Chet Parsons, Car Guy

Not a lot to report today, but I need to write anyway to keep sharp.  Okay, so sharp may not be the current status, but you get the idea. I didn't post this a few weeks ago, but I had a chance to drive a Spyker C8 Spyder.  What a car!  What a noise!  Where's the top?  So, it goes like stink, sounds phenomenal, and actually handles very well.  The turn-in is very sharp, and even without traction control, it feels planted and grippy and would probably be a hoot on the track, even though Spyker strongly discourage their owners from doing so.  It's Dutch, too, which just gives it all that much more character.  And the top, if it is still attached to the car, works fine.  But if you want to see out the rear-view mirror when the top is down, it is best to remove it from the car entirely, which involves opening the entire rear clamshell of the car.  Doesn't sound too bad until you read the instructions, which state that it should only be done by a trained technician and takes ...

If anyone actually read the last post, things sounded rosy at work.  What a difference a day makes. So the store I work for is down-sizing.  Long story short, my department and position are both history.  As much as I love playing with cars, I absolutely hate the car business. Anyone hiring?

I manage the modern car sales for an independent used car dealer in Texas.  We have a classic car side as well.  It's a pretty darn cool job. On Friday of this past week, my job duties included rearranging the cars in our showroom, getting a couple of cars out and putting in a couple of cars that have just arrived.  As part of this process, cars that have been sitting in the showroom for a while and need to be run get driven for a mile or so before we put them back in.  While time consuming, it is a necessity, and sometimes, quite enjoyable. Two of the cars that were in the showroom and needed a little run were a BMW M1 and BMW Z8.  Now if you're one of the three or four people who've read my blog before or you happen to know me personally, I've recently become somewhat of a BMW disciple.  So it comes as no surprise that I enjoyed both of these rides thoroughly. The M1 was a surprise, but it wasn't.  The sound of that inline six is glorious, and the throttle respons...