Car Shopping with Doug

Car shopping with Doug
Doug and I went car shopping on Saturday for my new car.

We planned to visit four dealers primarily to see about features that could not displayed or answered clearly from an online source. One of the questions was could I find a comfortable seat. This sounds simple but I have had a stiff back since 1968 when I was tossed into the binnacle of the good ship USS Leonard F. Mason after a rogue wave hit the beam of the ship on the midwatch.

Another question was how large was the driver’s side blind spot. This was important since I drive a lot on the freeways of Southern California. I will have to change lanes and I want to be able to look over my left shoulder to be sure there is nothing there so I can change lanes safely. I was planning to purchase a smaller sized car so I was properly concerned with this consideration.

My plan was to visit the dealerships Saturday and then analyze the benefits and features of each vehicle. Then, I would make and select a model. The next step would be to solicit online price quotations from local dealers on Sunday.

Monday was going to be devoted to negotiation for the car. Tuesday or Wednesday would have been new car pick up day.

Our first stop was at the Scion dealer. We both liked the Scion tc. It met all of my requirements. I especially liked the dark charcoal color. The seats were comfortable and the blind spot was acceptable. The headroom was a little on the tight side but manageable. The saleswoman Lindsey was helpful.

We left the dealership and headed to the MINI dealer. We figured that we didn’t need to stop at the Honda dealership to look at the Civic since we were so familiar with the Honda product line.

One of the MINIs we first saw was a 2009 convertible in red with a black top. I had discussed color choices with Doug and red was an acceptable color for me. I was giving up driving black cars for now. Unfortunately for us, the red convertible was sold.

We did see a British racing green MINI convertible. It was a new 2009 model with a USD$4,500 discount on the window and it had an automatic transmission.

I know some of the readers may gasp at the idea of driving a MINI with an automatic transmission. Those of you who do have never driven in Southern California traffic during the commute times. I have burned out several clutches in earlier cars because of the constant shifting that is required with this type of driving. If I am going to be stuck in traffic, I want to have as much comfort as possible.

Doug wanted me to get a car with a navigation system. A navigation system was a USD$2,000 extra. I can find my way around well enough on my own. I can use maps; I know that is old fashioned but maps never crash or need to be rebooted. If I have to go to a new place, I can always rely on MSN Maps.

Alex the saleswoman opened the car for me so I could see if I could sit in the seats. The seats were the optional sports seats and they fit me perfectly and provided full support for my back. I hated to get out of the car.

Doug was not thrilled with the green color since he is a true Los Angeles Lakers fan. He said it looked the Boston Celtics color. I said it was a much darker color.

The blind spot was acceptable and would be close to zero when I would drive with the top down. There is nothing in the way of storage beyond the back seat which is really a shelf in the shape of a seat.

We left the MINI dealership and headed for the possible last stop at the Nissan dealership to look at the Altima coupe. Since we were traveling on surface streets, we had plenty of time to talk about car choices.

Doug said that since this was most likely the last car that I will ever buy because I tend to drive them into the ground, I ought to buy the car that would provide me with the most enjoyment. We discussed this concept for a while.

Mentally, Doug was correct. I should buy the car that will give me the most enjoyment. I decided to buy a 2009 MINI convertible. So, I turned around and drove back to the MINI dealer and Alex the saleswoman.

Doug did the right thing by questioning me about my decision. I went through my analysis and decision process. All I was doing was compressing the time frame somewhat.

Doug said that he thought all of the discussion about looking at other cars was just a mental cover so I could feel good about buying another Honda. I told him that my plan, from the beginning, was to find the best car for me.

We found Alex the saleswoman. She was surprised to see us back at her dealership. Alex was with another customer so I asked to see her when she was free. Alex said that we could come inside the dealership and wait for her. We stayed outside and looked at the various models.

After we waited inside for a few minutes, Alex was free. She wanted to know what brought us back and I said that I wanted to buy a car and that I thought she could help me. Alex smiled. I asked if she had a red 2009 convertible with an automatic transmission available. She said no. Red would have been my first color choice primarily because red is Utah’s color.

One of the silly features on the MINI is an openmeter. It tracks the amount of time the top is down. Alex said it was part of a promotion in 2009 when the convertible was introduced. I will have to see how much time I can run up on the meter this Summer. I ought to be able to log a few hours since I live in Southern California. Doug said I might lose my red Utah baseball hat if I drove around with the top down. I said that I could wear my hat backwards.

Doug said, “Noooooo, Dad, don’t do that.”

Anyway.

I bought the British racing green MINI. Doug’s girl friend, the Mademoiselle, thought it was very nice. He sent her a photo of the car with his iPhone. I phoned the Princess to let her know since she learned how to drive on the Prelude. She was out or not answering so I left her a message.

I will pick the MINI up on late Tuesday morning and try to get a photo of me and the car posted a day or so after that.

The more I think about the MINI, the happier I am with the decision. I pointed out to Doug that I could smoke a cigar in the MINI if I wanted to with the top down. Doug said that I shouldn’t smoke at all. I said that it has been almost three years since I smoked a cigar.

I am looking forward to driving to school on Tuesday night in the new car.

Cinema
I saw IRONMAN 2 and PRINCE OF PERSIA last week. Doug saw SPLICE with his Movie Club. He thought it was similar to an early David Cronenberg film with the rather graphic sequences. He did say that he enjoyed the film as did most of the Club members.

Both of my films were completely satisfying as Summer mindless escape, action films. They fit the genre very well. I thought dialogue in IRONMAN was much better than the first film. It seemed to have a much tighter flow for me. I was intrigued by the introduction – crossover of the Avengers and Nick Fury. I am looking forward to seeing that film on the big screen in the next year or so.

The PRINCE OF PERSIA was one of those sand and sandal films that always seem to hook me in. Granted, it was mostly spectacular CGI scenes, panoramic vistas, and sword fighting. The dialogue was on the thin side. Still, it was enjoyable. I hope the sequel follows the usual Hollywood pattern of the first sequel being the best film of the trilogy; remember THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK?

I can recommend these films because they are excellent Summer films that don’t require any great thought or involvement to enjoy.

The Blog Visitors
May was a fairly decent month for blog traffic. We had 504 visitors who stopped by to look at 579 unique pages. January 1, 2007 is still the traffic leader. The current blog page is in second place.

I do appreciate all of you who stop by and visit the blog.

Lunch with beautiful women or it’s wonderful week for Charles
My Friend Sharon
I had lunch with my friend and former co-worker Sharon on Friday. Sharon brought her assistant along for lunch. We went to the Elephant Bar in Riverside for lunch because we can agree on the menu. I mentioned this to Doug yesterday and he said that was a really, really long drive just for lunch.

Sharon said that I always ordered hamburgers and that is not always correct. I do order hamburgers from time to time. I also order other things on the menu like the specials for example. I mentioned a restaurant, the Parkway Grill, that Sharon and I and some other staffers would go to in Pasadena and she agreed that I never ordered a hamburger there; she said I ordered fish. I said I ordered one of the specials; fish was always one of the specials.

Sharon brought her assistant along because Sharon’s boss had given her an impossible task and Sharon thought I could come up with a solution.

After thinking for a while, I concluded that there was no simple solution short of industrial espionage. I didn’t recommend that solution. I did think some more and came up with a solution that could work and would be likely to provide a perhaps 60% solution to the problem. I even gave Sharon and Kay, her assistant, a simple way to test the proposed solution.

Since it was just after Chuckay, my month long birthday celebration, Sharon bough the lunch. That was very nice of her. I had a Cobb salad that was marginally healthy for me once you looked past all of the sodium and calories in it.

Sharon thought that I had lost a lot more weight. She hadn’t seen me since the January operation. I said I was just slightly over my goal weight of 175 pounds because of Chuckay. I said the goal weight was what I weighed when I graduated from high school, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

Sharon sighed. Her weight loss program has not been as successful as mine has been for me. I don’t recommend having major surgery for colon cancer as a successful diet plan though.

Vivian and Lisa
I had lunch today with my friends Vivian and Lisa. We used to work at the same office of a bank that has since failed and been sold off to another institution. We always have lunch together at the L. A. Food Show; we like the food there and it is a semi-central location except for Lisa who has to drive a bit to join Vivian and me. I compensate Lisa by driving out towards her home for lunches without Vivian.

It has been close to a year or maybe a bit longer since we last had lunch. We spent most of the time catching up with each others' lives. My life is still dull and boring. Vivian and Lisa had gone through a great deal in the last year or so with the failure of the bank and subsequent sale in December.

Vivian is working at a new bank with some people from the old bank. Lisa seems to be sticking with the bank that acquired parts of our former employer. They are sending her off for training so that is always a good sign.

Our lunch ended too early today. But, then, it always seems to end too early for me.


Be well and stay happy.