Vegas road trip

So, as I said yesterday, a company I'm interviewing with asked me to head up to Vegas to meet in person with the hiring manager... and they asked if I'd prefer to drive or fly (they'd cover it either way).

Lesse...

90 minutes to the airport, then 90 minutes IN the airport, then being fondled by the TSA, then a 55 minute flight (it would be shorter, but from PHX you basically climb out, then as soon as you finish climbing, you descend into LAS immediately... and all well under cruising speed... under 250 knots for much of it in fact) then 30 minutes  getting out of the airport, to get a car or a hotel shuttle, then 20 minutes to the hotel... Call it 5 hours...

Or, a 381 mile drive (6-7 hours), hotel and mileage paid for by someone else...

Did I mention that yesterday was our 8th wedding anniversary?

...Hopefully a job offer, and a free anniversary trip to Vegas out of it?

...Yeah, no brainer.

So we packed up the kidlet, loaded up the truck, pointed it northwest, and boogied.

We took the "back way" through the western Arizona mountains (which are absolutely gorgeous by the way) and just relaxed, cruising and enjoying the scenery and the quiet.

... though surprisingly, we had 3g most of the way, even 4g... so no escaping the phone or email completely...

We hit town after almost exactly 7 hours (we made 3 stops, about 90 minutes total, for gas, food, and pictures. Actual drive time about 5.5 hours, net avg 69mph, gross avg 55mph), and watched a beautiful sunset on the way in to the hotel.

As if all that wasn't nice enough, when we were checking in I told the nice young man that we were here for our anniversary, and that it was Mels first trip to Vegas (she's driven through it, never stopped).... and he did something VERY nice...

He upgraded us to a nicer room (hot tub in the room... very nice), with a great view...

...and then he comped us a second night stay.

There are times I really love Vegas.

I meet with the hiring manager in the morning. Mean time, we're relaxing and enjoying ourselves.

The Mirage has a Carnegie deli... Mels never had a REAL New York Deli Sandwich... we're correcting that now:

Update: This is the Las Vegas version of the Carnegie Deli pastrami and swiss on a kaiser. It's pretty damned good... it's not QUITE as large, and not QUITE as good as the real deal in NYC... but it's better than just about anything else (though I actually think pastrami club does better pastrami.. or at least did in the late 90s/early 2000s last time I was there).

Fun Hypothetical Exercise - What Would You Do?

Unless you've been hiding under a rock (or otherwise engaged somewhere) you've most likely heard today's Powerball jackpot is $500 million.

Over at the Guncounter there's a thread going about how you would deal with such a large windfall. I'm going to respond there but I also thought it's a fun exercise for the blog.

It's actually an exercise Chris and I do often, if only because just a tiny bit of hope is a wonderful and needful thing sometimes.

So what would we do?

First, before ever leaving for Boise to claim the prize we'd go right in to the local post office for our CDP and set up a PO Box. This becomes our new mailing address. Bring every single employee there cookies in order to at least partially make up for the extra work we just handed them.

Second, find a good estate lawyer and a good accountant. Fortunately we've got access to both.

That's before we even see the money. Third, go claim the prize in lump sum form. Just deal with the withholding right off the top, it's going to happen no matter what. Go straight to bank, get the branch manager to do the transaction, do not pass go.

Visit with Mo K and family while in Boise. Blow some of the initial cash on good food and good drink.

Go back up to North Idaho. Stop at bank branch in Coeur D'Alene where two former co-workers are now in charge (both highly ethical, good people). Explain situation, and what we're doing. Get both of them bonuses for opening new accounts.

Talk to local news stations and newspapers. Idaho state lottery doesn't allow anonymity, so we'd get the ordeal over with immediately and on our terms. Fortunately we're in a community that doesn't care about wealth. Both Ben Stein and Viggo Mortensen own vacation homes here for a reason, here they are not revered as celebrities or as rich, they just get to be normal people.

Visit with our real estate agent in person. Get him started looking for the big acreage. Buy when the right one comes up. Buy the house we're currently in as well.

Hire another former co-worker, also very ethical and trustworthy, to handle mail and incoming phone calls. Expect to keep her on for years to come as a personal assistant.

Pay back all debts and send money to EVERY person who has ever given us a donation.

Hire a certain friend in California to ferret out gun bloggers and others in the community that are in need. Set up a charitable organization for addressing those needs, and hand said friend the reins. Pay him to do this. 

Also donate to Soldier's Angels, the local animal shelter (which runs entirely on donations, no state or federal funds), the local organization for foster children, etc.

Give each of my brothers, my dad, and Chris's dad lump sums. Set up a medical trust for my brother with kidney failure and my grandmother. Also set up trusts for other family members with medical needs. Put my oldest brother (a very good accountant) in charge of the trusts. This will do two things: take the pressure off of my dad for my grandmother's care, and make it possible for my youngest brother to get off of SSI so he can stop worrying about making too much money and disqualifying himself.

Set up my kids, my brother's kids, and Chris's niece with educational funds. Set stipulations as to what they'll cover, like:

*Only tuition and room and board, and other reasonable costs (with reasonable determined by the executor).

*Only for programs where the total costs are equal or less than 5 years of entry-level wages for the position the education would prepare them for.

*If they choose military service, lump sum payout after they are honorably discharged or once they reach a rank that would be considered average for 4 years in (as determined by both the executor and the large number of retired military in the family). Medical discharges after successful completion of boot camp are considered the same as honorable discharge.

Put my oldest brother in charge of the funds. He was born with brain damage due to forceps delivery. The doctors originally thought he'd never graduate high school because of the damage. He made it through college and is now a very successful accountant, turns out the brain damage was in the more social areas. He's mostly asexual, slightly autistic, and OCD about making numbers balance. They'd have a hell of a time trying to convince him that "beer and girls" are reasonable education expenses.

Pay my oldest brother a yearly stipend for handling the trusts and funds, and pay him an additional yearly stipend for the care of our youngest brother (the brother who has kidney failure lives with him).

Send my father on a Christian singles cruise and hope he finds a nice widow to marry.

Give several cash and material gifts to a variety of family and friends.

Then the fun stuff starts. Visit the Audi dealership and get Chris an S8. Visit the BMW dealership and get me a diesel X5 for the new mommy mobile.

Spend more money setting up the homestead with everything we want.

Splurge on shoes, lingerie, and good cosmetics. And guns, of course.

As for how to deal with the people asking for money... that's what the personal assistant is there to screen for. As for family, there's a really good litmus test. If they bring up my brother's medical expenses fund as a "justification" for why they "deserve" some too, they'll never get any. Ever. Everyone who hasn't talked to me in over 2 years is similarly taken off of the "maybe" list. Everyone else is assessed according to need.

Invest everything else.

What would you do?

Mel

How I'm maintaining sanity, with 3 hours a day on the road

Or at least, how I'm maintaining sanity when it isn't raining...

Not the dog (Zoe is peeking through the fence there), the bike.

Specifically, a 2004 Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom.

This particular V-Strom is equipped with the Kappa Suzuki hard luggage system, factory heated grips (installed after delivery), and is powerlet wired for heated vest, and pants; and for dash power.

The original owner also modified the factory throttle bodies (removing the secondaries), put a throttle body remote sync setup in place, installed a K&N air filter, and replaced the factory windscreen with a Windstrom Manta. I also bought it with a nearly new chain, and a nearly new set of Metzler Tourances on it (they should last me at least a year, maybe more).

He also had the motor and clutch completely rebuilt (I have full maintenance records) and had the motor blueprinted at 30,000 miles.

Honest to god, the bike really is just about perfect, and might as well be brand new.

So.... When exactly did I get a motorcycle? Since I haven't mentioned it until recently and all?

Last year, I got a contract that had me living in San Francisco during the week. The contract looked like it would go for at least six months, maybe a year; and I was extremely tired of being stuck using cabs to get around, and having to rent a car to leave the immediate area around the city.

Bringing a car down to the city was impractical... and frankly, would've been more irritating than cabs and rental cars (SF is VERY car unfriendly); so I decided to buy a bike, as a low cost commute, runaround, and general "get out of town" vehicle.

I found this V-Strom, with extras, being sold by its original owner (an MSF riding instructor, who, with his wife, owned six different motorcycles), at well below market price (I only paid $3,500 for it. Blue book was $4500 plus the accessories); in near perfect condition, excepting the pretty high mileage (39,000 miles. this guy RODE his bikes).

Unfortunately, literally the week after I bought the bike, the contract was cancelled; and I never rode it down to San Francisco. In fact, I was only able to put a few hundred miles on the bike last year, having bought the bike shortly before the cold weather hit.

I have to say, as my first "modern" liter bike (I've had other 1000cc bikes before, but not in more than 10 years; and none made after the early 90s) I was completely unprepared for how powerful the bike is, for such comparatively light weight (about 455lbs dry, or about 520lbs wet, with the luggage).

By todays standards that's no lightweight (some of the 600s are under 410lbs wet, and several 1000s are under 450lbs wet), but I grew up with a CB750 (under 70hp at the crank, and about 560lbs wet), and a V65 Magna (116hp, but over 600lbs wet).

From the factory, the bike has just under 100hp at the crank (and most owners who dyno them report about 80-82hp at the rear wheel). With current mods, its probably a tiny bit more (the bike is so well maintained, I don't expect any power loss from wear). With nothing but boltons and a good retune, the bike can be set up to produce 112-118 horsepower at the crank, and nearly 100hp at the rear wheel.

The bike is also tuned for low end torque... or rather, low end for a Japanese bike. 60% of the torque and horsepower are available under 4500 RPM (with a 7850 rpm redline), coming to a torque peak of 77ftlbs at  6500 rpm, and 98hp at 7500rpm.

It's got enough power, and torque; that even as big as I am, Mel and I can two-up the bike quite comfortably (though that is technically over the bikes max gvwr)... and the suspension and brakes can handle us without a problem as well.

For night riding, the headlights on this thing are incredible; at least in comparison to what I'm used to. I've got more, and more useful, light throw than in my car or truck.

Oh, and I really like the luggage. You can fit a surprising amount of "stuff" in them... so much that I could easily see camping or touring the bike (with some comfort mods of course).

That isn't to say the bike is perfect. For one thing, it's DAMN tall. I'm 6'2" with a 34" inseam, and when the suspension is setup to allow my wife and I to two-up, I can barely stand flatfooted with my weight fully on the bike; and am on my toes with my weight off the bike.

There's a good reason for that of course. As an adventure bike, it's intended for rough road riding; with additional ground clearance, and suspension travel... But I don't know how average height riders can manage the bike, never mind shorter riders.

For me, both the stock windscreen, and the manta, are WAY too low, too small, and badly shaped. Combined with the shape of the fairing, there is almost no pocket of calm air, and there is some high speed buffet (and a fair bit of wind noise).

Also, I don't care for either the stock gearing, or the stock AFI tune (which is far too lean in most RPM ranges, and too rich in others... most likely for california emissions standards. California bikes also include a catalyst, but use the same fuelmap).

Apparently I'm not the only one, because the three most popular major functional mods for the VStrom are changing the gearing, retuning the bike, and replacing the windshield.

I'm going to need another windshield, no way around it. An extra extra tall and wide one; probably the CeeBaily extra high touring windshield. The Manta just isn't cutting it for me. I may also need to buy a Madstad adjustable windshield mount bracket for it, to fine tune the windshield angle, height, and undershield venting.

The stock gearing is neither fish nor fowl, nor good red meat. With the stock tune, there is an irritating flatspot/dip in the power curve between 3500 and 4000rpm; which, coincidentally, is the exact RPM range the bike will cruise in at common road speeds in every gear. Also, with the stock gearing, sixth gear (overdrive) is damn near useless; cruising at over 80mph at the top of the flatspot, and running below powerband at almost any highway speed.

The stock sprocket combination is 17/41, with a 525 chain (which I consider too light for a 1000cc bike, particularly one with this much power). I've picked up a 16/43 sprocket set on a 530 chain, and a DID gold 530 xring chain to go with them.

That ought to make my drivetrain bulletproof; at the same time moving the sweetspot in the powerband between power and fuel economy, right to the cruise points in all gears at common road and highway speeds (you can check out the differences at http://gearingcommander.com)

The tuning issue is addressed with a Dynoject Power Commander III USB, which can remap the fuel and igntion maps, and eliminate the flatspots (also add something like 6-8hp in stock configuration if remapped well; and up to 16hp when combined with an air filter, and modified or performance exhaust). I ordered one last year, but haven't installed it yet.

I've also snagged but haven't installed a HealTech GI-Pro gear indicator with ATRE (Suzuki does some stupid timing retard tricks to reduce emisions etc... The ATRE remaps the ignition timing to remove those stupid tricks), as the Vstrom only has a neutral indicator; and I like to have a positive indication of what gear I'm in.

I may, or may not, eventually pickup a performance exhaust. I like how quiet the stock exhaust is; but it is certainly ridiculously restrictive. Not only will a replacement produce more power, but it will actually improve the smoothness and power delivery, and with the right tune can even improve fuel economy.

Oh and for a bike that's intended for "adventure touring" I think it's nearly criminal that the bike doesn't include a centerstand (one is available as a factory accessory, or from the aftermarket, both around $250). I ordered one last year, but got it with the wrong bracket without realizing it. Thankfully, even though it's more than six months later, the seller is making good, and sending me the proper bracket and hardware.

On the "incidental" side of things, I've got phone and GPS mounts waiting to be put on, and hardwired (I'm going to install an accessory power block and some switches), some LED driving lights, and a throttle lock (also all waiting to be put on).

I may also pick up a reshaped, refoamed (stiffer foam), and heated, saddle; a set of wider mirrors (or mirror widener brackets) and a set of drop brackets for the pegs. They'll greatly improve my highway comfort... I'm perfectly fine with a two hour ride single up; but when Mel and I are 2 up, or going longer than two hours... Not so much.

Oh and look at the plate...

I swear to you, I didn't request this plate, it wasn't custom/vanity... The lady at the DMV just pulled it out of the pile, and I laughed out loud.

This being Idaho, she wasn't puzzled, she just said "so, you're a shooter then?"

Yeah... you might say that.

FINALLY going to Boomershoot this year

I've been trying to get to boomershoot for like five years now, but life keeps getting in the way.

Last year we were in the middle of moving up here to North Idaho (just two and a half hours from the Boomershoot site by the way) while the shoot was happening, so that killed it for 2010.

From 2006 til 2009 basically, all our money went to lawyers; and we just couldn't afford it.

In 2005, I was in the middle of moving and changing jobs... Obviously again, couldn't do it.

Well, now it's 2011, and we're FINALLY GOING.

I mean, we live 100 miles as the crow flies, and about 160 road miles from the site... it would be nearly criminal of us to miss it again.

We've got position 16 near the left edge of the lowlands area. Seems to be a fair bit of a side slope so when I build my new shooting benches, I better make those legs pretty adjustable.

...Or maybe I'll just build a couple of 4x8 platforms with leveling provision, and set up on those. That'll deal neatly with the soft ground issue, and the frost issue, and won't cost all that much. Two sheets of plywood, a few 2x4s, some blocks and some sandbags and we're in business. Set the 8 foot ez-up shelter on top, bolt the legs down, roll down the side curtains and get the propane heater going, and we can boomershoot in style.

Nice having a bigass truck to haul the stuff to the site eh?

Holy crap I'm on vacation...

Well, as of five minutes ago, I am on vacation for the next 8 days and 15 hours... and I aint gonna do a damn thing  all week long 'cept whatever mood takes me.

Ok... that's not true... I'mna cheat for two hours on Thursday, because somebody scheduled a critical project meeting with top management (CIO level) for one of my projects on Thursday... but that's the ONLY work I'mna do all week.

I like two kinds of vacations. The kind where you do nothing but whatever strikes your fancy for a week; and the ones where you something you've never done before, may never be able to do again, and/or could possibly kill you.

This'll be the first time off I've taken from work this year that WASN'T taken up with the move (I took 5 days for the move, and it was WORK the entire damn time that's for sure) and man I do need it.

I took a couple weeks off at Christmas last year... but that's Christmas, and I took it off because I had to use up my excess vacation time for the year, not so I could enjoy it. Doesn't really count. Plus, living in AZ... Meh. Not the most relaxing, even in winter.... especially since we were already starting to get ready for the move (which was originally going to be in February instead of March).

Now, I've got a lake, and a canoe, and a small boat (that needs a new outboard which I don't have yet unfortunately), and the entirety of north Idaho to have fun in; and nothing particularly hanging over my head to worry about.

I think I'll read a lot, do some writing, finish a bunch of big posts (of course I said I was going to do that over Christmas, and I ended up not... ) watch some movies I've been meaning to watch... and if I don't so what.

That's the joy of the "do nothing" vacation.

I'mna swim in the lake every day... or not... but probably yeah, and warm up in the hot tub every night. Play with the kids all week. Maybe get some work done on the little boat, get it ready for an outboard. Maybe build a little patio furniture in the shop. Smoke some meat, grill some steaks and some sausages...

Oh and I got a decent sized box of fireworks for Sunday:

Too bad Idaho only allows class C (15 feet height or less) I could really go for some skyrockets; but I got a couple of what should be pretty spectacular ground bursters and fountains.

It'll be the first time the kids have ever seen fireworks up close; and we're gonna let'em stay up late so we can do them in full dark (which isn't til after 9 around here these days).

Generally I plan to enjoy a summer like I haven't since I was 15 in New Hampshire, on Lake Winnepesaukee.

This is NOT my puppy Zoe

...but if I didn't know she had never been photographed for an album cover (Weezers new album Radittude) I would swear to you she was.

Seriously, even the chest, eye, and muzzle markings are identical. Hell, the expression on her face, and ridiculous over the top energy.

The only difference I can see is that this little pup has a neutering scar, and we haven't neutered Zoe yet (waiting until 9 months).

The dog is "Sidney", and is owned by the photographer, Jason Neely. The picture was originally published in the August 2009 national geographic magazine, and Neely is from Connecticut so there's no chance it's one of Zoes littermates. It's just one of those odd coincidences of life.

Tomorrow I'll try to get a similar pic (not flying through the air obviously) of Zoe to show how uncanny the resemblance is. In the meantime I'm pretty sure Myrr, JohnOC, or Kommander will be as amazed by this resemblance as much as I am.

Brütal Legend is Brütally Awesome

Brütal Legend arrived on my doorstep Friday afternoon, and I managed to finish it early this evening after work.

That means two things, one good, one bad:

1. The game is awesome and engrossing. It's well paced, and involves you with a continuing progression of challenge that means you can play it for 6 hours straight and not get bored.

2. The game is really really short.

No, really really short. I got about 12 hours of game play out of it; and that was half sandbox time. There was only about six hours in the main storyline.

Oh and the side missions are pretty pointless and repetitive, so you can't really extend the play value with those. There's basically no replay value in the single player mode.

The game is kind of an odd fusion of genres; a combination of arcade style melee combat, the ever popular GTA style sandbox drive and fight mission gaming, and resource/unit management based real time strategy.

Oh and of course, METAL!!!!!

If you aren't a big fan of heavy metal, you're going to hate this game. EVERYTHING about this game is metal. The character names, the artwork, the dialog, and of course, the soundtrack; which is a world tour of the history of metal, with 108 songs from 75 bands, spread across the major metal genres (including two songs written just for the game)...

...Though admittedly, the list is heavily weighted towards early 80s metal (which I consider a GOOD thing).

Also, the voice actors are totaly metal; featuring Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Halford, Lemmy, Lita Ford and (debatably metal, and seriously irritating to many people) Jack Black as the main character.

Oh, and continuing his long tradition of kinky bastards, demons, and deliciously evil bad guys; Tim Curry voices the big bad.

If on the other hand you LOVE metal, as I do; the game is great fun.

Is it worth the $56 (for the PS3 anyway)? It was for me. 12 hours worth of entertainment is three fairly long books, 6 movies, maybe 3 dinners out... all of which are roughly comparable more or less in cost (unless you go for library books or rental movies anyway).

There's a different debate out there, as to the escalating costs of video games in general and as to whether those costs are justified; but that's an argument for a different post.

I say, if you like metal, don't hate Jack Black, and like sandbox games; go for it.

Oh, and "The Superfluous Umlauts" would be a great name for a rock band.

That looks like fun...

Now, I've done this with .30-06 ap rounds, and it will go through 5 and embed in the 6th. Talk about a different beast entirely.

HT: HardOCP

The Truck is Dead; Long Live the Truck

So, Tuesday, after three years of workmanlike service, delivering everything we asked of it, (which was sometimes more than we reasonably should have); our truck died, hard.

Specifically, the self leveling suspension crapped out completely. The rear suspension has collapsed; and in terms of ride quality roughly resembles a buckboard. It is drivable, but only in the broadest sense.

Ooooh boy...

Cost, to repair... about 2 grand give or take.

Value of the truck in absolutely perfect condition in a private sale... about 4 grand give or take.

Trade in value of the truck in absolutely perfect condition... about 2 grand give or take.

Yeah...

I should note, Mel is starting a new job next week; and we're definitely going to need both cars; or rather we definitely need a car and a truck, and we don't really have time to wait around.

As it happens, we were considering purchasing a new vehicle anyway, and have been looking for the last few months. We did our research, and test drove a LOT of trucks, then wrote it all up.

The Situation:

Back, in January GM was offering up to $15,000 incentive to buy a truck, that's how bad things had got; and people STILL didn't want to buy the damn things.

So my wife and I headed down to the dealership in early February, to test drive a Tahoe hybrid; figuring that the additional 8+ mpg (or even more around town under 45mph, which is most of her driving) might be a nice bonus.

Unfortunately, the Tahoe is a bit smaller than we need. With the third row seat in place there is NO cargo space; and even with the rear seats flipped forward, it's not that great.

Worse, I literally cannot fit in the SECOND row of seats, never mind the third row. My head has to be cocked to the side 45 degrees to fit under the headliner. On top of all that, the legroom is minimal.

Our Expedition on the other hand, I'm actually quite comfortable in the middle row seat, and there's tolerable headroom (barely, and no legroom) in the third row.

There's even enough space behind the third row (which we generally leave in the house to give us more cargo room) to take a few days worth of groceries home. Of course a bit more room is to be expected, because the Expedition is a bit bigger than the Tahoe (though not as large as the Suburban).

So, we really liked the Tahoe, great power, great interior (my God, GM actually figured out how to make a modern interior. It only took them from 1973 to 2007); it's just a little too small... and honestly we didn't think it was a very good value for what you got.

Maybe if you don't have two kids (and at least one more to come within the next five years), two dogs, a bunch of friends, a bunch of guns, and a bunch of tools, it would be good for you; but we do.

We own a big SUV because it's the best vehicle for what we do, not because it's a status symbol, or because my wife thinks station wagons are uncool. Actually, she really LIKES wagons, and so do I; they just don't have the room, and cant go where we like to go.

Sheets of plywood, long boards, and several hundred pounds of tools and gun gear regularly get loaded up in the truck; never mind the thousand pounds worth of people we frequently toss in there. We've got the extra heavy duty towing and suspension package, and the self levelling air suspension (which effectively makes the thing into a 3/4 ton instead of a half ton); and we've maxed out the load on the thing more than once.

Dirty, messy tools, dirty messy dogs, heavy weight, offroad... Not exactly wagon territory.

Minivans won't do it either. We tow utility trailers, and want to in future be towing camping, atv, and horse trailers. We take this large amount of gear into places where a high ground clearance and a trucks ability are necessary; and 4wd would be better over 2wd.

We keep cars a long time (basically until they are a poor economic propoisition to keep). We are planning for what we'll need two years from now, and five years from now, and even eight or nine years from now.

In the next couple years we plan to move where offroad and roughroad conditions are combined with ice and snow. We need a combination work truck, people hauler, and towing truck. In fact, I'd like a vehicle that can mount a plow if necessary.

The Proposition:

The Expedition is only worth about $4k, even repaired. Edmunds and KBB both say a high of $7k and a low of $4500; but a real private sale in todays economic conditions will get me $4-$5k.

In order to be saleable I need to essentially replace the entire rear suspension (air bags, shocks, air lines, bushings), which will cost about $2000. Also, it could use about $2k worth of additional work (new brakes all the way around, including calipers, rotors, and the master cylinder; plus some other stuff). The brake work isn't critical; we could get by with pads, some seals changed, and a system bleed.

The fact is, the truck is almost 9 years old (it's a 2001, made in late 2000), at 120k miles, and just isn't worth fixing at this point.

It might cost us more in the short term to buy a new vehicle; getting under warranty coverage on a new, or newer used vehicle will help protect against the catastrophic maintenance costs that may be right around the corner on our almost 9 year old truck.

Now, normally we would not even consider new vehicles, because of the generally poor value vs. short term depreciation. However, with the incentives currently being offered by dealers desperate to get new trucks out of inventory, and with new longer warranties, and lower interest rates on new vehicles (a 3 point difference actually); the new vs. used equation is looking much more favorable than it was a year or two ago.

I'm not happy about taking a $10,000+ depreciation hit in the first year, but if I'm going to get $7k off the front end price to begin with, and save $7k on the loan...

The Conditions:

So we decided that the Tahoe was out, as was anything not appreciably larger; dropping the Durango, Toyota Sequoia and Land Cruiser, and Nissan Armada out of the running as well; leaving only the Suburban/GMC Yukon XL, and the Expedition in SUVs.

Ford dropped the Excursion some years ago, and we aren't even considering paying a premium for a rebadged version of either the Expedition or the Suburban (they want almost $20k extra to call a Suburban a Cadillac... yeah, I don't think so).

On the other hand, we decided to seriously consider crew cab pickups. Given the room, and the comfort offered by modern crew cabs, they are a very viable option for a do it all family, haul, work, tow vehicle.

Also, crew cabs can be had with diesels. We LIKE diesels (for so many very good reasons).

In the rest of this post I'm going to refer to the Chevy version of the GM side of things, the Ford version of Ford, and the Dodge version of Chrysler; but they are all substantially identical to their corporate siblings versions, with some trim differences (we actually prefer the look of the GMCs to the Chevys).

I did an analysis of all the major half ton, and 3/4 ton crew cab trucks, and the two available large SUVs; configured as close to the same way as their trim packages and options allowed. I tried multiple configurations with multiple trim packages and options to come up with the optimal configuration for each model.

The features used for comparison were:

1. 4x4
2. Crew cab (or bigger if available), or large SUV
3. Short bed (several had longer beds available) or large SUV
4. Highest power engine available
5. Maximum towing package with maximum hitch
6. Heaviest duty suspension available
7. plow and trailer wiring kits if available
8. Cargo organizer system, bedliner, and tiedowns if available
9. Leather
10. Power everything
11. Heated seats (if available)
12. Captains chairs front, with center console
13. 60/40 folding split bench rear
14. Whatever interior cargo storage options are available
    
15. Full climate control (auto if available)
16. Navigation system
17. CD/DVD changer with handsfree bluetooth speakerphone, and aux input
    
18. Rear DVD
19. Backup camera if available
20. No sunroof (it cuts 2" out of the headroom)
    

I included all the prices, current incentives, power and torque, fuel economy towing capacity and payload, locking diff or not, bed length or cargo area length, and front and rear head and leg room.

I only included one diesel, because in all cases Diesels added approximately $7,000 to the cost of the truck, but were only offset by incentives on the Dodge. Otherwise the new diesels were simply too expensive (bringing the trucks into the $60,000 range).

The Numbers:

The spreadsheet I used to tabulate my research numbers is shared here: Truck Analysis

Unless you feel like paying $5,000 extra for the name, I would drop the Toyotas from your consideration entirely. We found that in all cases (all models of large truck and SUV), for equivalent features, the Toyotas were $4,000 to $8,000 more expensive than the other brands.

In general, I found that Dodge offered exceptional value in both 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton models; that Nissan offered just about as good value as Dodge (but with not quite as much in the way of features, and of course in half ton only), that Ford and Toyota were both relatively overpriced (more so for the Toyota), and that Chevy was around the middle.

Also I found that in general you got more for your money (better relative value) with a 3/4 ton. On average they only cost around $2k more, for double the payload, and 30% more towing capacity.

Downgrading from 4x4 to 4x2 generally saves about $4,000; and if you don't need it, deleting it reduces your maintenance cost, improves your fuel economy, your payload, and your towing capacity. However, after five years, it cuts your resale value in half; and in general reduces the utility of the truck.

I've gone on record before saying that I think that for most people, 4wd on a full size truck or SUV is a waste of time and money; and I still believe that.

Most people who buy 4WD never really use it. Also, unless you're very experienced and carry recovery gear around with you; when you do try and use your 4 wheel drive seriously, the only difference is that you're going to get stuck further, harder, and deeper in, than you would have if you only had 2 wheel drive.

However, if you live in snowy climates (especially snowy hills and mountains), drive a lot on rough roads (especially with heavy loads), or have to deal with mud or sand at all; 4wd is a lifesaver, and as I said, also improves the resale value of your truck considerably.

Now, you'll note in the conditions section above, we REALLY loaded up the options, including some that most truck buyers wouldn't really bother with; because this is our family vehicle in addition to our work/tow/haul truck.

Selecting navigation and DVD adds between $3,700 and $8,000 (the Toyota was ridiculous) to the price of each vehicle; and you can save a considerable amount leaving them off, and going for a standard stereo (with standard CD changer systems running in the $500-$1500 range).

Most other interior options were all relatively low cost and deleting them would have minimal impact. If you wanted to save money, removing nav and DVD would be the first place to start; with most vehicles costing $4000-$5,000 or so less without them.

Also, in every case, the backup camera was either included in the nav and DVD package, or was a $500 to $700 extra that can be easily deleted.

We found that it was hard to locate a loaded truck without a sunroof; but if you don't want one (and we don't. They cost 2" in headroom, and reduce the efficiency of your heater and air conditioning), you can save yourself $1000

The Experience:

After going through the analysis, it was time to actually drive the vehicles.

Based on the numbers we excluded Ford, and Toyota entirely; and decided to focus on Chevy and Dodge (because when we started this process Chevy was offering MUCH larger incentives than they are today, and Dodge is offering HUGE incentives).

We seriously considered the Nissan Titan as well, given that it is as roomy inside as the Dodge 1500, and moreso than the Chevy; and has the best payload, and the lowest cost.

However, with the smallest towing capacity and second least power of the bunch; at just about the same price as the Dodge (given the current incentives anyway), we decided to make it our third option.

Chevy:

The first thing we did was check out the Suburban, and my wife really liked it a lot. She likes the room, the power, the cargo space, and the look of it. It's just a great truck.

I should note, I rather like it myself, but not as much as she does. It's a little short on headroom for me; and while I think it's a good looking truck (especially the GMC version), I'm not in love with it.

Even better, the cargo room behind the third seat is great; and with the rears folded, it's as much as our Expedition with the rear seat out.

Oh, and I can fit in not only the second row (just), but the third row (though it's not exactly comfy); though if there's a sunroof I can't even fit in the drivers seat, never mind the rears (the sunroof pulls out 2" of headroom).

So, we like the truck, and we go back to start talking about pricing.

Now as I said, in January GM was offering up to $15k incentive to buy a truck. Well, apparently, now that they've got the gubmint bailout money, things have changed.

It's no wonder GM can't sell a damn vehicle.

List price on the 'burban with the options (3/4 ton 4wd, LT2 package, heavy duty tow package, navigation and entertainment. Not the LTZ which is $7K more, and not available on the 3/4 ton) we want is $56,000.

Let me repeat that.

FIFTY SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS.

Now let me ask you something. If you could afford to buy a truck for $56,000 would you be buying a suburban?

No wonder GM sales are down 58% this quarter.

Well of course, no-one pays MSRP. Right now, the deal is that everyone pays invoice less incentives. Invoice on the model we want is about $49,000 (that's a heck of a markup to MSRP, aint it). Ok, that's still a lot of money, but with a $15k incentive that's only $34,000... and that's not bad. That's actually pretty good, and very doable...

Only now that GM has the bailout money, the incentive isn't $15k anymore.... It's $2k

$47,000....

Ohhhh, I don't think so.

Now, take a look at the exact same truck, same options, but in the 2008 model year (there's four left unsold in the state apparently; all up in or around Flagstaff) and the invoice is $2k lower, and the incentive is still $7k.

Ok, maybe one of those. That brings it to $40k... not as good as with the $15k incentive, but possibly doable...

Until you look at the used price for a 2008 with 12,000 miles on it, equipped the same way... $30k to 33k.

Or a 2007 with 24k miles... $25k to 28k. And that's in absolutely perfect condition, with 5 years left on the warranty.

And those are full retail book. No-one pays retail book. Their resale value is about $8k under that; and you're likely to pay somewhere in between those two numbers.

Even at book though, that's about $25,000 less than MSRP on the new one, and $16,000 less than the actual sale price.

Who on earth is going to spend $54k or even $44k on a truck that will be worth $16-25k less in a year or two years?

Don't even get me started on the Escalade ESV (the Cadillac version of the suburban). They charge $20k more for the EXACT SAME TRUCK, with the exact same equipment; and 2 years later, its only worth $5k more than the Chevy. More than 50% depreciation.

This simply reinforces my long held opinion that you have to be an idiot to buy a new car without a huge incentive; and that goes double for a fully optioned up new car, or a new "premium" car.

But more importantly; it reinforces my opinion that GM is utterly clueless. They take the bailout, and then jack up the price of their trucks, that weren't selling at the LOWER prices.

Here's a hint for GM execs. Guys, if they weren't buying the trucks at $39,000, they aren't going to buy those same trucks two months later, for $11,000 more. We didn't get the bailout, you did.

Oh and not that Ford is much better.

The equivalent Expedition EL is smaller than the Suburban, doesn't have quite as much in the way of features, has 50 less horsepower and 50ftlbs less torque but just as bad fuel economy, isn't available in a 3/4 ton (though the heavy duty suspension package and heavy duty towing package give just a few hundred pounds less towing capacity); and prices out at just over $55,600, with an invoice of $49,800 and $4000 incentive.

Smaller truck, less power, less features, same price... Don't think so.

We also test drove the Crew Cab 1500, and 2500, Silverado; and liked them, though not as much as the Suburban.

The 2500 suspension was a bit harsh, and both trucks were somewhat unrefined. Though the interiors were very nice in the LTZ, and optioned up LT2 models, they were still a bit plasticky and work truck like (especially in the 2500, which had some funky switch gear). Also, the interior accoutrement weren't quite as nice as in the Suburban (you'd think they'd be exactly the same, but they aren't).

Surprisingly, the Suburban also handled better than either truck. Even though it was heavier, it felt more settled, and smoother (probably the weight, combined with passenger tuning rather than load tuning). With the 6 liter in all three, the 1500 clearly had the performance advantage however. That said, non of them were exactly sluggish; the 6 liter offers great power.

I don't want to leave the impression that these weren't very good trucks, they were; they just weren't as nice as the Suburban. I did however think that the Silverado was a bit nicer than the 2004-2008 Fords that I have previously driven (I haven't driven the 2009).

Of course they were also $6,000 MSRP less than the Suburban; which is a consideration. Surprisingly however, invoice was only $4000 under MSRP (on the 'Burban it was $7k under), and the incentive was only $1000 for the crew cab (it's $2000 for every other 1500).

The way they were, I wasn't exactly thrilled with the final pricing, at $44k and $46k for the 1/2 and 3/4 ton respectively.

We decided to move on to Dodge, and wait and see if a used 'Burban came into stock somewhere with the equipment that we liked.

Also because the numbers were so out of line on the 'Burban, and the Expedition; we decided to focus on the crew cabs, and we pulled them off the spreadsheet.

Dodge:

The numbers indicated that the Dodge was going to provide far better value, with their Employee Pricing Plus Plus Program (yes, that's really what they call it); giving a $7000 discount from MSRP, plus an additional $2000 in incentives.

Well, we test drove the 2500 diesel, and the 1500 hemi the week after the Chevys.

First things first, both are spectacular trucks. Far better than the Chevys that we drove the week before, or the Fords that I've driven over the past couple years. Even on the 2500, the interior was nicer, the amenities nicer etc.. and the in cabin storage is brilliant.

We drove the 2500 MegaCab diesel first, and liked it very much. The torque is amazing, and with no traction control (the diesels have stability control but no traction control) that motor will break the rear end loose any time you feel like it. That said, it's also smooth and quiet; not just for a diesel, but for a truck in general.

The only thing I didn't like about the power delivery is a little more delay in the kickdown than I'd like; but they do that on purpose, because with so much torque, and especially if you're hauling and towing heavy loads, a rapid downshift would be very hard on the transmission.

But for just one second, let me give a shoutout back to the torque monster. That is one hell of a motor.

The MegaCab interior is brilliant. It's a crewcab with an extra 4" of legroom, and 10" of space behind the rear seats for storage. That allows the 60/40 split bench to recline, and to fold forward into a more than 20sq foot flat load floor.

Combined with the doors that are 8" longer than normal crewcab doors (with HUGE windows that roll down completely), and you can esily fit a 3 foot square box, or a number of half sheets of plywood into the back.

With the huge double console, and cubbies everywhere, there is no shortage of storage and family room in this truck. The front seat console also folds up into a third seat, with a shoulder belt; that is good for a child, or a booster seat (and yes, it's car seat safe if you so choose; though it doesn't have car seat anchors).

The rear seats on the other hand have more than enough hip, shoulder, and leg room for three full sized adults. I can comfortably sit in the middle seat (yes, really); and with the front seats pushed all the way back, I have over 4" of room between my knees and the seat back.

Overall we were impressed with the 2500s handling; and it's lack of harshness even over poor pavement with no load. It did have slightly soft, long travel brakes, that stopped very well but didn't have great feel. The steering, was very sharp and responsive, but the turning circle on the truck was awful (49.7 feet according to the magazines), and reversing into tight spaces worse.

Happily though, even engaging 4wd low, and locking the diff, didn't worsen the turning circle or reversing circle (which I was surprised by. In most trucks, including the Chevys, there's some driveline backlash, and the turning circle widens slightly in 4 low with the diff locked).

So we were just about sold on the diesel, but wanted to drive the 1500 for comparison.

There is no comparison. It's a completely different truck.

From the minute you get into it, you can feel it's a completely different truck. The 2500 is a "really nice truck", but interior wise it definitely feels and looks like a truck. The 1500 has a completely different interior, and getting into it, the immediate impression is "luxury car".

I really didn't think it was possible they could be so different, but they are.

The 1500 is so much more like a comfortable car than a truck, it's hard to describe. The controls are designed and positioned better, so that nothing is a long reach (not the case with the 2500. All that room is great, but the reaches can be a bit long). The climate control is perfect, the audio/nav system positioning is perfect; and the seats are actually better than the seats in my caddy (and that's saying something).

That said, this is still a damn truck; how does it drive?

Amazing.

Firstly, the power. Yes, the diesel has more torque, but the absolutely instantaneous power delivery of the hemi is unbelievable. 390hp and 407ftlbs of torque with 225+ ftlbs available from 1500 RPM, and peak torque at 4000rpm, means fast off the line, responsive, fast passing and roll on. The feeling of instantly available power with this truck is great.

There is NO highway hop, no wheel hop in hard acceleration (the hemi does have traction control unlike the diesel) no harshness on any surface even with no load, and even in tow/haul mode (which stiffens everything up, and changes the shift program on the transmission).

Quick transitions are accomplished smoothly and with no drama, including accelerating and decelerating rapid lane changes; which usually throw trucks off balance. There is far less body roll in sharp corners than I would expect for a truck; in fact better than a lot of cars.

The 1500s turning circle is considerably better than the 2500 (about 28 feet). On the 2500, I had to three point in a narrow cul de sac; in the 1500 I was able to make full lock circles in it, even in 4wd low with the locker engaged.

Basically, this truck is in all ways far superior to the Chevys that I test drove last weekend; and the 2004-2008 F150s that I have driven before (I chose not to test drive the 2009s, because they are several thousand more expensive for equivalent features).

We went into the test drive expecting to like the 2500 more, and came out of it likeing the 1500 just as much; but for different reasons.

Although you give up a lot of towing capacity and payload with the 1500, and a good bit of room; the road feel, comfort, and manners you get back in exchange make up for it; at least for us, who are primarily using this as a family vehicle, not a work truck.

Now if they only made the MegaCab, with the 1500 interior, and the 1500 handling....

Actually, the 2010 2500/3500 models are getting the interior and exterior facelift the '09 1500s did; though of course they still wont have the independent suspension etc... but that's not what you want for a towing/hauling vehicle.

Nissan:


So, we went down to one of our local Nissan dealerships, and drove the Titan, and the Armada.

First thing, one salesguy took the up, I explained to him exactly what we were looking for, that we wanted only and exactly that; and that we wanted to talk specifics.

So he says "ok, let's go drive one" and he takes me out front, and immediate starts trying to downsell me "Oh, well, why don't you put the nav in aftermarket, it'll be cheaper". Then he says he doesn't have a 4x4 that I can drive. I tell him "look, I'm only interested in a 4x4" and he tries to tell me that I should drive the 2wd, it'll be just the same.

At that point I was rather irritated. I said to him "Look, I don't think you're taking my business seriously here. First you try to downsell me, now you're lying to me. You and I both know a 4x4 and a 2 wheel drive are going to feel, respond, and handle a lot differently. The suspension and drivline are different, the weight is different, the rear end is different... they are NOT comparable, and don't try and pass it off like they are just because you don't have one out here for me to drive. I think I have to go to another dealer".

At that point, he got kind of pissy and defensive, but he asked me to talk to his manager. I relayed exactly what was said, and the manager got me somebody who actually knew the trucks in question, and the product line; and knew what was in inventory.

So I found out from the new salesguy and manager that they haven't been getting any 4x4s with leather or nav from Nissan lately; and that they've had a hard time getting Titans in at all. That said, they did have an all leather and nav 2wd that we could check out the interior on, and they had a 4x4 we could drive.

I said OK, I'm still willing to give you my business, and I appreciate that they're ready to try and accommodate what I want.

So we drove the 4x4 with the crap interior; and we set in and played around with the optioned up interior.

We liked the Titan, but it's not as nice as the Dodge. Not nearly as much power, and the interior, though nice, isn't AS nice. That said, even with half the incentives, it's just as low priced as the Dodge (actually with current incentives, very slightly cheaper. You can get a loaded Titan for under $40k right now).

The wife however liked the Armada a LOT. We had looked at the numbers and decided it was too small initially; but actually sitting in it, and playing with the seats and cargo area, told a different story. It had substantially more room overall than the Tahoe, including more cargo area; and more headroom than the Suburban; as well as a more clever seating configuration that folded into a flat load floor behind the drivers seat (not long enough for plywood of course, just under 7ft; but useful enough that you can take a bungee with you and still pick up the wood)

So we decided to talk numbers about the Armada with the guy, and he finds one equipped like we'd like at an affiliated dealer in California.

Great, let's talk money.

So he goes out to do the manager dance and comes back with a printout for me, with a "market value" (note, not MSRP) listed $3k higher than I know the price is from the 'net.

Then he takes off $3000 in "savings", which is really just taking out the inflation he just put in; and the $4500 incentive.

Ok, that's at least a working number. Not a final number, there' more to come out of that "market value", but we can work with this.

Then there's a line item of $1894 for "accessories and value adds", which if you look into another section of the printout shows as "dealer prep" and "Arizona auto arrangement", on top of which he adds a $399 "documentation fee" and another line item of $1,009.80 in "fees".

So there's a $3200 line item for "Extra Dealer Profit".

Now I've just spent two hours with this guy. I've told him exatly what I'm looking for, exactly what I've done with other dealerships. He knows I know how much the thing actually costs. He knows I know what the options are. He should really know better than to start negotiating from this position... but he puts it down in front of me anyway, and says "So, can we make a deal?"

I literally laughed in his face, looked down at the sheet of paper, and said "not at that number, not even close".

Then he pulls out a sheet that he "can't let me keep" which supposedly shows his invoice and option cost (appx $5k less than the quoted "Market Value", but still $3K over what I KNOW the actual number is), and I laugh again.

The way he had the deal worked, the Armada was actually costing $4,000 more than the Suburban, which lists for more than the Armada, and has less than half the incentive and "savings" right now.

Yeah, I don't think so.

The deal that didn't happen:

So, we found a couple trucks very similar to what we wanted; but nothing exactly right.... or rather, whenever we found exactly the right truck, it would get sold before we could grab it.

It isn't so much that our option choices were selling like hotcakes; it's just the particular configuration we wanted was extremely rare. To order it would have taken 8-12 weeks, and in the mean time the incentive programs and pricing could change, and you can't lock in a price until the order is built... so that really wasn't an option.

We finally found two trucks very close to exactly what we wanted; a 2500 diesel laramie, and a 1500 hemi laramie. Both had nav and leather, but no rear DVD; and the 1500 had a sunroof.

The diesel listed at $57k but has $13k incentives on it, bringing it down to $44k. The 1500 listed at 52k, but had $11k in incentives, bringing it down to $41k.

We actually managed to squeeze'em down to $42.5k and $39.5k plus TLT.

Unfortunately, we just couldn't come to a deal. We never got to the point where the price, tradein, down payment, and rate made us happy; so we walked away from both and said we'd revisit things in a few months; when they'd be trying to get rid of unsold '09s to clear the way for the 2010 models.

Meanwhile I got to dealing with more fraud on my credit report, to help fix that rate issue.

Inflection point:

So that was six weeks ago; and the Expedition died on Tuesday.

I went back to our truck analysis, and looked at exactly what we wanted and needed from a truck:

1. 3/4 ton preferred, but 1/2 ton acceptable
2. Crew cab (or dodge mega cab, which is a crew cab, plus an extended cab grafted on) required
3. 4x4 required
4. Diesel preferred, gas acceptable
5. Heavy duty suspension, with offroad package if possible (most dont let you get both)
   
6. Towing package required
7. Leather preferred, but cloth acceptable, if good and power
8. Nav sytem preferred but not required
9. Rear seat DVD preferred but not required
10. NO SUNROOF
    

Also, I knew that the absolute maximum I could make things stretch would give us $5k for a down payment; and that's really cutting it tight for the next couple weeks.

$4k would be better, which gives us a price range of between $20k and $40k (getting financing today requires 10% to 20% down unless youre at 750 or above). Sadly, with the prices of trucks today, that means used to get what we want.

S'okay, as I said above I think used generally gives you a much better value.

So, we did a quick search on the net for trucks locally, found two dealers who had a number of trucks that were close, but nothing exactly matching the list.

The OTHER deal that didn't happen:

The first dealership had two decent trucks, but not really what we were looking for.

They also had a brand new old stock 2008 Expedition EL (that's the logn wheelbase version) King ranch edition with the tow package. We drove it, and liked it, so we decided to talk numbers.

Now, the truck originally listed at $47k. I told them right off the bat that I wasn't interested in paying anything near that. Also, I owe $6200 on the expedition, which will cost nearly as much to repair as they would give me in trade for it; which means we'd have to finagle the numbers to deal with that as well.

They offered me a great deal on it, but not great enough. They wanted an out the door price of $45k, including the underwater trade.

Now, normally speaking, I'd call that a good deal; but I know something. As of next month, any unsold 2008s will be reclassified for finance purposes by the banks as if they were used vehicles.

The wholesale used value on a 2008 Expedition EL King Ranch with 100 miles on it (it had been test driven a few times obviously) is $30.5k. Assume the Expedition is a total loss giving me a $6200 negative equity, that's $37k, plus TLT on the $30.5 brings me to just about $40k.

As it happens, the wholesale new value on the truck is just at $40k; which is probably what they've got in the truck; and in a month, the bank is going to write it down to $30k.

So I set a hard line, my out the door would have to be $40k. I said to him right off, "look I know you're losing money on this deal, but in a month you're going to be losing even more. This truck has been on this lot for 24 months (why didn't they auction it yet?), and absolutely no-one but me wants to buy an Expedition EL. So the question isn't are you losing money, it's how much money are you willing to lose".

They came down to $43k, but I wasn't interested in a dollar over $40. I told them as much, and said that I'd be looking at other trucks, if they were interested in dealing they had my number.

Yeah, I would have been skinning them blind, if it werent for the fact that I knew that truck wouldn't sell for the next month; and that if they hadn't auctioned it off (for the same loss they'd take with me) I would get the deal I wanted next month.

Found It:

The second dealership was a local truck specialty dealer here. Normally I don't like niche dealers (they tend to overprice a bit, and have iffy service); but we figured if we were going to find exactly what we wanted they were a likely choice, and their internet stock had some promising items.

We got there, and the internet trucks were good as promised, but we saw something else right away...

A big, black, badass of a truck, with chrome grille, chrome HD wheels, chrome bumpers, completely debadged (which looks great) and limoblacked windows.

It was debadged, but I could tell right away it was a 3/4 ton 4x4, megacab ram. Then I walked around back and saw the 4" tailpipe.

YES!

A 3/4 ton, megacab, 4x4, 5.9L Cummins diesel, in pearl black, with the heavy duty suspension, forged aluminum heavy duty wheels, chrome package, PERFECT spray in bedliner, tow package and lockers.

Exactly what we were looking for.

Unfortunately, it was an SLT-G (the upper middle trim package) instead of a Laramie, it had cloth instead of leather; and no nav system. Otherwise, it was fully optioned up. Power everything, perfect interior... I LOVE the megacab...

Yaknow what, we can live with that. Especially since the 3/4 ton diesel, is actually a 1.5 ton (max payload of 3220lbs, max towing 12,500lbs); and that diesel is going to be going strong long after I die (325hp, and 610ftlbs torque is a nice thing, never mind what Banks, King, Bullydog etc... can do with it).

That megacab is the best thing I've ever seen in a pickup.

The same truck, brand new, lists at $52,000 ($5000 less than the one with leather, nav, and DVD) though right now there's $10k in incentives available on it (less incentives than the Laramie as described actually).

This one is 2-1/2 years old with 45,000 miles on it; but it looks like showroom new; and they wanted $35,000 for it.

Seriously, there isn't a scratch, dent, chip, or spec on it; including the undercarriage. It's showroom new in and out. I would think it was a respray considering how good the undercarriage looks, but I know what to look for, and it's PERFECT. The bedliner is perfect except the rail caps are lifting up at the ends (that happens, They're only stuck on with doublestick tape). Even the floormats were perfect.

I did some quick internet research and found out that low wholesale on the truck was $27k, and the retail book was $37k. I offered $28k, $4k down, and no trade. They countered with $28.5k and $5k down, and they'd take the trade and wrap it in.

I made the deal.

They also took my truck in at $2500, which is honestly more than it's worth given the suspension repair required; but it was what they had to do to get the loan values right, and they were good with doing that.

So we're thrilled. This is a damn fine truck. It's gorgeous, it's almost exactly what we want, and it should last forever.

Now I need to get some steps/running boards for it (it really is high); a bed extender, and maybe a cap.

So take a look at this beauty:



The reflection in the tailgate is Mels old truck (now ceded back to her father as an airport/work truck), a '76 Chevy C10 longbed, I6 with 4 on the floor, with a granny and no overdrive.



One, I am not that fat (or that short), the tailgate is like a funhouse mirror. Two, the paint really is that shiny.



We're trying to figure out what to call it. Behemoth and "the beast" were rejected out of hand; but the wife liked Satch' (big, black, with a big mouth, deep lungs, and a deep gravely voice... very fitting).

Why Ride?

When you get hit, and fly through the air like that, it's called ragdolling... because you look like a ragdoll as you fly.

It isn't as bad as it looks; but how it looks could only possibly be worse by being lit on fire, or dropping into a vat of acid, so that's not much consolation.

Kevin Baker linked to that video above, with the comment:

"I get the urge to buy a motorcycle once or twice a year.

I go lay down until the urge goes away".

I've been riding for 28 years, and 17 years (legally) on the street.

The first bike I ever rode for my self was a little Honda ATC 70 (all pics taken from bikepics.com) that a family friend owned:


A few years later, I graduated to a 1979 Honda XR80, that I personally rebuilt (with some help, but less than you'd think) from a box of parts that had been given to me:


As it turns out the "bike from a box of parts" thing would become a recurring theme in my life.

I had several more small dirt bikes and mini bikes for the next few years; all of which I acquired as busted junk, and fixed myself. I taught myself how to be a mechanic on cheap little motorcycles and minibikes (and the occasional go-kart).

The very first "street bike" I owned wasn't even a motorcycle at all; it was a 1978 Puch VS50. I was 13, and again, it came to me as a box of parts formerly owned by my aunt, handed down to my youngest uncle, then left in a garage for 10 years (looked just like this one, but not as nice):

Once I got it running, I traded it for another BOP bike; a 1986 Honda Spree 50 scooter, in red, identical to this one:

Which I proceeded to get running, and trade up for an '85 Honda elite 250 that wasn't quite as much of a basket case as the Spree had been:


All this was long before I had a drivers license; but long after I'd started working. It was done with my own money, nothing given to me... Except the occasional birthday or Christmas gift of course. One birthday I got a new coil and regulator for the Spree, and I was thrilled.

Meanwhile, I was still offroading. On the dirtbike side of things, I eventually worked my way up to a '90 Kawasaki KDX250 (the pic is a '91 though. I couldn't find a decent pic of a '90).

The KDX was the first bike I ever paid more than $500 up front for. It was $1500 in three instalments, plus my scooter (I was making from $200 to $400 a week at the time working a couple different jobs):


In some states the KDX is street legal, though not in Massachusetts. The cops in rural northern New Hampshire never seemed to care much though...

By that time however, I'd actually figured out that I liked quads better for offroading. When I was 13, I managed to scrape up $500 for a thrashed '86 Suzuki Quadracer 250, with blue nerfbars:


Christ, I though I was Gary Denton. I even had the Hoosier holeshots (but not those magnificent Mr. Ed teeth. Jesus christ Denton was a horseface).

Then when I was 16 I got my license, legally bought and drove a car, and acquired my holy grail of offroading (which cost me the KDX, the Quadracer, and a bucket of cash):


A Yamaha Banshee 350 (with DG bumpers and nerf bars like that one)... and man did I trick that thing out. By the time I was done with it, if it weren't for the ridiculous air resistance, it would've done a flat hundred easy.

I also acquired another BOP bike, a 1981 CB750 (mine was red with gold pinstriping) for the princely sum of $700:

Which I suppose you could say was my first real honest to god street bike.

The only problem was, I couldn't get insurance for it (what company is going to insure a 16 year old on a 750)... so I drove it illegally anyway.

Yes I know. Bad Chris.

It was the first non-aircraft vehicle that I managed to do over 100 miles an hour with while I was in control (though I had cars up to that speed and beyond shortly thereafter); and I estimated a top speed of 130 (the speedo was useless over 100).

A few months later I started my great American and world tour; leaving home for college (I graduated HS at 16), and then the AIr Force; and I sold all my bikes.

I didn't have a bike for about a year and a half; then my room mate at the time crashed my car, and his insurance wouldn't pay, and my insurance wouldn't pay (some technicality about his license, and towing a trailer) so to partially
compensate, he gave me his '86 Honda V65 Magna 1100:


HOLY CHRIST that was a powerful bike.

Of course by the time I got a hold of it, it had seen better days (it was about 9 HARD years old at the time, and had more than 60,000 miles); but fresh from the factory it had 115hp, and could pull an 11 second 1/4 mile.

I could pick up the front wheel all the way up through 4th and I would guess the top speed was still over 130 when I got it (again, the speedo didn't accurately measure anything beyond 100).

Man I had a lot of fun with that bike. Highway 89a from Wickenberg up to the Canyon... it has to be ridden on a powerful but agile bike to be understood. It's absolutely unbelievable.

I would sometimes leave around 5, make the 90 miles from Prescott to Phoenix in under an hour (to see my girlfriend for a few hours) then blast the 90 miles back in under an hour again, to be back by around 2am.

Unfortunately, about a year after I got it, I laid it down. There was some wet sand in a corner, and I slid; and knowing I was going to high side if I didn't, I dumped it and rolled off. The thing slammed into a Joshua tree at 70, and pushed the front brake disks into the crank case.

That was the last bike I owned for myself; though I've rented, borrowed, had companies pay for (while I was living in Europe) and otherwise ridden many others since. I've crossed rivers and blasted through deserts on quads, cruised 1000 miles on a BMW sport tourer, and hit 176mph on a public road with a GSXR1100 (yes, I was VERY VERY STUPID).

I love riding, and I love the machines you ride on. I think the love of them both is intertwined, and in my case can't be separated. One adds to the enjoyment of the other intrinsically.

Is motorcycling dangerous?

Well, that answer is relative. In the U.S. it's between 2 and 5 times more dangerous in terms of injuries than driving a car an equal number of miles; but in terms of number of deaths and serious injuries, it's less dangerous than say, swimming.

In the last 20 years of street riding (including mopeds, and illegally riding in the street before I had a license), I've laid it down in the street twice (both environmental), and been clipped once ("Oh god, I just didn't see you"). By the grace of god, no serious injuries resulted from any of them.

I've actually had far more serious injuries dirt riding than I have on the street (nature of the beast. You don't get 30 feet of air off slippery dirt on the street).

Around the world, there are actually something like two times as many motorcyclists as car drivers; and over all they have a considerably lower accident rate. The problem is, motorcycle accidents are FAR more likely to result in death or serious injuries (again, nature of the beast. Not having a two ton.. or more likely three ton these days... steel cage around you when you hit something is a considerable disadvantage).

The question is, for you personally, is the increased risk of death of serious injury worth the increased fun, sense of freedom, increased manoeuvrability and speed, reduced cost of transportation, and other advantages of a motorcycle?

For me personally, it is; and though I don't have a bike now, it's one of the first things on the list for when we get out from under the legal bills.

Motorcycling combines recreation and stress relief with transportation. On a bike, the journey is at least as much a part of the experience as the destination.

When I'm riding, I'm reducing my stress level. That alone is worth the increased risk; never mind the fun, and the high speed, high MPG transport.

...Of course this is also coming from someone who finds the most effective stress reduction comes from things that almost, but not quite, kill you.

A Day of Celebration

For several reasons. First, my new laptop has arrived; woo hoo!

I haven't even unboxed it yet, so a review is a few days away; but I'll be posting my first impressions later.

Second, and far more important, today I signed my paperwork to convert to a full time permanent employee of the company I have been contracting with for over two years.

Hmmmmm.... sweet sweet benefits and paid vacations.

To top it all off, some great steaks (cuts that we've already run through from our beef co-op) are on sale locally, and tonight is "friend" night; so it's New York strips on the grill to celebrate.

Random Madness in Baggy Trousers

When I was looking for the Placebo video the other day, I was reminded of this pub back in Ireland that did a no cover club night Fridays and Saturdays; and that I used to hit up with my friends sometimes.

Most of the time they would play typical pop crap, but we'd show up when this one DJ was there, and he'd do a set of well... random madness. Punk, ska, new wave, alternative, metal, hardcore, a little of anything and everything; but there would always be a few key pieces in there.

Well of course once the popcrap stopped playing, all the hoop ringed, track suited idiots would get off the floor, but my friends and I would be out there pogoing up a storm.

The way the DJ would signal he was going to do the random madness set was always the same: He'd play the Sultans of Ping "Where's Me Jumper":

The Sultans were an absolutely mad Irish punk band, who wrote insane songs for people to get drunk and slam dance to. Sorry for the talking over it, but I couldn't find any others of decent quality.

Anyway, once the skangers and morons were off the floor, it would always be a quick swing into the violent Femmes "Blister in the Sun":

And a little detour into psychosis with a remixed Boomtown rats - I don't like Mondays:

Or maybe a little bit of the old Declan McManus with a fast and somewhat nasty version of Olivers Army:

Which by the way I'm sure he put in there to get one over on the drunken British assholes over in Dublin for a "dirty weekend"... like any of them would notice (but we definitely did).

To continue the Irish punk theme he'd usually throw in Stiff Little Fingers - "Alternative Ulster" (best punk band to come out of Northern Ireland by the way):

From here it would vary, but he'd usually be speeding it back up with something like The Ramones - Blitzkreig Bop (the fast version, as it should be):

Then he'd be crushing it in with say Blur - Song 2 (the hot and loud version. Unfortunately only the MTV version is on YouTube):

Hit the hardcore with a little KMFDM and "Juke Joint Jezebel":

Then he'd ALWAYS stick a speeded up and remixed version of One inch punches "Pretty Piece of Flesh" in there somewhere (which is where we'd all watch the girls grind on each other):

Then there'd be something like the Lords of Acid with "Out comes the evil":

He'd mix in another grrrl track with Republicas "Drop Dead Gorgeous":

and throwing in a crowd favorite like Beastie Boys "Sabotage":

He'd start transitioning down with something like Placebo - Nancy boy:

And if Imogene was in the audience (a girl I used to live with - platonically) and she usually was, there would ALWAYS be a Me First and the Gimme Gimmes cover just before the end of the set... usually "Sweet Caroline", because for some gawdawful reason a stuffed Turkey puppet named Dustin (you can't make this shit up - oh and see if you can find "Podge and Rodge" videos, from the same creator as Dustin; they're hilarious ) released it as a dance track that fall and it got huge; unfortunately I can't find a good version of it, so here's their cover of REO Speedwagons "Take it on the Run":

Finally, every time he'd close it off with a little bit of Madness - baggy trousers:

When they went into the the refrain everybody would stop and lean back with their hands up in the air, singing along... and when they hit the "baggy trousers" chant, the entire place would be bouncing and screaming it.

Actually, msot of the songs were what you'd call "Audience Participation", with refrains that would get people singing along with them, or call and response chanting out of the audience. It was great fun.

That would be about 35 minutes of continuous high speed "dancing" (mostly bouncing bodies together) depending on exactly what he mixed in where; and by the end of it we'd be sweaty, exhausted, and completely stoked. We'd recover with a pint or two and then head on to Fibbers for the rest of our night (which was all metal and industrial).