I am so angry and sad.
For those of you who don't know what that is, it's the dreaded, infamous, hellish, stupid "red ring of death." Think "Blue Screen of Death" on steroids. My X-Box is broken, and if I'm lucky I'll be able to have it repaired for free (plus shipping), but I'm not sure yet. I don't have the original receipt and I can't remember if I've had it for over three years, which is how long the warranty is good for. Even if it is under warranty, I'm going to be minus an X-Box for two months. Dammit! "Race Pro" is coming out on the 27th of January. *sigh* I guess I just have to play board games or something until it's fixed. Or maybe I'll use my (hopefully) Christmas bonus to get a PS3 so I can play GT5. I dunno though, I hate the PS3, the only good games on it are GT5 and Little Big Planet. And that's only good when you play on-line, but I don't have an internet connection at my house. *bleh* I'm running out of steam. I just realised that I'm crying over a video game system.
Anywho, 'nother topic! I went test driving last weekend. I do that from time to time just to see what's available, and this time I drove a couple of great cars. One of the was a 2001 BMW 330ci convertible with 47k miles on it for 18 grand. It wasn't bad, but I was expecting more. The clutch was far too light, I couldn't really tell when it was "biting." The steering, while precise, didn't give enough feedback; It was just too light. Finally, the gear change was simply too vague. The throw was almost 10 inches from first to second, and it just didn't slot well into place. It didn't give me the confidence that I was in the gear I wanted. It was a good car, it seems like I'm being really down on this car, but I had this grand image in my brain of "The Ultimate Driving Machine" and it just wasn't. I'd like to drive a hard top version because they're apparently more sporty... I don't think I'll get my hopes up for that one though.
The other car I drove though blew all my expectations away; and Derek, you're on crack.
This is a Nissan 350Z and it is fantastic! Derek didn't like this car, hence the crack remark. I can understand why someone would choose, say a Mazda RX8, over this car, but not because this is a bad car. Those two extra seats in the RX8 make it very appealing. But that brutal 3.5L V6 is fantastic! In addition to that, the clutch and gearbox are magical! Derek said that this car had too hard a ride, but I disagree. I took it for a long test drive over some pretty sketchy roads and it handled them well. Not only that, but I was able to drive it on the freeway and it was fine there too. The only problems I had with it were seats that were a little bit too small, and the visibility wasn't the best. But it's a sports car! Visibility is supposed to be terrible. I think that this might be my next car. Unless, I'm wearing my "Grown-Up Pants" when I buy my next car, then I'll get a Golf GTi. The practicality of the 350Z is crap. Two seats, and even though there's a fairly large space in the back for luggage, it's full of rear strut bar so only duffel bags can fit.
See what I mean?
Still, I think all the downfalls are worth the upsides. There's a very real possibility that I'm going to buy on of these. Rebecca has her work cut out for her to talk me out of it. Oh, and just in case you all are worried that I'm going to buy this car, like tomorrow, then fear not, it's still a couple of years off. I don't ever want two car payments.
The quote was from "The Thomas Crown Affair." It's a pretty fun movie with Pierce Brosnan. It comes recommended.
"Nirvana is coming! The mystic portal awaits!"
