in the end of days for the independent auto junkyards.
first, many people fail to realize, unlike their own hobbie, or the federal governmant, businesses must make a profit; the years of living off the fat, has brought us to this point of time. i also realize, there will be plenty of people who will tell me, i still know of a place and so on and such, but they are in serious denial and i don't mean the river. most junk yards, were covered, pell-mell of cars, thrown around like a kids playground, no real reason or order. most of us, knew someone, who knew someone, who'd let you take your craftsman buddy box in and fill up for a few bucks, while novices paid dearly for any little thing.
like the rat infested, wasp nest paradise they were, sal, behind that wooden counter, covered in all those books, that looked important, and old, out dated girlie calenders, this was the next best way a boy became a man, thru the glazed vent glass of old chevies and fords. alas, old Sal passed away and his daughters didn't know or care to take over the nuts and bolts of the business. sure, it was grandfathered to some one else, so as to keep the business going, but times were getting leaner; old cars are harder to come by, federal and local laws keep trying to close you down and that dirty word that eats into the profit and hearts of all that deals with it, "insurance", forced many to try and streamline the industry, to eek out what ever profit is left after all the rising costs. now, wrecks are bidded on by auto salvage yards, who cater to the body repair industry, not the poor smuck who just wants a tail light lens for his neon. also, keeping in mind, they don't make 1965 chevies no more, finding old wrecks is harder and harder to find, and getting them, with the price of fuels and wages, eats into the costs of any parts one may sell off the cars.
as many, such as myself, who buy and sell on ebay, a few years ago, scrap metal went thru the roof; hell, any rolling piece of metal commanded good coin and it was far more profitable for folks to crush that old chevy or ford, rather than the $50-100 a junk yard would fork over for. supply and demand my friend, has caused many tettering business to go under and the rules of averages keeps on working; there are fewer and fewer lots around; those who are still there, know what they have and those who specialized in certain makes, have found theirselves quietly approached by the car companies, to sell out, and keep the whole ball of wax, from cradle to the grave, to their selves.
it's coming folks; the electric cars and hybrids, are giving the car companies a ticket to ride from our friends in public office, under the guise of protecting ourselves, from ourselves, rulings. like in japan and many european countries, forced obsolsence, is a way of life and is coming here. don't think for a minute, you'll find many hybrid's in junkyards in 10 years or so; the government has mandated the demise of most of the so-called hazardous parts of these cars, in the hands of the car companies, not poor old Sal at Ed's used car parts; the future is already upon us, and in many ways, has already past many by and sealed the coffin's of the automotive junk yards of the past.