1/8/08

I guess I can tell y'all sort of what the dumb thing is that I may be doing soon. Do you remember how I said I wanted an Altima Coupe the other day? Well, that’s the dumb thing I may be doing soon. Here’s what I can tell you, Saturday morning I posed the following question to John. I asked him if he’d like to become a two Versa family. We discussed options and scenarios and concluded that it was better if we didn’t do it at this time. I resigned myself at that point to driving Matilda for a while longer. Again, I love Matilda and want her to stay in the “family,” but I really dig that Altima Coupe! I was thinking this morning that I haven’t had a genuine, two-door coupe as my daily driver since the Chickenhawk in 1996! But I digress. My point was there is no way I'm trading Matilda in on an Altima, or any car for that matter. No, I need to find another person in my extended “car-family” who’d be interested in it. I found someone. I can’t really reveal who because he has a “Sword of Damocles” hanging over him that needs resolution before we can proceed, and I can’t go into that just yet either. We were talking and I half jokingly suggested he buy Matilda from me. His eyes lit up! He began looking the car over and cursing me for suggesting it. I tapped the brakes and said it was all pending mom’s approval of course and he understood. The more we talked, the more excited about the car he got. I let him take a hoon and he was on the hook. We went to broach the subject to mom and she was on board. She or I will have to co-sign for him to get my loan transferred to his name, so there is a touch of liability on our part. However, he has a potentially badass 240Z with a triple Mikuni L-28, five-speed, LSD, big brakes, coil over suspension, fuel cell, and Epsilon mesh wheels he’s giving me as collateral on my signature. Matilda will be the collateral on the actual loan however. So, barring anything ugly coming up between now and then, mom and I will be going to the credit onion with, oh let’s call him Enrique, the first Saturday in February to see about shuffling some loans around. Oh yeah, Enrique used to sell new and used cars so I think he will be able to “beat up” on the dealer and get me a good price on the Altima! Speaking of which, I stopped in last night to visit “my” new car. It was still there. I spoke to Bo about it and told him I was still on the hook but it was going to be a few weeks before I could do anything. He hemmed and hawed a bit and said he couldn’t hold onto it. “No,” I said, “that’s cool. To be honest, that car is a little too ‘optioned’ for my liking.” I went on to say that I'd buy that one if it were still there when we’re ready, but I'd prefer a “baser” unit. I went online today and had a look at how they come standard and what options are available. I think I want either black or one of the slate/dark gray colors for the gray interior. I don’t necessarily want the “premium power package” and all the gee-gaws that includes. I don’t remember what that package gets me, but I didn’t need them. In fact, the base V6 has just about all the gadgets and accouterments I want. I'm sure I could “option down” a four cylinder model, but I don’t want a four cylinder model. I'm sure it would be sufficient, just like Matilda is sufficient, but I want superfluous! I want flamboyant. I want excessive. I want a damned 270 horsepower V6! Of course the six-speed goes without saying. I'm sure if I lost an arm or a leg or something, I could drive an automatic… off a cliff! If I can’t row my own gears then there’s no point to driving. If there’s no point to driving then there’s no point to anything. There, I said it. If you want to lock me up for a psych evaluation, gopher it. Of course, having said basically “I’d rather be dead than drive an automatic,” I'm thinking now that the small block Chevy V8 with a TH350 automatic might be the combo for Barbara. Remember Barbara? That’s the 1977 B-210 I picked up and was thinking of making into the Faux Rally Car. Well, now I'm thinking combination drag racer and land speed car. Hey, if I don’t have to cull the herd to move the shop to Burkett, I can reconsider lots of stupid projects! There’s Herman as the Slowster for instance. Barbara or Barbecue Bob with a V8 is another. Reacquiring the Louisiana Purchase could be considered. There are a myriad of wacky ideas floating around up there. Well, it is noon so I think I'm going to grab a bite to eat. Y'all have a day.