paulandemily.com

Sean (the big sean, not the lil sean) works for CarDomain.com and they are looking to get more content on their website. If you are in a car club and want to spread the word about it, check this out:

We’re looking for people as crazy about cars as we are to give us the inside scoop on all the great auto events happening around the world. Everything is on the table, from 4×4 parties in the woods to hot rod meets at the local hamburger joint to Friday night showdowns at the drag strip.

You don’t have to be a photographer. You just have to take pictures. It’s a great way to get press for your car club, or just show off your pictures to the world. Plus, submitting events earns CarDomain swag! Interested? Click Here

Oh - did I mention you get free stuff for doing it?  You will get a free CarDomain Tshirt for each event you cover (they make really cool shirts too!  I’ve got two or three).  They are working on other stuff to sweeten the pot as well.

My brother has worked for CarDomain.com in various titles and positions over the last few years.  When CarDomain shuttered its retail sales operation, they moved him over to the editorial department where he was blogging for the CarDomain Blog.  In the last month or so, he was given a whole other project, the SoundDomain Blog, in which he monitors and writes about all things car audio related.  If you need a place to keep up on all things car audio, including the latest in new electronics, custom installs, tools, and car shows - check them out!
Sean has also written two pieces for Forbes’ Magazines online car site.  They are Here and Here.

Well, I sold the Durango almost a month ago and part of my “agreement” with the wife, was that 1) the new car had to have four doors 2) the new car had to have as many airbags as possible, and 3) i could only spend the money i saved and not dip into our savings. Well, two outa three ain’t bad :)I’ve been looking for a VW Jetta or Audi A4/A6, as well as a couple of other makes and models for the last month and a half. Maybe longer since I think I started looking around before the Durango was sold. I’ve always admired Sean’s GTI and Erik’s various dubbs. I was *this* close to picking up an 03 Jetta GLI in Louisville, because the price was right and I really like the GLI model. It had some issues tho - check engine light and some other stuff. I expanded my search on autos.yahoo.com past the 100 miles to 200 miles and found another GLI 117 miles away in Columbus. It wasn’t in the price range, but Emily was VERY gracious and let me break rule #3. She was happy I found a newer car, with full airbags all around, and it rates extremely high on the NHTSA (4’s and 5’s, with 5 being the highest). Also got “good” in the government testing, which is the highest.

I called the seller and it turned out a guy from Louisville was having a mechanic come up to check out the car that night, and was planning on driving up Tuesday (today) to buy it, if it checked out. I wasn’t about to pass up this deal so I placed a deposit on my Mastercard. So, Emily and I drove up to Columbus after work last night to C and L Performance Auto Sales . We met with Courtney, the owner. He told us he just got off the phone with the Louisville guy and that guy was NOT happy. That made me smile. While we were talking and starting paperwork, the guy from L-Ville called two more times!

Emily and I were extremely impressed with Courtney and C and L Performance Auto Sales. He had a lot of great performance oriented vehicles on his lot and was very open about all of them when I asked questions. We were in and out of there pretty quickly and painlessly. The gas tank was on “E”, and he apologized profusely and even gave us gas money out of his own pocket as we were leaving!

The ride home was about 130 miles and went very well. The heated leather seats are amazing (the GLI includes sport seats with extra bolstering in the sides and seat). The Monsoon stereo is very bassy and sounds great. The cabin is pretty quiet compared to my previous talons and even Emily’s Mazda 3. I have a huge roll of dynamat in my garage waiting to make it even better! The VR6 engine is awesome. I can’t believe how linear and strong it feels. The GLI also comes with a 6 speed manual transmission and is a blast to drive. Here are some pics from the AutoTrader ad. I’m waiting for some nicer weather to take some pics of my own:

Emily and I drove to Columbus, OH tonight to pick up a car for me. I’ll post all about it tomorrow. I’m in a pretty darn good mood right now!

Last night I finally sold the Durango. While I did enjoy the truck - drives smoothly, it was quiet, etc…I hated going to the gas pump. The Durango had a 25 gallon tank and got between 13 and 17 miles per gallon. Every two weeks or so, it cost $65 to $75 just to fill up it! That hurt

I had the truck listed on Craigslist for quite a while and had a couple of lowball offers on it. Last night Matt at City Auto Sales in Elsmere, KY bought it from me. Now its time to start shopping around again. Hopefully going to get into something like a VW Jetta VR6!

I finally got my new car hood yesterday.  I looks really great, but already has 2 bug splats on it :-(  Pretty soon it’ll have rock dings and everything….oh well.  Looks really wonderful though!

Getting restless with the website. Its been online in this format since at least December 2005. Those that know me well, know that I get restless after 2 or 3 years of the same old same old Maybe that explains my car “habit” (time for a change about now isn’t it?). I guess it goes back to my military childhood of moving every two to three years.
Anyway, I’m thinking its about time for a theme change on the old blog. Of course I haven’t mentioned it to Emily yet This all came about after doing some work on Heather and Ashley’s blogs. I think I am still using an older version of the blog software, so it would have to be upgraded to the 2.x version to work with many new formats and layouts. So keep your eyes peeled, there may be some new changes afoot.
On an unrelated note, my Dad is doing really well. His recent trip to the oncologist brought back some very positive feedback on his treatment. At 42% reduction in the tumor size and a significant reduction in the [stuff] they measure for cancer in the blood. As Mom says, he is a poster boy for his current treatment plan Their website is listed on the links to the right of the website.
Emily and I will be going to New York for the first weekend in August. We’ll be visiting her dad and stepmom and spending some time at Diana’s cabin. Maybe I can finally watch a movie in the home theater room that I designed and installed? (and never got to have fun with!)
My brother is taking the Motorcycle Safety Course up in Seattle this weekend. I think everyone should take this class.  Heck, even if you don’t plan on getting your two wheel note on your ID, I encourage anyone to take it. Could save the lives of many of us on two wheels. Plus you will learn the thrill of riding a motorcycle. Its truly a freeing feeling.
Guess I should go to bed now as work draws near.

-pc

Found out yesterday that my work WILL be paying to get my car fixed, on their insurance.  I’ve been standing firm on not paying since it’s happened.  I got the feeling for a long time that they weren’t going to pay it.  Their insurance company is sending me a check then I can get it fixed!  Woohoo!

Rolled 50,000 miles on the Mazda today. *sigh*  Now that it’s off warranty, we’re waiting on something terrible to happen or parts to start falling off.

So I had a wonderful day at work today…

A kid from the day treatment program at my work got PO’d and ran out of the building away from the staff. Along the way he pushed one staff down on the sidewalk causing her to hit her head, then as he was finally getting caught/cornered by staff on the other side of the building, he decided in his fit of rage to use my car as a punching bag. He punched my hood three times, causing quite a substantial dent. It even has knuckle marks. After that, he decided to knaw up and down another staff person’s arm, breaking the skin in several places and sending him to the hospital. Luckily I wasn’t around when he did it, or else I would have been a little PO’d myself.

I had to file a police report on the kid. It was filed as criminal mischief 3rd degree/class B. The policeman said anything under $500 is 3rd degree, $501-$999 is class A, and over $1000 is a felony. I originally thought that it wouldn’t cost much to repair; maybe just pop it out. However, both autobody shops independently said that there are creases and they can’t pop it. One estimate was for $1012 and the other was for $1200. Guess I’ll have to call the police station and bump that class B misdemeanor to a felony.

So…I’ve had a great day. Hoping that my work’s insurance will cover it.

Check out pictures: