20 things that are currently annoying me:
01. My iCloud being full (Apple should offer more free space, like 16GB)
02. Trying to decide Android or iPhone (AGAIN!)
03. Heartburn
04. Computer virus (Windows machine)
05. New computer decisions, Mac or Windows? (pricey or virusy)
06. People who don't like Law Enforcement
07. People who keep racism alive (media)
08. Low pay to love my job vs. good pay to not love my job
09. Law Enforcement Officers being poorly paid
10. Trump being the best option
11. Getting old
12. Still young, but not really feeling it (everything hurts all the time)
13. Mid-life crisis without the $$ for my sports car (or truck, if I'm more practical)
14. Time for blogging, but not the motivation
15. Time to write music, but not inspired to write good words
16. Missing workouts because I'm lazy
17. Loving Netflix, Amazon Prime, and HBO shows that make me lazy
18. Loving food, but not wanting to be fat
19. Being hot (temperature, not looks)
20. Not being able to think of a clever 20th item for the list, to end it right
Showing posts with label Chevrolet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chevrolet. Show all posts
September 29, 2016
July 11, 2015
General Chaos at General Motors' Chevrolet Cadillac Branded Kuni Owned Dealership in Sacramento, CA
The Intro:
Buying a new car is stressful for anyone, especially when many people believe sales people and dealerships are often times working towards confusing the buyer into believing a deal is great, all the while, disguising an excessively profitable deal for themselves. And, while I do not think a dealerships should be stuck with an unprofitable deal, an honest upfront, "it can't be done for that low of a price," would go so much further with me than being caught in a manipulative lie. Well, I believe I caught the lie just in time.
The Back Story:
Saturday 06/13/15, my wife and I, with our two boys, spent over 4 hours at Kuni Chevrolet in Sacramento, CA, working out the details on a lease we believed was for a Chevy Tahoe LTZ. And, while the vehicle we were negotiating the deal around was not at Kuni on that Saturday, it was a short distance away, said to be coming from a dealership in Milpitas, CA. An agreement was reached on a Silver 2WD LTZ with a rear seat Blue-Ray/DVD system, second row bucket sheets, and a whole bunch of other features, including our favorite color. We completed some paperwork, which included a VIN number (ending 639176) for, what we believed, was our future LTZ model Tahoe, with delivery planned for Monday, 06/15/15.
On Monday, my wife and I each made calls to Kuni late in the afternoon, looking for information on the vehicle's arrival, as we needed to arrange getting to the dealership to take delivery and provide our down payment. Eventually, we were called back and told "the bad news," by our salesman, that "the Milpitas dealership sold the vehicle right out from under us". He went on to say he and his manager yelled at the other dealership about professionalism and fulfilling commitments, and he assured me he was looking to locate another LTZ with all the same specifications we'd agreed to originally. It was at this point my wife decided to use Google and look-up the VIN to locate this dealership in Milpitas. We'd hoped to contact them and find out more information on how they could have sold our Tahoe to someone else. But, the Google search resulted in a hit at Kuni Chevrolet in Sacramento. I thought it was odd, but believed perhaps it had something to do with the transfer happening over the weekend to Kuni. Perhaps, Milpitas sold it early Monday morning.
On to Tuesday and Wednesday, which went about the same as Monday, with different salesmen getting involved with the vehicle search for us. One salesman even sent specs with another VIN for a vehicle located in Fresno. But, that one too was sold before we could get it up to Kuni, and other Tahoes were also "sold right out from under us".
Then, Thursday evening came and I received a call from our original salesman. He'd located "the perfect LTZ Tahoe in Southern California, with the cocoa dune (light tan) interior, just as we'd always wanted." Although we'd always planned on gray or black in an LT model, we'd discovered gray wasn't offered in the LTZ models Kuni had been working to make the deal on. My wife felt she'd be satisfied with the tan, as it was a lighter, cooler color for the hot sunny days, but we wanted to see it in person first. The salesman told us they were going to put someone on a plane to Los Angeles and have the truck delivered to the dealership on Friday. Skeptical at this point, I told him to call me when it arrived.
And Friday night, 06/19/15, at about 4:45pm, I received a phone call from the salesman. He said the vehicle had arrived. He told me he was sending it to be detailed and he wanted to know what time we could be down. I told him we'd come look at it after I got off work, at approximately 6:00pm.
As we pulled into the dealership later that evening, we saw the Silver Tahoe and we initially got excited. We looked it over, reviewing the interior color and other required features. We then went inside to sign corrected paperwork, with the new vehicles VIN number. For our troubles, I expected they may have even sweetened the deal.
We were introduced to a new (new to the dealership and new to us) finance guy. Since the deal was already established, I expected it to be a quick signing process. But, when the finance guy pulled out the new paperwork, I immediately looked to the overall cost and saw an increase of approximately $900.00 in price. "Not to worry," said the salesman, "your payment is still the same". I reviewed the paperwork again for where this increase was going to appear, and it had been placed into the residual value (the amount the truck will cost if we buy it out at the end of the lease, or the value it needs to be worth if we decide to sell it private party). I explained I wasn't happy with this. After all the issues, the deal should have been, at minimum, the same deal we'd agreed to on Saturday, a week earlier.
AND THEN ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE. My ever racing mind put together the following facts and connected, what I believe, was a complete manipulation of the truth to lock us in with the Kuni dealership. Based on my experience in sales, pricing, finance, and with my training in reading people's body language, interviewing and interrogation skills, I quickly put together what I believe happened back on that first Saturday.
The Facts That Quickly Took Shape in My Head:
1. Kuni Chevrolet did not have any Chevy Tahoes on the lot besides a blue LS (base) model, unless they were incompetent in finding others when asked about the specific LT model showing on the Kuni website. We were eventually told, the one on the website "must be in transit."
2. While working on pricing and payment for leasing an LT model Tahoe, the salesman presented specifications for several different Tahoes that closely matched what we'd laid out, but were never exactly right, as they all were either missing a feature or two, were the wrong color, or were found to be unavailable at the other dealerships.
3. Upon stating I needed to go, but would return once one was found matching our desires, the salesman asked for another minute. He left and came back with an LTZ model (a model above the LT we'd initially designed) and he managed to make it work with a relatively attractive lease deal.
4. After reviewing the documents and the designed down payment, monthly payments, and residue value, we agreed to sign for this LTZ model vehicle.
5. The finance guy created paperwork for the deal and included a VIN number we later Googled and found as an LS at Kuni.
6. We were told our LTZ was "sold out from under us," by a dealership that was supposedly in Milpitas, CA.
The Realization of The Facts and What I Believe Happened:
While sitting there on Friday, realizing they were trying to make an additional $900.00+ out of the deal, hiding it in the residue to keep the payments the same, I connected the original VIN's Google Search results, to the blue LS model still sitting out on the Kuni lot. I then surmised there was never an LTZ from Milpitas on it's way with the original VIN used on the GM Financial Leasing form and the CA DMV 262 form we signed. Instead, I believe the original deal was made without an actual LTZ model located, but rather Kuni fabricated this deal and unmatched VIN for the purpose of running our credit, locking us into a deal with them, and giving them time to find a vehicle they could actually make a relatively similar deal on.
Why I Believe There Was an Ethical Issue Here and The Aftermath of My Rage:
I sent the new finance guy out and called for the original finance guy and our salesman to confront them both. With prior conversations and all the facts, I put together my mental interview notes and decided to go straight into interrogation mode. When the original finance guy and our original salesman arrived, I told them I knew what they'd done and I could not believe they would try to manipulate me like that. The finance guy's immediate reaction, one of self preservation was to pull the file in toward himself as a way of protection. He then got indignant and frustrated and said, "oh you think you've got us figured out, do you?" I explained, I did and his reactions was my proof.
I explained, my belief was the original LTZ model from Milpitas didn't exsist and because Kuni couldn't find a vehicle that matched our desired specifications, they manufactured one for the purpose of running our credit. I explained, I believed the VIN used was to the LS model on the lot because they needed a VIN for the paperwork, which I told him I wanted back. I explained I needed the originally signed DMV 262 form and the originally signed lease contract. He refused and said they were his file copies and I couldn't have them. I told him, I wasn't going to allow an ink signed contact and DMV form to be left intact on a vehicle I never agreed to purchase. He then said, "it was a simple typos," pulled the forms out, and ripped them in half. He then angrily threw them on the desk and left.
The salesman pleaded with me to give them a second chance. I told him to go get the original features list and VIN for the Milpitas LTZ Tahoe. He couldn't produce it. Even after searching for several minutes, a saleswoman involved in the original negotiations came with a piece of paper and showed me a list of VIN numbers, one without a sales date and said, "see, it's right here." I explained to her and the salesman that she was showing me the same VIN for the blue LS...AGAIN! The salesman told her, "you are doing the same thing the others did."
So, we left the dealership. We eventually went to a different dealership and bought an LT model for about $9,000.00 less than the LTZ. We filed a case with GM, but "GM doesn't get involved with sales disagreements," even though this is an ethical issue, from my point of view, not just a sales disagreement. The operator told me, she had "checked with her resources and this wasn't something they'd get involved in". She did tell me if I gave her my new VIN, she could offer On-Star for a couple years, but that service is crap. Kuni was supposed to reach out but never did.
One more point: There is no dealership in Milpitas, CA. This may be where the train stops to drop off the inventory of new Chevy Tahoes for Northern California, but there's no dealership. The fact that ethics in car sales is always a question in people's minds, makes me so angry. I've been a car nut for years, but the industry is so corrupt. I hate that I bought a GM product after all the bailout BS, but it's a superior SUV to the rest. And the fact company wasn't willing to look at this issue for what it was, an ethics issue not a sales dispute, makes me more disgusted with my purchase. There was no dispute with the original sales deal. I actually think it was an amazing deal...too amazing perhaps, and Kuni couldn't live up to that deal.
Buying a new car is stressful for anyone, especially when many people believe sales people and dealerships are often times working towards confusing the buyer into believing a deal is great, all the while, disguising an excessively profitable deal for themselves. And, while I do not think a dealerships should be stuck with an unprofitable deal, an honest upfront, "it can't be done for that low of a price," would go so much further with me than being caught in a manipulative lie. Well, I believe I caught the lie just in time.
The Back Story:
Saturday 06/13/15, my wife and I, with our two boys, spent over 4 hours at Kuni Chevrolet in Sacramento, CA, working out the details on a lease we believed was for a Chevy Tahoe LTZ. And, while the vehicle we were negotiating the deal around was not at Kuni on that Saturday, it was a short distance away, said to be coming from a dealership in Milpitas, CA. An agreement was reached on a Silver 2WD LTZ with a rear seat Blue-Ray/DVD system, second row bucket sheets, and a whole bunch of other features, including our favorite color. We completed some paperwork, which included a VIN number (ending 639176) for, what we believed, was our future LTZ model Tahoe, with delivery planned for Monday, 06/15/15.
On Monday, my wife and I each made calls to Kuni late in the afternoon, looking for information on the vehicle's arrival, as we needed to arrange getting to the dealership to take delivery and provide our down payment. Eventually, we were called back and told "the bad news," by our salesman, that "the Milpitas dealership sold the vehicle right out from under us". He went on to say he and his manager yelled at the other dealership about professionalism and fulfilling commitments, and he assured me he was looking to locate another LTZ with all the same specifications we'd agreed to originally. It was at this point my wife decided to use Google and look-up the VIN to locate this dealership in Milpitas. We'd hoped to contact them and find out more information on how they could have sold our Tahoe to someone else. But, the Google search resulted in a hit at Kuni Chevrolet in Sacramento. I thought it was odd, but believed perhaps it had something to do with the transfer happening over the weekend to Kuni. Perhaps, Milpitas sold it early Monday morning.
On to Tuesday and Wednesday, which went about the same as Monday, with different salesmen getting involved with the vehicle search for us. One salesman even sent specs with another VIN for a vehicle located in Fresno. But, that one too was sold before we could get it up to Kuni, and other Tahoes were also "sold right out from under us".
Then, Thursday evening came and I received a call from our original salesman. He'd located "the perfect LTZ Tahoe in Southern California, with the cocoa dune (light tan) interior, just as we'd always wanted." Although we'd always planned on gray or black in an LT model, we'd discovered gray wasn't offered in the LTZ models Kuni had been working to make the deal on. My wife felt she'd be satisfied with the tan, as it was a lighter, cooler color for the hot sunny days, but we wanted to see it in person first. The salesman told us they were going to put someone on a plane to Los Angeles and have the truck delivered to the dealership on Friday. Skeptical at this point, I told him to call me when it arrived.
And Friday night, 06/19/15, at about 4:45pm, I received a phone call from the salesman. He said the vehicle had arrived. He told me he was sending it to be detailed and he wanted to know what time we could be down. I told him we'd come look at it after I got off work, at approximately 6:00pm.
As we pulled into the dealership later that evening, we saw the Silver Tahoe and we initially got excited. We looked it over, reviewing the interior color and other required features. We then went inside to sign corrected paperwork, with the new vehicles VIN number. For our troubles, I expected they may have even sweetened the deal.
We were introduced to a new (new to the dealership and new to us) finance guy. Since the deal was already established, I expected it to be a quick signing process. But, when the finance guy pulled out the new paperwork, I immediately looked to the overall cost and saw an increase of approximately $900.00 in price. "Not to worry," said the salesman, "your payment is still the same". I reviewed the paperwork again for where this increase was going to appear, and it had been placed into the residual value (the amount the truck will cost if we buy it out at the end of the lease, or the value it needs to be worth if we decide to sell it private party). I explained I wasn't happy with this. After all the issues, the deal should have been, at minimum, the same deal we'd agreed to on Saturday, a week earlier.
The Facts That Quickly Took Shape in My Head:
1. Kuni Chevrolet did not have any Chevy Tahoes on the lot besides a blue LS (base) model, unless they were incompetent in finding others when asked about the specific LT model showing on the Kuni website. We were eventually told, the one on the website "must be in transit."
2. While working on pricing and payment for leasing an LT model Tahoe, the salesman presented specifications for several different Tahoes that closely matched what we'd laid out, but were never exactly right, as they all were either missing a feature or two, were the wrong color, or were found to be unavailable at the other dealerships.
3. Upon stating I needed to go, but would return once one was found matching our desires, the salesman asked for another minute. He left and came back with an LTZ model (a model above the LT we'd initially designed) and he managed to make it work with a relatively attractive lease deal.
4. After reviewing the documents and the designed down payment, monthly payments, and residue value, we agreed to sign for this LTZ model vehicle.
5. The finance guy created paperwork for the deal and included a VIN number we later Googled and found as an LS at Kuni.
6. We were told our LTZ was "sold out from under us," by a dealership that was supposedly in Milpitas, CA.
The Realization of The Facts and What I Believe Happened:
While sitting there on Friday, realizing they were trying to make an additional $900.00+ out of the deal, hiding it in the residue to keep the payments the same, I connected the original VIN's Google Search results, to the blue LS model still sitting out on the Kuni lot. I then surmised there was never an LTZ from Milpitas on it's way with the original VIN used on the GM Financial Leasing form and the CA DMV 262 form we signed. Instead, I believe the original deal was made without an actual LTZ model located, but rather Kuni fabricated this deal and unmatched VIN for the purpose of running our credit, locking us into a deal with them, and giving them time to find a vehicle they could actually make a relatively similar deal on.
Why I Believe There Was an Ethical Issue Here and The Aftermath of My Rage:
I sent the new finance guy out and called for the original finance guy and our salesman to confront them both. With prior conversations and all the facts, I put together my mental interview notes and decided to go straight into interrogation mode. When the original finance guy and our original salesman arrived, I told them I knew what they'd done and I could not believe they would try to manipulate me like that. The finance guy's immediate reaction, one of self preservation was to pull the file in toward himself as a way of protection. He then got indignant and frustrated and said, "oh you think you've got us figured out, do you?" I explained, I did and his reactions was my proof.
I explained, my belief was the original LTZ model from Milpitas didn't exsist and because Kuni couldn't find a vehicle that matched our desired specifications, they manufactured one for the purpose of running our credit. I explained, I believed the VIN used was to the LS model on the lot because they needed a VIN for the paperwork, which I told him I wanted back. I explained I needed the originally signed DMV 262 form and the originally signed lease contract. He refused and said they were his file copies and I couldn't have them. I told him, I wasn't going to allow an ink signed contact and DMV form to be left intact on a vehicle I never agreed to purchase. He then said, "it was a simple typos," pulled the forms out, and ripped them in half. He then angrily threw them on the desk and left.
The salesman pleaded with me to give them a second chance. I told him to go get the original features list and VIN for the Milpitas LTZ Tahoe. He couldn't produce it. Even after searching for several minutes, a saleswoman involved in the original negotiations came with a piece of paper and showed me a list of VIN numbers, one without a sales date and said, "see, it's right here." I explained to her and the salesman that she was showing me the same VIN for the blue LS...AGAIN! The salesman told her, "you are doing the same thing the others did."
So, we left the dealership. We eventually went to a different dealership and bought an LT model for about $9,000.00 less than the LTZ. We filed a case with GM, but "GM doesn't get involved with sales disagreements," even though this is an ethical issue, from my point of view, not just a sales disagreement. The operator told me, she had "checked with her resources and this wasn't something they'd get involved in". She did tell me if I gave her my new VIN, she could offer On-Star for a couple years, but that service is crap. Kuni was supposed to reach out but never did.
One more point: There is no dealership in Milpitas, CA. This may be where the train stops to drop off the inventory of new Chevy Tahoes for Northern California, but there's no dealership. The fact that ethics in car sales is always a question in people's minds, makes me so angry. I've been a car nut for years, but the industry is so corrupt. I hate that I bought a GM product after all the bailout BS, but it's a superior SUV to the rest. And the fact company wasn't willing to look at this issue for what it was, an ethics issue not a sales dispute, makes me more disgusted with my purchase. There was no dispute with the original sales deal. I actually think it was an amazing deal...too amazing perhaps, and Kuni couldn't live up to that deal.
June 4, 2011
The Chevy Silverado is NOT Equal to The Ford Raptor
Someone was either ready of a new truck, trying to drive their Chevy Silverado as though it was a Ford Raptor, or was drunk at the dunes.
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December 30, 2010
Top Gear USA On The History Channel...and A Rant About Internet Video Availability
First, let me tell the History Channel people that they need to free up some of the video on their site. I wanted to embed a video of an awesome, hilarious, and super entertaining scene from an episode, but they didn't allow the video to be embedded. Why not have some of the scenes or episodes available for embedding? I'd be free advertisement. Check out a small portion of the episode here.
Anyway, the episode (#3) I just watched using my DVR so I could skip commercials, earning The History Channel $0.00, had a bootlegger challenge with the hosts. The 3 hosts each had to buy a car for $1,000 (I think) and run moonshine through a set of challenges that were designed to mimic the challenges the original moonshiners faced. This episode was really funny and amazing to watch.
I actually want to support the show. I want the morons at the History Channel to realize they hurt themselves by not having web content of their shows. Embedding and allowing a site like Hulu to stream episodes is a great way to continue to make money off of the show. AND, web content makes me watch at least one commercial every break. You can also set up embedded codes that first play a commercial before playing the clip. This seems like a no brainer to me.
This is actually about to start a rant on how all the major networks keep pulling away from the Internet, streaming, embedding codes, and even the Google TV idea. Why? This doesn't seem like its a good business idea. A site like Hulu forces the viewers to watch commercials. Currently, I use a DVR to watch TV. I never watch live TV because I refuse to watch commercials. The Internet figured out a way to make me watch them again. But, it's done in a bearable way. The streaming sites make you watch one commercial at the beginning, which matches the other ads on the site. Then for longer shows or videos, they add just one commercial per break. It's short and sweet, and I do watch them. Currently, the sites Funny or Die and Fail Blog are playing commercials for the Duramax Diesel engine and the Allison transmission that are in the Chevy Silverado. SEE History Channel? That's from embedded videos and streaming content. See that major networks? That sponsor got their money's worth. If the Internet was utilized, advertisers would see the rewards from views. This would drive the cost of Internet advertising up and the networks could charge more for this type of ad, MAKING THEM MORE MONEY. Instead, every network thinks they can do it better than the next. No one is seeing the benefit of using a site like Hulu to be the go to Internet place for video. And don't get me started on Netflix.
Well, there's my spontaneous rant. I really just wanted to tell my readers to watch Top Gear USA. It's actually pretty good, even if the hosts are all really cheesy. Night!
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Anyway, the episode (#3) I just watched using my DVR so I could skip commercials, earning The History Channel $0.00, had a bootlegger challenge with the hosts. The 3 hosts each had to buy a car for $1,000 (I think) and run moonshine through a set of challenges that were designed to mimic the challenges the original moonshiners faced. This episode was really funny and amazing to watch.
I actually want to support the show. I want the morons at the History Channel to realize they hurt themselves by not having web content of their shows. Embedding and allowing a site like Hulu to stream episodes is a great way to continue to make money off of the show. AND, web content makes me watch at least one commercial every break. You can also set up embedded codes that first play a commercial before playing the clip. This seems like a no brainer to me.
This is actually about to start a rant on how all the major networks keep pulling away from the Internet, streaming, embedding codes, and even the Google TV idea. Why? This doesn't seem like its a good business idea. A site like Hulu forces the viewers to watch commercials. Currently, I use a DVR to watch TV. I never watch live TV because I refuse to watch commercials. The Internet figured out a way to make me watch them again. But, it's done in a bearable way. The streaming sites make you watch one commercial at the beginning, which matches the other ads on the site. Then for longer shows or videos, they add just one commercial per break. It's short and sweet, and I do watch them. Currently, the sites Funny or Die and Fail Blog are playing commercials for the Duramax Diesel engine and the Allison transmission that are in the Chevy Silverado. SEE History Channel? That's from embedded videos and streaming content. See that major networks? That sponsor got their money's worth. If the Internet was utilized, advertisers would see the rewards from views. This would drive the cost of Internet advertising up and the networks could charge more for this type of ad, MAKING THEM MORE MONEY. Instead, every network thinks they can do it better than the next. No one is seeing the benefit of using a site like Hulu to be the go to Internet place for video. And don't get me started on Netflix.
Well, there's my spontaneous rant. I really just wanted to tell my readers to watch Top Gear USA. It's actually pretty good, even if the hosts are all really cheesy. Night!
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May 23, 2009
This Car Chase is Strikingly Good
This is a clip from the movie Striking Distance with Bruce Willis. Although I don't like Sarah Jessica Parker, this movie is decent. I watched it on TNT today, while my son and wife napped in the hotel room here in The OC. We are down here visiting my grandpa.
This goes well with the other great car chases here on Jimmy the Gun. Enjoy the battle of Ford Crown Victorias and Chevrolet Caprices. There is some language so heads up on that, but this is pretty good. It's amazing what these drivers can do with these big old cars. The 90's were a sweet time.
January 29, 2009
Chevy Tries to Make Fun of Ford's Tailgate Step...Idiots
So Ford created a great thing on the new F-series trucks. It's a step to help get you in and out of the bed of the truck with ease. It's a great idea. And Chevy is now helping advertise this feature for Ford by trying to make fun of it.
December 13, 2008
Jay Leno's 2009 Corvette ZR1
Jay Leno owns the first 2009 Corvette ZR1 built. At least that's what his VIN number indicates. I've talked about this car and how great it is, but Jay does a great job of discussing the iconic nature of this "best Corvette yet."
Check out Jay Leno's Garage.
November 8, 2008
Sacramento Auto Show 2008 Recap
My dad and I had a good time at the Sacramento Auto Show. It was a great experience driving the vehicles we drove on the test tracks. My dad drove the Toyota Tundra on the 4X4 off-road course, and the Chevy Silverado and Traverse on the coned course. He said he liked the Silverado over the Tundra, and the Traverse was his favorite. I drove the Toyota Tacoma on the off-road course, and the Chevy Impala SS and the Corvette on the coned track. All three were fun. The SS roasted better than the Vette but the Vette handled really well on the course. The Vettes issue was some sort of governor or speed limiter. I even turned off the traction control and gassed with the brake on, hoping to spin the tires more.
I took more pictures as the day went on but the upload time took away from the experience so I only sent a third of the pictures. Here is a slide show of the rest.
One sad thing about Sacramento's show is the lack of concepts or future vehicles. The LA Show I went to in 2001 was so much better in terms of content; however, the drives more than made up for it. Something else my dad noted; Toyota was the only company with a gift. We received free beanies for our drive on the off-road course.
June 17, 2008
Building the ZR1
According to Autoblog, General Motors released all the official numbers for the 2009 Corvette ZR1. The price for this awesome vehicle is $103,300 plus tax and gas guzzler tax ($1,700). The one option package adds another $10,000 but gives you upgraded seats, side air bags, Bose audio, a nav system, Bluetooth, power tilt/telescoping steering wheel and leather-wrapped interior.
The ZR1 boasts a 0-60mph of 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 205mph. I am proud to say the Corvette has been my dream car since I was old enough to drive, and maybe longer. I remember having Matchbox Corvettes competing against all other Matchbox cars I owned. The Vette always won. I did a 10 page paper on the history of the Corvette in high school, going through each of the generations of Vette.
This is a neat video I found on Autoblog's website. Enjoy the Building of a ZR1.
March 2, 2008
El Camino of Assie-land (And Then I Start Rambling)
They still have an El Camino in Australia made by Holden called the Ute. Here's an ad showing the history of the Ute.
The Chevrolet El Camino, which was built from 1959-87 (with a break from 60-64), was GM's response to Ford's Ranchero. Although the popularity of the El Camino carried it on for nearly 8 more years beyond the Ranchero, we haven't seen a newly designed El Camino here in the USA since the late 80s. The Aussies; however, have both the GM owned Holden Ute and the Ford Falcon (new name for the Ranchero) today.
There is some buzz on the automotive blogs that GM may introduce an El Camino based off the Ute platform here in the USA, but don't hold your breath. Automakers don't bring the popular cars of other countries here because they don't think they will do well. That must be why all the foreign cars do so poorly. Wait, isn't Toyota on top now? Can you say bitter?
I'm not really interested in the Ute myself but I do think American Automakers are making decisions that don't fit the pulse of automotive fans here in the USA. Ford and GM both have excellent vehicles they produce and sell in other countries, which are appealing to Americans too. This concept of "World Cars" would probably work if automakers focused there research more on what is hot and what's not. There are probably several problems that I don't know about, like: the unions, differing opinions within the corporations, poor data gathering, self glorifying designers, old school thinking (like Ford and their desire to name all cars with "F" and all SUVs with "E" in the USA). I think there should be more avenues for consumers to give input on what they are looking for. With the Internet this should be easy. Heck, if you read a few blogs and automotive magazines, you'd see what's available in other countries and what's missing here.
If you think about it, why do we still have cars with problems like roominess, fuel economy, power, handling, beauty, safety. Why are all the American Automakers losing money every year when this is the county with the most advanced, most wealthy, most wide spread, self indulged, EVERYTHING? How can the automakers RIGHT HERE be so out of touch with the desires of the people RIGHT HERE? Why is it the foreign automakers are out selling, out designing, out EVERYTHINGing the American Automakers? It's sad really. Henry Ford is often thought of as the "Father of the Automobile" (I know there is some debate on this), and Ford is now known for poor quality vehicles. I could talk for hours about the first and last Ford my parents bought (Taurus) and how it killed my parents' bank account. It was a pile of.....it was horrible. And now Ford renames the Five-Hundred to "Taurus". They are so out of touch that they think the Five-Hundred did poorly because of the name? NO! READ A BLOG OR MAGAZINE, FORD! You'll see that it's a boring design, it had a gutless engine, and it's front wheel drive. The Taurus name did nothing to help. And the engine upgrade, done with the name change, wasn't enough to offset the stigma associated with the name "Taurus". At least "Five-Hundred" started with an "F". Haha.
Give me an Toyota or Honda so I know I'll see 200K miles. Give me an Audi or BMW so I can love to drive the roads of this HUGE country. Give me my VW Golf
with 167,000+ miles and great handling, fuel economy, comfort, sound system, design, etc. so I can know I purchased an inexpensive vehicle that has fulfilled so many of my desires. Sure it's a little small, but it does so much extra that I forget about it's stature (yeah, okay and it's color, jerk). It's blue. Stop calling it purple.
Wow. What happened here. I really just lost track of the point of this blog. I need to add a subtitle to this blog. I'm a ramblin' man.
with 167,000+ miles and great handling, fuel economy, comfort, sound system, design, etc. so I can know I purchased an inexpensive vehicle that has fulfilled so many of my desires. Sure it's a little small, but it does so much extra that I forget about it's stature (yeah, okay and it's color, jerk). It's blue. Stop calling it purple.
Wow. What happened here. I really just lost track of the point of this blog. I need to add a subtitle to this blog. I'm a ramblin' man.
January 2, 2008
Z06 to ZR1
I've always been a Corvette fan. Since I can remember, driving has been a passion of mine. I love to do it, read about it, and blog about it. And I've always desired one thing: a car made in my country, at a price that is reasonable, that can compete with all those exotic foreign cars marked up to a quarter of a million dollars or more. Hello Corvette.
The Corvette group at General Motors' Chevrolet has always been able to reach that exact point; a well built sports car, competing with the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini, for an "affordable" price. Of course, "affordable" doesn't mean practical, which is why the Vette is still not in everyone's driveway. But here is why I write this blog.
The current Z06 Corvette is the greatest Vette ever built. However, the chairman of GM thought, and I'm paraphrasing, "If this is what we can do for $65,800, what can we do for $100,000?" Well, introducing the next Corvette ZR1. Originally, the ZR1 came out as the 1990 C4 Corvette's top model, with all the extras needed to be called "the representative of the state of auto-making art at GM" in that day.
Now, the C6 Corvette will wear the name ZR1 to signify its true ability to compete with the best. The newest ZR1, slated for 2009, is said to be pushed around by GM's LS9 6.2L V8 with a supercharger to help produce an estimated 620hp; 100hp per liter. Along with many upgrades from the Z06, the ZR1 has ceramic brakes, improved shocks, stiffer anti-roll bars, and a bevy of other changes.
Yes...I'd buy one...if it was practical...or I had an extra 100k or so sitting around. I love this car.
Official Picture from Chevrolet's Official Page.
The Corvette group at General Motors' Chevrolet has always been able to reach that exact point; a well built sports car, competing with the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini, for an "affordable" price. Of course, "affordable" doesn't mean practical, which is why the Vette is still not in everyone's driveway. But here is why I write this blog.
The current Z06 Corvette is the greatest Vette ever built. However, the chairman of GM thought, and I'm paraphrasing, "If this is what we can do for $65,800, what can we do for $100,000?" Well, introducing the next Corvette ZR1. Originally, the ZR1 came out as the 1990 C4 Corvette's top model, with all the extras needed to be called "the representative of the state of auto-making art at GM" in that day.
Now, the C6 Corvette will wear the name ZR1 to signify its true ability to compete with the best. The newest ZR1, slated for 2009, is said to be pushed around by GM's LS9 6.2L V8 with a supercharger to help produce an estimated 620hp; 100hp per liter. Along with many upgrades from the Z06, the ZR1 has ceramic brakes, improved shocks, stiffer anti-roll bars, and a bevy of other changes.
Yes...I'd buy one...if it was practical...or I had an extra 100k or so sitting around. I love this car.
Official Picture from Chevrolet's Official Page.
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