You can only buy from us.

Is that what Ford is saying with this new rule? On the one hand it seems like a simple case of corporate stupidity. And is it even legal? On the other hand, what does it say to your customers when your employees don't even want to buy your product? Okay, I can see both sides of this argument, but before we go nuts over the whole thing....the parking lot in question only caters to 15% of the employees. The rest park in another lot with no such restriction. Not such a big deal after all, huh? But with all of the news on Ford and GM's financial woes, this was too good an opportunity for the media to miss. The original stories that came out on this didn't even mention the 15% fact.

Anyway, the top white collar workers left themselves an out. They don't have to be seen driving a Ford Focus. Cars from other Ford owned companies are allowed too. Cars from companies like
Jaguar, Aston Martin, Land Rover and Volvo.

NASCAR Box Scores?

There's a lot that goes on during a NASCAR race. Think of all the planning that one NFL team goes through for one game and multiply it by the 43 cars in a Cup event....ok well, maybe just times 40 since there always seems to be 1-3 cars that have no plan whatsoever. The biggest problem the sport has is making people aware of the game behind the game. That is what would engage the average stick and ball sports fan....that and statistics. That's right: stats, stats and more stats. Think about it....there is probably more "downtime" in baseball than any of the other big 3 sports, but there are enough baseball stats to chat about to fill in all that time. Some NASCAR races have the same issue. Some would say ALL races have that issue...but that's an argument for another time.... But what stats do they have? Very few meaningful ones. Well, apparently somebody thinks they've come up with a solution. They aren't providing much detail right now, so I really can't say if I think it will work or not. Stay tuned.....

Wake up, Dave!

Wow, I've had a bad case of blog neglect. You would think after all this time I would have something profound to say. Or at least something to say! Well sort of...

We all have car repair stories...usually bad experiences...with a few ok ones thrown in for good measure. My latest trouble has been with my wife's car. It was nearing the end of its warranty (60K miles). So at the next oil change I sent a sample of the engine oil away to be analyzed. This is something I do regularly with my car. Before you start calling me all sorts of names, listen to the rest of the story....

The lab usually sends the results via e-mail, but this time they also made a phone call to my house to tell me that...they found anti-freeze in the sample. There were elevated levels of lead in the sample as well (bearing wear). So with only 117 miles left on the warranty we took the car in to be serviced at the local dealership. Were it not for the oil analysis, we would've discovered the problem when the engine finally failed long after the warranty had expired too. Anyway, the dealership fixed the cause of the leak (intake gasket) along with several other problems. It was actually a good experience. They were very good about the whole thing. Then after getting the car back we started to see a low coolant light. Back to the dealership we go....a hose needs to be replaced. Okay, that's done. Now this morning the service engine light comes on. Now what?! I'm not sure yet, but I'm bringing it back this afternoon.

Most people buy or stay away from a particular brand of car because of a good/bad experience from the past. My wife had a Plymouth before this car. It stunk. No more Chrysler products for me. This car is an Olds Alero. Dare I say no more GM cars? I've had three cars in my life so far. The first was a Ford Escort...that lasted 200K miles with no engine troubles. My next car was...another Ford Escort, with a Mazda engine. It lasted well past 180K and was running fine when I traded it in. My current car is a Mazda, with a Ford engine (how ironic)...the jury is still out on this car, but no major troubles yet.....

So now that I'm awake again, I'd like to hear from you....
Had a good/bad experience with a particular car? I'd like to hear about it....